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M8 - "Drive Blocked" "Shutter Fault" Fix?


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I've searched this on the forum and others, same problem but not a lot of answers.

 

Driving cross country and using the M8 as my primary camera. It was performing flawlessly as you would expect then all of a sudden after one photo the shutter didn't reset and I got drive blocked and shutter fault error messages in succession.

 

I removed the lens and took a look inside. The shutter looks closed but there is no white line so I assume that means it didn't reset all the way.

 

After doing some reading from another post I know there is an optic in the camera that reads if the shutter has reset or not. My point being is it possible that the shutter is fine but this optic is malfunctioning?

 

I've already emailed Leica NJ but have yet to get a response. I wanted to see if anyone else possibly fixed this on their own or if it's going to be a wash.

 

*I replaced the previous batteries with fresh ones and the camera was not on continuous and discreet mode at the same time although the latter was engaged by itself.

 

Thanks

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Sorry, when that happened with me it went to Solms. In my case the recocking mechanism/motor had gone fut, your shutter itself is still fine probably.

 

Depending on nr. of shots taken you might still ask for some leniency re. repair price but that is at their discretion.

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You're seeing the shutter in its 'fired' position, not its 'cocked' position.

 

If I remember Mark Norton's instructions accurately, the quickest possible fix is to hit the bottom of the camera hard against the palm of your hand.

 

That might get it functioning again short-term. Even if so, eventually a trip to Leica will be necessary.

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Thanks for the replies. I did give it a firm hello with my hand but that did nothing. Still waiting to hear back from Leica but I'm sure it will be a one way ticket to a six week hiatus when I do. Jaapv if you or anyone else wants to elaborate I'm all ears, I'm pretty handy with a screwdriver.

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The only thing I know is that when it happened on m M8 I sent it to Solms and had it back in three days, no charge and untouched special leather.

 

Later Will van Manen told me that it was a simple matter of removing the bottom plastic cover and clearing the jam.

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Well apparently they don't give M8's a good slap on the bottom like I did for a fix. It needs a full shutter replacement as well as a fix for a vertical line problem I didn't know I had. Glad they caught it though. All to the tune of $625. Oh well, its worth it to have a crisp M8 in my hands. This definitely puts a cramp in purchasing a M9 as I plan on getting every dollars worth in shooting with the "like new" camera.

 

What made my stomach drop was when the nice lady at Leica NJ said it would be 4-5 weeks to get it back due to high demand in the repair department. Anyone else been told that in the last couple weeks and ended up getting it back sooner?

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Usually I would say not much, but given the factors that Leica is a small (relatively) company and the M8 is the first digital M in Leica's history it doesn't worry me so much. It's well know the M8 has the propensity to fail at some point in its lifespan and mine is well worn with over 30,000 actuations so I can't say I'm surprised. I would be going out on a limb in saying that a majority of that demand was in fact M8's, but its not out of the realm of possibility. If I were a M9 owner I might be a little more upset seeing how its supposed to be the standard which all other cameras are measured by in terms of quality.

 

I can only hope it gets back to me quicker and in better condition then I bought it. I'm sure this subject has been debated many times here but how do you feel Chris? I assume you are a Leica owner?

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30,000 actuations and the shutter fails?

 

GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ.

 

I'm keeping away from the M8 i was looking at...

 

Suddenly i'm not mad at my old old D2h that died after 230,000 actuations...

 

Good luck on your repairs.

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If I were a M9 owner I might be a little more upset seeing how its supposed to be the standard which all other cameras are measured by in terms of quality.

how do you feel Chris? I assume you are a Leica owner?

 

I assume they mean repairs in general, but I suspect they mean digital as a majority. I am an M8 owner from new, had the on/off switch fault repaired on my purchase of the upgrades to M8.2 status. The build quality is not up to that of the mechanical cameras, having said that recent MP cameras have been reported with problems from new. The company is stretching itself, my opinion, and pushing to meet demand at the expense of quality. They must not, for long term viability, tarnish the name synonymous with quality by a dash for volume.

My D2H continues to work flawlessly BTW :D

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Thanks, but what can I really do about it you know? Chance I took when buying it (for only 2100). I put on almost 10,000 of those so it the seller didn't knowingly pass on a bad egg. Who knows the one you were looking at could last 300,000 like the one I saw Jaapv reference. Your always taking that chance when buying a M8.

 

Chris- I was also under the assumption they are mostly digital as well. Holding my M6 it hard to see how it could possibly fail unless I dropped it. I do not get the same feeling when holding the M8 only for the fact I know its stuffed to the brim with electronics that could fail at any time for an array of reasons. Funny that the shutter would be the thing that fails though.

 

Your ideas could be right, they are obviously trying to meet demand although the talent level they have obviously is still top notch. I think we would have heard about it if Leica was putting on a employment fair.

 

My opinion is that these are issues with design where the possible mistake was made 2 years before the camera was produced and not on the production line as there are many quality control steps a Leica must go through. A lot of times you will see these type of mistakes as well in jetliner crashes and even the space shuttle Challenger. The O ring that failed was a faulty design that held up 90% of the time but that 10% fault rate proved to be fatal.

 

Ok I'm getting to macabre for a camera forum but you see the point I'm trying to make. I think its more Leica's recent foray in to digital thats the issue. Lots of growing pangs.

Edited by johnloumiles
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Well apparently they don't give M8's a good slap on the bottom like I did for a fix. It needs a full shutter replacement as well as a fix for a vertical line problem I didn't know I had. Glad they caught it though. All to the tune of $625. Oh well, its worth it to have a crisp M8 in my hands. This definitely puts a cramp in purchasing a M9 as I plan on getting every dollars worth in shooting with the "like new" camera.

 

What made my stomach drop was when the nice lady at Leica NJ said it would be 4-5 weeks to get it back due to high demand in the repair department. Anyone else been told that in the last couple weeks and ended up getting it back sooner?

Well, you'll be getting a year's guaranty on the whole camera too.

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That's not what Leica have told me .......... not a warranty on the whole camera. ...... when the shutter repair is done ....... only the shutter is warranted for one year .... no warranty on the rest of the camera.

 

It is not like the upgrade where the whole camera is warranted for one year.

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I think you may have misunderstood. Check with Leica. Since the whole camera is disassembled, it's inspected and brought up to current standards. That's true on any billable repair by Leica. And since the camera is now completely up-to-date, they issue a one-year warranty on the whole thing.

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That is not what they have told me.... and I quote .....

 

" And as every repair we do we give a one year repair warranty, .i.e. whatever happens with the shutter in the next twelve months we do the rectifying works under warranty. "

 

This does not sound like a full camera warranty to me.

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See Michael Reichmann's Stefan Daniel interview introducing the M9 (An Interview with Leica's Stephan Daniel). There did seem to be one person there who was unaware of the policy, which nonetheless has been in effect at Leica for as long as I've known the brand. It has also been covered more than once on the forum.

 

You're right that the quote you gave is confused and ambiguous about the warranty. I can see how you would read it as you did.

Edited by ho_co
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That is not what they have told me.... and I quote .....

 

" And as every repair we do we give a one year repair warranty, .i.e. whatever happens with the shutter in the next twelve months we do the rectifying works under warranty. "

 

This does not sound like a full camera warranty to me.

 

I have a stack of certificates dating back years to prove it is on the whole camera.:)

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