soundsgoodsg Posted June 3, 2014 Share #1 Posted June 3, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I was updating the firmware for my T, following instructions as per the PDF of instructions (battery was fully charged), and after turning on the T while holding down the video button, got the update firmware page and pushed yes; then once it was done, it told me to do a reset, but I couldn't get out of that main page (couldn't swipe, pressing the dialog box (the red rectangle around the instructions) did nothing, so I turned the unit off. Turned it back on, scrolled through the menu to reset, then hit Reset, confirmed that I wanted to reset the unit... and that's been it. It's no longer responsive: I turn it on, I see the read LCD screen come to life, but nothing beyond seeing that the LCD is awake; when I connect the unit to the USB cable and the camera is off, the lower red LED light is lit indicating that the battery is charging; when I turn the unit on with the USB connected to my laptop, the SD Card shows up (but no 16GB internal storage icon). I've done a lot of firmware upgrades on all kinds of machines, but this is my first Leica. Am I doomed to visit my Leica dealer? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 3, 2014 Posted June 3, 2014 Hi soundsgoodsg, Take a look here Firmware Update Process. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
soundsgoodsg Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted June 3, 2014 FYI, spoke with a tech support guy at the Leica Store Miami, who was kind enough to suggest (1) turn off the camera, remove the battery, put it back in, power up again, or (2) hold down video button while powering on the unit. These 2 were the only options available short of going back to the store, and neither did anything. When I turn it on, it powers up the touchscreen, but doesn't even get to the stage of showing a Leica logo. I'm just hoping the Leica centre can do something on the spot tomorrow, or even do a 1-for-1 exchange, although given the shortage of bodies I've been reading about, that might not be an option. I managed to get all the bits I wanted - the T, the M-to-T adaptor, the Visoflex and a Summilux 50mm, but until the camera body comes to life, I'm stuck!! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted June 3, 2014 Share #3 Posted June 3, 2014 Hi There I've done it a few times without problem, but as yours hasn't worked . . . If you haven't already tried it, I would suggest trying to install the firmware again . . so . . Download it again (in case it got corrupted) put it on the SD card and switch on the camera with video button pressed and try again. Follow the instructions See . . . otherwise you'd better call that nice Josh at Leica Miami and see what he can suggest (and pass on my regards). All the best 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundsgoodsg Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share #4 Posted June 4, 2014 I tried that yesterday with the original download of the firmware without luck; will try again with a freshly formatted SD card with new download of the firmware. Leica store I purchased the item from has suggested that I double check the adapter and lens is secure. When I first assembled everything, it didn't work and I put everything back in their respective boxes... then when I put it all together again, it seemed to be happier. The engineering of the mounts feel very solid so I'd be surprised if that was the issue... Will try that tonight, otherwise it's off to Leica in the morning. Josh already said beyond pulling and putting the battery back in, the video button pressed while powering on was the only other end-user option to try to get the unit to power. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted June 4, 2014 Share #5 Posted June 4, 2014 I tried that yesterday with the original download of the firmware without luck; will try again with a freshly formatted SD card with new download of the firmware. Leica store I purchased the item from has suggested that I double check the adapter and lens is secure. When I first assembled everything, it didn't work and I put everything back in their respective boxes... then when I put it all together again, it seemed to be happier. The engineering of the mounts feel very solid so I'd be surprised if that was the issue... Will try that tonight, otherwise it's off to Leica in the morning. Josh already said beyond pulling and putting the battery back in, the video button pressed while powering on was the only other end-user option to try to get the unit to power. I'm sorry -it doesn't sound very good - but I'm sure Josh will sort you if it doesn't work (is this Leica Store Miami? - if so, please give him my regards). all the best Jono 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundsgoodsg Posted June 5, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted June 5, 2014 Actually, I bought the T from Leica in Lille, France and live in Singapore - it was 2am local time when I ran out of options and just called the Miami store hoping for help, and Josh was awesome in taking time to run me through my options... Kudos, kind sir! So today I went to the Leica Customer Service office in Singapore, and the T springs to life as soon as the tech guy Ser turned it on with nothing attached and the SD card removed. I was too relieved to feel annoyed that it hadn't come to life for me post the upgrade to be irritated, and after Ser attached the adaptor and my 50mm Lux, bingo: I had a working camera. We confirmed that the firmware was indeed 1.1, reinserted the SD card, and off I went. No idea why it misbehaved for as long as it did, but happy to have a working T 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted June 5, 2014 Share #7 Posted June 5, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Good news! Enjoy your new camera! