Search the Community

This happened to me twice the other day. I switched on the SL with the Vario-Elmarit. No picture could be seen on the screen but there was the virtual horizon moving and the information around the screen including aperture and time, if accurate i do not know. For Sweden it was a nice warm day, 23°C. The camera had been lying in the boot of my ACed car. Switching of, removing the battery did not help until eventually. In a while the fault was repeated. Now the LS seems to be working fine again. This failure I think was due to heated sensor. Have you who use the LS in warmer surroundings had this problem? /Eric

Hello, I hope you are doing well. I just got my Leica M8 with a great condition on the outside. I have noticed a few things on the sensor due to how old the camera is there is some dust which is not an issue for me. The thing I am most concerned, is the two vertical lines I get which look like a sensor issue. It is always in the same place, one of the lines is almost in the middle of the frame which makes it a bit annoying if am honest. It does show up on pictures mainly when I have to underexpose which is almost always. My question is does anyone have had this issue with the sensor? Is this something that will get worse overtime? Even though I love this little camera I can still return it so would you? Attaching a photo that shows one of the sensor lines. Thank you!

I just received a used Leica T body today and while waiting for B&H to ship me the special order of the Novoflex Leica M to T body adapter I decided to order a cheap lens adaptor off of Amazon to use temporarily (and to make sure the camera body is functioning properly). I have a Zeiss 50mm f1.5 sonnar lens so I tried it on with the temp adapter attached to the Leica T body. It turned out that the camera couldn't capture anything. The live display is completely black when I turned it on. I was able to see all the menus on the camera but it seems like the sensor doesn't display any live image. Though I noticed it still measured the light when I pointed the camera to different targets. I was wondering if there's a way to test to see if the camera is working without a lens attached (like shooting an image with the camera sensor directly)? I wasn't sure if the sensor couldn't display any live image on the camera because I don't have the right adaptor or if the camera itself is actually broken. I need to figure this out soon so I could send the camera back if it is really broken. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated!

damit es nicht in den Sensorthreads nicht untergeht. Photoscala hat die Presseaussendung zu Sensorproblematik thematisiert. Dank der zu erwartenden einfühlsamen Leserkommentare wird es Zeit zum Popcorn kaufen. Heute Abend darf dann gelacht werden: Leica regelt Korrosionsproblem auf Kulanzbasis | photoscala

Hallo Forum, ich habe kürzlich meine M9 nach So… nein, nach Wetzlar! eingeschickt, mit einem offensichtlich zerstörten Sensor. Auf den Bildern waren deutliche Kratzer zu sehen, beim Abblenden schärfer als offen. Ich bin davon ausgegangen, dass ich mich beim (vorsichtigen) Reinigen mittels Sensor Swabs schlicht zu blöd angestellt habe und den Sensor verkratzt habe. Anstatt eines satt vierstelligen KVAs kam jedoch nur die Nachricht zurück, der Sensor werde auf Kulanz getauscht. Möglicherweise lag also noch ein anderes Problem vor - ich weiß es wirklich nicht, aber ich war mehr als überrascht. Aufgrund der erwarteten langen Reparaturzeit von 8 Wochen wurde mir alternativ ein Upgrade auf eine M240 angeboten, zu einem durchaus attraktiven (Auf)Preis. Da ich trotz mehr-als-Vollzeitjob auf akademischer Basis nicht unbedingt im Bargeld schwimme und eine Familie zu ernähren habe, überlege ich jetzt schon seit etlichen Tagen, was ich tun soll. Zunächst muss ich die M mal persönlich in die Finger bekommen, einen Ausflug in die große Stadt werde ich wohl nächste Woche in den Terminplan einbauen können. An der M9 wäre halt hübsch, dass Sie mit neuem Sensor zurückkäme, kalibriert, gereinigt und auf meine Objektive abgestimmt, quasi wie neu. Der Verschluss hat auch erst 5.000 Auslösungen hinter sich. Mich würden die Meinungen der Umsteiger von der M9 auf die M interessieren, ob sich ihr Umstieg subjektiv gelohnt hat. Wenn ich den derzeitigen Restwert meiner M9 mit kaputtem Sensor betrachte, ist der Aufpreis auf die neue M gemessen an der UVP ein Schnäppchen, aber in absoluten Zahlen halt doch kein Pappenstiel. Dies gilt um so mehr, als ich zahlreiche der neuen Features bislang nicht vermisst habe: - Den schlimmen M9-Screen habe ich nur zur Iso-Verstellung verwendet und gelegentlich mal einen Blick aufs Histogramm riskiert. - Mehr als einen M9-Akku am Tag habe ich noch nicht leerbekommen. - Liveview ist zwar nett zur Vermeidung von Parallaxe und für die akkurate Ausrichtung, aber ich könnte wohl auch ohne. - Video an einer M brauche und möchte ich nicht. Das Knöpfchen würde ich sofort deaktivieren. Aber das Entscheidende ist doch: Wie steht es mit der Bildqualität? Ist der Umstieg auf den CMOSIS-Sensor ein solcher Quantensprung, dass man dafür soviel Aufpreis auf den Tisch legt, dass man anderswo eine komplette Vollformat-DSLR mit Glas davor bekomme? Oder sind die Unterschiede eher marginaler Natur? Ich würde sicherlich nicht dauerhaft mit ISO 3200 herumlaufen, aber die Option zu haben, finde ich beispielsweise bei meiner X100 schon ganz nett. Butter bei die Fische? Oder lieber die M9 behalten und auf die nächste Generation warten, hoffentlich mit Bildfeldwählhebel, ohne Video und von mir aus auch ohne LCD? ;-) Ich bin für jeden kreativen Vorschlag dankbar. Viele Grüße, Henning

