ironringer Posted September 10, 2018 Share #1 Posted September 10, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Can informed users of the M240 please share with us: how do you CHECK (not update) the installed firmware level in an M240? I have searched all over the Forum and can't find an answer, just many discussions of the actual updates, procedures, and their tests and effectiveness. But unless I am missing something there is no information about how to verify what firmware is actually in an M240. Is that information buried and encoded in the EXIF data for a picture? Is that information shown in a "service" or "settings" screen, accessible through a camera menu? Do you need to connect the M240 to a computer to find this out? (I don't even know if there is a USB connector ...) The answer(s) would be appreciated by me (possibly shopping for an M240) and others, thank you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 10, 2018 Posted September 10, 2018 Hi ironringer, Take a look here How to CHECK the firmware level on M240?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
robsonj Posted September 10, 2018 Share #2 Posted September 10, 2018 It’s viewable at the bottom of the last menu. Just below the format menu item. 2.0.5 is the latest and likely last firmware for the m240 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironringer Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted September 11, 2018 Thank you "robsonj" in Illinois. Could you share with us a "screen shot" of that menu, showing the firmware level? And ... does the current firmware update 2.0.5 incorporate ALL the earlier firmware updates, specifically the June 2014 update 2.0.1.5 that provides use of LiveView with screwmount lenses and M adapters, on the M240? If I understand the earlier Forum posts about using screwmount lenses, firmware update 2.0.1.5 was important because it added LiveView use for older screwmount lenses. Again if I understand other posts correctly, it was always possible to use screwmount lenses with adapters, by selecting a lens (and focal length) manually instead of letting the "auto detect" function decide there was NO LENS. Does 2.0.5 include that earlier update, as part of a larger group of all the earlier updates? I don't see the individual firmware updates offered on the Leica website. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted September 11, 2018 Share #4 Posted September 11, 2018 unless I am missing something there is no information about how to verify what firmware is actually in an M240. If you spent as much effort to examine the menu as you do asking ... you would be happier. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsonj Posted September 11, 2018 Share #5 Posted September 11, 2018 No clue on Firmware 2.0.1.5, Mine had 2.0.5.0 on it when I bought it, here is the screenshot... https://www.dropbox.com/s/gh4n74bwbdvlq02/IMG_5624.JPG?dl=0 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironringer Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted September 11, 2018 But ... I don't have an M240; I just want to know more about them before looking for a used camera, and being able to check it out properly an interested potential user, and an ex-resident of Plymouth MN Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsonj Posted September 11, 2018 Share #7 Posted September 11, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) If you spent as much effort to examine the menu as you do asking ... you would be happier. I don't think he has a camera in hand, possibly looking to verify the firmware on a potential online camera purchase maybe. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironringer Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share #8 Posted September 11, 2018 No clue on Firmware 2.0.1.5, Mine had 2.0.5.0 on it when I bought it, here is the screenshot... https://www.dropbox.com/s/gh4n74bwbdvlq02/IMG_5624.JPG?dl=0 Thank you again, most useful reference, to show M240 sellers as I start shopping. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsonj Posted September 11, 2018 Share #9 Posted September 11, 2018 I'm not sure why it matters as any 240 can be updated to the latest 2.0.5.0 firmware Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted September 11, 2018 Share #10 Posted September 11, 2018 But ... I don't have an M240; I just want to know more about them before looking for a used camera, and being able to check it out properly an interested potential user, and an ex-resident of Plymouth MN You can download the user instructions from Leica. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironringer Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share #11 Posted September 11, 2018 I'm not sure why it matters as any 240 can be updated to the latest 2.0.5.0 firmware Yes, but I would prefer to know the firmware level before meeting a seller. I want to test the camera with screwmount lenses, without having to do any firmware updates or fool around with a camera that isn't mine. The more I know about the camera before "interviewing" the seller, the better I will be prepared. If it has not been updated to even 2014 level, I would ask the seller to make that happen before I see the camera. And, I don't know (yet) if a jump from a 2013 firmware to current 2018 firmware includes the functional upgrades in the 2014 update. It PROBABLY does, but I would like to know that for sure from an informed Forum member. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted September 11, 2018 Share #12 Posted September 11, 2018 Firmware has nothing to do with screwmount lenses. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironringer Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share #13 Posted September 11, 2018 Firmware has nothing to do with screwmount lenses. Not "mechanically" I agree; but firmware must affect the functionality when using screwmount lenses, as mentioned in Leica's summary for the June 2014 update 2.0.1.5: " Live view is now possible with every lens (including older screw lenses via an adapter) using “manual lens detection” " Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodies Posted September 11, 2018 Share #14 Posted September 11, 2018 Each firmware release includes all previous updates. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsonj Posted September 11, 2018 Share #15 Posted September 11, 2018 I still don’t get it. You think there is a possibility that the camera won’t work with screw mount lenses while on firmware 2.0.5.0. The camera has no idea that it’s a screw mount lens, I think all the firmware added was for you to manually select them from a list that probably didn’t previously include ltm lenses. Much better things to check before purchase than whether the firmware does what Leica says it does Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 11, 2018 Share #16 Posted September 11, 2018 I think that the OP is missing the point that there is no electronic connection between camera and lens, therefore the lens mounted is irrelevant when buying a camera. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jto555 Posted September 11, 2018 Share #17 Posted September 11, 2018 If you spent as much effort to examine the menu as you do asking ... you would be happier. Rather snippy of you and dosen't help anybody. What the OP wanted to know was how to check the firmware. The answer is to click the Menu botton and keep drilling all the way down to the botom. Or even easier, click the Menu button and click up. As the menu is on a loop. Much easer and a bit more friendly. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdlaing Posted September 11, 2018 Share #18 Posted September 11, 2018 Not "mechanically" I agree; but firmware must affect the functionality when using screwmount lenses, as mentioned in Leica's summary for the June 2014 update 2.0.1.5: " Live view is now possible with every lens (including older screw lenses via an adapter) using “manual lens detection” " No, It does not. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironringer Posted September 12, 2018 Author Share #19 Posted September 12, 2018 Gentlemen, thank you all for your useful information and education. I asked my questions out of simple ignorance because ... - I don't have an M240, - I am interested in owning one, IF I can use my 1950s Leica lenses with it (i.e,. the lens mounted IS relevant to me, when buying this camera), - reading a voluminous instruction manual wouldn't help me much without having the camera to play with, - my only experience was 3 years ago watching a friend mount my LTM Summaron with its Leica M adapter, on his new M240, only to see that the camera would not recognise it (NO LENS message) so that experiment didn't work, - recent research on this Forum indicated that Leica's firmware update of June 2014 "did something" that made LTM lenses more usable on an M240 (Leica's own words about LiveView quoted in my earlier post indicate that something changed with that update), - as an engineer with some experience with software (power systems control), I know that software updates do not always incorporate previous updates, and can (rarely) "undo" previous functionality, - I correctly reasoned that if I asked enough questions on this Forum I would become a better-informed shopper, and ready to handle and checkout a used M240, with my LTM lenses, should I find one nearby. I understand that there is no electronic connection between the camera and any lens, only sensors looking for matte black or white spots in 6 locations on the lens flange. However if there are limitations in the functionality when screwmount lenses are used on an M240, it would be useful to know that before shopping for this camera, especially when handling someone else's camera. I also understand that firmware could be adjusted to help a user "work around" the situation of the 6-bit sensors on the M240 body not detecting a lens, if the user mounted a screwmount lens with an adapter with a cutout (leaving empty space for the sensors to try and read). Further firmware adjustments might possibly allow full functionality (LiveView, focus peaking, etc.) with screwmount lenses, just like with coded M lenses. So thank you again, everyone who contributed to this thread. I imagine that I am not the only potential M240 user who benefits from this informative discussion. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted September 12, 2018 Share #20 Posted September 12, 2018 (edited) It's true : LTM adapters with cutout can be a problem… but some old LTM lenses do need it to be used easily (cause the focusing knob - probably, the Summaron 35 you quote was an A36 version, with oldstyle knob); anyway, I directly experienced that with the firmware updates (don't remember the numbers… I think it was the first update I performed on my 240 of end 2013) , setting "no lens detection" avoids the problem of the "no lens" message which indeed did inhibit the usage of LV/EVF : btw, that message did appear not only with LTM cutout adapters… for instance, it regularly showed up with my Contarex/LBM adapter… I remember this very distinctly because, just after having bought my M240 and EVF, had a striking delusion when saw that my Olympia Sonnar 250 couldn't be focused with EVF... (luckily, found another adapter which didn't have the problem.. and after some months, the firmware update fixed the issue anyway) Edited September 12, 2018 by luigi bertolotti Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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