TacTZilla Posted December 18, 2009 Share #1 Posted December 18, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) The Nikon D3 is known as a dust magnet, but the M9 is much worse. I always take great care when changing lenses holding the body face down. I have the lens going on ready to go and the changeover must take no more than 2 seconds. I have changed lenses about 6 times max and I've just been out and taken some shots at F/8 and F/16. I'm gutted. B Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 18, 2009 Posted December 18, 2009 Hi TacTZilla, Take a look here WOW! The M9 is a real dust magnet.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest nafpie Posted December 18, 2009 Share #2 Posted December 18, 2009 I have changed lenses about 6 times max and I've just been out and taken some shots at F/8 and F/16. Have you ever tried to use your lenses wide open? Stefan Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bybrett Posted December 18, 2009 Share #3 Posted December 18, 2009 Have you ever tried to use your lenses wide open? Stefan Good point. Good idea to clean your lenses too, sometimes that's where the dust comes from. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacTZilla Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share #4 Posted December 18, 2009 Yes, most of the time, but I still want to be able to use it stopped down when I need too without the sky being full of detritus. B Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacTZilla Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted December 18, 2009 Good point. Good idea to clean your lenses too, sometimes that's where the dust comes from. Hi Brett. The lenses are brand new and clean. It's your bloody fault I sold my D3 and lenses to get the M9 anyhow. lol .....Thanks to your talk at Digital Splash. B Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgthanos Posted December 18, 2009 Share #6 Posted December 18, 2009 Just a word of caution... When you finally do go to clean your sensor, make sure your battery is at 100%, and not much less. There is a battery level between the lower limit for the function to occur (e.g. when the camera will not allow you to clean the sensor), and when it is completely safe (probably >90%). I would estimate this gray area at 70-80%. At these levels, the shutter will unpredictably close, so if you are cleaning the sensor you will likely damage the shutter, as I did. I've documented this on video and forwarded it to Leica. Incidentally in my case, despite the glitch, Leica stood by their policy of not accepting any warranty claims related to damage cause by cleaning the sensor. They did however give me 50% off on the new shutter with a fast turnaround. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted December 18, 2009 Share #7 Posted December 18, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) The Nikon D3 is known as a dust magnet, but the M9 is much worse. I always take great care when changing lenses holding the body face down. I have the lens going on ready to go and the changeover must take no more than 2 seconds. I have changed lenses about 6 times max and I've just been out and taken some shots at F/8 and F/16. I'm gutted. B The dust was probably already on the sensor if experience with the M8 is anything to go by. You may only have noticed it when you tried shooting stopped down. See if you have the same trouble after having cleaned it a few times, particularly if some of the 'dust' actually turns out to be spots of oil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 18, 2009 Share #8 Posted December 18, 2009 A quick blow with the Rocker Blower about once a fortnight serves to keep my sensor rather clean. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bybrett Posted December 18, 2009 Share #9 Posted December 18, 2009 Hi Brett. The lenses are brand new and clean. It's your bloody fault I sold my D3 and lenses to get the M9 anyhow. lol .....Thanks to your talk at Digital Splash. B Ouch I don't know why but it seems that M's are dusty when they are young, after a couple of dry brush wipes things settle down. I avoid wet wipe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted December 18, 2009 Share #10 Posted December 18, 2009 I suspect that a lot of dust is generated while the camera is still bedding in. I counted a few specks after the first few days (with lots of lens changing) and after that it seems to have settled down. I still haven't cleaned it but if I do stop the lens down beyond f8 the specks start to show. I have no idea if it makes any difference in real terms, but I always switch the camera off between lens changes, and which may account for the small amount of dust after a hectic first few weeks with the M9. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted December 18, 2009 Share #11 Posted December 18, 2009 Your experience is completely counter to mine (with two M9's now and with earlier M8s). Dust hardly figures as a problem and I change lenses fairly frequently. Hugely better than my 5D (5D2 auto clean does seem to work OK though ). 1/ use a sensor loupe (Visible Dust or equivalent) to check the sensor + the chamber 2/ I'd really recommend dry brush system for cleaning the sensor (Visible Dust again). Rare as it is to disagree with Jaap, I don't use a blower inside the chamber - in my experience it just moves things around rather than clearning .. Don't panic! