Shutter speed poltergeist?

[Morrison]

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Hi all,

Generally I just hang out here and read the interesting discussions, but I'm having a problem lately that I can't find already covered in the threads. I have an MP 240, purchased used about four months ago through BH Photo, though the problem has only developed in the last few weeks. The shutter speed settings are no longer synced with the dial. I can increase or decrease the speed using the shutter wheel, but the numbers don't correspond, and the speed changes spontaneously from one picture to the next, such that if I take an exposure at, say, 1/250, it switches itself to 1/125 for the next pic, then 1/60 for the next, then maybe cycles back to something completely random, like 1/500. I am shooting single-frame exposures and not using exposure compensation, and I shoot fully manual. Again, I can manipulate the shutter speed up or down using the dial between takes, so I can get the exposure I want, but mechanically from frame to frame the camera won't hold my chosen speed and the speed does not correspond with the dial display. 

In the interest of as much information is possible, I think I can trace the dawn of this problem to when I purchased a vintage Jupiter 9 lens (using it with a Leica-brand LTM-M adapter). At first I thought it was a quaint quirk of using that wacky Russian lens, or perhaps any lens that was not recognized by the camera, but now when I attach my Summicron 50 (V3) the same thing is happening. I use manual lens selection, not auto. I also often use an EVF 2, but it's not a display problem; my shutter speed is actually shifting on its own.

It is admittedly not the end of the world if I have to stop between frames to ensure correct exposures, but it is a slow-down and has made me miss shots, so I'm hoping this rings a bell with someone who can advise me on trouble shooting the situation beyond shipping the camera to Germany. I'm a photography student in the thick of an academic year and can't part with my main body for weeks or months.

Thanks very much!

Teresa

[a.noctilux]

Welcome Teresa,

I've read the same trouble, I don't remember when or where.

As the chosen shutter speed is "coded" electrically, if I recall well, maybe some kind of false contact between the dial and the rest of electronic.

I fear that only repair people (Leica or not) can cure that.

 

While waiting, I suggest some ideas :

Turn the dial many times right and left turning to see if that is better.

You can see the shutter speed "electronically chosen by the M" (ignoring or not the speed dial) pushing the "info" button.

If you have to use this way untill you have opportunity to send it for repair, later on.

Arnaud

[prk60091]

the current state of the art in electronics is to turn the item off and then back on to see if that fixes stuff.....

 

i would remove the battery for a bit (½ hour?) then replace it and see what happens

[Peter Kilmister]

I agree with @prk60091. Having worked with computers since 1967 the one thing that is learnt at an early stage is to fiddle with it as suggested by @a.noctilux or to turn off the whole contraption and leave it unplugged for 30 minutes to let the innards cool down ... and let the gremlins inside the beast dissipate. It could sound like dealing with old radios but there isn't a huge difference between a valve, a transistor, and solid state technology. The centre of any modern problem is usually the electronics, the firmware, or the software.

Do you have the latest firmware? That link between (to put it in simple terms) the hard bits and the soft bits can cause awful problems if it hasn't been updated

[adan]

I would check in the menus to see if you have enabled "exposure bracketing." In which the camera will shoot the next 3 or 5 or 7 shots with shutter speeds varying around the "correct metered speed."

Even in manual exposure mode - i.e. you set 1/250 on the dial and take one picture, and the camera will take the next 2-4-6 shots at other shutter speeds, even though the dial stays at 250.

In theory, the bracketing should shut off when the camera is turned off, but you might experiment and see if something you are doing reactivates it. E.G. perhaps it got saved into one of your user profiles, and reactivates whenever you choose that profile.

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by adan

[Exodies]

I like adan’s theory. You might otherwise try a factory reset from the menu.

[Morrison]

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Hi all,

Just wanted to check back in to let you know that in the end resetting the camera to factory settings fixed the jumping shutter speed! Thank you all so much for weighing in. You saved me the diagnostic expense and I'm so happy I don't have to send it away for repair. It seemed like such a quirky problem I thought for sure some real harm had come to it, so I was surprised that the eventual fix was so easy! 

Teresa

[rsolomon]

Glad things are working,

i have noticed "weird" things when using the EVF-2 , make sure the contacts are clean and you have a solid connection. Sometimes i notice when walking the streets with the EVF-2  it might come out of position just a bit and often removing the battery is the only way back to normal functioning . I know is different than a factory reset.

One more thing, i believe in using the latest version of  firmware, others don't;  if you did a factory reset you may now be behind on firmware level