M8 shutter life expectancy?

[rivi1969]

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Hello to all,

 

 

I never checked the shutter count when I bought my M8 a couple of years ago, so I just went to www.soens.de. to check it out. It says the camera has made only 4815 clicks, I wonder if the shutter is rated to maybe 100,000 or 150,000 clicks? I guess it should need to go out more often!

Happy weekend,

Ricardo 

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[wda]

Ricardo, that's very light use. I agree, it needs more regular outings to keep it from aging prematurely. Surely you can manage that.

[rivi1969]

David, yes it seems it is a very low mileage, I was trying to find another software to check my X1 shutter count but cannot find anything yet. Regards, R

[Ko.Fe.]

I'm not confident with third party software. M9 in camera method worked for me with M8. 

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/235450-m-9-shutter-actuations/ post #20. 

[satijntje]

How to read the number of attenuations directly on the LCD screen on your M8 or M8.2:

Switch your M8 or M8.2 on
Press the right arrow key 4 times
Press the left arrow key 3 times
Press the right arrow key 1 once
Press the info button once
Scroll down to body debug data
Press Set key once
Scroll down to NUMEXPOSURES
Turn the camera off

[rivi1969]

Satijntje, thanks for the recipe.

 

Ko.Fe. Seems the 2 methods are fine, both show the same 4815 shutter count.

[DAVIDHOPTMAN]

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Great info for finding shutter count

Thanks for the tip

[mnsh]

My two M8s bought in 2007 show 45,770 and 37,390 clicks, thanks for the Menu tip to see how many.  I entered these on the lifespan page you linked to and saw they are getting a bit old in comparison with some that they have outlived.  Could it help that I very rarely clean my sensor, and only then a minute with the rocket blower, and have never had it professionally cleaned (where it must be open for ages)?  I am careful changing lenses, that was one reason for getting a second M8 to take on walks.

I guess when the shutter breaks it will be obvious, like a horrible noise?  Are there any warning signs??  And what do folk recommend after that, a repair or replacement.  Very happy with M8.

[a.noctilux]

No warning noise or something like that with my two digital M that needed repair:

- M8 "shutter fault" message came in middle of a photo session without any sign of warning, after that direction Leica for expensive repair

- M9, in a trip, same thing, no warning, no suspicious noise nothing and the camera wasn't working at mid-use and the "shutter fault" message,

even more expensive repair than M8

 

[andrea-i]

My M8 started making a continuous winding noise right past the 15k shutter count mark, few days after it started the shutter just got stuck, now at Leica for repair $$$.

 

[farnz]

On 4/2/2019 at 5:06 PM, mnsh said:

My two M8s bought in 2007 show 45,770 and 37,390 clicks, thanks for the Menu tip to see how many.  I entered these on the lifespan page you linked to and saw they are getting a bit old in comparison with some that they have outlived.  Could it help that I very rarely clean my sensor, and only then a minute with the rocket blower, and have never had it professionally cleaned (where it must be open for ages)?  I am careful changing lenses, that was one reason for getting a second M8 to take on walks.

I guess when the shutter breaks it will be obvious, like a horrible noise?  Are there any warning signs??  And what do folk recommend after that, a repair or replacement.  Very happy with M8.

Probably the most stress that can be put on your shutter is 1/8000th speed, which is why Leica knocked it back to 1/4000th with the M8.2.  Assiduous use of 1/8000th might help but just so you know, my M8's shutter went while I was shooting at 1/125th.  

Cleaning the sensor less often is likely to have little or no effect on the shutter's service life because the mechanism draws the shutter blades apart 'slowly' and holds them so there's little mechanical stress compared with shooting when the blades are released at high speed and then recocked quickly ready for the next shot.  

If it's any comfort, a colleague's M8 had taken 350,000+ shots with the same shutter when he sold it (with full disclosure to the buyer I should add).

Pete.

[a.noctilux]

Have found this, average 20k to 22k , about 80-85% survival to 35k  in this M8 shutter life poll

 

 

[andrea-i]

Just got an email from Leica, this friday I will get back my beloved M8 fixed.
As usual with anything Leica, there's much controversy and much money involved.
It took them just about two weeks to fix and ship back the camera, they arranged the pickup at my house, it costed 700 euros in total to get it fixed and completely re-calibrated, no idea what they did to the shutter, they don't specify if it was replaced or fixed.