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundsgoodsg Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted June 6, 2014 Ah... the joy was short lived. Now that I had a camera that would power up reliably, I discovered that it's very erratic with the rear touchscreen. I've shot a simple video off my smartphone and uploaded it to YouTube so you can see it for yourself; easier than writing it out longform. I really really want to play with this camera and enjoy it, but there is clearly something funny going on. With the EVF in place, I can shoot - once I bring the EVF to my eye and the camera switches from the touchscreen to the EVF, it works like a rock: shoots, 1s display of the picture, but the touchscreen is such an integral part of the design that almost a week into ownership, I'm battling this misbehavior. It's back to Leica on Monday, and I'll make sure it acts up like this in front of their tech guy (who was a delight to deal with on the previous visit) and see what he has to say. Without the EVF, it's essentially an unusable camera... PS - the videography is terrible: one hand holding the sony android phone while the other tries to demonstrate the problem... and I muted the audio as my cat was proving to be a sonic distraction 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 6, 2014 Share #9 Posted June 6, 2014 Demand another camera. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundsgoodsg Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share #10 Posted June 6, 2014 It might come to that... although I just tried it without the EVF at all, and once the camera stopped flickering after start up, it worked as it should... I had read about the long time switching from the EVF to the touchscreen, I'm starting to wonder if this is the problem. It seems to be a small thing, the switch from EVF to LCD, done so effortlessly by every other manufacturer... the long handover from EVF to LCD is annoying, but it's the flickering that spooks me, makes it look like the camera is stuck in a loop, until it stops and then carries on in LCD mode. If I go to the EVF and then pull away, presto: cue the flickering. This weekend is going to be spent pushing the T hard in every combination possible so I can give the Leica tech as much info as possible when I drop by. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted June 6, 2014 Share #11 Posted June 6, 2014 Try to reinstall the firmware. Have a natvie lesn on it like the zoom or 23mm. During the update, it appears to me that it also does a lens update. If you had an M lens on it while it was doing the update it maight have caused the problem you are seeing. It is as if it tried to do something during the update but failed to do it and left some code in an unstable state. Try it and see if it helps. It shouldn't hurt. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundsgoodsg Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share #12 Posted June 7, 2014 I'll keep that in mind - I have noticed that with just the camera and nothing attached at all, it will not release the shutter (as expected) but the flickering is rare. Once I start adding things, esp the EVF, I get the flickering when going from EVF to LCD. If the firmware upgrade requires a native T lens for it to happen correctly, that's a pain: I updated without any lens attached (if I remember correctly) but I also imagine there's a lot of folks who have M glass who wouldn't want to shell out another $2k just to be able to upgrade the unit correctly. I have the 50mm Summilux and that's it so far... In the release notes PDF states there is a Lens-FW+Lens-Config note, but it's the same in 1.0 as it is in 1.1. One question to anyone who has M glass on their T - does the aperture setting come through to the T? All I'm getting is f0.0 when my T is on with the 50mm Lux. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikasmg Posted June 7, 2014 Share #13 Posted June 7, 2014 >>One question to anyone who has M glass on their T - does the aperture setting come through to the T? All I'm getting is f0.0 when my T is on with the 50mm Lux.<< No there is no way for the aperture to come through. There's no electronic link and the m lens has no way to communicate the setting. Theoretically, given other parameters the camera could calculate and approximate an approximate aperture but it doesn't do that. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted June 7, 2014 Share #14 Posted June 7, 2014 I just received the EVF today and I can tell you that my camera does not do what your video shows. Switching back and forth takes about 1 sec which is slow compared to a camera like the XT-1. Also, I notice the EVF varies in brightness for a bit before it settles down. It is slow to adjust as the scene brightness changes. Finally, the GPS is slow to acquire a lock and doesn't hole the lock. In contrast, the iPhone gets a lock almost everywhere. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundsgoodsg Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share #15 Posted June 7, 2014 Tried to re-do the firmware update, but the dialog box said that the firmware was up-to-date, and only had an OK option. