johnbuckley Posted June 16, 2013 Share #1 Posted June 16, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) A few weeks ago, I reported on a phenomenon where, after taking a few pictures in rapid succession, I was unable to take more, and when I looked at the LCD to see what was going on, a number of pictures from the SD card were all rapidly going by like they were on a carousel. (http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/286829-strange-m-240-phenomenon-what-could.html) The advice from several folks was that I should a) take out the battery and replace it, stop chimping, and c) get a new SD card and properly format it. I suspected it was an SD card issue, and so replaced that 16GB Ultra SanDisk (30MB/S) for a 16GB Extreme Pro (95MB/S) card. I properly formatted it. Last night I went out with the camera on what was a beautiful evening with crowds pressing along the Potomac in Washington -- a target-rich environment for photos. (See examples through the Tulip Frenzy link below.) And damned if the same thing didn't happen again: after taking three or four single shots in a row, the camera froze, and when I looked at the LCD, photos were wildly being displayed in rapid succession. When I turned the camera off and back on, and then hit play, the image displayed was not the most recent, but the first ones taken on the card. This happened a few times. In some instances, it wasn't even a photo being displayed, but the image number. After a few moments, things would calm down and yes, I could take more photos. But I find this very odd. Also, this did not happen, over weeks of heavy shooting, prior to the camera taking a round-trip flight to Solms for the strap lug repair. Has anyone had this phenomenon occur on their Ms? Does this seem like a Maestro rendering issue? What might this be? Any advice on how to deal with this short of sending it back, again, to Leica? (And please don't tell me not to chimp or to make sure the card is formatted -- I wasn't chimping, and the card is formatted properly!) Would appreciate any advice. JB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 16, 2013 Posted June 16, 2013 Hi johnbuckley, Take a look here Another Instance Of My M-240 "Going Crazy" While Storing Images. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Jeff S Posted June 16, 2013 Share #2 Posted June 16, 2013 Sorry to hear that. You might try contacting Leica NJ to see if Dave Elwell or one of the techs can provide advice, or let you know if this has happened with others. And maybe try another card, perhaps another brand, if the M9 experience bears any relevance. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted June 16, 2013 Share #3 Posted June 16, 2013 It happens on my M9-P from time to time. I've learned to live with it. The pictures appear at random when I push the play button. The last pic captured is not necessarily the one that pops up. Sometimes they scroll like you say. I use Continuous Mode very rarely so I only get the "slide show effect" very rarely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted June 16, 2013 Thank you both for the advice. It's not the scrolling of images that bothers me per se, it's the inability to shoot more. One of these days in going to miss that great shot :-). I don't use continuous, by the way. All shooting is set on S. One thing I'll do is turn off the automatic review. I don't need to see what I shot, while I'm shooting. I'll call NJ. And will keep posting on this, as I suspect I'm not the only one facing this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted June 16, 2013 Share #5 Posted June 16, 2013 Thank you both for the advice. It's not the scrolling of images that bothers me per se, it's the inability to shoot more. One of these days in going to miss that great shot :-). I don't use continuous, by the way. All shooting is set on S. One thing I'll do is turn off the automatic review. I don't need to see what I shot, while I'm shooting. I'll call NJ. And will keep posting on this, as I suspect I'm not the only one facing this. Here is my suspicion: I continuous mode the pictures can be snapped in rapid succession and the buffer filled with gazillion megapixel images and the processor and card write at a much slower speed. I suspect the same is happening on "S" mode at a lesser degree. I think the camera computer gets confused for an instant but finally rectifies itself. In my case the aggravating part is the last image captured is not the one that shows when I press Play. If I want to see one that I just took for framing I have to scroll thru a few. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted June 16, 2013 Share #6 Posted June 16, 2013 One thing I'll do is turn off the automatic review. I don't need to see what I shot, while I'm shooting. Good idea. Are you by any chance accidentally touching a video control? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted June 16, 2013 Share #7 Posted June 16, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have had this happen as well but can't remember the exact circumstances. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl G Posted June 16, 2013 Share #8 Posted June 16, 2013 One easy step I would do before the above is to reload the SW if possible. Many times when a SW update takes place a few code lines don't write/ transfer correctly and odd things happen. It's quick and easy and if it fixes the problem, you are way ahead. If not, nothing except some short time loss. I always download my images, and then when reloading the card, I format it in camera before shooting more. A clean slate, so to speak, to avoid ghost images in the card file directory. A more thorough job can be done with disk utilities that overwrite the card from the computer before placing it back in the cam and reformatting, but I've never done that and haven't had problems with just a camera reformat before each use. I turn off auto review in all my cameras to save battery and have done that for years. I do not do much review of pictures on camera as a general rule, but the times I have done so on the M and on the ME the function has worked as it is supposed to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted June 16, 2013 All helpful ideas. And will do. No chance I'm touching video. