How the Aga and hairdryer revived M8

[eudemian]

I still don't believe it. Went down this morning expecting a non response from the M8 on its warm bed next to the Aga. Put the battery in, loaded a card, put a lens on. No joy, but then I switched it on and off several times and it now works, the shutter fires.

How happy am I? Thank you for all the advice and encouragement, sorry to have taken up so much bandwidth with my woes.

I am elated that the camera now functions (everything seems fine as far as I have tested) and hopefully this water glitch/fault line will never trouble me again. My pockets will nowbe bulging with purloined shower caps, plastic bags the lot.

This whole episode leaves me with mixed feelings. Yes the camera came back so it has resilience, but should it have packed up in light rain like it did? Finally, do Leica understand the trauma they put us through? Joking apart I have spent a miserable couple of days. Still, as long as it keeps shooting I suppose I will forgive and forget.

Now the problem is, do I still need a second camera?????????????

[marknorton]

Good news, and I did encourage you to work the function switch and shutter dials to assist the process! If I were you, I'd keep the camera on the Aga for several days yet.

As for whether the camera should have been more resistant to wet, the answer is yes of course. Sean Reid's very first review of the M8 questioned the weather-proofing and I think it's the mode switch which needs it most.

[pgk]

You might like to take a look at:

http://www.dampire.com/

They supply large silica gel filled bags which will help to extract moisture - I use them in my camera store - but they might be worth putting into a plastic box with the opened camera (base and cap off) to extract any remaining water. I find them useful in any case as insurance against fungus etc, with a damp camera or lens.

[jaapv]

A soft release button will seal the hole for the cable release, which imo is the main problem area.

You might wat to look at this: The EWA-Marine C-35

[guy_mancuso]

Well Tom my idea on the hairdryer looks like it woke it up. Great news for you and your camera. Keep it dry for a couple days to finish it up with curing but I would go out and shoot about a hundred frames of nothing just to get it warmed up . Just do single mode and stay away from buffer.

[Dan States]

Congratulations and post a picture of an Aga so I can picture this storied British (?) device! I keep thinking you misspelled AGFA!

Best wishes!
Dan

[guy_mancuso]

Yes I have never seen one myself. Love to see what this looks like.

[Speenth]

Originally Posted by Dan States

Congratulations and post a picture of an Aga so I can picture this storied British (?) device! I keep thinking you misspelled AGFA!

Best wishes!
Dan

Hi' Dan and Guy,

Go here: Aga . The Aga is the Leica of cookers - no compromise, beautifully put together and very expensive, both to buy and to run. But, they make an English country kitchen a great and cosy place to be (an Aga that is, not a Leica).

They're so heavy that when I rebuilt the kitchen in my old farm cottage in Suffolk a concrete plinth had to be built into the ground below the house to be sure the cooker would'nt disappear through the floor!

They last absolutely for ever and people tend to like the old ones more, the older, the better (the Leica analogy is duly reinforced)!

Steve'

[Shootist]

That's one of those stoves that never get turned off, IE it is always on waisting energy!

[asmith]

The Aga is a solid fuel cooker - originally Swedish, I believe. They were available in the USA: thereis one in the kitchen of Frank LLoyd Wright's Fallingwater.
Alwyn

[Speenth]

Originally Posted by Shootist

That's one of those stoves that never get turned off, IE it is always on waisting energy!

Used to be the case, but not any more - technology interferes in everything these days - digital Leicas and gas and electric Agas - whatever next! Soon someone is going to invent a replacement for the typewriter ...

(That said, an Aga is still no paragon of green virtue - despite its green wellie credentials)!

By the way, mine also provides all my central heating. One 'oven' chamber is a warming cabinet, fantastic for bread (or for prepping your gloves before venturing out on a cold morning). Its long handrail is perfect for drying towels, socks, camera bags etc. The dog has territorial dominance of the lower parts of its massive cast iron body and the teapot is permanently warming on the top. As we have seen, parts of the top surface (all of which are designed to retain different temperatures over long periods) are specifically designed to be at the perfect temperature for drying Leica cameras. They are the ultimate life accessory (apart from a Leica of course).

[Nick De Marco]

Agas are fantastic cookers and very well made. I wish I had one but I have no gas in my flat so it would be useless. Here is their website with lots of sexy AGAs.

Aga

They have a bit of a posh 'designer' must have reputation here which is why I thought the "How the Aga failed to revive the M8" title was meant to be ironic when I first read it.

[guy_mancuso]

Okay I have seen them . Man are they nice looking

[marknorton]

I have one, and wouldn't be without it.

[pgk]

Years ago, in another house, we had an AGA - and a Siamese cat. The cat would sit on top of the ('warm') AGA and every so often it would lift a foot into the air to let it cool - in rotation. It had to get unbearably hot before the cat would actually get off though.The same cat used to have permanently singed whiskers too, from trying to thieve food off the cooker!

Back on topic.... Its worth drying any camera or lens thoroughly after using it in the wet as fungus can be a real problem if stuff is put away damp - hence my post about the Dryzone items. It might be handy to post details of useful products (although not neccessarily photographic), as they can be difficult to come across/remember when needed.

[WPalank]

Makes my Viking look like a worn out brown shoe!

[guy_mancuso]

Exactly where is my sledge hammer i am going inside and beating the heck out of my Viking ovens. LOL

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by jaapv

A soft release button will seal the hole for the cable release, which imo is the main problem area.

You might wat to look at this: The EWA-Marine C-35

I saw the shutter release mechanics apart when I was having mine worked on to smooth it out. The hole for the cable release is sealed below with a washer unless you use a cable release and then anything that fell in the hole before falls into the camera. The area around the silver shutter button lets anything in all the time. Also the ring that is part of the power switch is not sealed especially on the top gap. That is how I remember it.
Dan