After my tumultuous journey with the Leica SL2-S, marked by repeated hardware failures and frustrating customer service experiences, I had decided to move on. Prerequisite was to get another full frame camera, as the larger sensors ensure better low light capabilities, greater dynamic range and more depth-of-field-separation (bokeh) when shooting wide open. And I was looking for a camera that is (like the Leica from its design and haptics doubtless also was) a joy to pick up and makes me want to go out and shoot. Only reliable.
Going through all the current full frame models on the market, I quickly set my eyes on a particular model. The brand I knew well from my early DSLR shooting days. These cameras never failed me and were reliable work horses. I knew I needed to look no further. There was a camera I instantly fell in love with. Enter the Nikon Zf – a retro beauty with modern power….and my new baby since a couple of weeks now….
With the Leica finally back in my hands after this long and frustrating ordeal, there was only one decision left to make. And it was an easy one.
I will sell the SL2-S.
Not because I need the money. Not because I lack appreciation for the legacy of the Leica brand. But because I simply cannot trust this camera—or this company—ever again. The repeated failure of the SL2-S, the arrogant and dismissive handling of my case by Leica’s customer service, and the condescending physics lecture that came with my repair invoice have sealed my decision. I refuse to own a camera that I feel the need to constantly second-guess. A camera that, despite its premium price and supposed professional-grade engineering, has failed me twice in critical moments. A camera that has left me with more frustration than joy.
And with that, I will leave Leica behind. For good.
I have been a passionate photographer for years, and in that time, I have used cameras from various brands—Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus—without ever experiencing this level of unreliability and poor service. Those cameras have been true workhorses, tools I could count on no matter the conditions. I never had to worry about them suddenly failing in the middle of a vacation, a client shoot, or an important moment. I never had to brace myself for a repair saga that dragged on for months, only to be met with corporate gaslighting.
Leica likes to present itself as a brand of excellence, a brand built on heritage, craftsmanship, and a close relationship with its customers. My experience has been the exact opposite. What I’ve encountered is a company that refuses to take responsibility for repeated hardware failures, treats its customers with skepticism rather than support, and hides behind technical jargon instead of standing behind the reliability of its products.
The SL2-S is now repaired, but I will never put my trust in it again. And I will certainly never buy another Leica camera. Some brands earn their reputation. Others merely trade on nostalgia while failing to live up to it.
Leica, for me, belongs firmly in the latter category. And this is the end of my journey with Leica.
The last picture I took with my Leica SL2-S is not a pretty one. After working flawlessly at the start of our summer vacation in Brittany last August, my expensive premium German mirrorless full frame camera, from one exposure to the next, started behaving strangely again, giving me the shivers when I noticed. Because it was exact the same behavior the SL2-S showed before failing me at the second day of our Israel vacation in 2022, when the camera was brand new. With a defect of the electronic shutter. You can read about my frustrations with Leica and its customer service back then here and here.
The camera was fixed, but I never used it with the same confidence as my Nikons, Fujis and Olympus cameras. There was always a bad feeling. That it could fail me again. From one moment to the other, as before. So when on vacation, or on a photography gig, I always felt I had to carry a second camera as a backup. This is why in France I also had my trusted workhorse Olympus OM-D E-M1X with me. Which was good. Because it has happened again. The exact same error. The Leica failed me – AGAIN!
But at least I got a free physics lesson out of it. The rest was expensive….
For the full saga between me and the Leica customer service in the past 4 months following the renewed hardware failure, continue after the jump….
No, the world will not end tomorrow. Also the reaper is (hopefully) not looking over my shoulder. Nothing nearly as dramatic. But there is change ahead, after (yet another) big emotional disappointment. I’m really loyal to the brands I use. But there are limits. And I don’t like to be taken for a fool. So the end is near.
Image taken with the Leica SL2-S and the Vario-Elmarit-SL 1:2.8/24-70 ASPH. Post-processing in Lightroom Classic.