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted June 16, 2013 Share #10 Posted June 16, 2013 Many times when a SW update takes place a few code lines don't write/ transfer correctly and odd things happen. Never encountered any such thing. Broken code such as that simply fails right away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted June 16, 2013 Share #11 Posted June 16, 2013 The original description of the problem reads as if the "left" or "right" side of the direction pad was being pressed. Does the problem resemble what you are seeing when applying that control while in viewing mode? If the direction pad was not actually being pressed (intentionally or not), then I would suspect the contacts of the direction pad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnbuckley Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted June 16, 2013 No, it's not that, Phillip. Honestly, all I am doing is taking multiple pictures in succession. A glance down at the camera -- being held normally, without any buttons being touched -- shows the images spinning through in succession. A couple of weeks ago, when this happened, I noticed it because a fellow asked to see the picture I'd just taken. (I suspect it was partly because I'd taken a picture of his girlfriend, in a bikini...) I wanted to show him the image, partly to prove the bikini-clad girlfriend was incidental to the photo, not its purpose. And we marveled at how I had a moving slide show going on. It was weird. But no, I'm not touching any buttons when this behavior is happening. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted June 16, 2013 Share #13 Posted June 16, 2013 Good suggestion Pop. JB- I was recently out West and often shooting heavily bracketed (5) scenes while recording maybe 10 different panoramic images in rapid succession. Often the camera would happily keep blinking away while recoding images and no problem to report. Then as time wore on (more than one week), another day it would balk at the same process and lock up requiring battery removal to get it going again.This was a major pain as I first had to use an allen wrench to remove the generic RRS L bracket and then the base cover etc. I missed many sunsets while this occurred. Once or twice my camera also behaved in a strange way similar to yours, but mostly it just locked up. I was not pressing any buttons as I was using a cable release so no hands on camera. Then one night while recharging batteries (I had 4 different cameras with each having its own charger) I noticed that the M battery which had shown me "OUT" during the day had blinked maybe no more than 2 minutes before the 80% light came on and then the normal time for the green light to come on. I had 3 M batteries with me and the 2 new ones had similar production run numbers while my original had another run number. After about 3 days I finally isolated the funny battery only to find it was my original battery. I have now have had that replaced and we shall see how it behaves. Maybe this helps. BR, Lou Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted June 16, 2013 Share #14 Posted June 16, 2013 ... I'm not touching any buttons when this behavior is happening. As the camera is supposed to to exactly what you describe while a button is being pressed, I think there might be a stuck button or - perhaps - a glitch which prevents the firmware from noticing when the button is being released. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl G Posted June 16, 2013 Share #15 Posted June 16, 2013 Never encountered any such thing. Broken code such as that simply fails right away. I have on several occasions. Once with a LR 2 download that cleared with a program removal and reinstall and once with a Auto Nav firmware with glitchy intermittent function that cleared with firmware reinstall. Never with a camera, but it's just lines of code too. Like I said, very easy to do and if it works, problem solved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 16, 2013 Share #16 Posted June 16, 2013 It happens on my M9-P from time to time. I've learned to live with it.The pictures appear at random when I push the play button. The last pic captured is not necessarily the one that pops up. Sometimes they scroll like you say. I use Continuous Mode very rarely so I only get the "slide show effect" very rarely. This makes it - logically speaking- rather unlikely that this is an electronic hardware or firmware issue, as those are completely different between the M9 and M240. That leaves either a purely mechanical cause like a button sticking, or an SD card problem. It is rather puzzling, I must admit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted June 17, 2013 Share #17 Posted June 17, 2013 I would immediately suspect that the SD card or connections to it is the culprit. Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted June 17, 2013 Share #18 Posted June 17, 2013 I would immediately suspect that the SD card or connections to it is the culprit. Pete. Based on the descriptions I would not automatically rule out eletrical/electronic or firmware bugs or some sort of interference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted June 17, 2013 Share #19 Posted June 17, 2013 The original description of the problem reads as if the "left" or "right" side of the direction pad was being pressed. Does the problem resemble what you are seeing when applying that control while in viewing mode? If the direction pad was not actually being pressed (intentionally or not), then I would suspect the contacts of the direction pad. I have had this happen when inadvertantly pressing the direction button. It will scroll to the beginning of the set on the card if you press the right button. This is something I have tried not to do but unfortunately the button is susceptible to this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted June 17, 2013 Share #20 Posted June 17, 2013 I have had this occur when holding the camera for walk arounds with a Gordy Strap. I do believe the Vario X redesign includes putting that same button lower therefore aiding in reducing these errors of accidentally holding down a button while carrying camera as the small thumb notch is just above it and often the lower part of one's thumb will hit and hold that button. If no EVF is needed then a Thumbs Up could greatly help in this matter, but seeing how many of us like to use the EVF, a Thumbs Up just won't work here. Hopefully the Leica grip will obviate the need for further measures. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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