ericborgstrom Posted June 29, 2013 Share #1 Posted June 29, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) diglloyd blog - Leica M Typ 240: Unreliable Has others experienced this? I am still waiting for my M240. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 29, 2013 Posted June 29, 2013 Hi ericborgstrom, Take a look here diglloyd: "Leica M Typ240: Unreliable". I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
viramati Posted June 29, 2013 Share #2 Posted June 29, 2013 Had mine for around 3 weeks and have had 3or 4 lock ups and that is about it and they seems to have something to do with the EVF operation. I have to say I find some of his comments really rather silly especially those about the frame lines which will obviously disappear when the camera is off. Yes it is a learning curve when you move from the M9 but on the whole IMHO operationally it is a better camera. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbell Posted June 29, 2013 Share #3 Posted June 29, 2013 On my recent trip, the Leica M Typ 240 proved to be the most unreliable camera I have ever used in the field in the past eight years, accompanied by many irritating behaviors. Each Leica M is a handcrafted product in every detail and may only leave the factory after being tested, checked and adjusted for so long until its flawless finish and performance are guaranteed and fulfil the exhaustive quality demands on which the worldwide reputation of Leica is founded. This commitment to precision and quality has been the the core principle of Leica manufacturing for almost a century. The endurance, reliability and perceived value of Leica products have been instrumental in the creation of the Leica legend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted June 29, 2013 Share #4 Posted June 29, 2013 his comments really rather silly especially those about the frame lines which will obviously disappear when the camera is off. IMO there is nothing silly about preferring the framelines to be a 'mechanical' feature, visible without requiring the camera to be switched on. I know that the LED illuminated frames have the advantage of extra clarity in certain lighting conditions (when I first encountered the Typ240 frames I was impressed and they reminded me of M3 framelines) but I know I'd find it irritating to have to switch my cameras on just to see the framelines. (Before anyone quips that you can't take a photo without the camera being switched on, that is beside the point.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 29, 2013 Share #5 Posted June 29, 2013 But - that is the way he camera is designed and something known before purchase - hardly a gobsmacked gripe afterwards.... The strength of the focus peaking is certainly something worth discussing. But complaining that a system that shows maximum contrast does not work when there is zero contrast does not indicate much understanding of the basics. And the locking mechanism being stiff (which of course it shouldn't be) indicating something to do with "rangefinder operation":confused: does not really inspire confidence in his judgement. I would prefer assessments by more reliable reviewers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest borge Posted June 29, 2013 Share #6 Posted June 29, 2013 At this price point every complaint like this is valid. At this price point the camera should be flawless and reliable from day one. Leica should take note and stop wasting time developing crap like the X Vario that nobody wants and rather focus on the M's which people do want (but can't get due to supply problems...) -.- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 29, 2013 Share #7 Posted June 29, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Define "nobody" with the XVario selling not half bad according to the dealers I know... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest borge Posted June 29, 2013 Share #8 Posted June 29, 2013 Define "nobody" with the XVario selling not half bad according to the dealers I know... According to what I've heard from several dealers and Leica users there is almost zero interest in the X Vario and it isn't moving (selling) at all... I am certain that most Leica users aren't really too interested in the X Vario. There are probably exceptions: 1. Gear heads that just wants to test everything and then later re-sell it. 2. People with too much money to waste, and 3. People that are obsessed with brands, and which prioritze owning a certain brand above all. The thing is utterly overpriced for what it is. It costs more than a RX1, which again is utterly overpriced for what it is. The X Vario isn't worth one cent more than the Fuji X-E1 equipped with the Fujinon 18-55 OIS for example. Even most typical Leica evangelists agrees to that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedaes Posted June 29, 2013 Share #9 Posted June 29, 2013 [quote=borge; "I am certain that most Leica users aren't really too interested in the X Vario. " I don't think it is aimed at "most Leica users". Ming Thein describe's very well the demographic it probably is aimed at in his review on his site blog.mingthein.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwbell Posted June 29, 2013 Share #10 Posted June 29, 2013 Define "nobody" with the XVario selling not half bad according to the dealers I know... "Not half bad" is less subjective? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