Two girls taking a break in a Nuremberg coffee shop, or rather in the window of the coffee shop. Ignorant of the fact that they might be an attractive motive to the passing street photographer. Only that the photographer was by no means attracted by the human patrons of the Cafe. It was the rather hidden subject that did catch his eye. You see it looking over the edge ? This is why I love street photography.
Taken with the the Leica SL2-S and the Leica Vario Elmarit F/2.8 24-70 ASPH. Postprocessing with Adobe Lightroom Classic.
If you are looking for tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center.
We have made it to the festive season . It is supposed to be the “silent season,” a time of quiet reflection and anticipation preceding Christmas. But we all know that Advent is rather the most busiest time of the year. For sure also for The Significant Other and myself. But to get in the mood, at least photographically, I grabbed the Leica and headed into town for some monochrome street photography on Nuremberg’s famous Christkindlesmarket on the historic main square in the Old Town. Click below to see the the rest of the day’s images…
Are you ready for the creepiest night of the year? Ready to give anyone ringing at your door for some trick or treating a good scare? Say Boo!
Unlike last year’s Halloween, when we enjoyed a late night ghost tour through Genoa’s historic center, we’ll most likely spend the evening at home. Maybe I can convince The Significant Other to watch a good horror movie. Knowing her for the good part of 37 years, there is not much chance of success 😉
Click below if you are in the mood for some visual halloween treats I’ve captured over the past years.
To add to my last post, here is more curly hair. Once more taken with the Leica SL2-S with the Vario Elmarit F/2.8 24-70 ASPH. Jpg out of camera (taken with the Leica’s high contrast monochrome profile). Have I mentioned before how awesome the Leica plays with the light?
After one of my last post the question came up whether I ask people in the streets whether I can take their photo. The honest answer is not always. But often enough. I wrote about it in my post “A Street Photographers Dialogue”.
If you are looking for more tips and inspirations around street photography, check out my free Learning Center.
It’s been super busy these past weeks, mainly due to the job that pays the bills. Not much time to take a camera for a spin, and neither time to write about it on these pages. But with things slowly getting back to normal, let me share the results of some recent photographic outings I managed to squeeze in none less. Like these couple of black & white images from a day trip to Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli we did the other week while spending time at our “south” home in Genoa. Continue after the jump for some history and photographs of this 13th century marble magic …
This was what I carried in my Lowepro Passport Sling for a week of street- and travel-photography in Seville. Besides my Leica SL2-S and the Vario-Elmarit-SL 1:2.8/24-70 ASPH standard zoom I brought two additional primes: The TTArtisan 50mm .95 M-Mount (with a Novoflex M to L adapter) “Nifty Fifty” and as telephoto lens a vintage (Made in the GDR) Pentacon auto 2.8 / 135mm MC (with Novoflex M42 to L adapter). Add a spare battery, my cleaning kit and a few of my Street Photographer’s Business Cards. To find out which lens never made it onto the camera and why I didn’t carry a backup-body im my Seville camera bag, continue after the jump….
All good comes to an end eventually. The Significant Other and I are sitting at our departure gate at Seville airport for our return flight after a great week in Andalusia. But there is still time to share a few street photographs from last night, taken with the Leica SL2-S and the TTArtisan 50mm .95 prime lens, attached via adapter to the L-Mount Leica SL2-S. Continue after the jump for some impression from a night in Sevilla.…
Finally an image in the familiar 3×2 full frame aspect ratio. The Leica is back. Fixed and cleaned. And I got a free new battery with it (100$ retail value). I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. Probably both. Glad to have the camera back. Because the SL2-S can do things for me that my other cameras can’t do. Like shooting with manual M-Mount lenses with a 0.95 aperture. On the other hand I’m still disappointed by their service and handling of the matter, after my brand new Leica failed me 3 days into our Israel trip with a mechanical shutter defect. I picked it up yesterday and took it for a spin around the Old Town, shooting with the beautiful TTArtisan 50mm .95 lens.
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