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M240 firmware FW 2.0.0.11 Update [Merged]

huckles

By huckles
in Leica M (Type 240 / 262)

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Karl G

Karl G

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Hi,

 

I am using AWB, DNG, Adobe Standard, haven't bothered to make a profile and discarded my previous dual illuminance profile. I am not certain, but I don't think any of the beta testers found it necessary to use a home-rolled profile (maybe they can chime in). I haven't found it necessary although, I might make a simple one to change Saturation and a few other things to my personal preference, but I may just be too lazy to care.

 

We were told at the time we received the beta that it would not be possible to go back to the previous firmware.

 

No crashes or regrets about not having the old firmware.

 

Rick

 

Agreed. Thanks to several generous forum members, I was working with custom color profiles prior to the new FW and after, the adobe standard is fine. Adjustments are purely for artistic effect after the upgrade and are just a normal workflow for any camera, despite the brand and including the M9.

 

The FW is stable.

Functionality of LV is improved.

 

I use one ..... but the differences are very slight over embedded and adobe ..... mostly slightly more saturated blues...... which is a big difference from the old firmware where my previous profiles altered the images which substantially....

 

Agree entirely, and thighslapper's profile, which he was kind enough to share was/is excellent. The adobe standard is now very close to this profile.

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ggriswold

ggriswold

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Installed the new FW. Camera looks good. Did a few test shots that were all yellow regardless of the WB settings. Then being the brain surgeon that I am, realized that I left a yellow filter on the lens from last use on my Monochrom. Ooops. Looks great now.

Haven't tested on human shots yet. I did not see a finish message when the install was finished, but I didn't sit an stare when I did it. I have had a Sony F3 and Garmin GPS get bricked when doing updates so I always let the device sit for a long time.

Cheers,

George

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Etruscello

Etruscello

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I share my experience with the M240 update FW 2.0.0.11 after a morning's testing. My news is all good -- Leica lives up to its improvements description and I found some results I did not dare to hope for.

My concern had been red-edge, so I'll describe my tests on that issue.

My 24 Elmar had slight right-side red-edge -- gone! Same with 28 Cron.

My Zeiss 18mm f4 had pronounced all-around red-edge. Gone! You must set the M240 to the code for the 21mm pre-asph to get this good result.

Now the unbelievable: My CV12mm performs now on the M240 as it had on the M-E -- no red-edge, no significant vignetting by f8! It's a pleasure to be able to now use LV and see a 12mm perspective! Again, you must use the 21mm pre-asph code (even the Tri-Elmar 16mm code is off). The general utility of the 21mm pre-asph code is back!

Please share your results under the new FW; in particular and in regard to red-edge: How does the Tri_Elmar perform at f16?, How does the 18mm Elmar perform?

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dwbell

dwbell

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So I'll be the first.

 

Auto-ISO is thoroughly broken in mania on the M 240. This is not a feature, it is a bug and it should have been fixed in firmware. I'm glad that those of you who rely on Auto WB have that fixed. I find it rare that I see an image that I don't adjust WB in anyway. That's what I use Lightroom for.

 

Yes, I know what Auto-ISO does. And what it does is bizarre and senseless. ISO has always been a weak point of the user interface on the digital M series, but in the M 240, it's just terrible, reducing my use of the camera to a completely manual mode in which I choose the ISO or to aperture priority mode. A semi-automatic shutter priority mode in which ISO is automatically adjusted to match shutter speed is essential to a camera in which f stop is manually selected. If anybody wants to take a shot at defending this idiotic system, just try and paraphrase what Leica's M (240) manual says. Surprise! The manual doesn't explain how it works. Why? Because even the individuals who wrote it couldn't figure it out. Either that or they were trying to gloss over the problem by not mentioning it.

 

I don't understand how this could delay the firmware. This is an exceedingly simple matter of coding. My 8 year old writes more complex code on his Lego Mindstorms. At the very most it involves the following:

 

Add a field to the ISO screen to choose manual ISO mode (Default and Broken).

If user chooses Broken, keep the code the way it is.

Else if shutter speed is not Auto, adjust ISO to give best results (this should be the same code as in auto mode, except with the shutter speed locked) to maximum ISO chosen.

 

I do not see what is so hard with this. This is not rocket science. That this is not how Leica operates is no excuse. That's like my 11 year old daughter telling me she just isn't a person who does homework. That's no excuse. It can be done, it is not so hard. Just do it.

 

ISO (and exposure as a whole) is a problem for the digital M series. What I really wish Leica did was add a dial like the one that If first saw on a Canon G compact cameras so you can choose the ISO without an on-screen menu.

