Locking up after using continuous mode?

[Want-a-leica]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I almost never use the M8 for taking continuous shots (and if I do it's two at the most), but yesterday I tried taking a burst of four out of curiosity. The little screen at the top left (where the battery life and remaining shot count are displayed) went blank and the camera appeared to lock up completely. Fifteen to twenty minutes later it came back on, no shots lost or anything (and the four continuous shots I took were all on there), but I was wondering about this. I was shooting DNG only, but I can't imagine that four shots in a row would knock it out of commission like that.

 

Anyone come across such a thing? I don't consider it enough of an issue to warrant sending it out to be fixed because I essentially never use that function, but I would be interested in seeing if it's a common thing.

[Shootist]

I suspect it was a low battery, no matter what the battery meter read, and firing off 4 continous/consecutive shots drain the battery to a point where the camera shut down. Then after a short time, as you say 20 minutes, the battery regained enough power to make the camera come to life.

 

If you have another battery try it and see if the same thing happens.

The battery this happened with could be on it's last legs.

 

I have used my M8 to take consecutive shots. To the point the camera locked up but it never shut down. I had to take the battery out to get the red light on the back to stop flashing and make the camera work again.

The only time I've had the camera go dead was when the battery got drained. In the cold about 1.5 months ago that was after only 10-15 shots. But I hadn't charged that battery is days and it was 20d/F. Once I installed a freshly charged battery the camera came to life.

[don_panko]

I had the little red light flashing and no response from the camera a few weeks back when shooting a ski race event. It was very cold that day and the battery is the original so it could have been this low voltage issue. At the time I suspected an SD card problem as the camera took single shots for the rest of the day on the slopes using the same battery. I kept the camera tucked inside of my jacket so that too may have helped.

 

At times I find electronic devices prone to random errors and with my luck a film camera doing the same shots would have ripped the sprockets out of the brittle film for a ruined day.

 

Cameras in very cold weather have their limits.

[Want-a-leica]

I had the little red light flashing and no response from the camera a few weeks back when shooting a ski race event. It was very cold that day and the battery is the original so it could have been this low voltage issue. At the time I suspected an SD card problem as the camera took single shots for the rest of the day on the slopes using the same battery. I kept the camera tucked inside of my jacket so that too may have helped.

 

At times I find electronic devices prone to random errors and with my luck a film camera doing the same shots would have ripped the sprockets out of the brittle film for a ruined day.

 

Cameras in very cold weather have their limits.

 

I'll second that. I took the M8 to Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan, in the coldest month of the year and it did just that several times. That being said I can't complain; unless I'm mistaken Leica recommend using it in temps between 0 and 40c..or did I misread that somewhere?

 

Either way, I'm not going to be trying to track and shoot multiple shots of diving birds of prey with it:)

[Guest #12]

I think this generated a lot of bug reports in the M8 or early M8, and there were lots of discussions about firmware, batteries, etc. Also lockups that required sending the camera in. Was it ever sorted out?