Red horizontal banding

[photolandscape]

I have an early M8 (serial number just under 2000) that I bought used. I do not know whether it ever went back to Solms or not. I am running the latest firmware.

This weekend I took some shots of a steam-powered lumber mill here in Oregon. Quite a refreshing analog experience in a digital world. The light wasn't great. The mill is under cover, and as I shot across the space I occasionally couldn't avoid getting the darkness or the interior juxtaposed with the brightness outside--huge contrast. I wound up with a couple of light red bands running in line with the top edge of a door frame. I have also run into a couple of issues with green blobs popping up near a brightly lit area along the frame of other pictures.

So, I am wondering if this camera might need a trip to Germany. Does this sound like something that could be achieved via "the fix" that so many users had done to their early M8's, or are these both chronic, fleeting issues that crop up from time to time and can't be helped?

And if I did have to send it to Leica, as the 2nd owner, if "the fix" hasn't already been done, am I entitled to getting it done gratis by Leica, or will I wind up paying for it?

Thanks.

[marknorton]

It would be helpful to see some samples.

The original Solms recall fixed a problem where bright lights on one side of the frame would appear as green ghosts in a mirror image on the other side; a problem of bright lights right at the edge of the frame causing a green streak to the centre of the image is likely never to be fixed; it appears to be a design defect in the sensor.

Anytime you have huge contrast, you run the risk of electrons in the sensor getting where they shouldn't; you can think of the sensor being like 10m buckets of water with a series of pipes and valves to move the water around the place with, eventually, the water from each bucket coming out of a single pipe in sequence. Overfill the buckets and your run the risk of bucket contents getting mixed up; the higher the ISO and the more you push the exposure in PP, the more visible the problems.

It's surprising it works as well as it does.

[jaapv]

It was a manufacturing defect ( missing earth lead) Leica is required by German law to repair it under guarantee. They, I am convinced, will do so without quibble. It would be well worth it to have your camera checked out by Leica anyway.