M9 Firmware Update - When and what may we expect?

[leffe]

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When do you expect a firmware update for the M9 and what do you expect of it?

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[jaapv]

Let's use the camera for a bit first

[Bo_Lorentzen]

Shoot, I just want my camera delivered, have not worried about firmware updates quite yet.

 

.

[Pointcolville]

1) Image preview currently randomizes on occasion rather than playing the photo just taken.

2) Occasional black frame

 

I'll settle for fixes at this point

 

Wouldn't mind a simple B&W battery and shots remaining screen that can be turned way down, rather than the bright, gaudy screen that comes up when "info" is pressed.

[wlaidlaw]

I think the camera is remarkably good for what is in effect, only version 1½ of the firmware. What I think we need is some work from the DNG processor programmers (Adobe and Phase One) on an improved and wider range of profiles. At the moment it is one size fits all. I know people like Jamie and others have been slaving away and doing profiles for us but I would like to see a series of profiles from the software originators. Not least to have film emulsion emulators (Kodachrome, Portra, Tri-X etc). I know, I know, I should be writing them myself but I find I have left my Monaco Optix puck down in France, so at the moment, I can't even calibrate my screens.

 

Wilson

[wattsy]

I wouldn't mind a wee bit more speed when it comes to chimping a preview (especially when zooming in to check focus). Otherwise, I'm quite happy with it as it stands.

[adli]

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I would love to see a firmware upgrade delivered at my door, with a camera wrapped around it

[hatam]

Overall I love my M9, but there are some items that need to be addressed in the next firmware update:

 

SD card compatibility and speed

There are still too many issues with cards not being compatible, and not taking advantage of faster cards on the market.

 

 

Speed of rendering image on LCD during playback

There's too long of a delay to see the image on the LCD. The first image that shows up is too pixelated, and the delay while waiting for the refined version is too long.

 

 

6-bit coding should over-ride manual lens setting

When the camera is set to manual lens selection (for a lens that is not 6-bit coding), and then you changes lenses and put a 6-bit coded lens back on the camera (without setting the camera back to "Automatic lens detection"), the camera should recognize that the lens is 6-bit coding, and use that information to over-ride the current manual setting. It is far too easy to forget to set back to Automatic, and have incorrect lens corrections applied to the image. I had my camera set to manual - 90 Elmarit, and then shot a few dozen images with the WATE - the camera stayed on manual setting for 90 Elmarit, which produced images with bad corners.

 

 

ISO display in info screen

When you push the info button to see battery / SD card status on the LCD, it should also show the current ISO setting. This saves time from having to also press the ISO button to see your current setting.

 

 

Ability to disable Auto-ISO when using manual shutter speed settings

There should be an option that would disable Auto-ISO if you switch to manual shutter speed setting. Currently, if you are set to Auto ISO, take a shot, and realize that you need to adjust exposure, so you dial in a different shutter speed on the top dial (keeping aperture constant), the auto ISO will kick in and essentially undo your manual exposure compensation. This makes sense in some cases, but is frustrating when you are trying to manually control exposure using the shutter speed dial and forget to turn off auto-ISO. I would like a custom setting that allows me to disable auto-ISO when a manual shutter speed is selected.

 

 

Add more user configured presets

I really like the four user-defined camera settings that can be memorized and stored (and even named). I wish that I could store more than 4. I'd like to be able to create, name, and store up to 10 presets for the various combinations of settings that I often use.

 

 

 

Mike

[tokyotubedude]

Agree with the above.

 

Another nasty bug is when you shoot an image with the hood on - you're penalized with 60 seconds wait. If you switch off the M9 during this sequence (which works fine on the M8) it hangs and you need to take the battery out to get it to start up again.

 

The most annoying problem is the poor white balance. My M8 and M8.2 finally got it right, but we have to go through this discovery with the M9 again.

 

As mentioned, many SD cards don't work well that worked perfectly in the M8.

I'm also noticing overblown reds in artificial light conditions - this maybe a problem with the profiles in LR (specifically) and hope this gets fixed.

[stunsworth]

Another nasty bug is when you shoot an image with the hood on - you're penalized with 60 seconds wait. If you switch off the M9 during this sequence (which works fine on the M8) it hangs and you need to take the battery out to get it to start up again.

 

 

I believe from another post - I don't have an M9 - that if you rotate the shutter dial away from 'A' the shutter will close.

[lars_bergquist]

I agree cordially with Mike's first four points. I do not use Auto ISO because I, and not some digital imp, German or Japanese, should decide behind my back what the camera does. I think the people in Solms are busy with the card problem. The code override can be done and will be done if enough of us are loud enough. It is after all a firmware matter.

 

The only items that are worthwile to freeze in a user profile, really, are ISO and WB preset. Going into deep menu points will just create confusion ("did I or did I not enable the selftimer in profile 7?") I use only three and feel that even this is maybe overkill.

