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Leica R9 not working in cold weather


johnthegasman

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Hi everyone,

anyone know of R9's not taking pictures when the camera is very cold. The electrics all work and when you press the shutter you hear a clonk but the mirror and shutter do not operate, when I take the camera back in the warm it is perfect. I have checked the batteries with an AVO meter and they are reading 3 volts warm or freezing cold.

Any comments or help would be appreciated.

 

Cheers

John.

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Hi everyone,

anyone know of R9's not taking pictures when the camera is very cold. The electrics all work and when you press the shutter you hear a clonk but the mirror and shutter do not operate, when I take the camera back in the warm it is perfect. I have checked the batteries with an AVO meter and they are reading 3 volts warm or freezing cold.

Any comments or help would be appreciated.

 

Cheers

John.

 

Does your AVO have a "battery test" function that tests the batteries "on load". A conventional "off load" voltage measurement can give a misleading almost nominal voltage. I'd swap the batteries for new ones and see what happens.

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Thank you John,

I have had the symptom B4 and changed the batteries for brand new. I was in Bulgaria at Xmas 8 degrees below and the camera did not take pictures, just a clonk no mirror or shutter, I think. When I got back to the UK, more new batteries, the camera was perfect but the temperature was normal! Soon as the temperature drops no pictures!!!

Anyone or John got any ideas, are Leica still servicing R9's?

Cheers

John.

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Thank you John,

I have had the symptom B4 and changed the batteries for brand new. I was in Bulgaria at Xmas 8 degrees below and the camera did not take pictures, just a clonk no mirror or shutter, I think. When I got back to the UK, more new batteries, the camera was perfect but the temperature was normal! Soon as the temperature drops no pictures!!!

Anyone or John got any ideas, are Leica still servicing R9's?

Cheers

John.

 

John, sorry to hear that - I'm afraid I can't think of anything else myself. I'm sure R9s are still being serviced by Leica.

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I can only thing that, if it's not the power source, it must be lubricant getting stiff in cold temperatures.

Pete

 

Yeah, just thinking about that an how a CLA might be in order. If I had an R9, that would be the first thing I would do to make sure it is not the lubricant.

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I shot slide film in -20 C or more last winter with my R9 with no problems. At these kinds of temperatures, especially if it's windy, it's always a good idea to return your camera to your bag as quickly as possible, of course. So if it's not your battery that's playing up, you should probably follow the advice of the other posters and get your camera checked out.

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Hi John!

 

It is interesting to read about your experience. I have seen something similar.

When photographing in temperatures below freezing point with my Leica R9, it happens that the mirror remains in the upper position, and do not return after the picture has been taken.

I also believed at first that it was due to weak batteries.

Gradually I discovered that the switch, which can be turned to lock the mirror in the upper position, was very sensitive.

It must always be very hard pressed towards the normal position.

This has been true from the camera was new; so I actually should have had it repaired by Leica while it was still under warranty.

Now I know, that if the mirror stops in the upper position, still the image has been correctly exposed.

I just press the shutter again to return the mirror.

Irritating, - of course - but it only happens when it is cold, and only occasionally.

 

Regards!

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Hi everyone,

had a real busy day, so only just logged on, thanks to every one that has posted a reply. I will contact Leica in Solms tomorrow and inquire if they do CLA on the R9, if they do and it is reasonable, It will B on its way there! Anyone know of someone in UK that could do it?

Cheers

John.

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Hi,

thanks for all the info, I have contacted Leica who have sent me a shipping label for the return of the R9 it's booked in for a service CLA but until the technician inspects it there is no price. They will give me an estimate after inspection.

I will post the cost for anyone who may interested in sending their Leica R9 to Solms.

 

Cheers

 

John.

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