M9 soaked

[petermiller]

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I recently shot in a snowstorm, a day when it snowed 20 inches of very wet flakes. Found on another thread why the UV filters caused edge colors but worse was this wet snow. Even with a towel snow got on the camera, melted and malfunctioned the info panel. Then the battery pooped out.

Everything sorted out after the camera decompressed in a dry room.

 

Two questions. Does this camera need extra care in adverse conditions? Does it need another skin? Marty Forscher told me a good camera should function like a hockey puck which the older Nikons and M6's did. Is the Leica M9 a fragile debutante?

 

And the battery. Not long lasting. Also the knob has a tendency to slide from off to on when stashing the camera in a pack (Had the same problem with the M8) I started putting on gaffer tape to hold the knob to the off position. Not elegant. Anyone have this problem, or a solution? Peter from Vermont.

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[jaapv]

1. The battery died because of the cold. You always need to carry a warm one in your pocket - this is not Leica-specific, but because the camera is mainly metal and small you will freeze the battery relatively soon compared to big DSLRs.

2. The camera is not weathersealed, so it does need some consideration in this respect but there are many reports of cameras surviving these kind of conditions down to dunking them (not advised). The reports of moisture-damaged cameras - very few and far between, but still- always seem to be connected with condensation.

[ho_co]

Peter--

I see Jaap sneaked in ahead of me as usual, with good advice more compactly stated than mine. So consider this my own echo of what he said:

 

All electronic cameras are more moisture-sensitive than mechanical cameras were. There aren't any electronic hockey-pucks.

 

The M9 doesn't need to be babied, in my opinion. There hasn't been a stream of people with M9s that died in rain or snow, just as there have been very few people whose M8s died from moisture exposure.

 

OTOH, some people on the forum feel that because Leica doesn't add weather-sealing to the M8 and M9, the cameras can't be trusted in the rain. They just don't want to be bothered by the facts, IMHO.

 

My suggestion is to keep it under your coat if possible or under a plastic bag or shower cap, but that never works for long with me, so I just use the camera as you did, protecting it when possible but remembering that the reason I bought it was to take pictures. And if it gets soaked, dry it out as soon as possible.

 

As for battery usage, the M9 uses batteries more quickly than we would like, particularly in the cold. Jaap is right about the M body: small volume and metal, as compared to the big dSLRs, some of which may also take two or three batteries simultaneously. My understanding is that Leica hopes to make the M9 a little less power-hungry with a future firmware update, but if so, it probably won't make a big difference.

 

 

Glad to have you on the forum, by the way. There are a lot of helpful, knowledgeable people here.

 

And congratulations on having an M9! I'm still using my M8, hoping to join the M9 crowd soon.

[marknorton]

I haven't tested the M9 power consumption but assuming it's the same as or similar to the M8, you can maximise battery life by:

 

- Shooting compressed DNG only; shooting uncompressed and/or JPEG increases the power consumption

 

- Set the camera to auto power down after the minimum period available, 1 minute, down from 2 minuites on the M8.

 

- If you are using discreet wind, try to let the shutter wind on before the write to the card (flashing red light) is completed - delaying the wind keeps the electronics fully powered.

 

The shutter release/mod switch is where the water gets in, due in part to Leica's slavish adherence to antique cable releases. The mode switch detent is provided by a series of slots cut in a metal plate, two ball bearings which rest in them and two springs which press the balls into position; changing the springs, or the balls or the slots in the metal plate will all affect the strength of the detent but it's not an area to mess with, IMHO.

[Alnitak]

I haven't tested the M9 power consumption but assuming it's the same as or similar to the M8, you can maximise battery life by:

 

- Shooting compressed DNG only; shooting uncompressed and/or JPEG increases the power consumption

 

 

Is this right? It seems counterintuitive that a compressed DNG--which should require processor power--would use less than an uncompressed DNG. Can you explain?

 

Jeff

[borowiec]

With regard to the moisture entering via the shutter release, does anyone know whether keeping a soft release button (such as a Beep) screwed into the cable release socket would help keep out moisture?

 

I, for one, am very pleased that Leica kept the traditional cable release thread! I use cable releases all the time and frequently lose and break them, so I regularly buy several at a time. I would hate to have to pay for the kind of electronic release that dslr manufacturers make you buy for their cameras.

 

Andrew Borowiec

[Iron Creek]

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I shot in Yosemite for several days in cold, wet conditions; sometimes with combinations of snow and rain or both but always cold to very cold. I carried my M9 around my neck with a lens bag around my shoulder; during this time I was walking for sometimes between an hour to several hours. When it got too wet I’d tuck the camera inside my jacket to keep it warm and dry.

 

I figure the camera isn’t waterproof and take appropriate precautions to protect it.

 

I wrote about by experiences (w/sample images) on my blog.

 

I never had any problems with camera, lens, or battery the entire time.

 

Don

[250swb]

Mine has been wet a few times and its survived without any problems. As has been stated already its more likely to be humidity that creates a bigger problem than cold and wet. You don't need to baby an M9, just use common sense.

 

Steve

[barcoder]

Is this right? It seems counterintuitive that a compressed DNG--which should require processor power--would use less than an uncompressed DNG. Can you explain?

 

It's a good question. Any additional processing required for JPG or compressed DNG compression would probably cause more power drain. Writing larger files to the card should also drain more power than smaller files. So with each file format there are pro's and con's.

 

From the M9 Instructions Manual

A fully charged battery (to

CIPA standards

) is sufficient for approx. 350 pictures each reviewed for 4s.

 

I wish there was a better test

[proenca]

Jaap gave good advice as usual.

 

I can't speak for the M9, but I bought my M8 the day it came out and used it until two days ago.

 

I never ever ever baby my cameras. They are NOT shelf queens. I bought them and pay good money to take pictures.

 

Some pro dSLRs are built like tanks, the ones I owned I remember vividly my 1Ds and my D2x and I did with them what I had to do to get the picture.

 

I then ditched them all and got a M8 and to be honest I was worried that it got scratched, wet, not tough enough. Well, it kinda lasted a month or so and I used it from that time till a few days in the most rough environoments possible : from getting almost soaked with saltwater, sprayed with freshwater , sand blasted, caught in middle of a downpour in a tropical forest where I didnt had a tshirt ... you name it. Apart from falling to the ground, my M8 seen it all.

 

Again, this is my philosophy : I bought the thing to take pictures. Not to be a pretty camera on a shelf. For that I have my MP Anthracite. And even that poor thing has a few scratches already.

 

What I do however is after all these things, I let the camera dry, give a very good clean overhaul and even sent ( when she was in the desert ) it to Leica to get it professional cleaned.

 

She survived pretty much everything I throw at it, as long you are responsible enough to clean it properly afterwards.

 

Is a Leica as durable and though as, for example my backup backup backup backup camera, which is a Nikon D2h ? Not even close.

 

But you can pretty much abuse it and use it, as long you clean and mantain it afterwards.

 

My M9 will be picked up tomorrow and of course the first couple of months I will be carefull - heck - its a 5500 euros camera... but then I know that I will treat it exactly like I did my M8.

 

Oh and my M8 she looks beautifull.

 

Picture taken of my M8 a couple weeks ago ( in case you are wondering that is a beaten thing like no tomorrow ) :