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 18, 2009 Share #12 Posted December 18, 2009 The trick is, Chris, to hold the camera upside down, so that the dust falls out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah_addis Posted December 18, 2009 Share #13 Posted December 18, 2009 Just a word of caution... When you finally do go to clean your sensor, make sure your battery is at 100%, and not much less. There is a battery level between the lower limit for the function to occur (e.g. when the camera will not allow you to clean the sensor), and when it is completely safe (probably >90%). I would estimate this gray area at 70-80%. At these levels, the shutter will unpredictably close, so if you are cleaning the sensor you will likely damage the shutter, as I did. I've documented this on video and forwarded it to Leica. Incidentally in my case, despite the glitch, Leica stood by their policy of not accepting any warranty claims related to damage cause by cleaning the sensor. They did however give me 50% off on the new shutter with a fast turnaround. Wait, let me get this straight...you were cleaning the sensor using the sensor cleaning function of the camera. The camera malfunctioned and the shutter closed when it wasn't supposed to, and this wasn't covered under warranty? I would have expected more from Leica. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted December 18, 2009 Share #14 Posted December 18, 2009 Noah - it is in the manual. Shutter damage caused during sensor cleaning is not covered by the warranty. Without in any way meaning to impugn cgthanos in any way: if Leica receives a camera with a shutter damaged by closing on a foreign object or bent blades due to overaggresive use of a blower, they have no way of knowing how it occurred - competent sensor cleaning, incompetent sensor cleaning (using the "B" mode, or moving the on-off lever to "off" accidentally while cleaning), or even someone sticking something in the camera (collapsed 90mm f/4, Zeiss Hologon) that hit the shutter. They either cover all shutter damage (and the M9 price goes up to $8500 each for everybody) - or they don't cover any shutter damage, even if incurred during sensor cleaning. So they make it clear - Caveat lotor (Washer, beware!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bybrett Posted December 18, 2009 Share #15 Posted December 18, 2009 Your experience is completely counter to mine (with two M9's now and with earlier M8s). Dust hardly figures as a problem and I change lenses fairly frequently. Hugely better than my 5D (5D2 auto clean does seem to work OK though ). 1/ use a sensor loupe (Visible Dust or equivalent) to check the sensor + the chamber 2/ I'd really recommend dry brush system for cleaning the sensor (Visible Dust again). Rare as it is to disagree with Jaap, I don't use a blower inside the chamber - in my experience it just moves things around rather than clearning .. Don't panic! I use Visible Dust / Arctic Butterfly too. It soon becomes simple routine maintenance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noah_addis Posted December 18, 2009 Share #16 Posted December 18, 2009 Noah - it is in the manual. Shutter damage caused during sensor cleaning is not covered by the warranty. ... So they make it clear - Caveat lotor (Washer, beware!) I agree in principle, but if an M9 user follows the directions and uses the sensor-cleaning function, and if that function doesn't work properly, it's hardly the user's fault. I've heard of this premature shutter closing problem before, but I can't remember where. Perhaps it's only happened once or twice. But if there is a known problem that causes the shutter to close early, then any resulting damage should be covered. My one M9 needs a cleaning but now I'm afraid to try it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennB Posted December 18, 2009 Share #17 Posted December 18, 2009 I've read several places that it helps to turn the camera off before changing lenses, the thought being that with camera on the sensor is positively(?) charged and attracts negatively charged dust (or vice-versa). But I'm not sure if the sensor is charged when the camera is "on", or only when the shutter is open, which would render this concept just hooey. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
milyovsky Posted December 19, 2009 Share #18 Posted December 19, 2009 Andy, how did you determine the price of $8500 for the M9 if all shutter repair were to be covered under warranty? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem7 Posted December 19, 2009 Share #19 Posted December 19, 2009 I blow my M9 with a rocket blower every other day or so and it has no dust. I shot some images at F16 yesterday to test for dust and saw one tiny spot. I have been shooting for 2+ months, daily and have no dust. I suggest a rocket blower. I just set my M9 to B mode (as I did with my M8) and blow it out for a few seconds. Contrary to what some believe, this will not harm the sensor nor does it attract more dust due to the charge on the sensor. Works every time and is super quick, super easy. How to clean your digital camera sensor with a rocket blower | STEVE HUFF PHOTOS Btw, I did e-mail Leica and asked them if this was OK and all they said was it had the ability to attract dust due to the charged sensor but again, I have done this at least 600 times on my M8 and M9. No issues, ever. Just a clean sensor! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaques Posted December 19, 2009 Share #20 Posted December 19, 2009 I agree with Noah on this one... I have seen several people mention that the shutter will suddenly close in cleaning mode even with an 80% charge... What will happen when the battery is a bit older? You may think you have a 100% charge but the camera may think different and close the shutter. And does the manual say, "be sure to have a 100% charged battery lest the shutter unexpectedly close on you?". The idea that Leica would have no way of telling how damage occurs in there is also not entirely true. In many cases it will be obvious by the type of damage what caused it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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