Sensor has gone black?

[jaapv]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Yes, but not if you mount an M lens.

[geetee1972]

So why do they not publicise this more effectively?

 

Just tried the camera again and the sensor is now just permanently black. Everything else works, just no read out. I'm quite literally feeling sick to my stomach. What is the worst case scenario - is it possible that I get caught in a ten minute shower with a camera that I've previously been told is weathe sealed (points here on M lenses not withstanding) and I end up being £5k out of pocket?

[ropo54]

Regretfully, the M lens is the critical issue. I would suppose the water seeped in through that 'weak' point and therein lies the dilemma (from Leica's standpoint of representations made).  I would suspect you would be on quite solid ground were you using their SL lenses.

 

Good luck; hopefully they will be magnanimous in their review of your situation.

 

 

 

(You may have given new meaning to your website moniker "tears in (the) rain". Sorry, bad pun).

[BJN]

Have you tried cleaning/wiping the contacts on the adaptor and lens mount, I got a "black screen" one time, but after wiping the contacts it has never happened again.

[jip]

It was an M mount lens with a Leica adapter, which I would suppose has a gasket to seal it. As I said, it seems to be working fine now.

 

 

Canon Lenses are officially only weather sealed if you have a filter on it... nice trick right?

 

Leica M lenses on SL are NOT weather sealed AT ALL. 

[geetee1972]

Canon Lenses are officially only weather sealed if you have a filter on it... nice trick right?

 

Leica M lenses on SL are NOT weather sealed AT ALL. 

This is not what I was told by the dealer and I've never found anything in Leica's literature that explains this.

 

Really for somethign this critical, it should be painted in red on the box.

[Jeff S]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I specifically asked the dealer about whether the weather sealing also applied when using M lenses and he assured me it would be fine. Lesson learned I guess.

If he's a reputable dealer, he will either exchange the camera or send it in for you and provide a loaner.

 

Jeff

[ramarren]

If this is what I fear, it seems to me to be the end of this camera, unless you have been very lucky. It sounds like water has gotten behind the sensor cover glass and possibly inside the camera too.

Although the camera has been weather-proofed, it is not watertight, and the lens mount has no effective seal at all AFAIK, providing a point of entry.

Get it to Leica ASAP.

 

 

The SL lenses have o-rings on them that seal the lens mount, just like dedicated lenses on all other systems do. Why would you say such a thing? 

[Jeff S]

The SL lenses have o-rings on them that seal the lens mount, just like dedicated lenses on all other systems do. Why would you say such a thing?

You made his point...the final, complete sealing depends on the lens.

 

Jeff

[ramarren]

Too much hysteria, geetee1972.

 

Rainwater is the least corrosive water ingress; it will often evaporate of its own accord, can be sped up if you just leave the camera sitting in a box with the lens off and a low wattage light bulb burning. One of my digital cameras (not a sealed one!) was accidentally dropped into a bucket of fresh water some years ago. I took the lens off, took the battery out, and stuck it into the cupboard with a 10W bulb switched on next to it and some desiccant to help it along. Two weeks later, it was working perfectly again. 

 

In general, the M lenses have very tight tolerances on the lens element mountings and focusing mount, they don't let water pass through despite being unsealed. The M Adapter T is a good, snug fit on the SL mount and on the lens mounting flange too, which effectively blocks most of the water ingress. For substantial water to get into the SL takes quite a lot of water hitting the camera at pressure. We had a lot of rain here this year ... I was out with my SL in the rain many times, often with R lenses fitted. Same deal. No problems. To have an SL malfunction from water ingress is unusual. 

 

Just call Leica and send the camera in for a check up and service ASAP. Leica doesn't junk $10,000 cameras; they fix them.

 

If the camera failed due to water ingress, that will be apparent and they'll locate where it entered. If that is the lens mount with an M lens and a Leica adapter, they'll let you know They might waive repair fees. It might be a seal elsewhere that failed (a warranty repair) or it might be due to something else completely (another warranty repair). The sky hasn't fallen; all that's happened is another piece of machinery has come up with a fault and needs to be set right. 

 

... So much drama is unwarranted. Something malfunctions, you have it evaluated and you fix it. 

[thighslapper]

As Godfrey says ..... be optimistic - if you haven't shorted and permanently damaged part of the electronics .... which is unlikely with the voltages involved ..... then some patience and a spell of drying is initially in order.

