DRabbit Posted December 1, 2011 Share #1 Posted December 1, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have the original M8. Love this camera. Never had a problem with it until today. I noticed a faint vertical red line appearing in all photos (more noticeable at higher ISOs, but still there at ISO 160). I know it's a "known issue" but I've read conflicting things about what fixes it. I tried the latest firmware. Oddly enough, it seems to fix it in the JPGs but not in the DNGs. Do I need to send it to Leica for repair? What is the issue caused by? Is there another fix I'm unaware of? Input appreciated... Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 1, 2011 Posted December 1, 2011 Hi DRabbit, Take a look here Dreaded Red Line Issue. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
WestMichigan Posted December 1, 2011 Share #2 Posted December 1, 2011 Wow! I can't speak definitevly but it sounds like you have a case of 'red line syndrome'. Other members can speak authoritatively, but the overly short summary is the sensor is actually built from two halves at Kodak's Chip Division and if a problem develops in that construction it is known to show itself via a red line in the images. Whether there are other potential sources for red lines to appear I'd only be hypothesizing, but maybe you can share an exemplar image. With luck, maybe there might be another cause for whatever effect you are noting. Good Luck. I have the original M8. Love this camera. Never had a problem with it until today. I noticed a faint vertical red line appearing in all photos (more noticeable at higher ISOs, but still there at ISO 160). I know it's a "known issue" but I've read conflicting things about what fixes it. I tried the latest firmware. Oddly enough, it seems to fix it in the JPGs but not in the DNGs. Do I need to send it to Leica for repair? What is the issue caused by? Is there another fix I'm unaware of? Input appreciated... Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ming Rider Posted December 1, 2011 Share #3 Posted December 1, 2011 I can share your pain. Had the same problem with mine. Sent it to Solms who 'mapped out' with software the one faulty pixel (yes, if one goes, the whole line dies). They also fixed some other problems they'd found like the rangefinder out of adjustment and a crack in the chassis. Luckily though, it was under the dealers 6 month warranty, however as it's a software fix they may consider fixing it for free if you kiss enough bottom Took about 1 month from sending to receiving. Best of luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 1, 2011 Share #4 Posted December 1, 2011 I noticed some raw converters will cope with a single red line sometimes ( I think C1 is one of them) but as noted before it will have to be mapped out. If it is a simple mapping it is not too expensive or in certain cases even free, but if if the total number of dead pixels ( all sensors are mapped at production, there is not one manufactured without pixel defects) exceeds the tolerance the sensor will be swapped. That is of course a different situation financially. The pixel defects are caused by cosmic radiation, by what experts call silicon displacement by neutrinos. It happens on all sensors over time, but CCD seems to show it more easily than CMos. There is no way to prevent it, except by being lucky. Airtravel, especially over the poles, is shown to highen the chance of it happening. Some cameras nowadays have pixel mapping as a menu function. Summing up: send it to Leica for repair. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestMichigan Posted December 1, 2011 Share #5 Posted December 1, 2011 JAAPV to the rescue! Sort of... ... still a trip to a Repair Depot, though. At least the pixel mapping issue appears to be of a much smaller magnitude than a the epic sensor manufacture problem discovered early in the life of the M8. Bon Chance to you, I hope the cost of the fix is nominal or at least manageable. Be sure to update us as to the ultimate outcomes in the matter, if you would be so kind. Sincerely, Richard in Michigan I noticed some raw converters will cope with a single red line sometimes ( I think C1 is one of them) but as noted before it will have to be mapped out. If it is a simple mapping it is not too expensive or in certain cases even free, but if if the total number of dead pixels ( all sensors are mapped at production, there is not one manufactured without pixel defects) exceeds the tolerance the sensor will be swapped. That is of course a different situation financially. The pixel defects are caused by cosmic radiation, by what experts call silicon displacement by neutrinos. It happens on all sensors over time, but CCD seems to show it more easily than CMos. There is no way to prevent it, except by being lucky. Airtravel, especially over the poles, is shown to highen the chance of it happening. Some cameras nowadays have pixel mapping as a menu function. Summing up: send it to Leica for repair. