p.5 #1 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
fritzx6 wrote:
Fwiw, I called a leica store in the USA this past week, and they shipped me a battery which arrived in 3 days. I think the more popular Leica shops are just getting crushed by panic stockpiling. I'd recommend trying a shop that isn't Leica Miami or camera west.
p.5 #3 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
chez wrote:
Only way a corporation like Leica will listen is if sales start going down. Vote with your wallets rather than sit on the net complaining. The cost of the batteries is absurd and the shortage is ridiculous.
Won't happen. Leica could charge $15K for a M12, and enthusiasts would still buy it. Leica's niche market and its designation as luxury brand provide Leica a unique market position which no other camera manufacturer has.
Many of Leica's cameras are investment objects - with or without battery......
p.5 #4 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
I have an x-pro2 which is going on 10 years old. The original set of batteries I'd purchased died and i was able to get 3 new 3rd party batteries for about $20 each.
And there are multiple 3rd party options too.
weatherproof wrote:
The Canon 5D classic was released in 2005 -- 20 years ago -- and there are still third-party batteries available for it.
Meanwhile, Leica has added a chip to their battery to prevent any unauthorized parties from making a replacement, and won't partner with other companies despite the shortage.
Digital M-bodies after the M9 will have a longevity problem unless: Leica releases the encryption secret to others, or someone cracks it. Just as the EU forced Apple to switch over to USB-C, one hopes Leica is forced to open up their battery stranglehold after a 10 year monopoly. Are any lawyers shooting Leica? ...Show more →
p.5 #6 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
highdesertmesa wrote:
I'd bet they're more afraid of what it would take to support the camera. Making it and selling it would be the easy part.
In other words, they'd be no worse than Leica to deal with for service?
My guess is the real challenge (and perhaps current pushback) would be the regional distributors. I suspect that Camera Quest and most of the rest would have a rude awakening if they suddenly had to service/support a line of digital cameras. Fully (or mostly) mechanical lenses are something entirely different, and probably easier (especially if most are sub $1K - just replace instead of repair).
That said, the massive, massive vacuum Leica has created by not offering an 'entry level' M sure looks like an opportunity for someone!
Regarding a Chinese entrant to the market: if DJI does go MILC, they're going to be after #1 global market share and won't care about the minuscule digital rangefinder niche. But a company like LLL (if not LLL) is perhaps more likely to make this move.
p.5 #7 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
If DJI or Cosina did make an M mount camera, I would be happy to jump ship from Leica.
Leica’s current business model of screw the customer does not sit well with me. And I’ll still be using my film Ms - M3, M5 etc - from the era when quality and service meant something to Leica.
p.5 #8 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
Desmolicious wrote:
If DJI or Cosina did make an M mount camera, I would be happy to jump ship from Leica.
Leica’s current business model of screw the customer does not sit well with me. And I’ll still be using my film Ms - M3, M5 etc - from the era when quality and service meant something to Leica.
Sadly, I agree with you. I’d rather not, but I do.
I’m as sure as I can be without having hard evidence that the enthusiasts here in FM represent a relatively small proportion of Leica’s market but, in the long run, poor customer service and declining quality never bodes well for any company.
As I said a week or two ago, I think there’s a sea change in attitudes towards Leica. I am no longer inclined to purchase any new Leica kit. I am very happy with my M11 but, if I needed to replace it, I would buy used (possibly M10R) — but would also consider Pixii. I will also continue to enjoy my MP and M3, but it’s probably not a coincidence that all five Leica lenses I own (a) were bought used; and (b) are not current models. I complement older Leica lenses with new CV and ZM lenses, which I regard as being of equal, if not higher, optical quality, only compromising on size and, in some cases, ergonomics.
p.5 #9 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
After looking at AmbientMike's link for the battery chipset, my old supply chain persona became curious whether the availability of the chips were a factor. One version of the chip has a 10 week lead time. The spec sheet for the chip dates back to 2017.
That's 10 weeks just for the chip itself - NOT the entire PCB. There's no info on who makes the PCB. It might be VARTA. It might be a 3rd party supplier to VARTA.
The bottom line is there are opportunities for delays if Leica's supply chain folks are not on the ball.
p.5 #11 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
Timphoto wrote:
After looking at AmbientMike's link for the battery chipset, my old supply chain persona became curious whether the availability of the chips were a factor. One version of the chip has a 10 week lead time. The spec sheet for the chip dates back to 2017.
