Leica The difference...

BruPri

Top Veteran
Location
Seattle, Washington USA
Name
Bruce J. Pritchard
I have owned most every camera there is (at least to my wife it seems that way) Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony, Fuji, Contax, and Leica.
Now, I'm a hack when it comes to photography, I do it for enjoyment and I'm also a tech guy with a penchant for the latest of anything. Of all the cameras I've owned, only two products that capture images have given me an indescribable emotional connection to the picture I've taken, one is the Olympus E-P1, the other is the Leica X1. There is just something right about the rendering that the mind can forget it's a digital picture and I am placed at that moment and time just looking into the image. This is one of the reasons I believe, that I've never had a NEX camera for more that a month. They produce images all right and impressive at a pixel peeping level, but there's something about the rendering that is to me, flat and not how my eye saw the original inspiring photo moment. It's like the foreground and background are competing for space and detail. I digress.
I recently purchased a used M9 and wanted to register with Leica, the previous owner was still registered so I contacted Leica, within a day, I received an email from Ansgar Wehnge informing me that he would contact the previous owner and request de-registration from them. The next day he let me know that I could now register my camera.

Not a big deal, it's just that Customer service is something I value highly, I just wanted the service and support contacts and any history on my camera as I move forward.
That, was great customer service, never would have seen that from ANY of the previous manufacturers of devices I've owned, especially Sony (experience)

If somebody asked me a year ago, what do I shoot? I would never have thought I would have the camera I have, not only from a cost standpoint but a range finder to boot!
I am not a Leica fanboy, just know what I like, and this rig gets me that. Just wanted to share because I got a sense of pride and commitment to the customer from this company as opposed to other electronic giants that also happen to have a consumer camera division and continually try to out-clever their previous offerings effectively producing a disposable and devalued piece every 6 months.

I guess that's the way of the world and just the way I think having just turned 55 but hey! At least I'm still enjoying this wonderful life, not much to complain about there.
 
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Bruce. I've had good experience contacting Leica in the past as well. Congrats on the M9! And the 50 Lux! Excellent combo!
 
Thats an interesting insight. I think customer service like that is underestimated by most companies. I have had somewhat similar experience with Apple, and for a couple of the cars I've owned, which also surprised me at the time. I really think the comparatively small cost of this service would assist any mainstream business to build a valuable reputation.
 
I love the fact that you can go to Apple's customer service page, click the button that asks if you want a rep to call you and within 10 seconds of hitting that button, your phone rings!
 
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