M9 Firmware Update Available

[jlindstrom]

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What about white balance?? Didn't anybody notice better white balance and improved color accuracy with the new update??

 

Sorry.. couldn't resist ;-) We just need to go through this with every update..

 

 

--

 

//Juha

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jaapv]

Hmmm. Some cards work. Some cards don't. How is this a fix? I'm not even going to bother to download it.

Two cards had a problem reported during betatesting. Dozens if not hundreds of others not. I would say that is not bad, and wise of Leica to mention it.

It is completely normal that a manufacturer will only stand behind his product if factory-approved accesories are used. Often it will even void the guaranty if you don't E.g. tyres for cars. On mine I was only allowed to use Pirelli or Michelin in the guaranty period.

Edited November 11, 2011 by jaapv

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[pelagia]

I want to ask, has anyone ever noticed any increase in data transfer speed (form camera to card) with the newer cards? And the same question about the new firmware. Or is the data transfer speed in any case limited by the in-built camera speed?

 

Then isn't it feasible to stay with older, compatible cards with lower write speeds (class2, class4)?

[Haich]

I believe it's limited by the processing speed rather than a bottleneck in the firmware so there's no benefit to faster cards other than when you transfer the photos on to your PC.

[Delcredere]

Oh geez, not this again. I used a Mac to do it and it took me about 4 minutes including flashing the firmware.

 

Do you understand zip files? If you use Safari the file automatically unzips, probably into your "download" directory. Copy the *.upd file onto a blank SD card, don't put it into any folders, and just read what the camera display screen tells you.

 

This goes on every time a firmware upgrade comes out. Nothing could be simpler, this is basic computer literacy.

 

This has been explained ad infinitum before here. How do people use digital cameras and editing programs without knowing how to use a computer??

 

 

I guess some of us are old fogeys who grew up analogues - in my case I have tried hard to catch up with the digital revolution and teach myself stuff relating to software and computers. But often I find myself gazing into the abyss of my ignorance waiting for a child to come and explain to me the blindingly obvious....

Edited November 11, 2011 by jaapv
quote added

[M. Valdemar]

I guess some of us are old fogeys who grew up analogues - in my case I have tried hard to catch up with the digital revolution and teach myself stuff relating to software and computers. But often I find myself gazing into the abyss of my ignorance waiting for a child to come and explain to me the blindingly obvious....

 

I'm probably older than you are.

[ho_co]

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Certainly ruder.

[dwbell]

How do people use digital cameras and editing programs without knowing how to use a computer??

 

The same way some get through a large proportion of their lives without learning or bothering to understand patience, civility and common courtesy I suppose.

[Knors]

Two cards had a problem reported during betatesting.

 

Unfortunately it are both just these two cards which were recommended by the Leica Dealer when I bought my camera.

Edited November 11, 2011 by Knors

[jaapv]

Unfortunately - and with more interest in his own wallet than yours I fear. The M9 does not need very fast or expensive cards, as there is no writing speed advantage. The only expensive cards one might recommend would be Panasonic Gold for stability and longvivety. Otherwise a couple of Lexars 8 Gb or similar would have been more than sufficient. Or, with the new firmware, Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme III.

[asmith]

re Valdemar's comments. I too had never used a personal computer until I decided that digital was the future of photography. I have learned to use Lightroom, to post comments (though not yet images) on the forum and to send and receive emails but there are many other things I do not know or need to know. Frankly,I find these devices irrational, counter-intuitive and user unfriendly.

Some fifty years ago I used computers to analyse my research data and learned to program in Algol and Fortran. I found that straightforward and logical and quite simple compared with the current generation of PCs. I don't think it is just my 86 year old brain that is to blame - it is the software designers who are more concerned to show how clever they are than to be helpful to users.

Alwyn

[pico]

re Valdemar's comments. I too had never used a personal computer until I decided that digital was the future of photography. [...] I don't think it is just my 86 year old brain that is to blame - it is the software designers who are more concerned to show how clever they are than to be helpful to users.

 

My mother was a computer whiz right up to her death this year at 87 after a long illness. I don't think it is your brain, but possibly stress from the contradiction between computing and your real life that you have made effective outside of computers.

 

Re: your last comment - I feel that Light Room 3 has just about the worst interface I have seen for years: regardless, I use it, and other monolithic software packages.

 

I feel the whole software interface paradigm will branch out to have two major approaches: a monolithic and modular. The modular or 'app' approach (using a current metaphor) would allow one to use only parts/features that he wants, and 'chain' together those features. (In other words, something like the U*x command line has had since day-one.) Building in guidance would be a challenge (eg: do this, then that, and not that, then this). Adobe tries a bit to break Photoshop into menus relevant to a category of work, but it is still monolithic.

 

Make pictures. Enjoy.

 

I'd not be concerned with Valdemar' posts. Put him in your Ignore List if you don't want to read his stuff and be happy.

