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Strange behavior on a (semi) new type 240... normal?


Kirill

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2 months ago I bought into the Leica system - got a type 240 m-p and an apo-summicron 50mm from a certain online dealer (rhymes with hot dash). The camera was advertised "used MINT" and came with a 2-year warranty as did the lens (3 year passport warranty).  They items were brand spanking new and (after a learning curve and getting an Olympus EVF), I was off to taking some ridiculous quality pictures (technically speaking that is) ... so far so good.  

 

Until last weekend, that is, when I went to Miami and spent some time on the beach.  Took my camera with me, in a bag, and kept it in the shade the whole time. Started taking some pictures with the Live View on (using the EVF) and then something happened.  The exposure lock dot (top of the screen, the little dot to the right of the ISO) started to go off continuously (without me pressing on the shutter button).  It would still take pictures, but the brightness of the EVF picture was going back and forth - becoming dark momentarily and then normal again, over and over.  The picture preview, after taking a picture, would only show up for a second, then it would default back to the live view again (not the normal 3 seconds).  Also, when I tried going into the menus (Menu and Set), it would kick me back into the live view again right away.  So I came back to my hotel, took a nap, changed and went to dinner (a good couple of hours) while taking the camera with me.  The same problem kept occurring. To my surprise, the next morning the camera was working as expected.  

 

I took a long distance drive that day and the camera was in the car (probably a somewhat warm environment, although the AC was on the whole time) and tried using the camera that evening.  The problem came back... The next morning (today), the problem is gone again. I called Leica NJ office today and the tech support guy told me to reset it. It seems to be working, at least for now.  The camera is on 2.0.2.5 firmware.  Is this normal or a sign of a potential serious problem? Has anyone experienced this before? Could this be due to the heat exposure?  

 

P.S. Now, also to complain a little, it is somewhat disappointing (that after spending a sum that would purchase a small car or a kidney in some parts of the world), the camera would give me technical problems less than 2 months after purchase.  I also have a 10 year old entry level Nikon dSLR that never gave me any issues and could probably be used to drive nails into dry wall.  The pictures are closer to an iPhone in quality compared to my Leica, but it has been bulletproof in its operation.  If this issue would require me sending the camera in, I can live with that.  Thankfully, my livelihood does not depend on using the camera.  

 

Thanks and sorry for the rant

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Welcome to the forum.

 

Sorry to read of your experience so far.

 

Might I suggest the following:

 

1.  FW 2.0.2.5 is backlevel.  You might consider upgrading to the current level 2.0.3.0

     However you must read and follow the installation instructions for 2.0.3.0

 

2. Perform a in camera reset, as instructed in the menus.

 

3. Attempt to get familiar with using the camera in its originally intended form, ie use the OVF and avoid attaching the EVF until you have confirmed a reliable working scenario.

 

Sometime later, you can venture into the idiosyncrasies of the EVF.

 

regards

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I suggest you not to use the Olympus EVF until the camera is working correctly. The Olympus EVF sometimes give a little problem that makes the M240 kind of going nuts. I tried that before. Using the Leica EVF seems fine. But I would suggest to just use the M-P 240 for a while without the EVF. That is After you had updated the firmware. When things are working right, then you can try the Olympus EVF again. Then you will know. When I was using the Olympus EVF (I happened to have one) with the M-P 240 at one time it generated lines in the EVF. Seems like crashing the programs in the Camera. For peace of mind, send the camera to Leica repair to check that out. 

I hope everything turns out OK for you. These cameras are very good when working well.

 

Regards,

Kingson

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The symptoms may imply a problem with one of the switches in the shutter release. If a contact was temporarily stuck, it would explain both the exposure lock and the disappearance of the menu from the display. 

 

If you are sure that nothing touched the  shutter release and that there is no "soft release" button screwed into it, sending it in would seem to be the solution.

 

The Leica EVF and the Olympus one are identical but for the label. Both were made by Epson, BTW.

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The only major issue with the EVF, apart from its low resolution and small size of screen is that using it appears to increase the incidence of camera lock ups. I don't think I have ever had a lock up when the EVF is not mounted or I was using live view. 

 

The other thing I would check is whether the contacts on the shoe and the EVF are clean. A lint free cloth and iso propyl alcohol are the best solutions. Do not buy IPA from a pharmacy as this is often only 70% and can contain things like hand softener. An electronics components store is the best source as it is used for cleaning PCB's before mounting the components and soldering. 

 

As Philipp says, the shutter switch can suffer from problems, if someone has tried to use one of the old Leica remote releases. This only screws in with about half a turn, as Leica in their wisdom, changed the thread pitch and angle from about 2012. The release is easily then knocked off the camera, with a small bit of the brass tapered thread snapping off. This then drops into the shutter mechanism. The entire shutter release has to be replaced. 

 

Wilson

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The only major issue with the EVF, apart from its low resolution and small size of screen is that using it appears to increase the incidence of camera lock ups. I don't think I have ever had a lock up when the EVF is not mounted or I was using live view. 

 

The other thing I would check is whether the contacts on the shoe and the EVF are clean. A lint free cloth and iso propyl alcohol are the best solutions. Do not buy IPA from a pharmacy as this is often only 70% and can contain things like hand softener. An electronics components store is the best source as it is used for cleaning PCB's before mounting the components and soldering. 

 

As Philipp says, the shutter switch can suffer from problems, if someone has tried to use one of the old Leica remote releases. This only screws in with about half a turn, as Leica in their wisdom, changed the thread pitch and angle from about 2012. The release is easily then knocked off the camera, with a small bit of the brass tapered thread snapping off. This then drops into the shutter mechanism. The entire shutter release has to be replaced. 

 

Wilson

I should say that the problem kept happening despite disconnecting the EVF, removing and reinserting the battery and turning the camera on/off.  My gut feeling is that there might be something wrong with the shutter or the exposure sensor... will wait to see if it happens again.  Thanks

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