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Anyone figure out why the 240 freezes up?


dant

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Hi, I've read all the posts..thanks everyone for sharing as it looks like you all have been looking for a fix for this problem for some time.

 

I purchased a brand new 240 and the 50 1.4 lens about a month ago. using sandisk extreme pro 16GB which I formatted in the camera. Seemed ok for the first 50 or so test shots..as I got into the 3rd week and a little more shooting..(i've only taken really about 400 - 500 shots so far)..it froze on me yesterday with the red light staying on on the back ..turning it off did nothing..red light still on...did battery pull to resolve. did some more shots and it seemed ok. Next day...took about 40 shots (single shot mode)..bumped ISO a bit....froze again with red light staying on and only battery pull would resolve again...again took some more shots and it seemed ok..will see how it goes moving forward....from reading the posts...I guess I'm stuck with it until some fix (if ever)....sounds like sending it does not do any good as they will just replace some component in there and chances are problem will persist upon return..it's brand new, I really don't want repair taking it apart right now..I haven't even enjoyed it for 4 weeks yet....also the firmware on it is from 2 versions ago and I have to still update it. Will try the transcend cards I guess for now to see if I have any luck...

 

cheers

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Why ?

 

No SD card, not even the ones that were actually defective, ever made my non-Leica cameras crash.

Lucky you.

 

From the problem description it appears that the camera does hang and not crash. This might be the case if the card fails to write or to verify a block of data. IIRC, I had even computers hang under similar circumstances; it happened once or twice that a camera did it. Under such circumstances I use the SD card formatter on my PC and have it overwrite every single block on the device.

 

Besides, formatting or replacing the card is cheap and fast, as opposed to handing the camera in.

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OK but the Sandisk Extreme Pro 16GB is a very good card per se. I would try another one for sake of precaution, or simply format the current one with SD Formatter in the first place, then i would check that the latest firmware is installed but if the camera goes on freezing like this i would ask for a replacement or a refund immediately. This sort of behavior is not normal at all and nobody can force you to accept a repaired body.

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Can we have a look at the firmware in the SD card, then?

 

We can look at the specific protocol of SD management, and my confidence there is high because standards are 'burnt into' the cards. In fact SD cards are so safe-proofed that each isolates, makes unavailable, at least 25% of their capacity as unreliable which means their physical capacity is greater than advertised. Trusted vendors choose not to rely upon actual capacity. Fake cards corrupt the built-in interface dialog to make the card fail just when we need it to succeed.

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I'm baffled by the posts here suggesting there is no freezing problem with the camera. It's obvious from reading this thread that a lot of us have M240s that show the exact same behavior - namely freezing after shooting a few shots in quick succession and being inoperable without a battery pull. Worst of all, the last shot taken before the freeze is invariably lost in my experience.

 

I am on the latest firmware and find no difference with it. The freezing still occurs, albeit rarely, which has always been the case including with the original firmware. I use only 16gb and 32GB high end cards purchased from reputable dealers and have experienced this freezing with brand new fast cards from Sandisk, Lexar, and Samsung. With a variety of well charged OEM batteries too. Always in single shot mode, which is all I use.,

 

I have never experienced this kind of freezing from countless other cameras of all makes. If this behavior were as prevalent with an entry level Canon or Nikon DSLR, there would be an uproar and the manufacturer would address it. Without a doubt the problem is real, affects quite a few of us, is not common with cameras in general, is not an SD card problem, and Leica is not making good.

 

All that said, I can live with it and love my M240 like no camera I've ever owned. As an amateur enthusiast, I can afford to miss the shott, and I've trained myself not to shoot more than one or two frames at a time before waiting for the buffer to clear. But I think of Leica as having great customer service, and this is a black mark on their record.

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It's bad that this hasn't been fixed.

 

In my case it had reached epidemic proportions, on one day it was locking up every 10 or so shots. I dowdloaded SDFormatter, and I run that on my cards every time I move the images onto my computer. It still happens, but much less. Only 2 complete battery-out lockups since then, maybe 1 or 2 switch-off-and-on lockups per day.

 

Anything we do is just a workaround - the problem shouldn't occur.

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I heeded the advice of some to send an M240 into Leica repair. Leica contacted me after replacing the shutter amongst other repairs in order to find out exactly how I was using the camera when freeze ups occurred and they could not replicate my problems with the repaired camera.

 

I have not yet used this camera, but did send in another for exactly the same fix-I hope.

 

I do suggest anyone experiencing freeze ups regularly to send the unit into Leica so that they can understand that more than a handful of users are having lockups/freeze ups. I realize it could burden those without a viable backup, but perhaps your camera will function better after repairs.

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Many of us would rather deal with this intermittent issue than be without our camera for an indeterminate period of time. Leica is not known for the speed of their turnaround. This issue is clearly prevalent enough for Leica to do their own inquiry and fix it.

 

How could good faith people believe that there is a problem if their body works fine and complainers don't return their camera?

 

What reason do we have to say there is a problem if there isn't?

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I have been trying different settings/cards/batteries and combinations thereof to get to the ground of this.

 

My latest theory (until I disprove that, too) is that is has something to do with high ISO. As most of you are aware the number of images that can be buffered when shooting rapidly is much lower when you shoot at higher ISO -- most likely because the camera processes these images more/differently (noise reduction?).

 

I have seen the freezes rarely over the summer and much more frequently in the last couple of months. Other than the temperature (it is colder now in the northern hemisphere) the main difference is the available light. When shooting soccer (which is when I have this problem) I use a fixed high shutter speed and auto ISO.

 

As I said, this is my latest theory.

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Many of us would rather deal with this intermittent issue than be without our camera for an indeterminate period of time. Leica is not known for the speed of their turnaround. This issue is clearly prevalent enough for Leica to do their own inquiry and fix it?

Hard to convince Leica or whatever camera maker that a problem they tried to fix already is still "clearly prevalent" if we don't feel the need to ask for a repair, a refund or a replacement.

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Hi, I have posted this before: I used to get freeze-ups until I switched to a Transcend Card. Since then I cannot even force the camera to freeze. I ordered the cards from Leica Store, Miami, Florida. Just my experience. Dan

 

I changed from San Disk cards to Transcend (top of the range/max speed 64GB ones), after reading that they were much better and have had more lock ups than ever. I can easily make mine lock up. Put on the EVF, turn it on and take photos rapidly in a warm environment. This points to it being a thermal issue. BTW I always do a full format of the card with SD formatter before using.

 

Wilson

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