M8 upgraded shutter: Discreet + Continuous... what happens?

[coup de foudre]

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long story short... i got the dreaded Shutter Fault. i was in Discreet and hit Continuous one too many times (usually solved by battery removal, but taking longer and longer each time). i added the coup de grâce by taking a tumble (neither me or my Leica were pleased with leaving Paris).

 

i received an estimate for €580 which includes the usual stuff for control replacement (i only got this over the phone but it sounds typical for shutter failure), sensor cleaning, rangefinder alignment and the like... my camera was not under warranty and, while i believe that the shutter was on its way out, our fall obviously pushed it over the edge.

 

a shutter upgrade is €800 and was something i had planned on doing all along -- until the M9 came out (which i am a long way from affording as we just moved to another country). having a quiet shutter is really important me. it's one of the reasons i got the M8 in the first place (even though my M8's shutter ended up being almost as loud as my Epson R-D1).

 

along with the silence, what else will i gain? am i protected from errors when hitting Continuous whilst in Discreet? will i never have to take the battery out and restart the camera? most importantly, will i still get my shot?

 

i'm asking partially to help justify the cost (although €220 more for something that would thrill me to the bone doesn't sound like much -- as long as they'll do the maintenance for no additional cost)... but also because i'm wondering if i should to ask them to put a block of some sort so that i never go into Continuous by mistake when flipping on the camera ever again?

 

thank you in advance for any light you can shed.

 

-- cam

 

(note: i never use Continuous and always shoot Discreet)

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[Nicoleica]

Hi Cam,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your tumble, and I hope that you faired better than your camera did.

 

Regarding a shutter 'upgrade', while you will receive a shutter which is a bit quieter, and may prove to be longer lasting due the the reduced stresses, you will also lose the 1/8000 top speed, and your flash sync speed will drop. It's a case of swings and roundabouts.

 

I believe that the Continuous & Discreet (I call this Oxymoron-mode.) problem should now be a thing of the past, as the latest firmware update was designed to cure this.

[coup de foudre]

Nicole,

 

thank you!

 

i don't know what hurts more -- my ankle or being without my Leica

 

i can deal without 1/8000 (it's the lack of 1/4000 that's killing me on the R-D1) and, LOL, i've never used a flash in my life! (i am the queen of low light photography -- or, at least, i pretend to be )

 

the camera actually worked fine after the tumble (i didn't). it wasn't until i turned it off and on again on Continuous that it died. i never consciously put it in Continuous, rather i am an opportunistic photographer who never goes anywhere without my camera. that means it is often Off to conserve battery life (unnecessary, but ingrained from other cameras) and switched on quickly as i try to capture the moment. call me sloppy, but that's the way i shoot... i think i may be an oxymoron. well, the latter at least.

 

the camera died before the firmware update so i don't know what happens... do you now get the shot?

[Jark89]

You also get a free 1 year warranty with the shutter upgrade, if I remember correctly. So that's another point to help justify the cost I guess.