I wanted to formally thank Leica for their studio event at Photo Plus Expo in NYC last week. Leica and their staff are to be commended.
Leica offered a reception on Wednesday night with photography by E J Camp prominently displayed (as large as 108″ x 60″) in the studio. E J Camp was very personable and easy to talk to regarding her work and process from conception to print. On Thursday and Friday, Leica offered a studio shoot with Playboy photographer Jarmo Pohjaniemi offering advice and beautiful model/person Mary Alejo. The set, lighting, camera, computer, printer, and model were all provided. All one had to do was show up and make some images. It was a lot of fun and I came away with some nice printed images from the shoot thanks to Illford and Fotocare who were also represented at the studio.
Best, but not least, was the opportunity to have one-on-one discussions with the Leica product managers from Germany. These guys are super nice and very much interested in what we as users have to say about their products. It was refreshing to discuss some of my ideas for S2 firmware improvements with them and learn that they have been thinking about them as well and in most cases even better ideas on how to implement them. They couldn’t commit as to when or if we would ever see these ideas in future firmware, but nevertheless it was encouraging to realize these guys are photographers too and, ultimately, want the same things we want.
A special thank you goes out to the American Leica contingent (e.g., Kelsey, Jim, Christian, etc.) for the hard work in making the studio event happen.
Finally, I want to include a photo of the NYC skyline taken from Brooklyn last Friday. It was a pleasure to venture out with my new friends from Leica to make this photo.
Mark,
I agree with you that Leica has taken a great deal of time and effort in order to connect with it’s customer base. I do not ever recall other brands letting their engineers and product managers interact with their customers. Mostly you see the sales force and marketing managers spinning the information. It takes a lot of guts and trust in your users that what they say really means something.-Al
Mark,
A beautiful shot! Nice work with the colours. It’s interesting how the combination of pollution and overhead cloud can produce those browns in the sky — we see it here occasionally but not often.
Thank you David. This was a long exposure of 45 seconds which helped smooth out the water as well. The clouds were low and reflecting the city lights (e.g, sodium vapor).
I’m perplexed by this thread. Why are the customers thanking the vendor? In my experience the vendor thanks the customer. S2 customers are a very tiny segment of the camera market and they are to be valued highly.
As far as i am concerned the S2 is, for me, the best camera that I have ever owned and I am pleased that it exists and that I can buy it. However, if there were not other people with similar sentiments and resources there would be no market. Leica was simply acting in its best interest by hosting this event.
S2 customer service is not good. It is, in my experience, lacking in comparison to the service and tech support that I have obtained for my M cameras.
I get tech support from Josh Lehrer at Dale, not from Leica and I am very worried should I experience a hard failure with any part of my S2 system.
Jack, thank you for the kind words. I recognize how important expedient and efficient service is to S2 owners, so I will always do whatever it takes to get the job done.
RGK, Leica relies on its Leica S-Professional dealers for primary S2 support. My experience with Leica S service has been excellent in regard to commitment to the warranty, turnaround time, and addressing any other issues that David or myself might not be equipped to handle.
Anyone involved with the Leica S-system knows that they can come to David or me anytime and we will always answer any questions they may have. We have an excellent relationship with Leica, so on the off chance there is an S-related question that we cannot answer, a quick phone call to Leica, or an email directly to Germany if necessary, will get us the needed answer.
Leica cares very much about their S2 owners, which is why they had the product managers from Germany directly available to anyone who stopped by the Leica Studio in New York last week. They are very receptive to user feedback and are always willing to listen.
rgk, I don’t understand why you are perplexed. I was simply thanking Leica for a job well done. I appreciated their efforts and felt compelled to thank them for their hard work in putting on the studio event. They went out of their way to provide current and prospective customers with a venue where they could use their products in a controlled environment with recognized experts and, more importantly, provide an opportunity to talk directly with the product managers from Leica Germany. For me, the interaction with the Leica personnel was invaluable. It was much more personal and direct than anything I have experienced from any other vendor. I felt as if Leica truly appreciated me as a customer and were genuinely interested in my comments as a user. The studio event would have been the perfect opportunity for you discuss your concerns about S2 customer service directly with those responsible. My experience with S2 customer service has been very good.
While one may expect a company to put on an event of this nature, that is not to say one should take it for granted. You rightfully state that Leica was simply acting in its best interest in hosting this event. I would add that they were also acting in my best interest as well (as an S2 owner) by working to expand the S2 customer base and listening to customer feedback. It’s all good.
Josh Lehrer and David Farkas at Dale Photo and Digital are excellent and know Leica products extremely well. They’re my go to dealer for a few years now.
rgk;1177 wrote:
S2 customer service is not good. It is, in my experience, lacking in comparison to the service and tech support that I have obtained for my M cameras.I get tech support from Josh Lehrer at Dale, not from Leica and I am very worried should I experience a hard failure with any part of my S2 system.
This does not reflect my experience with S2 customer service. I’ve had several occasions to interact with them and have found them to be courteous, responsive, professional and prompt…taking into consideration the fact that the camera/lens must travel back and forth to Germany, customs, etc. I would go so far as to say that they made an extra effort to make me feel that I was part of a special group that was important to them. And that applies to both David and Josh as well. It may be a sign of the times when some of us express appreciation for good service even though it is warranted.
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