Hallo, nachdem ich mit meiner M9 nun 2 Monate auf einen freundlicherweise kostenlosen Austausch des Sensors warte und von Leica keinen Hinweis bekomme, wann denn nun die neue Charge an M9 Sensoren kommt, wollte ich fragen: Weiss jemand wann die neuen Sensoren kommen und ob man dieses Jahr noch mit der Kamera rechnen kann. Auf der einen Seite finde ich es toll dass Leica zu seinem Wort steht und die Sensoren kostenlos austauscht, gleichzeitig stellt man sich die Frage ob man die Kamera nicht gleich nach Austausch verkaufen sollte, Hat jemand schon den 2ten Austausch des Sensors hinter sich?

Is there some good reason why Leica is not including an automatic dust cleaning feature in their M's? It's a necessary feature on a digital camera. The lack of this vibration/sonic whatever is the deciding factor in my upcoming purchase.

Hi, How can I find whether my M9's sensor has been changed? Thanks

I am trying to clean the dust off my M8.2 sensor, and need some help in locating a couple of stubborn spots. I am using the Pentax cleaning kit (the orange lollipop used at Solms) for the job - and need to focus on a couple of specific areas, and not sure where they are on the the sensor relative to the image. For instance, is the top left corner on the image the top left corner on the sensor or is there an inversion?

Hi, I've just bought my very first leica a few days ago and have been exploring & testing the functions, and reading many of the threads on this forum which has been very helpful. The image quality is wonderful, although I'm still getting used to the focussing. I bought (from 2 different leica dealers) a mint cond. M8 (less than 300 shots taken & the dealer said that the sensor tested fine) & Summicron 28mm f/2 (6 bit). However, I've found marks in some of the images, and am not sure if it is the lens or the sensor, which makes it a little tricky when I bought them from independent dealers. Samples are posted at MobileMe Gallery and these were taken after cleaning the lens with a leica lens cloth. Can anyone determine whether it is the sensor or lens? Also, the white balance was fine until I started playing with it. Now it seems a little inconsistent, giving images a slight blue tinge. The sensor/lens tests shown were taken on white paper, auto white balance, but have turned out very grey. The last image was taken with manual white balance - and certainly better, but still a little grey. Is this something to be concerned about? Thanks, Julie

