jevidon Posted January 16, 2013 Share #1 Posted January 16, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) I was setting some user preferences this morning and then set the M8 aside. When I picked it up it was dead. I changed batteries and no response. I put the batteries in the charger and the little green light told me that the batteries were full up. I reinstalled a battery and when the battery was inserted, I heard a reassuring beep. When I turned the M8 on, the little red light blinked. When I pressed the shutter button, the red light blinked but the shutter did not actuate. There are no signs of life in the viewfinder from the little red indicator triangles.The camera has never been dropped or even slightly bumped. This camera has been reliable and angst free. Now it is comatose. Has anyone had this experience and are there any encouraging words? Is this a case for the doctors at either the Solms or New Jersey hospitals or should I conduct a funeral? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Hi jevidon, Take a look here M8 Sudden death??. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
geotrupede Posted January 16, 2013 Share #2 Posted January 16, 2013 What about the display? All off? tried inserting / removing the memory card? cap on the lens? and if you take the lens off, how does the shutter look? All ok or blades messed up? tried with a cable release? and usb connection, does that work? otherwise there is a key combination that would bring up a secret debug menu. I am not sure this is going to help, it is a risk of messing up more than what it is. but for sake of knowledge the combination is: Turn the camera on. Press the right arrow key 4 times. Press the left arrow key 3 times. Press the right arrow key 1 more time. Press the info button. [if you look in the archive this was discussed before] if something shows in the menue then it is some other issue, for example the shutter button? to close this mode switch off and remove battery. good luck G Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jevidon Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted January 16, 2013 Display off. Shutter looks good. Nothing happens with cable release Card removed and replaced and then replaced with a different card. Battery removed and replaced Computer does not recognize the camera with USB attached, nor does display say that USB attached. I tried the camera-on, right arrow, left arrow and info drill. Nothing! Thanks for the suggestions. Do you have any more? Anybody? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoppyman Posted January 16, 2013 Share #4 Posted January 16, 2013 Off to the M hospital for sure. Even if it starting working again you would not know if the problem would reoccur. They will send you an estimate before any surgery. Good luck Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 16, 2013 Share #5 Posted January 16, 2013 If your batteries are generics you are perhaps victim of the false meter reading syndrom. Try do discharge them fully (not below 2.5 volt) and recharge them fully afterwards. Otherwise remove any battery from the camera, let the latter rest a couple of days and put a fully charged battery afterwards. May work or not, no harm in giving it a try. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jevidon Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted January 16, 2013 If your batteries are generics you are perhaps victim of the false meter reading syndrom. Try do discharge them fully (not below 2.5 volt) and recharge them fully afterwards.Otherwise remove any battery from the camera, let the latter rest a couple of days and put a fully charged battery afterwards. May work or not, no harm in giving it a try. One is generic and the other is Leica. I am aware of the full discharge quirk of the generics that do not have the proprietary Leica circuitry. It is unlikely that it is a battery problem. As for repair, should I send it to Solms or New Jersey. New Jersey did my upgrade to M8u, but that was basically a parts swap. How does N.J. compare to Solms for repairs? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 16, 2013 Share #7 Posted January 16, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) It sounds like the power supply in the camera has died. The electronics in the camera are not powered directly from the battery but through a switching regulator which produces the stable operating voltages required irrespective of the state of charge of the battery. This was quite a common fault in early M8s - the so called T2 problem - and was fixed by updating one of the transistors. The M8 I took apart in my Anatomy thread ultimately died in this way. Yours is an M8u and Leica may have upgraded the electronics as part of the upgrade process, however your failure sounds similar. It's off to Leica who hopefully will be able to repair it economically especially since it is an upgraded camera. As for NJ or Solms, both can do the repair, comes down to whichever is best for you logistically. Let us know how you get on. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronazle Posted January 16, 2013 Share #8 Posted January 16, 2013 I would send it to NJ. They are likely to send it to Germany, but it saves you the international potential hassle and contributes to keeping Leica (USA) in business. I've never heard of a US customer who got a better price or much faster service by going direct to Germany from the U.S. regards, ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jevidon Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted January 16, 2013 It was a power supply problem, but not what it appeared. The batteries when put in the charger showed full charge which lead me to believe that there was a camera failure. I then remembered that I had a Delkin module charger and a Leica charging plate. Having nothing to lose, I installed the Leica battery into the Delkin charger and low and behold, it started charging. To cut to the chase, and with a fully charged battery, the camera is fully operational and it looks like the problem is with the Leica charger. It looks like the Leica charger is the defective item in the inventory. I'll sleep better tonight and thanks for all your input. My M8 still lives.:):) 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted January 16, 2013 Share #10 Posted January 16, 2013 A very similar thing happened to my Nikon D3. Totally dead. Put in a battery from one of my two chargers. That battery had been in that charger for a long time. D3 still dead. Took the battery out and stuck in the other charger. Start charging right away and showed battery was totally run down. Put another battery in D3. D3 was working fine. After the dead battery was charged, it then also worked fine in D3 and D300. So, I assume the problem had to do with one battery sitting for far too long in that charger. What were exactly your circumstances? Good luck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jevidon Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share #11 Posted January 16, 2013 "What were exactly your circumstances? Good luck! __________________ Best regards, K-H...." I never leave the batteries in the charger once they have been charged. I just assume that the batteries had run down on the shelf or in the camera. What was different in this case is that the Leica charger showed that the batteries had a full charge when they did not. When I put them in the Delkin charger, they were flat dead. Fortunately, the Delkin charger brought them up to full charge and my problem evaporated. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted January 16, 2013 Share #12 Posted January 16, 2013 ... the Leica charger showed that the batteries had a full charge when they did not. Just curious: The original "brick" Leica charger or the current compact charger? Glad you got the issue sorted; thanks for the update! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jevidon Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share #13 Posted January 16, 2013 The "brick". 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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