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DLux 109 only problems?


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It is not fair in my view.  There are many other '109' users who are quite happy with their purchase and probably even more Panasonic LX100 users, equally satisfied with both reliability and image quality that this little camera produces in the right hands.  I know that I am!  :D

Edited by dhsimmonds
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I understand. So you think the LX100 is a better choice? Is it less prone to failures?

I doubt that is less prone to failure, but it is easier to hold as it has a built in handgrip.  The Leica 109 is in the traditional 'retro' Leica camera shape.  Without the Leica accessory hand grip it may be more difficult to hold with more of a potential for dropping and damage I would have thought.  the LX100 is the better choice on a value for money point of view but one has to balance that against the potential increased resale value of Leica badged products.   It is a highly personal decision.   For me always the decision is made on quality of image per dollar spent (or GBP in my case).   Camera handling also plays a huge part in my own camera decisions.

Edited by dhsimmonds
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109 is a fantastic camera if you are not as unlucky as I was! ;)

Really, it is a superb camera and I truly enjoyed using it. I liked everything about this camera; but honestly, I think I had an exceptionally bad luck!... They sold thousands of 109 all over the world; it was only me who had 3 of them in a row with problems. I believe, D-Lux is the victim of its own success! The demand is so high all over the world that in some cases, they couldn't catch up with the quality control!

109 was perfect for my use and I am going to miss it a lot. But after my own bad experience, I gave up because I couldn't feel comfortable with it anymore!... Many, many others are enjoying it without any problem!

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I am on my second D-lux 109, trying to purchase one that works out of the box.  The first one would not power up, returned. Second camera mostly works, except for the flash.  Settings are grayed out in the menu, and won't fire in any mode.  Currently asking dealer to send another flash, hoping it's not the camera.  I also tried my old SF20, no luck.

Has anyone had success reloading one's own firmware? I do not see an update available yet on the 109.  The catch is, I won't register the camera in case of need to return it, and Leica seems to need registration in order to help from their website.  

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Nightowl, why do you want to reload firmware? Try zero-ing all settings to factory issue. Then resume testing with a clean card and fully recharged battery. My copy was bought new in March and has been a superb camera in every way, surpassing my expectation for a model in this range.

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I am on my second D-lux 109, trying to purchase one that works out of the box.  The first one would not power up, returned. Second camera mostly works, except for the flash.  Settings are grayed out in the menu, and won't fire in any mode.  Currently asking dealer to send another flash, hoping it's not the camera.  I also tried my old SF20, no luck.

Has anyone had success reloading one's own firmware? I do not see an update available yet on the 109.  The catch is, I won't register the camera in case of need to return it, and Leica seems to need registration in order to help from their website.  

 

The D-Lux works well with the Pnasonic/Olympus flashes.  If you can access one it would be worth trying to see if it is a failure of the flash unit. The flash provided with the camera is a bit unusual in that it draws power from the camera battery through an extra gold coloured contact in the hot shoe.

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Superb little camera ( LX100). Aside from jpeg rendition the DL 109 is the same camera with the same problems if any. Got two issues with my early copy, out of focus EVF and battery drain. I fixed the EVF by exerting some force on the diopter wheel and battery drain disappeared by itself after a couple hundred shots. Raw files do not pale compared to my Ms and Fuji X-E2. Great lens at all apertures. It is a camera for photographers. Only con is EVF lag. Not the best camera on moving subjects because of that. FWIW.

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Nightowl, why do you want to reload firmware? Try zero-ing all settings to factory issue. Then resume testing with a clean card and fully recharged battery. My copy was bought new in March and has been a superb camera in every way, surpassing my expectation for a model in this range.

I have zeroed settings, without a card installed, full battery.  The flash menu is not available.  

On a normally functioning camera, is the flash menu normally grayed out without the flash attached?

I am in the process of exchanging this one soon, wanting a working model out of the box.

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Upon further reading, I learned that a flash unit must be installed and on to enable the flash setting menu.  The little 109 flash also did not fire in snapshot mode. 

I also did try using an SF20 leica flash unit I had, hot shoe still did not recognize a flash unit.

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The SF20 has the hot shoe contacts for the Leica M and I think the X series cameras. The Panasonic made Leicas like the D-Lux 109 have the Panasonic/Olympus flash system contacts so the SF20 will not be compatible.

I used the SF-20 on my Leica R8, including TTL metering.  The SF-20 does work on the D-lux 109 for manual and aperture mode. Reading that it works with cameras with central X hot-shoe contact.

 

Performed the factory reset to defaults on the 109, and the little camera works now. Thanks wda

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Nightowl, good to hear that you have got your D-Lux working as it should.

 

Most flashes use the centre contact to trigger the flash so will work in manual mode  The other hot shoe contacts control  TTL and communication between flash and camera so are manufacturer specific in operation. The Leica manufactured cameras M, X, R and I expect Q use the traditional Leica pin layout and flash system. The Panasonic manufactured cameras use the Panasonic/Olympus system. Some of the third party flash manufacturers describe some of their models as being compatible with Panasonic/Olympus/Leica when they really mean Pana Leica not the Leica manufactured Leicas.

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Reading this part of the Leica forum I get the impression that the DLux 109 is a camera which only excels with various problems. Is that so? 

For various reasons I've owned three bought since November (last one bought April).

 

No issues. Thing is, often on a forum you only get the serial complainers or those with buyer's remorse who want to justify the reasons for their return.

 

Whether you buy an LX100 or a DL109 is entirely up to you and I seriously doubt there are any differences in terms of quality control. On Leica forums, Leica's quality control is vastly overrated, and Panasonic's quality control is vastly underrated.

 

Personally I've always preferred the ones without the grip, since I can add a less compromised one if I really feel like I need one. And the aesthetics are cleaner on the 109. Warranty is moot unless you count the accidental damage warranty offer by Leica, and it can be more painless getting your stuff fixed / replaced at Leica Stores, but these days there are all sorts of free warranty offers on the LX100 (here now I can get a 5-year warranty thrown in) as well.

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I have the Type 109 and am very pleased with the camera.  As a point of reference, I also have two R8/9 and DMRs as well as an X-Vario.  Previously had D2, Dlux3,4,5,6.  The Type 109 is certainly the best D-Lux thus far and the images do blow up to 16X20 with excellent quality.  I use the Metz 44-AF1 flash, specifically bought for the Type 109 which allows TTL flash with the Type 109.  HOWEVER, you must download the latest version of the Metz flash software to get TTL with the Type 109.  Even though the TTL works with the latest flash software it will not register on the Type 109 menu screen for the flash as TTL; a small issue.  All-in-all a great camera with great images for the money.

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No issues. Thing is, often on a forum you only get the serial complainers or those with buyer's remorse who want to justify the reasons for their return.

I came here looking for information and possible solutions, because I want to keep the Type 109.  As the first camera was a dead in the box, and the current replacement had a minor, but fixable solution, there is a justified concern about quality control.

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Flash does not work in slient mode, might want to try turning that off if you have it on. I learned this the hard way after panicking for a while that the camera is broken. That is why a reset worked. The camera is OK. The manual is terrible, some options don't work but it is hard to figure out why.

 

I came here looking for information and possible solutions, because I want to keep the Type 109.  As the first camera was a dead in the box, and the current replacement had a minor, but fixable solution, there is a justified concern about quality control.

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Just my 5 Cents:

I have my D109 since 1st shipment and had never a problem. Manual focus is good, flash is good, it is silent. 

It has Leica colors and gives great results.

 

When you are able to shoot you get good results - and when you are not able you can write a lot instead

 

 

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