M246 captures "blank" images

[Joshua Lowe]

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no idea if this is relevant or not, but i've noticed my 246 is much more sensitive to lenses than my 240 in the regard that the 6-bit reader and liveviews are both extremely picky. I've never had any issues with the 240, even with aftermarket lens conversions or sharpie 6-bit codes, but the 246 just doesnt like them. I discovered yesterday that my 21mm contax converted to m-mount is really flaky when I try to initiate liveview. Sometimes it works, other times it says no lens attached. 

 

I had a couple of Zeiss and CV M mounts that were uncoded but the camera still detected that an uncoded lens was mounted.  I also had a CV LTM with an M adapter.  That one would never be detected in any way, I had to manually select a lens profile for LV to work.

[Steve Ricoh]

Anyone who sent their cameras back to Leica for the 'black frame' issue had them returned yet?

 

I'm still waiting on my M240, three weeks now and counting. 

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[Cherylmeek]

No camera yet, missing it now.....

[Cherylmeek]

I chased Leica last week for an update.  My camera is being worked on as we speak.  I will let you all know when I get more detail.

Edited July 4, 2016 by Cherylmeek

[Steve Ricoh]

My own camera, an M240, was away at Leica for a total of 8 weeks to correct 'black frames'. It came back with a new shutter but with the original version of firmware loaded. I now have a dilemma: do I update the firmware and risk all, or leave it at the earlier version and have a working camera.

[Cherylmeek]

It's back!! Aside from all the usual checks and adjustments, the only thing that has been done is a swap out of the "flexible board". I have done some test shots and all seems fine. Exposures also seem to be better too. I will report back anything further should it occur.

[DaveB]

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I've had my M-P typ240 for about a month and it has just started recording blank images.  Latest firmware, exif data looks normal, uncoded lenses. Doesn't matter whether I shoot RAW or JPEG.  Wish I knew of some workaround or fix.  I'm out of the country and won't be able to send it to New Jersey until the end of the summer.

 

Could not have been happier with the camera before this began to happen.  Frowny face in the Canadian wilderness

[250swb]

Try a different SD card.

[DaveB]

Try a different SD card.

Seems to be independent of whatever SD card I'm using.  Happens with different batteries as well.  Camera will function normally, then all of a sudden write black files with what appears to be normal exif data.  Darndest thing.  Intermittent problems like this are the hardest to troubleshoot.

[mhicks]

Hi Dave

Have you tried a factory reset then reinstalling the latest firmware?

[DaveB]

Hi Dave

Have you tried a factory reset then reinstalling the latest firmware?

No, I haven't.  That might be worth a shot.

 

I'm in a remote locale in Canada, but am able to surf the web by kerosene lamp.  I'll reset to factory settings and reinstall the latest firmware.

 

It would be wonderful to have my confidence in the camera restored.

 

Although 95 of 100 images write to memory just fine, I fear that handful I've missed are all stunning award winners.

[DaveB]

Hi Dave

Have you tried a factory reset then reinstalling the latest firmware?

I've done a reset and reinstall of current firmware.  Seems to work fine the little I've used it over a couple days.  Will be busy shooting over the next 10 days and I'm eager to see whether the black frame problems returns.  After acquiring the M-P I'm not eager to be forced back to relying on my M8.  The M-P is such a superior camera.

 

Oh, well.  Wacky problems like black frames and IR filters are all just a part of the Leica experience.

[lay9eggs]

Hi everyone, I have been following this thread. This is my 1st post here. I bought a used M246 nine months ago and have experienced black frames like some of you do. It occurres roughly once every 500 frames. When it happened, it sounded like 'lazy' shutter like someone described earlier in this thread. The warranty expired in May this year, so I'm not sure if Leica would honor servicing without charge if I sent it back to Germany.

 

The current M10 Firmware Update also mentioned a fix for 'black images when using short exposure time.' I wonder if anyone knows if this is the same thing we are discussing about here. if it is, perhaps they will give us a firmware update sometime soon.

 

Thank you:)

[lay9eggs]

Hi everyone, I have been following this thread. This is my 1st post here. I bought a used M246 nine months ago and have experienced black frames like some of you do. It occurres roughly once every 500 frames. When it happened, it sounded like 'lazy' shutter like someone described earlier in this thread. The warranty expired in May this year, so I'm not sure if Leica would honor servicing without charge if I sent it back to Germany.

 

The current M10 Firmware Update also mentioned a fix for 'black images when using short exposure time.' I wonder if anyone knows if this is the same thing we are discussing about here. if it is, perhaps they will give us a firmware update sometime soon.

 

Thank you:)

This is the link.

 

https://www.dpreview.com/news/0715883971/leica-m10-1-9-4-0-firmware-arrives-with-major-bug-fix

 

Thanks:)

[Kwesi]

Having the same issue currently at about the same frequency. Wonder if we should start a new thread to possibly bring this issue to Leica's attention

[Balex]

Having this issue now with increasing frequency. Most of the time my battery is under 50% if that helps.

Any solutions or word from Leica yet?