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M240 shutter issue

NigelG

By NigelG
in Leica M (Type 240 / 262)

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NigelG

NigelG

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I’m wondering if any forum members have experienced a kind of shutter lock-up that eventually resets - and whether there is any long term damage.

Bit of background - I’m on a small Japanese island and my M240-P has started to play up. Initially I thought there was a metering problem as I suddenly had a long exposure time appear in the viewfinder but as we had moved inside a museum I thought I was misjudging the light level.

Opening up the aperture didn’t change the indicated time so I popped the battery / SD card etc and restarted. This didn’t change anything so I unmourned the lens to find no metering stripes on the shutter just black blades......hence no light metering!

Nothing I did would reset the shutter and trying to trip it lead to a whirring sound (I assume the motor).

Eventually after resigning myself to a sick M I tried activating live view and the shutter clicked fully open. The camera now seems to be itself again but I’m wondering if this indicates further trouble down the line......

I have another camera with me but brought only 1 M body and don’t know whether to rely on it for the next few days. I’ll be back in Tokyo soon and could call in at the Ginza store - any thoughts?

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Peter Kilmister

Peter Kilmister

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Nigel, Almost certainly it would correct the problem. If it doesn't then you have the fallback plan of resetting to factory settings.

 

Amongst other bug fixes, 2.0.5.0 was released to stop shutter problems. I usually wait about 2 weeks before installing new firmware. If nobody yells then it is safe to install. Several months have passed since 2.0.5.0 was released and no yells yet! Go ahead.

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Steve Ricoh

Steve Ricoh

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Nigel, Almost certainly it would correct the problem. If it doesn't then you have the fallback plan of resetting to factory settings.

 

Amongst other bug fixes, 2.0.5.0 was released to stop shutter problems. I usually wait about 2 weeks before installing new firmware. If nobody yells then it is safe to install. Several months have passed since 2.0.5.0 was released and no yells yet! Go ahead.

Peter, what shutter problems was it designed to fix. This is news to me.
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NigelG

NigelG

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According to Leica's installation instructions (link), firmware 2.0.5.0 added support for 90/2.2 and 75/1.25 lenses and fixed a bug leading to occasional underexposure when using a flash unit.

https://www.leica-camera.cn/sites/default/files/documents/2017-12/Leica%2BM240_FW-Update_EN.pdf?fdl=1

I think that’s why I didn’t bother to do it as I never use flash and the thambar and 75 noct are out of my league......

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david strachan

david strachan

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Yes, i didn't upgrade firmware either.  Nothing there for me.

 

Hope your shutter starts working properly.

 

If the problem fixes after you do firmware upgrade, please let us know.

Stories circulate that firmware upgrades "fix" other problems not specified by Leica.

 

I have never seen any evidence to prove this though.

 

...

Edited by david strachan
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Exodies

Exodies

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Proof is only available to mathematics. Evidence supports or not a hypothesis.

 

Just as when you write software you are not aware of what bugs are in it, so when you fix a bug you are not aware of:

What new bugs have been created or revealed

What other bugs have been fixed

 

It often happens that the number of bugs goes down with each new release. Install the latest version.

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Peter Kilmister

Peter Kilmister

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I know of no manufacturer of any technical product who will own up to faults. Firmware releases are always headlined with things of possible benefits (new lenses, etc.) and then they say, "... and a few minor bug fixes."

OK, we now understand that in a 'post truth' (a sad metaphor for lying) world that means they are fixing major bugs and adding new lenses.

 

Microsoft do it with their incessant Security Updates. Apple do it with their minor bug fixes. Samsung do it almost monthly with their smartphone fixes.

Leica, sadly, now do it too. Isn't it better to say, "We made a mistake, here's the solution." ???

 

This modern corporate voice ('newspeak' as George Orwell described it in his dystopian novel, 1984 ) started somewhere and it wasn't in Asia, Europe, Australasia, South America, or Antartica. Any guesses who started this nonsense? Um, er, it was neither Canada, Mexico, nor the Caribbean islands. Never mind, whoever started it have their heads so far up their ar$es they would never own up.

 

Believe me, if a firmware fix mentions, "... and a few minor bugs," then get it installed as soon as it is proved safe to do so.

 

Reality is better than propaganda in my world. Rant over. Pax vobiscum, as the Romans once said.

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dugby

dugby

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I know of no manufacturer of any technical product who will own up to faults. Firmware releases are always headlined with things of possible benefits (new lenses, etc.) and then they say, "... and a few minor bug fixes."

........

 

 

............ Never mind, whoever started it have their heads so far up their ar$es they would never own up.

 

 

Peter is absolutely correct with his response.

 

And for the record..... it was my company that    "started it   and they do have their heads so far up their ar$es they would never own up."

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NigelG

NigelG

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Just back in the UK and can report no further issues on the trip. I didn’t do the firmware update in the end as I was using a mobile WiFi system and just iPad Pro / iPhones and didn’t have a way of transferring the file to a card....

What the experience taught me was probably to pack a second m body even if it sits in the hotel safe every day.......

 

I had an xpro 2 and the weather resistant 24/35/75 equivalents incase of heavy rain and was taking that body pretty much everywhere anyway with the 14 (21 equiv) on as my 21SEM (bought for the trip) is back at Leica having major surgery as (IMHO and obviously theirs) it was soft on one side, but the experience of trying to use the two systems at the same time was a complete pita.

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NigelG

NigelG

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It sounded like the lag coming from advanced light metering to me.

 

Except I always have the camera set to classic/LV disabled and only use LV (in classic metering mode) if I mount the EVF - which was rarely on this trip as I was only using 28 + 50.

 

I’m going to assume that since the problem didn’t reoccur (and I haven’t managed to reproduce it ) that it was just a random ‘glitch’....

Firmware update and factory reset will be done tonight anyway just to be on the safe side.

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