Good morning all, This is not to complain, nor to suggest Leica is creating inferior products. Just a log of my experience and to welcome any suggestions. I purchased my M9 about 1 year ago and when working, it's great. About 6 months into owning the camera it goes in for service the first time. The reason being the large dial on back was producing erratic results. They replaced it and cleaned the camera. They made no mention of a scratched sensor on the report or to me. The camera came back with a dirty sensor and one of the viewfinder's LED lights no longer working. I decided to live with the faults until I needed to send the camera in again. The second time I sent it in was about 1 month ago. The reason, while in India one of the camera strap mounts came off. No warning, just came off. The piece holding it in with two screws simply came off and the camera drops to the ground, lightly damaging an older 35mm summicron. So I sent in the camera and lens for service. After 2-3 weeks I had to call Leica to find what was going on. They inform me the scratch in the sensor had been there since the first service and is not covered under warranty. 900+ euros to fix. Though the lens was damaged due to the fault from the camera body, Leica will not check it out (for free) as it has been serviced before and apparently by someone else (before I owned the lens). If I want them to check it out it'll cost around 400 euros minimum. They will fix the strap mount though. The camera should be ready in another 3 weeks. This makes for roughly 2 1/2 months of 12 months I've not had camera due to servicing. So while I do love using the camera, I admit I'm regretting the purchase a bit now. European (Swedish) Law says I cannot get a replacement unless the camera is sent in for service 3x with the same problem. Thoughts are welcome!

Today i experienced for the second time that my Monochrom M246 failed to capture an image. It triggered as usual, it indicates the right shutter time in playback mode but nothing was captured/registered in the image. It's just a blank (read black) unexposed picture. I've tried to google this but did not find anything about this problem, that's why i'm trying here. Nothing was captured in the sensor and it's only a black picture with no data recorded at all. Has anyone in this forum experienced something like this?

Hi all, I'm curious if anyone has tried bulb mode with its max 60 sec exposure with their M240? I'm thinking of trying to take snapshots of my vacuum tube amps but I'm wondering if anyone who's tried it have noticed any sensor heat creeping. Is there any concern of heat damage to the sensor? Cheers.

Just picked up the M240 to use as a second, and more reliable body. After having shot 160k+ frames on my M9, the sensor is starting to go (pixel streaks along the right side of the image at ISO 800+). I'm wondering, is it possible to "hack" the M9 body to think it's a MM by replacing the M9 sensor with the MM sensor? Perhaps there's also a firmware update needed as well, so the M9 would pull in the menu options from the MM, specifically the higher ISO. I'm sure someone has considered this and has a POV to share. Thanks!

It is apparent that the circuit board for image processing needs to be replaced in my M8 for about $1000. I have read here that it is soldered to the sensor. Does that mean that the sensor must be replaced as well? Are the two, as a unit, replaced for $1000?

Hi everybody I am exhausted a year and a half ago, i buy my first digital leica, and some lenses, few thousands euros of new equipement after a year, i had to send it to germany cause the letther was going out, it took me 7 weeks to get the camera back... i got it back a month and a half ago, and since some time, I notice a raw of red pixels on every single pictures I shoot, it appears mainly when I shot under, but it's always here I speak with Leica by mail they want me to send back the camera, but I know it will take few weeks, I live in Israel, and these days I have to use professionaly this special camera for assignements Does someone know any software that could help me to fix shooted pictures automaticaly ? thanks for your precious help noam

Hi all! This is my very first post in here and i'm sorry this is pretty annoying for you. Lately, i'm experiencing the same problem as described in this thread: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/223557-help-again-sensor.html So, i'm going to send my M9 back to Solms. I have a question for all of you who, sadly, have experienced the same problem as mine: have i to send also a lens to the Leica customer care, in addition to the camera and the SD card? My question came up after reading the needed accessories on the RBS (battery, battery charger, SD card, lenses resp. camera). Thank you in advance. Enzo

Hello all, I have recently bought a Noctilux ASPH (under warranty), and decided to have it perfectly calibrated and matched with my M9 (out of warranty). So both were sent to Leica Solms. Now Leica's representative tells me that the M9's CCD sensor is misaligned and some repair should be charged. When I ask this person if the misalignment is due to some incorrect tolerance during the M9 assembly, he answers that it is most certainly due to some chock or bad usage like "skiing with the camera" (!). Have you met some similar issues if "sensor misalignment" before ? Was it due to unsifficient tolerance during assembly, bad QC, or some chock (how bad) ? Do you know if a sensor can really move that easily ? The only case I have found was due to bad QC checking : http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/customer-forum/260171-some-thoughts-leica-quality-leica-nj.html Thanks & regards, David