That's 10 weeks just for the chip itself - NOT the entire PCB. There's no info on who makes the PCB. It might be VARTA. It might be a 3rd party supplier to VARTA.
The bottom line is there are opportunities for delays if Leica's supply chain folks are not on the ball.
I do wonder about that factor but back in 2019 when I was waiting for Leica to replace an M240 battery I had bought in January that year and that had died by May, it took multiple months for that replacement to arrive. Yet, its manufacturing date was 41st week of 2018... meaning it appears there was inventory somewhere, just not at Leica USA. But things could be different with the M10 battery and we just don't have any actual insight why they have been so hard to get.
p.5 #12 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
airfrogusmc wrote:
Leica USA had some M 10 batteries in stock a couple of days ago. I ordered and recieved one yesterday.
It is a bit pathetic on Leica's part that this should be worth posting about. I can still buy a brand-new made-by-Sony battery for my 14-year-old NEX-7 from B&H or elsewhere for $75. I can get an off-brand version for $25. That's because Sony doesn't create a new battery for each new model of camera, thereby keeping the batteries constantly available and fresh.
p.5 #13 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
chiron wrote:
It is a bit pathetic on Leica's part that this should be worth posting about. I can still buy a brand-new made-by-Sony battery for my 14-year-old NEX-7 from B&H or elsewhere for $75. I can get an off-brand version for $25. That's because Sony doesn't create a new battery for each new model of camera, thereby keeping the batteries constantly available and fresh.
Yep, battery shortage is really inexcusable…and like you said, really should not warrant a discussion thread.
p.5 #14 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
For some reason, Hasselbad X2D batteries are also out of stock at B&H, Hasselbad's own site, Capture Integration and others - checked today May 31. Unclear if some common key components are in short supply or this is an outcome of tariff on/off and people preemptively purchasing them.
Irrespective, Leica's battery pricing is outrageous, at least in the USA. X2D batteries seen to have similar form factor and power rating as the SL batteries, give or take some differences that should not result in a large price differential. US Price: X2D battery for $99 and BP-SCL6 for $200+. A big rip-off by Leica IMO.
BP-SCL6 can be had in Hong Kong for about US $160, but it can't be shipped by itself unless ordering a camera.
Edit: similar price rip-off by Leica for BP-SCL6 dual charger ($250+), vs Hasselbad dual charger for $155. The latter is a beautiful industrial design, Leica's is a big ugly plastic thing.
p.5 #15 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
chiron wrote:
It is a bit pathetic on Leica's part that this should be worth posting about. I can still buy a brand-new made-by-Sony battery for my 14-year-old NEX-7 from B&H or elsewhere for $75. I can get an off-brand version for $25. That's because Sony doesn't create a new battery for each new model of camera, thereby keeping the batteries constantly available and fresh.
Thats great if you shoot Sony but there are some that prefer M rangefinders.
p.5 #17 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
Desmolicious wrote:
What is astounding about this is these cameras are dead in the water w/o batteries.
So this should be a critical issue for Leica to address - after all their customers paid thousands of dollars for these cameras.
The way Leica is handling this tells you exactly how they feel about their customers.
That’s why I shoot mechanical film cameras. Even the Mamiya RZ67 defaults to 1/400th without a battery. Mount a Leica 24-90 on a SL2-S and it’s about the same weight too.
p.5 #18 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
airfrogusmc wrote:
Thats great if you shoot Sony but there are some that prefer M rangefinders.
Yes, I know. But do you prefer your rangefinders with or without batteries?
I think you're missing the point of my post, or maybe I wasn't clear--it's about corporate practices in battery choices that have created a significant problem for Leica owners, and the difference between Leica and others in this regard. Because Leica changes its battery design more often, some of their batteries have a relatively short sales cycle in a market that is small to begin with. These batteries are likely to continue to be hard-to-get and to become harder to get without an assertive policy by Leica. Sony's batteries, on the other hand, rarely change between models and so they have a very long sales cycle in a very large market. Thus, it remains easy to get batteries for Sony cameras that are more than 15 years old. Same with Canon, where you can still get batteries for cameras that are 30 years old. Nikon, I don't know about, but I would bet they are the same as Sony and Canon.
p.5 #19 · Leica's Battery Shortage Is Hurting the Brand!
airfrogusmc wrote:
Last time i looked this is Fred's forum and didn't he start this thread?
Sure…but what I’m saying is one should never have to worry about not finding a battery for a camera to the point of needing to start a thread on the topic. Shame on Leica for causing this to become a discussion topic.
