john_nyc Posted April 25, 2007 Share #1 Posted April 25, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm sure this has been covered before, but... Is the battery charger for the M8 the best that Leica could source? For such an elegantly designed camera the charger is such a lump. It's bad enough that it's huge, but the fact that it has to sit directly in a recepticle without the benefit of a removable cable (like a laptop/camcorder/hard disk/etc/etc) makes it even worse. My example also doesn't start charging the battery when I put it into the cradle all the time. Sometimes I need to unplug the charger, plug it back in, and then cradle the battery for the charge indicator to light. Enough negativity... Does there exist a third-party alternative which may be a little more in line with my admittedly high level of expectation (at least when it comes to battery chargers)? Thanks, John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 25, 2007 Posted April 25, 2007 Hi john_nyc, Take a look here M8 Charger Alternative?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Philinflash Posted April 25, 2007 Share #2 Posted April 25, 2007 John, I take your points, all valid. One design fix for the mounting problem would be a short extension cord with a male equivalent of the receptacle on the brick on one end and a female equivalent of the plug end on the other. That would give the user the option of plugging the brick in directly, as now, or allowing the user a little more flexibility. Obviously, this would add a little cost to the product, but one would think not a huge amount. Leica, are you listening? Of course, there is nothing stopping you from just using a simple five-and-dime extension cord except the obvious inelligence of the solution. Philip Kozloff New York Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted April 25, 2007 Share #3 Posted April 25, 2007 John-- Mark Norton (yes, the same guy who took apart his M8 and took pictures of it for us all to see) had a thread a couple months back on how he modified his charger. I'm not competent to do any of the things he did, but he illustrated the procedure well. I imagine that if you bought a second M8 (to get the extra charger) as Mark did, or if you simply purchased the second charger, you could get an electrical technician to do a similar modification for you. You're right. Beside the elegance and sophistication of the M8, the charger is an amazing lapse. The irony of your question "Is the battery charger for the M8 the best that Leica could source?" is lost on no one. --HC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted April 25, 2007 Share #4 Posted April 25, 2007 If you do a tag search on "Travel Charger", you'll see what I did. I had hoped to produce a version which would run off an Apple Mag-Safe connector but I have so far failed to replicate the Mac-side of the connector - it's propietary and not generally available. It's also minute... A few months in, the travel charger is proving absolutely fine... http://www.leica-camera-user.com/digital-forum/17072-m8-travel-battery-charger.html#post178945 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricC Posted April 25, 2007 Share #5 Posted April 25, 2007 John, This one has been found by another member, but as far as i know no one has yet bought or tested one. PIXO TWIN CHARGER Eric Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steich Posted April 25, 2007 Share #6 Posted April 25, 2007 I just Ansmann (who make the Leica charger) if they could supply a removable cable. On their website they seem to have a contact plate with a connector for a cable- and this plate seems to replace the removable connector plate we have with our Leica charger. Unfortunately, their CS is not a good as Leica´s, so it may take a little time before they answer, if they do at all.... Stefan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steich Posted April 25, 2007 Share #7 Posted April 25, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Wow...this time they were fast! Sorry the new removable plate is only for their new generation of chargers...not for the "old" ones like the M8 charger. The CS man said they could make a removable cable plate, if there were at least 500 people who wanted it... Guy, do you think it could be possible to ask Leica if they probably want to offer it as an accessory? Otherwise, even in this forum, it could be difficult to find the other 498 people Regards Stefan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted April 25, 2007 Share #8 Posted April 25, 2007 I don't see much advantage in this extra cable over a simple extension cord. Btw, having seen the interior of the M8 charger Mark opened up, I would not trust Ansmann for the safety of anything electrical. I think the first priority Leica should have would be a better build-quality charger (and yes - smaller too.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_nyc Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share #9 Posted April 25, 2007 Thanks for all the information, guys! Mark, that was an impressive hack. If only Leica had thought of it first... I noticed on Ansmann's website that they have a universal "Digicharger" I wonder if that's compatible with our batteries. I just sent them an email asking. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephengilbert Posted April 25, 2007 Share #10 Posted April 25, 2007 re the PIXO charger: My recollection is that somewhere in the thread discussing Mark's modified charger there is a discussion of the Pixo, and that it does NOT work with the M8 battery. Anyone interested in the PIXO would be advised to check this out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philinflash Posted April 25, 2007 Share #11 Posted April 25, 2007 Wow...this time they were fast! The CS man said they could make a removable cable plate, if there were at least 500 people who wanted it... Guy, do you think it could be possible to ask Leica if they probably want to offer it as an accessory? Otherwise, even in this forum, it could be difficult to find the other 498 people Regards Stefan Make that 497; I'll have one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grdglass Posted April 25, 2007 Share #12 Posted April 25, 2007 re the PIXO charger: My recollection is that somewhere in the thread discussing Mark's modified charger there is a discussion of the Pixo, and that it does NOT work with the M8 battery. Anyone interested in the PIXO would be advised to check this out. Correct. Someone on another forum checked with PIXO. PIXO got an M8 battery and said their charger would not work with the battery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thpeters Posted April 26, 2007 Share #13 Posted April 26, 2007 In my email I was asking for a smaller recharger for the M8,more elegant and defined, with cord or without. This was their answer Dear Theo, Thanks for this information. I will forward your request to our German design team who can discuss it with Leica. Thanks again Paul Channell Managing Director ANSMANN ENERGY (UK) LTD UK Headquarters Units 19/20, Maple Park, Essex Road, Hoddesdon, Herts. EN11 0EX, UK Tel: +44 (0) 870 609 2233 Fax: +44 (0) 870 609 2234 Mobile: +44 (0) 7818 068 375 Email: pchannell@ansmann.co.uk Website: Leica User Forum Offices in UK, Germany, Italy, France, Baltics, Hong Kong, Macau & China -----Original Message----- From: Theo Peters <thtango@telus.net> To: Channell Paul Sent: Wed Apr 25 15:21:22 2007 Subject: Charger for Leica M8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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