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRabbit Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share #6 Posted December 2, 2011 Thanks everyone... I'm going to call Leica New Jersey and see if it's something they can do (the remapping), and hope that's all it needs. I love the original M8 with its 1/8000 shutter speed, so I'd hate to give that up... plus I don't have the money for a big expensive repair right now. M8 is still my favorite camera... my baby really... so I was so upset to see this crop up. *Fingers crossed* the remapping thing is all it needs! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 2, 2011 Share #7 Posted December 2, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) JAAPV to the rescue! Sort of... ... still a trip to a Repair Depot, though. At least the pixel mapping issue appears to be of a much smaller magnitude than a the epic sensor manufacture problem discovered early in the life of the M8. Bon Chance to you, I hope the cost of the fix is nominal or at least manageable. Be sure to update us as to the ultimate outcomes in the matter, if you would be so kind. Sincerely, Richard in Michigan Ah, yes, I too wish life were kinder.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjans Posted December 3, 2011 Share #8 Posted December 3, 2011 I just discovered a blue line in my pictures. It starts half way the picture to the bottom. I bought my M8 brand new when the M8.2 was released. I have not yet passed the 1000 pictures count*. Could the blue line be something caused similar to the red line? Any information highly appreciated, thanks *Take more pictures with film Best Roger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjans Posted December 4, 2011 Share #9 Posted December 4, 2011 I just discovered a blue line in my pictures. It starts half way the picture to the bottom. I bought my M8 brand new when the M8.2 was released. I have not yet passed the 1000 pictures count*. Could the blue line be something caused similar to the red line?Any information highly appreciated, thanks *Take more pictures with film Best Roger I did some search here on the Forum and found information. The M8 will have to go to Solms. I'm a little disapointed that such an expensive camera which I used so little fails already. Best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 4, 2011 Share #10 Posted December 4, 2011 If you did some research you will have found that it has nothing to do with the camera brand or price, but is rather a fact of life for sensors. Unfortunately is seems to be more prevalent on CCDs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted December 4, 2011 Share #11 Posted December 4, 2011 Small healing brush in photoshop as a temporary fix. I am sure I could write an action to do it automatically, in fact I could run a batch and do it all at one time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 4, 2011 Share #12 Posted December 4, 2011 Or, on complicated structures ( the healing brush does not cope with that too well I find) the color replacement brush. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pklein Posted December 5, 2011 Share #13 Posted December 5, 2011 As I have mentioned before here, one hot pixel does appear as a whole vertical line. But the line isn't real, it's a processing artifact. If you use a PC and shoot RAW (DNG), there is a simple, free work-around that does not involve sending the camera to Leica or using the healing brush manually on every photo. Pixel Fixer | Hot pixel removal utility This program works on DNGs, not JPGs. You calibrate it once using a shot with the lens cap on at high ISO. Then you run the program on your folder full of DNGs before opening them in your RAW converter. It maps out the hot pixel(s) and recreates them using data from surrounding pixels. The line disappears. Life is good. It takes less time to do it than it took me to write this paragraph. Pixel Fixer does the same thing that internal pixel mapping routines do in (for example) Olympus and Panasonic cameras. All digital cameras get hot pixels. It's just that we notice them more on Leica M8 and M9. Unfortunately, Leica does not provide a mapping routine in the firmware, so we're stuck with workarounds or expensive repairs. The good news is that Pixel Fixer is free and fast. I've been using it for several years. Give it a try and decide whether you'd rather use it or send the camera away. I decided to save my repair dollars for a real need, at which point Leica can map them out as part of the overall repair. The above does not apply to a vertical line down the entire screen that divides the screen precisely in half. That is a bona fide sensor problem. Hope this helps! --Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 5, 2011 Share #14 Posted December 5, 2011 Unfortunately it a a Windows-only application... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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