I have just purchased the S2 body + 70mm lens from an European dealer named Foto Konijnenberg from Holland. I purchased the set through a person named Remco Konijnenberg whom I assume is the business owner, his title is the Managing Director of the company.
I placed the order on 2nd March and received the set on 9th March. Initially, everything was efficient – Remco and I had about 10 email exchanges within 2 hours to confirm the transaction and delivery logistics BUT things started to fall off very quickly when on my third day of shooting the camera, I discovered 2 of the files (out of 70 photos) had strange orange line (very much the same as the other forum member Arif had previously) and immediately I notified Remco about this issue but the one and only email I received from him was “What do you expect me to do”?
Since then, I have written him number of emails and have requested that I should be entitled to either a) return and refund b) a replacement body.
Unfortunately, Remco has disappeared from the face of the earth and since the ‘What do you expect me to do’ email, I haven’t heard from him at all? How would anyone feel if he/she just poured down the hard earned >US$20K and in return received a faulty camera yet at the same time, the dealer simply chose to walk away because they think they could?
I want to sound this out to anyone who is considering buying from an offshore dealer that they really need to watch out who they deal with. I do not want anyone to go through the same experience as I did.
For the time being, I suppose the last and only thing I can do is to deal/ work with Solm to rectify the situation.
Of the 100 photos I have taken so far, I just love them (fyi, I am also an M9 user and I have extensively tested other options such as the IQ180 and H4D50 before choosing the S2) and I’d really would like to stick with the S system but this mishaps that I have and the dealer walking away just doesn’t make this situation pleasant.
BTW, I’d like to thank Dale Photo, I have pretty much gone through all the posts and videos before choosing the S2.
Norman
I’m very sorry Norman to hear of your concerns regarding the overseas dealer, I hope that Leica will address your issues directly & concisely! do you have the Platinum service option?
I too am considering buying a Leica S2P (demo model) from a foreign dealer as this will save me $15,000 NZD :p
Can I assume that because I’m buying the bundled Platinum Warranty from a reputable US Dealer I do not have to worry about any issues similar to poor Norman?
I’m assuming should I need servicing I can just go to my local Leica distributor (Lacklands) and show them the Platinum warranty for support? or am I being rather naive :confused:
Any help/advice would be deeply appreciated 😎
P.S. Apologies Norman didn’t mean to hijack your thread 😮
Is Remco Konijnenberg an authorized Leica dealer? If he is, there should be no problem. Did you get a warranty card?
Norman, I would go to your next real local Leica Dealer and let him handle the stuff with Solms directly. Get rid of Konjinenberg, forget about them. Solms will fix your problem and you start establishing a relationship with a real Leica Dealer where you will buy your next lens. So both parties will benefit. 😉
You should talk to Andrea Frankl at Leica Solms, and probably forward all correspondance you have had with the dealer to her (after speaking with her, of course). Leica will take care of you. I deal mostly with them directly, as I am in a country without an experience S line dealer. They are easy and helpful to deal with. Their reputation rides on how the dealers represent them, and if the dealer is responding with things like “What do you want me to do about it?”, that is totally off the radar for what an S-line dealer is supposed to be like! That said, I doubt they are an S-line dealer if they are acting like that…they probably obtained the camera through a distributor or another source and sold it on to you.
The good news is that the line in your sensor is usually not difficult to fix, and Eric Chan wrote a program that should take care of any images already affected (it is posted on this forum somewhere…).
Thank you everyone for your kind advice. I have taken the matter to Solm and they have responded and sent me 2 map files (dsp & nch) which I will install and do a further testing later today.
Rewi – I am only a causal shooter and therefore did not spend the extra money for the platinum service but I assume if it is from a reputable dealer, that should be ok BUT does that mean you have to send the camera in from NZ to US to get a replacement in case something goes wrong?
rgk – Regarding Konijnenberg, they claimed to be the largest in Holland BUT judging from their recent behavior/ response, I will never ever buy any item from this company. It is an insult when they replied ‘What do you expect me to do?”
Pete – I have already purchase the 120 & 180 and currently waiting for the 30mm to show up 🙂
Stuart – thank you. Eric’s program is for Mac only. Anyhow, Solm has sent me the files to be installed onto the camera so will see.
Happy Shooting!
I’m glad for you that you are getting the problem sorted out with Leica. You would probably be best served by purchasing the premium service contract that extends your warranty out another year. Here in the US the premium warranty is much less expensive than the Platinum warranty.
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