At what point should I give up?

[wayne1]

Sean
My thoughts exactly. Hasselblad received a defective batch of circuit boards, perhaps from a partner in China, and I am going through them one at a time in serial number sequence. A point in favor of this model was body#1, which had a completely different problem that was relatively minor...I really should have kept that body but I wanted perfection. Anyway, that body had old firmware that I had to update. The others came with current firmware and clearly came from a different, newer batch. Body#4 will arrive tomorrow, and if the above is correct, the problem may still be there.

Mrkjhn
Going straight to Hasselblad is probably what will finally take place. Still it seems strange to send a new camera for repair! Also I worry a little about this pathway because of the experience described in the thread "after two lemons...etc", where the camera was sent to Hasselblad and they returned it apparently fixed, but the problem immediately returned. Going back and forth with Hasselblad service would be a much more time consuming process than dealing with BH. So far my logic has been that it costs me nothing to replace a body with BH, since they cover shipping costs both ways and the turnaround time for getting a new body is a few days. However if the batch of cameras at BH is large, this would be a long process.

Wayne

[pss]

I would definitely go through hasselblad at this point. whichever camera they will send you will work. maybe they exchange it, maybe they fix it. I am generally a big fan of refurbished products (especially from apple) because it usually means they must have gone though an extra round of quality control and your chances of them actually being perfect are better, key thing still is full warranty.
it seems like there is a bad batch or you are just incredibly unlucky.
BH will just take another box off the shelf and send it to you. Hasselblad will make sure your camera works.

[wayne1]

PSS

In doing this final exchange with BH, I guess I am testing the "incredibly unlucky" vs "bad batch" models. In going to Hasselblad, I hope you are correct in assuming that I will receive a proper body, but I still worry about the experience of another member where the problem was still there after Hasselblad service worked on it (or exchanged, I cannot remember which). Still, the warranty is there and I can send cameras back and forth with Hasselblad at a considerably slower pace, but I think that the end result will be good.
I am tempted to contact somebody in management at BH and see if they have a lot of returns recently...if I am dealing with a bad batch, there must be others unless I am the only one buying!

Wayne

[Georg Kovalcik]

,, Hasselblad service says this is a known problem in some bodies and is not simply an electrical contact issue. They want me to send it in for repair or exchange. Send in a new camera for repair!? No, this is stupid." No this is not stupid. If Hasselblad acknowledges that there is a problem with a certain batch of cameras and they will exchange it then this is definitely the way to go. You get a brand new camera where those problems are (hopefully) solved. As for ,,cleaning" the contacts between lens and body with Deoxit and the like, just don't do it.

[tenmangu81]

As for ,,cleaning" the contacts between lens and body with Deoxit and the like, just don't do it.

I certainly won't do it !

[wayne1]

Well if the last trial fails, I will go the Hasselblad service route. 
What I called "stupid" is the concept that Hasselblad is willing to sell me a camera that needs repair out of the box. Perhaps "reprehensible" is a better word. In the end, maybe I can get a functional body from them and that is all I want at this point, but it does not justify this way of doing business.

[Tigertank10]

I am on my second one and I get the "lens not detected" error message still, despite cleaning the contacts. It is really inexcusable for a very expensive camera. Of all the Japanese cameras that I have had, never have I had one problem. (at least a dozen). If it was a known problem, they should have done a recall like with a car.

[wayne1]

Hi Tiger

Comforting to learn that I am not alone!  I received body#4 today and it seems like a keeper so far. Still, I will wait a day or two before I am sure.  The dreaded "lens not detected" error has not surfaced.
No one should have to go through this to get a good camera.
For me, this is the perfect camera so I am willing to continue. Like you, all of my Nikons, Canons have been perfect out of the box, so why this problem with a "luxury" brand that is noted for quality?

Hope for the best

[wayne1]

Maybe a final update

I spent a few hours with #4 shooting a lot of images with multiple lens changes. So far so good. Now I need to get my approximately $18,000 in refunds for the other 3 bodies. At the end of the day, this was faster for me than going through Hasselblad service. Also the psychology of sending a new camera for service just did not sit well with me.

Wayne

[wayne1]

Final update

Body #4 is solid and BH is processing my refunds for the other 3, as I expected they would.
So I am happy and I really love this camera.

Wayne

[TimWright]

I am having the same problems So I have been talking to HB tech support about the problems with the X1D2 and their only suggestion is to send it and the 135mm lens in so they can repair it/them. I purchased these in January so i took them back to the store where I purchased them. I have been dealing with them for over 20 years and whenever I have had a problem with either my Leica or Fuji cameras I drop them there and they handle the rest. When i went in they informed me that HB has changed their service and that I would have to send the gear in myself. In talking to UPS I found out that to insure and ship it from Canada would cost me close to $1000.00 one way. Now I don't know what to do. Brand new defective equipment and I have to pay that kind of money to have it fixed under warranty.
Suggestions?

[TimWright]

The dealer worked with/for me to get the camera shipped to HB despite the letter from HB that I as the customer had to handle it myself. Today I got an email from them saying that parts are needed from Europe and they don't know how long it will take due to slow downs at the factory etc etc. And oh they said they hoped that I would not be inconvenienced by the delay. WTF! Terrible terrible support. My 4th lens the 80mm just arrived at the dealer but I told them I wont take it till the camera returns from service and I know it works.

[TimWright]

Well they were able to get the required parts , repair it and ship it so cant complain about turn around. I should have it Friday so fingers crossed the problems are solved.

[wayne1]

Tim
Hang in there! It took me a long time as well to get a working body (and one faulty lens), but in the end I am glad I had the patience. There is really nothing else out there to compare.  I wonder how many of us had such problems? I think it cannot be many judging from some of the responses I had early in this thread.

Wayne

[OmDom]

My first X1D, in October 2018, was fundamentally flawed from the start. Multiple fatal problems. After much back and forth with the service people it was decided I would get a free replacement from them (although I had to foot the bill to return the old body). They offered me a refurbished unit but I really felt I should be receiving a brand new one. (Oops, bad choice). What I got was a body that was manufactured well before the original body, based on the serial number, and it too had all kinds of problems. For example, the touch screen was completely unusable. If I was browsing pictures or trying to change settings in the menus it would constantly crash out and return to the main menu. Basically I had to use the scroll wheels to navigate as I could not rely on the touch screen working. I also bought a 45mm lens in 2019 that only worked for about 2 minutes before locking up, but I was able to return that at no charge since it happened on day one. At the end of 2019 I decided to trade it in and get the X1D II. Setting aside the problems, the fact is that the X system has given me pictures that are perfect for my needs from the very start. I am a landscape painter and I am able to retain an unprecedented level of detail and, just as importantly, color fidelity in the pictures. And I amazed that I can pack it with all 4 of my lenses and 1.7x TC and still lift the bag. Obviously I lost a lot of money in the decision to upgrade, but the II has been mostly OK functionally and the pictures continue to provide me with amazing material for my paintings. The bigger problem though was how it undermined my confidence in the system. Every time I picked it up there would be that nagging feeling that this might be the time that it failed. I'm glad to say that this worry is fading with time and that the bottom line is very clear: I would not want to be working with any other camera system.