Now, if I dare tell any of my friends that my Leica shutter failed at 15k actuations and that it's considered normal for the M8, a camera that still costs 1k+ on the used market, they will laugh and tell me their canon or nikon have 100k and still going strong as backup for their work.
If I tell them I payed that much money to get it fixed...I better don't even start an argument on that, they'll just think I'm crazy.

Still, can I buy a digital camera today for 1k that is anything similar to an M with that kind of sensor, brand new? No.
If I buy it used then, what happens if it breaks? They still fix it.
I guess it all comes down to commitment with these cameras, still very happy with my choice, my wallet a bit less ; )
 

[a.noctilux]

Two weeks is a kind of quick.

Seven hundred euros is a cost but I think your decision to make the M8 repaired is a very nice one.

 

You don't have to tell your friends for the "15k fail", just ask them if they can use on their DSLR those magnificent M mount lenses that the M8 accepts.

[jaapv]

On 4/14/2019 at 12:25 PM, farnz said:

Probably the most stress that can be put on your shutter is 1/8000th speed, which is why Leica knocked it back to 1/4000th with the M8.2.  Assiduous use of 1/8000th might help but just so you know, my M8's shutter went while I was shooting at 1/125th.  

Cleaning the sensor less often is likely to have little or no effect on the shutter's service life because the mechanism draws the shutter blades apart 'slowly' and holds them so there's little mechanical stress compared with shooting when the blades are released at high speed and then recocked quickly ready for the next shot.  

If it's any comfort, a colleague's M8 had taken 350,000+ shots with the same shutter when he sold it (with full disclosure to the buyer I should add).

Pete.

Leica brought the shutter speed down to 1/4000 for noise reduction purposes. The 1/4000 shutter generated more fail posts on this forum than the 1/8000 one.

[farnz]

1 minute ago, jaapv said:

Leica brought the shutter speed down to 1/4000 for noise reduction purposes. The 1/4000 shutter generated more fail posts on this forum than the 1/8000 one.

I understood that it was a combination of both reasons, Jaap.  They're unlikely to advertise the service life reason since that could lead to awkward questions later about fitness for purpose and the clamour (if you'll excuse the pun) for a quieter shutter offered a convenient reason to make the change in the M8.2 and M8u.  I accept what you say about the posts about fail rate on the forum.

Pete.

[andrea-i]

I might be wrong, but isn't the M9 affected too? I've read a fair amount of posts about the same identical kind of failures.

[a.noctilux]

In my post #9,

yes I have had both shutter fault with M8 and M9,

but I've learned never travel (or do anything important ) with one M (or one Leica R, lens, etc. ) since decades.

As Murphy's law, it would (will ! )  fail in the worse moment.

 

As side note, in my digital M new generation M, not (yet) any trouble for some years use.

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[andrea-i]

2 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

In my post #9,

yes I have had both shutter fault with M8 and M9,

but I've learned never travel (or do anything important ) with one M (or one Leica R, lens, etc. ) since decades.

As Murphy's law, it would (will ! )  fail in the worse moment.

 

As side note, in my digital M new generation M, not (yet) any trouble for some years use.

Very wise!
I've now paired my M8 with a ricoh gr, they complement each other and the ricoh barely takes any space when traveling.
The fact that the M9 suffers the same shutter issues ad the M8,  pretty much confirms the reduced shutter speed is not a cause or a fix to the issue.

[farnz]

27 minutes ago, andrea-i said:

The fact that the M9 suffers the same shutter issues ad the M8,  pretty much confirms the reduced shutter speed is not a cause or a fix to the issue.

"... not a cause ..."? I respectfully suggest that the logic is erroneous.  Regardless of the incidences of shutter failure in M8's and M9's reported through this forum, the 1/8000th shutter speed could be a factor in shutter failure since it stands to reason that doubling the energy and inertia (from 1/4000 to 1/8000) will inevitably add strain to the mechanical components and stress them more over their life.  Causality can be a complex field when there are a number of variables and unknowns.

Pete.