viramati Posted June 29, 2013 Share #11 Posted June 29, 2013 IMO there is nothing silly about preferring the framelines to be a 'mechanical' feature, visible without requiring the camera to be switched on. I know that the LED illuminated frames have the advantage of extra clarity in certain lighting conditions (when I first encountered the Typ240 frames I was impressed and they reminded me of M3 framelines) but I know I'd find it irritating to have to switch my cameras on just to see the framelines. (Before anyone quips that you can't take a photo without the camera being switched on, that is beside the point.) Ian I agree but what I was trying to say is that it is a little 'silly' to complain about this when it appears to me to be obvious they will disappear when the camera is turned off. the merit of led or mechanical frame lines is another issue Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olsen Posted June 29, 2013 Share #12 Posted June 29, 2013 Regardless.... The most important message digiloyd tries to convey is the lack of reliability. Which is serious. We had the same issue with M8 when that was launched. It was fixed by updates and more detailed instructions on what memory cards to use. Leica must adress this issue at once! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olsen Posted June 29, 2013 Share #13 Posted June 29, 2013 Sorry, but I don't share that view. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted June 29, 2013 Share #14 Posted June 29, 2013 Never got the least problem so far. I mostly use the M240 like film Ms though so LV/EVF/Video issues, if any, are not really my concern. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted June 29, 2013 Share #15 Posted June 29, 2013 The most important message diglloyd tries to convey is the lack of reliability. Which is serious. I've had mine for eight weeks now—absolutely no reliability issues yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalfx Posted June 29, 2013 Share #16 Posted June 29, 2013 It feels like a review that was written after he spent 30 minutes with the camera and it locked up on him. His points are all valid, but you need to spend more than 30 minutes with a camera if you are going to write reviews that are worthwhile. This review is fairly worthless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted June 29, 2013 Share #17 Posted June 29, 2013 I don't think it appropriate to shoot the messenger. My M240 has been reliable for the 4 weeks I have had it, with the exception of a lock-up while the EVF was on and/or live view is being used -- the camera showed the last shot taken on the LCD but would not budge from that condition until the battery was pulled and reinserted. Without the EVF there has been (knock wood) 100% reliability. I do think that more investigation is appropriate as to the camera's operations while the EVF is mounted and on. In addition to the lockup, there was also an instance of the camera scrolling wildly through the prior frames on the SD card (Panasonic Gold 16G). Both of these were isolated and not duplicated thereafter under any conditions, but that does not mean that there isn't a bug in the firmware that should be investigated. Maybe my tolerance level is higher, but I do not consider the camera any more unreliable than any other electronic camera. Or any other electronic device for that matter. I had to reboot my wife's five year old iMac into safe mode after it froze up yesterday. But I do not consider it an unreliable computer. Now if it was an airplane. . . . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted June 29, 2013 Share #18 Posted June 29, 2013 He has had the camera and been using it since April 9th, hardly 30 minutes. There are numerous tests on his paid site. He explains that the lack of constant frame lines is a problem due to the slow start up time and therefore not well thought out. Stating in this thread that one hasn't experienced a problem because they don't use the EVF is nonsensical. Presumably if the feature is part of the camera and sold as such it should operate properly and not cause freezes, etc. Even the range finder focus was off when received new so that is a quality issue. On a side note, I have tried with two Orange County, CA dealers to see the X-Vario and while both had the camera in stock, neither was willing to provide a demo camera so one could try it out in the store. They just sit there in the box waiting for the person that will buy a negatively panned camera for the red dot sight unseen and untried. They are available from every Leica dealer so they are not selling like hot cakes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest borge Posted June 29, 2013 Share #19 Posted June 29, 2013 It feels like a review that was written after he spent 30 minutes with the camera and it locked up on him. His points are all valid, but you need to spend more than 30 minutes with a camera if you are going to write reviews that are worthwhile. This review is fairly worthless. Uh, did you even bother to read the article before posting this? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sully Posted June 29, 2013 Share #20 Posted June 29, 2013 I received my first M240 (3-1-13) It worked perfectly for stills and video. I had to send it back for lug replacement on (5-24-13) when I got my second camera. The second camera worked flawlessly for stills and video. First camera comes back (6-24-13) and is also working perfectly. Both cameras have never locked up. Why? I think the M240 is a computer attached to a video camera, so, it should be treated like a video camera which means ... "Don't keep turning it off and on." All the video engineers and computer experts I work with tell me, "Just turn them (video cameras and editing computers) on, and don't turn them off unless you absolutely have to." Many post production facilities never turn off their equipment. In the field we obviously have to turn video cameras off more often (lunch break or long boring plane flights). But during a normal work day we try to leave the cameras powered up. For some electrical quantum physics reason that I don't understand, it is better to just let the cameras stay powered. On jobs with the M240s I leave them on all the time and just keep feeding them batteries (which now are in good supply). After a while the cameras go to "sleep", but they "wake up" quickly when the shutter button is touched. Whether this procedure is just luck or wise use of electrical machines, is anybody's guess. But so far, so good. Ciao, Sully Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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