 

The old man from the Age When We Had to Change Film

[manic]

these have been mentioned:

SD card compatibility and speed

Seriously, most of my new SD cards dont work at all in this camera. I had thought I got a defective camera at first until I tried the 5th one (a panasonic card no less). If you get a screen full of beautiful colored lines its your SD card and not the camera

 

cap on penalty

"I believe from another post - I don't have an M9 - that if you rotate the shutter dial away from 'A' the shutter will close"

This is a handy fix thanks!

 

I would like to add, hopefully they find a fix on the green tinting you get when shooting in dim areas. Even the DNG file is tinted and has to be fixed every time (unless you carry a grey card with you everywhere). Pretty annoying. Example below:

[mjh]

I would like to add, hopefully they find a fix on the green tinting you get when shooting in dim areas.

Unlikely to change, I’m afraid. This looks like the effect of fluorescent lighting which the AWB isn’t designed to correct for. Use a preset or a custom WB instead.

 

Even the DNG file is tinted and has to be fixed every time

Of course it is – it is raw data after all. Any attempt at WB correction you initially see in the raw converter is whatever the in-camera AWB had decided on and won’t differ much from the JPEG (or only in as much as the raw converter will interpret the “as shot” WB slightly differently). On the other hand, if you have taken a number of images in the same setting, copying the WB setting from one image to all the others would be a snap.

[jaapv]

(when zooming in to check focus).

Which doesn't work too well anyway - I have a feeling the LCD cannot handle the resolution adequately.

[Guest EarlBurrellPhoto]

If Leica upgraded the firmware with correction for cyan drift with front IR filters (UV+IR=ON setting in menu a la M8) it would at least make the camera usable for me. As it is, batching shots through Cornerfix is a deal-killer because of time constraints and shot volume. Other issues I have with the M9 (no top screen, 1m framelines) would require hardware upgrade, which along with the sapphire LCD glass I expect will appear in a matter of months as an M9.2. But without the IR filter menu item, I would still be left waiting for the M10 which I presume will have a more modern chip that will be at least as insensitive to IR as Canon's last 2 generations of FF, and also, hopefully, will have contemporary high-ISO performance. I dream that will be by Photokina 2010, but with Leica one never knows.

[scott kirkpatrick]

I disagree vigorously with Mike's point 3 (make the 6-bit coding override manual lens setting). Yes, Leica could protect us from our mistakes, but only by taking away the option of letting us use manual setting to protect us from Leica's decisions about how to correct each lens for the typical case. There are clear cases where Leica's built-in corrections are too much or too little, and the manual override can fix these.

 

I'm sure they are working on hangups and on whatever strange stuff is going on with writing to very fast cards that makes it take longer to do so.

 

scott

[Guest roey]

The only items that are worthwile to freeze in a user profile, really, are ISO and WB preset. Going into deep menu points will just create confusion ("did I or did I not enable the selftimer in profile 7?")

 

On the other hand, it is mainly those deep menu points that are a pain to set and that might make sense to control via user profiles. I use user profiles on my M8 (still waiting for a grey M9 to appear this side of the Atlantic ocean) to control auto ISO settings in combination with shutter advance and display brightness to get basic outdoors vs low light profiles. I agree with you, though, that the current approach of capturing all settings is too broad and confusing, esp. with manual lens identification thrown in. Ideally I'd like to be able to specify which settings should be controlled by my profiles.

[wlaidlaw]

I disagree vigorously with Mike's point 3 (make the 6-bit coding override manual lens setting). Yes, Leica could protect us from our mistakes, but only by taking away the option of letting us use manual setting to protect us from Leica's decisions about how to correct each lens for the typical case. There are clear cases where Leica's built-in corrections are too much or too little, and the manual override can fix these.

 

I'm sure they are working on hangups and on whatever strange stuff is going on with writing to very fast cards that makes it take longer to do so.

 

scott

 

Scott,

 

Then a three option menu: Manual only, Override if coded fitted and coded only.

 

Wilson

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Ario Arioldi]

these have been mentioned:

SD card compatibility and speed

Seriously, most of my new SD cards dont work at all in this camera. I had thought I got a defective camera at first until I tried the 5th one (a panasonic card no less).

 

I''m currently using SDHC cards from Sandisk, Lexar. Transcend and Panasonic and all of them are working without any problem.

The only issue is the time needed to format the cards, too long for my taste.

Cheers,

Ario

[wlaidlaw]

I''m currently using SDHC cards from Sandisk, Lexar. Transcend and Panasonic and all of them are working without any problem.

The only issue is the time needed to format the cards, too long for my taste.

Cheers,

Ario

 

The M9 seems to struggle to format cards, which have had any data on them or a file structure. If you have access to a Ricoh camera (this may work with other cameras as well but I know it works with Ricoh) and format the SDHC card with the Ricoh, you should then find it will format in an M9. The M9 usually formats most new cards without a problem.

 

Wilson