 

If no-go after several days I would Leica Mayfair could take a look ... although they are limited in what they can do in terms of maintenance they may give you a diagnosis/prognosis. 

[jaapv]

The SL lenses have o-rings on them that seal the lens mount, just like dedicated lenses on all other systems do. Why would you say such a thing? 

Because M lenses have no effective seal, and are in common use on the SL.

[xrogers]

You have to do what you're comfortable with. I fully understand people saying they'd send it in.

 

But it would take some convincing to get me to send a perfectly working camera to Leica service...

 

I'd keep it in a warm, dry, clean place for a few days, with the battery out and lens off (to remove all the moisture possible). Clean up with a rocket blower, and if it all seems fine, go out and use it in the next storm, being careful if using an M lens.

[ramarren]

Because M lenses have no effective seal, and are in common use on the SL.

 

 

That is true, but M lenses are designed for the M, not the SL. To get fully weather-sealed operation, you need to stick within the camera line and lenses/accessories designed to be weather sealed. I don't care what's "in common use" ... that's not relevant. That's like saying "screwdrivers are commonly used as pry bars but they break a lot" and then considering that a fault of the screwdriver. 

 

M lenses on the M Adapter L won't let much water in, if any, in any case unless the camera and lens are truly doused with water. At most, they make the SL about as water resistant as a weather-sealed M. I know this from actual use, not theorizing.

[paulsydaus]

Can the OP post an image of the sensor in question perhaps?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[geetee1972]

That is true, but M lenses are designed for the M, not the SL. To get fully weather-sealed operation, you need to stick within the camera line and lenses/accessories designed to be weather sealed. I don't care what's "in common use" ... that's not relevant. That's like saying "screwdrivers are commonly used as pry bars but they break a lot" and then considering that a fault of the screwdriver. 

 

M lenses on the M Adapter L won't let much water in, if any, in any case unless the camera and lens are truly doused with water. At most, they make the SL about as water resistant as a weather-sealed M. I know this from actual use, not theorizing.

 

I think the issue here is that we don't know what the status of the SL is with an M Mount lens on it. Leica say nothing about it; there's no warning or caveat/footnote when making the repeated claims that the camera is waterproof to say that this does not apply with any of the other lenses the camera was made to use.

 

And Leica was very explicit in saying that the SL Is designed to work natively with the M lenses.

 

 

Can the OP post an image of the sensor in question perhaps?

 

I've looked there's nothing out of the ordinary that you can see.

[ramarren]

I think the issue here is that we don't know what the status of the SL is with an M Mount lens on it. Leica say nothing about it; there's no warning or caveat/footnote when making the repeated claims that the camera is waterproof to say that this does not apply with any of the other lenses the camera was made to use.

 

And Leica was very explicit in saying that the SL Is designed to work natively with the M lenses.

 

 

I don't need Leica to tell me what the "status" of the SL with an M mount lens on it is. An M mount lens and the adapter to fit it lack the rubber o-ring that native lenses have, so it's just common sense to understand that it's not going to be as weather-sealed as the native lenses are. While they engineered the camera to work with the majority of M lenses very well, they are NOT native lenses. 

 

That doesn't mean the cameras are going to belly-up at the slightest hint of moisture if used with an M (or R) lens. It just means that there is more of a possibility to incur some water ingress, at the same level as having a Leica M typ 240, typ 262, and M10 are (all three series are considered "weather sealed" but obviously the lens mount is not equipped with an o-ring seal). This again is common sense. 

[djmay]

As others have suggested, the rain and the camera problem could be unrelated. You would do yourself a disservice to assume that your camera failed for that reason. I have used M9 and M-P 240 in rain and snow without problem.

 

I suggest that you send the camera for warranty repair and let Leica sort it out.

 

Sent from my Lenovo YT3-850L using Tapatalk

[earleygallery]

I would assume the fault is unrelated and send it for repair.

 

If it is water damage there are a couple of issues. The weather sealing on your SL may have failed. The Leica M (later models) is also said to be weather sealed and I think Leica are on record for saying that the M lenses don't need sealing as they are fully mechanical and the manufacturing tolerances are very tight, coupled with use of grease between moving components which would prevent moisture getting inside.

 

The argument then comes down to where a line is drawn between what would be considered a limit for weather sealing as opposed to water proofing.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[BJN]

Has the OP tried the camera without the lens, at least the EVF and preview should not be black