Hello all, I have sent my M9 (out of warranty) and my new Noctilux Asph (under warranty) to Leica Solms in order to have them both calibrated. Now Leica tells me that there is a CCD sensor misalignment, and some repair services have to be charged. When I ask if the misalignement is because of a tolerance issue during the body assembly, Leica representative answers it must be because of a bad usage and a chock, for example "skiing with the camera" (!). Have you heard of sensor alignment issues with the Leica M9 before, and do you think the M9 is so fragile that the sensor can shift ? Or is it a case of bad QC? My black-paint M9 does not have any sign of chock. The only similar case I have found is here, and it seems to be a tolerance/QC issue : http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/customer-forum/260171-some-thoughts-leica-quality-leica-nj.html Thanks and Regards

Sensor dust: I really like my M9P but it is a magnet for sensor dust. With the new M I can imagine it can get even worse with liveview. Any information if there is a dust-removal function? Any ideas how much we will have to deal with dust with this camera? Which brings me to my second question, how is the shutter implemented: Is there no mechanical shutter blade and the sensor is always visible? Is the shutter implemented fully via the COMSIS sensor, or will a blade shutter kick in with very short shutter speeds? According to the website of COMSIS, the sensor itself must have a shutter function as it can take several hundred images per second for the movie function.

Hallo zusammen, vielleicht begehe ich ja einen Dankfehler an dieser Stelle, aber dennoch wage ich es: Wenn ich eine Landschaft mit einem s/w - Film aufgenommen habe, dann setzte ich z.B. einen Orange-Filter ein, um das Himmelblau dunkler zu machen. Dabei wurde auf dem Negativ die Eigenfarbe dunkler und die Komplementärfarbe heller. Im anschließenden Vergrößerungsprozess wurde dann, da das Blau weniger Deckung hatte der Himmel dunkler wiedergegeben. Der Sensor der MM gibt direkt ein Positiv. Dann müsste man eigentlich einen Blaufilter nehmen und das Himmelblau abzudunkeln. Das würde aber für den s/w-Photographen ein Umdenken bedeuten. Oder verhält sich der Sensor wie ein Negativ und wird direkt in der Kamera-Bearbeitung zu einem Positiv umgerechnet? Da keine Farbinformation vorhanden ist müsste hier der Nik-Filter eigentlich auch bei der MM nicht wirksam sein (zumindest ist er das bei meiner M8/M9 nicht, wenn ich s/w-jpgs bearbeite). Gruß Michael

Hi, kann mir jemand zuverlässig Auskunft geben welches die beste "base iso" für die Leica Digilux 3 bezogen auf den Sensor ist? Danke und

Hi everyone, I was cleaning my camera's sensor when I found a thing stuck on the sensor that looked like a scratch. I have tried to remove it but I could not. This morning I took three sample pictures of the sky: f/16, f/11, and f/8. This thing showed up only in the f/16 pic. Would a scratch show up at any aperture setting?! Also, Does anyone have experience with sensor replacement? How much would it cost (USA) ? Thanks !

.. nämlich STMicroelectronics dieser soll laut STMicroelectronics : le géant invisible folgendes entwickelt haben: imho ist "un constructeur allemand de renom" O-Ton , Leica eine Interpretation

Hi, Just discovered the dark side of the Leica sensor issues (cracking etc...). My M9 serial number doesn't seem to be in a batch of bad IR filters: 3977 That being said: has anyone bought Leica's extended warranty for 390 euros? It seems that we have conflicting experiences where some got their unwarrantied cameras serviced for free and others didn't. I bought my camera in april 2011, so I should be out of warranty in about a month. It's a year warranty right? I'd just like to get some opinions on this extended warranty offer and the sensor issues. So far, I had to no problems with my camera... No card problems etc... Maybe froze a couple of times... Thanks!