Jump to content

Anyone figure out why the 240 freezes up?


dant

Recommended Posts

Why is it useful ?

Is your question serious?

 

Granted you may not find the frame selector useful, but likewise I don't find an EVF useful. However I will acknowledge that other may do so.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Is your question serious?

 

Granted you may not find the frame selector useful, but likewise I don't find an EVF useful. However I will acknowledge that other may do so.

 

This time my question is serious.

I don't find the frame selector useful at all, but I may be missing something.

Please detail.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Foe many years I worked with SLR's where what you see is what you get. To change lens one either used experience to 'know' what a different focal length would deliver, or you swapped an appropriate 'guess' lens onto the camera. Sometime right, sometimes wrong, depending on personal skill, in part.

 

The frame selector lever, I believe, was simply designed to quick and efficiently make that choice correctly. I suspect it's use was most necessary in the days of LTM lenses, but still quite useful with current lenses as a quick flick confirms ones choice without actually need ing to change lens until the right choice is made. There may also be something I missed. ;)

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

The frame selector lever, I believe, was simply designed to quick and efficiently make that choice correctly.

 

I see, but unlike a SLR the RF always shows the same 28mm-ish view.

After a while one should be able to "visualize" the framelines for other focal lengths even if they are not actually there.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Better view the real frames in person IMO. I've been using the frame selector since the seventies on my M3, M4, M4-2, M6J and M8-2. I won't say that i used it regularly to be honest but i found it useful all these years and i miss it on the M240 now. Good to see it again on the new M-P.

Edited by lct
Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I see, but unlike a SLR the RF always shows the same 28mm-ish view.

After a while one should be able to "visualize" the framelines for other focal lengths even if they are not actually there.

Yes, often the case for me, but still it is comforting to have a quick 'proof' that I am right, which sometimes I am not. Either way the lever is not a deal breaker for me, just nice to have. :D

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
My 240 froze up twice or thrice in 2500 shots. No big deal, but would like to know if there is anything that causes the freeze up. Anyone figure it out yet?

 

Thanks

 

I have rarely had problems with my prior Leicas, film or digital. Yesterday I headed on to Reno to photograph the Cheetah runs at Animal Ark with my M (240) and the 90 f2, APO. Not the ideal camera for such an endeavor but I really wanted to give it a try. Given the very bright desert conditions and high contrast, I decided to bracket my shots and adjusted the exposure compensation 0.5 graduations for 3 shots at a time. I was using the Sandisk 32GB extreme pro card. Worked well for the first few shots but then started taking a long time (about 3 seconds) to take the second shot and again the 3rd. After a few tries it froze. I had to turn the camera off and on but it would not bracket any longer. I thought it was the card so I swapped it out for an older version but the same result. Worked well initially but then slowed down to a snails pace and then froze. I was using the EVF so perhaps that is the issue. I updated the FW to xx.15 today, the latest version, but I am not holding out for a solution to this issue. Very frustrating indeed - lost a lot of nice shots.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Probably won't make you feel much better, but shooting in noon-time sun and heat (like Reno Nevada in the summer) is really pushing the Leica M-240 to its limit with the EVF. The EVF has the sensor running full-time, pulling data off the sensor 30 FPS. That drives up the heat. Add in the ambient temperatures and there's really no chance for the sensor to cool down. And if direct sunlight is landing on the black camera body, Even more heat...

 

My brilliant solution to avoid these problems in Dallas? Don't use the EVF. Hardly a solution, I know... I just got a M-240P, so I'm curious to see if its heat tolerance is any different than the M-240.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Sounds more like, 'missed a lot of nice shots' rather than 'lost'.

Still nothing to smile about, I realize. :cool:

 

Yup, you're right. My mistake also was not shooting in continuous mode, which in hindsight I should have done without the EVF. I find I am so familiar with the viewfinder that the EVF is actually a bit of a distraction for me and I am not quite used to it yet. It sure is bright though.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Probably won't make you feel much better, but shooting in noon-time sun and heat (like Reno Nevada in the summer) is really pushing the Leica M-240 to its limit with the EVF. The EVF has the sensor running full-time, pulling data off the sensor 30 FPS. That drives up the heat. Add in the ambient temperatures and there's really no chance for the sensor to cool down. And if direct sunlight is landing on the black camera body, Even more heat...

 

My brilliant solution to avoid these problems in Dallas? Don't use the EVF. Hardly a solution, I know... I just got a M-240P, so I'm curious to see if its heat tolerance is any different than the M-240.

 

Thanks for this. Didn't think about that so it could likely be the culprit. I hope that's all it is. Will give it a try on my next outing, with and without the EVF. It was pretty hot out there, around 85F but a strong breeze kept it bearable.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for this. Didn't think about that so it could likely be the culprit. I hope that's all it is. Will give it a try on my next outing, with and without the EVF. It was pretty hot out there, around 85F but a strong breeze kept it bearable.

There might be two separate issues at work. When bracketing, you take frames faster than the camera can store on the card. If you start the next series while the camera is still writing the preceding one to the card, you might encounter those three second pauses. This, however, does not explain your camera's becoming inoperative.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have rarely had problems with my prior Leicas, film or digital. Yesterday I headed on to Reno to photograph the Cheetah runs at Animal Ark with my M (240) and the 90 f2, APO. Not the ideal camera for such an endeavor but I really wanted to give it a try. Given the very bright desert conditions and high contrast, I decided to bracket my shots and adjusted the exposure compensation 0.5 graduations for 3 shots at a time. I was using the Sandisk 32GB extreme pro card. Worked well for the first few shots but then started taking a long time (about 3 seconds) to take the second shot and again the 3rd. After a few tries it froze. I had to turn the camera off and on but it would not bracket any longer. I thought it was the card so I swapped it out for an older version but the same result. Worked well initially but then slowed down to a snails pace and then froze. I was using the EVF so perhaps that is the issue. I updated the FW to xx.15 today, the latest version, but I am not holding out for a solution to this issue. Very frustrating indeed - lost a lot of nice shots.
Tihis is a known issue with the older firmware, but the latest firmware is supposed to have cured it.
Link to post
Share on other sites

My M240 has the latest firmware. Shooting in California last weekend at temps around 70 F, and not using an EVF, the camera froze up three different times. This is particularly annoying since: (a) shots were lost; (B) each time the battery had to be removed to reset the camera (which entailed removing a quick release plate and the camera's bottom plate). Pretty disappointing for a $7,000 camera body, to say the least. Is Leica ever going to fix this problem, which I have had with BOTH of my M240 bodies?

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...