 

CanonG9_ISO_dial.jpg

 

While Leica is at it, they should have EV adjustment built into the shutter speed dial as the Contax G did. As it is now, it's not easy to select at all.

 

contax-g1-rangefinder.jpg

 

Doing these two things would give the camera far more versatility for photographers who don't want to treat it like a glorified point and shoot with manual focus and manual aperture.

 

This is a long rant, but coming from a design background and having quite a bit of experience in user interface design, I think about such things more than many people.

 

I am deeply concerned that Leica will not fix this problem or, if they will, might do it in a year when the cameras are finally available in stores and customers give feedback that they won't buy it because ISO under manual is broken. For a camera that is to have a life of perhaps only two years before the next major revision comes out, this is a tragic blow.

 

Aaaaand breath! You sound like me, when I bought the M9 all those years ago.

 

Leica are slow, their coding and electronics areas are not a match for iPhones, for canon, fuji etc. Their optics and rangefinder have no match. It's folly to expect them to move quickly, to react openly to customers concerns, to behave akin to any 'modern company' at all in fact.

 

You either learn to put up with / live with it, or you go mad - and switch brands. But they won't change. Too small, too static, too conservative.

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george +

george +

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Please allow us to disagree.

 

When I set the camera to Automatic, I expect it to set the exposure correctly following my preferences where possible. When that is not possible then it will change the exposure time to get a well exposed picture and will display the changed shutter setting in the finder.

 

This to me is well defined, logical, and the way I want it.

 

Manuals? They are habitually ill-written even in the original language and then further desensed (made less sensible) by translators - machine or human.

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jrp

jrp

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Agreed. Thanks to several generous forum members, I was working with custom color profiles prior to the new FW and after, the adobe standard is fine. Adjustments are purely for artistic effect after the upgrade and are just a normal workflow for any camera, despite the brand and including the M9.

...

Agree entirely, and thighslapper's profile, which he was kind enough to share was/is excellent. The adobe standard is now very close to this profile.

 

Interesting: if the Adobe profile was generated using the previous firmware should we expect it to work optimally with the new firmware? Or does the new firmware put some new settings into the .DNG files that allows Adobe to produce better colours anyway?

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thighslapper

thighslapper

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How about some skin tones examples?

I remember many complained about it.

 

from this afternoon ..... auto wb and nil done in LR

 

M+Novoflex+Macro Elmarit R 100/2.8 ISO 1600

 

....... needs -200k to be spot on ..... but a matter of taste really..... this was indoors with mixed window/incandescent and a touch of icelight....

 

..... I've added a second with WB adjusted (for about the 5th time .... teeth and lipstick look a bit blue to me, so maybe the original is closer than I thought.....)

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

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Guest roey

Guest roey

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Now that we have established that the new firmware version is a step in the right direction: Any idea why Leica labelled this a 2.x release? The M9 made it through at least half a dozen versions and never reached the 2.0 milestone. Did they rewrite major pieces?

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StephenPatterson

StephenPatterson

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Now that we have established that the new firmware version is a step in the right direction: Any idea why Leica labelled this a 2.x release? The M9 made it through at least half a dozen versions and never reached the 2.0 milestone. Did they rewrite major pieces?

 

My understanding is "Yes", this is a major rewrite of the original code which is why after upgrading it is not possible to return to earlier versions.

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ymc226

ymc226

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AWB definitely better. Still locks up with EVF and continuous shooting - requiring battery removal to reset. :(

 

That's too bad. I was shooting with bracketing this morning with the old FW as I am on vacation and had to take the half case and battery cover off literally 10 times to remove the battery.

 

Does anyone know what the problem is and why they can't rectify this issue with the latest update?

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Rick

Rick

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That's too bad. I was shooting with bracketing this morning with the old FW as I am on vacation and had to take the half case and battery cover off literally 10 times to remove the battery.

 

Does anyone know what the problem is and why they can't rectify this issue with the latest update?

 

This is not fixed. Leica is aware of it. Look for it in the next firmware.

 

I shot everyday for 24 days in Sept. and shot about 5,000 images with the new firmware and gave a lot of feedback to Leica. Feedback included all the problems I was having with the EVF. Leica got a lot of feedback from several of us about EVF problems and lockups and blanking of the EVF's image after each shot when the camera is warm.

 

After the first week I ended up leaving the EVF in the hotel room, it wasn't useable because of the erratic behavior. Leica knows about this and knows about the high temperature problems with LV and the EVF. They stated the fix isn't addressed in this firmware.

 

Rick

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