[k-hawinkler]

Unfortunately - and with more interest in his own wallet than yours I fear. The M9 does not need very fast or expensive cards, as there is no writing speed advantage. The only expensive cards one might recommend would be Panasonic Gold for stability and longvivety. Otherwise a couple of Lexars 8 Gb or similar would have been more than sufficient. Or, with the new firmware, Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme III.

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-sd-card-issues/208793-panasonic-sd-cards-leica-m9.html

 

I recommend Gold and SDB series.

The Gold Pro Series is ridiculously expensive. Not worth it for the M9.

 

K-H.

[wda]

I've never used a card less then 16gb. I'd say get it fixed under warranty

 

For everyday use I still use my Sandisk Ultra 4gb cards from M8 days. (106 pictures; Equates to three x 36 exposure films which I would seldom use for non-project or non-holiday use). 8gb would be my first choice if they will work. First trial ongoing but I do notice that write times with a Sandisk 8gb card seem to be taking longer than with my 4gb cards.

[wda]

I want to ask, has anyone ever noticed any increase in data transfer speed (form camera to card) with the newer cards? And the same question about the new firmware. Or is the data transfer speed in any case limited by the in-built camera speed?

 

Then isn't it feasible to stay with older, compatible cards with lower write speeds (class2, class4)?

Toomas, from my post above you will see that it what I have been doing. Smaller capacity cards are cheaper, proven and give low-cost insurance against catastrophic losses if you suffer such a failure or physical loss/theft with one high capacity card.

[zombii]

I bought a 32gb Sandisk Extreme Pro (one on the verboten list, unknowingly) card right after I got my M9 recently. I already had a 16gb Extreme Pro which worked from the get go. When I first plugged the 32gb card in, the camera didn't recognize it correctly but it did allow me to reformat it. After that, it worked. I did the firmware update yesterday using that card and it loaded okay. Later last night when I turned the camera on again, I got absolutely nothing on the LCD no matter what I pushed. The camera was definitely on because the LED's in the viewfinder were on. I removed the battery and the memory card and put them back in. Still nothing. Then, without anything obvious happening other than turning it off and back on again a few times, it started working. Hasn't happened again. Troubling behavior.

[Knors]

Unfortunately - and with more interest in his own wallet than yours I fear. The M9 does not need very fast or expensive cards, as there is no writing speed advantage.

 

This is not fair Jaap!

Leica manual sais on page 109 the following:

Aanwijzingen:

• Het aanbod van SD/SDHC-kaarten is zo groot dat

Leica Camera AG alle verkrijgbare typen niet volledig

op compatibiliteit en kwaliteit kan controleren.

Daarom adviseren wij bijv. de ”Extreme III” of ”Professional”

– kaarten van de toonaangevende fabrikanten

”SanDisk” resp. ”Lexar”.

 

I bought Extreme Professional and Extreme HD video cards ( beeing the two most sophisticated Sandisk cards at that time) based on the advise of the Leica dealer and not at last as per recommendation in the the Leica manual. (in june).

 

Now you blaim the Leica representative while the Leica product seemed not able to to work with cards which Leica recommended theiselves. After Leica's first firmware upgrade these cards do no longer work anymore. I personally see a Leica dealer as a part of Leica as long as you can not buy a Leica on every street corner.

 

I myself had a lot of problems (lost photos) with my new (5500 euro costing) camera during my holliday and no dealer in Switzerland and Italy was able to solve my problem (last august) so i had a very very bad feeling about this Leica product.

 

This is a Leica problem and not one of the Leica representative. The dealers (not in Rotterdam nor Switserland or Italy) were not even been informed by Leica about the hughe problems with the SanDisk cards. We changed two times accu's before i became known through this forum about the Sandisk card problem.

 

Now, after 4 months there is a new firmware and still i am not able to use the - Leica recommended - Sandisk cards.

You should not blaim the Leica store where i was treated very good!

Since the firmware upgrade in july the card problems occured and became known. I got my Leica three months before.

 

The M9 manual which I just looked for on internet is still recommending the Sandisk Professional cards!!

[jaapv]

The point being that your dealer should have known that sophisticated cards are overkill on the M9.

Edited November 12, 2011 by jaapv

[chris_tribble]

I bought a 32gb Sandisk Extreme Pro (one on the verboten list, unknowingly) card right after I got my M9 recently. I already had a 16gb Extreme Pro which worked from the get go.

 

Bemused why anyone should want more than 8GB on the M9. If you're shooting HD video on a DSLR fine - but with the M9 I see it as overkill.

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Hallo,

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[ianman]

There are full instructions etc at the top of the M8 sub- sub forum

 

Suggestion: It may be a good idea to post them in the FAQ and add a link to them every time an upgrade is made available. For one thing it would help one of our delightful members not get his knickers in a twist.

 

Ian