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted June 7, 2014 Share #16 Posted June 7, 2014 I wonder if a Leica technician could tell you how to override and allow you to reinstall the software. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundsgoodsg Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share #17 Posted June 9, 2014 An update on this: I went to the Leica Customer Service center in Singapore where I live and demonstrated the flickering LCD problem to their tech guy: he told me to give him 2 days and he would call me with an update. I got a call from their customer service rep about 6 hours later: it was indeed a faulty camera, but though it was only purchased on May 31st, because I purchased in another country, they were not obligated to do a one-for-one swap, and would instead be sending the camera back to Leica AG in Germany, and it would be 6-8 weeks before I have a T again. I'm so angry right now that I probably shouldn't post, but I have to vent somewhere... Having previously held Leica in high esteem, I now find them the worst high-end retail company I've ever come across. Rolex wouldn't do this, Mercedes Benz wouldn't do this, yet because I purchased their product in a different country, Leica Singapore will not do a one-for-one swap of a machine that was faulty out of the box. I purchase the unit in Europe while on my honeymoon, less than 48 hours before flying home, checked the contents of the box to make sure everything was there but not the actual unit because "it's a worldwide warranty, if there's a problem, (Leica) will take care of you". When I got back to our hotel, I noticed the flickering and thought it would be solved by the firmware upgrade, but I had to pack and fly home already. So I did that in Singapore, and initially it wouldn't power up at all, and now powers up with the flickering LCD, so 9 days after purchase it's at Leica Singapore's Customer care, and not to be seen until sometime in August - maybe earlier, maybe later. I have not enjoyed any shooting with a correctly functioning T and the worldwide warranty is now going to be 22 months from the time I receive a functioning camera. My immediate response is this: - if you are visiting anywhere overseas, do NOT buy a Leica product and bring it home. For all their supposed high quality control, I have a lemon, and if it happens to you, then you will lose your Leica product for 2 months. There are 4 official Leica outlets & many authorized dealers in Singapore that cater to tourists, and all these well-heeled tourists who buy on their trips to Singapore (from Mainland China, the Middle East, Russia, Europe, the US, etc.) and contribute massively to Leica Singapore's bottom line should stop because if they have a problem, they are going to lose their purchase for 6-8 weeks. Maybe Leica Customer Service centers in other countries are more helpful for Leica products purchased overseas and have fatal problems within a week, but given how unhelpful Leica Singapore is to buyers who have purchased overseas, I suspect other countries will reciprocate and send any Singapore-purchased Leica lemons off on a 2 month journey to Germany. - there are a large number of reviewers who write Leica reviews and have links in their reviews to various online sellers (BHP, Amazon, etc.) that if you purchase via that link, they will receive a commission on the sale, and that helps to fund their time working on the reviews. They should all put in a big disclaimer that unless they live in the US, they are exposing themselves to paying in full for an item that if it arrives faulty, it will gone for 2 months but the payment is due immediately. Better off to put down a deposit locally and pay the difference only after an exhaustive test at the dealer. Sorry if this hits reviewers in the pocket, but it's the truth. This is my first experience buying a Leica. Such a letdown.... :( 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikasmg Posted June 9, 2014 Share #18 Posted June 9, 2014 >>if you are visiting anywhere overseas, do NOT buy a Leica product and bring it home. For all their supposed high quality control, I have a lemon, and if it happens to you, then you will lose your Leica product for 2 months. << I was going to order from overseas. Good thing I did not! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB W Posted June 9, 2014 Share #19 Posted June 9, 2014 I'm so sorry soundsgoodsg that you've had such a bad experience and appreciate your explaining in such detail what happened technically as well as with the dealer. My best wish for you is that you get a new T back and fall in love... I hope you will consider writing a letter to Leica HQ about all this. Please keep us posted. I do hope you enjoyed 99.99% of your honeymoon! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted June 9, 2014 Share #20 Posted June 9, 2014 though it was only purchased on May 31st, because I purchased in another country, they were not obligated to do a one-for-one swap, and would instead be sending the camera back to Leica AG in Germany I would challenge this ........ Although 'allegedly not obligated' I think if Leica Head Office heard that they were refusing to replace an acknowledged faulty camera they would not be pleased....... The dealer clearly does not want to use one of his scarce stock to replace a camera and lose a sale for a few days ..... I would email Leica direct, outlining the whole tale and the Dealers response. I think you might get a different reply ..... 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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