How to see and install Firmware in M10-D

[Aswin]

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You can see the Leica M10-D firmware in the Fotos app by clicking on “Settings”, then clicking “Customer Support”. Then you will see at the bottom of the draft email which firmware you have.

[Aswin]

I have a problem with my newly bought M10-D. I saw in the Fotos app that there is a way to set the white balance by colour temperature. But when I click on that setting, I did not see any way to set the actual temperature in Kelvin. In the camera as well as the application it only showed the letter K.

I also found that the JPG Hue and Strength settings does not do anything. Also, When I try the geotagging with the Visoflex 020, I get a message on the app that geotagging “is not available in this camera type”.

I saw that the firmware version of my copy of the M10-D was actually the old one, namely the 2.6.5.1. Last night I downloaded the 2.7.5.0 version and updated my M10-D but the problems I had before is not corrected. 
Does anybody ever had this problem? And is there a work-around?

I have contacted Leica AG but they haven’t answered yet.

Thank you!

Edited December 16, 2020 by Aswin

[scott kirkpatrick]

Hi @Aswin.  I've tried some of your observations.  (I don't shoot jpegs, so left those problems alone.)  I have 2.7.5.0 and am using an Android phone with Fotos (A) 2.2.3

Apparently Fotos cannot set a K temperature in the white balance menu.  On the"settings" side it shows the possibility that a temperature has been set, but doesn't let you choose T.  On the Remote side, it doesn't show the possibility of setting color temperature.  It doesn't go down to a second level of menu on either side, so it wouldn't be able to offer that.  I think it gives daylight or auto instead.  The geotagging function in Fotos is intended to work with the cameras offering BlueToothLowEnergy, which the M10s don't have.  On other M10s there is a menu entry to enable or disable GPS using the sensor in the VF020, but I don't find that in Fotos for the M10-D.  Sorry to see that, but the VF020 GPS is pretty weak, so I haven't missed it.  I would expect that GPS is always enabled on the M10-D when you insert a VF020, as LiveView is also always on when the VF020 is attached. To save power, it would be nice to control both from Fotos.

The drive menu offers to set up continuous shooting, but the remote part of Fotos cannot trigger it.  However, if you trigger at the camera, you do get continuous shooting.  I think the problem there is that the Remote shutter button only starts an exposure.  It has no way to stop a series of exposures or know when they have finished.  This must have been solved for video support on L mount cameras, but I haven't tried it recently.

Edited December 16, 2020 by scott kirkpatrick

[Guest]

1 hour ago, scott kirkpatrick said:

Hi @Aswin.  I've tried some of your observations.  (I don't shoot jpegs, so left those problems alone.)  I have 2.7.5.0 and am using an Android phone with Fotos (A) 2.2.3

Apparently Fotos cannot set a K temperature in the white balance menu.  On the"settings" side it shows the possibility that a temperature has been set, but doesn't let you choose T.  On the Remote side, it doesn't show the possibility of setting color temperature.  It doesn't go down to a second level of menu on either side, so it wouldn't be able to offer that.  I think it gives daylight or auto instead.  The geotagging function in Fotos is intended to work with the cameras offering BlueToothLowEnergy, which the M10s don't have.  On other M10s there is a menu entry to enable or disable GPS using the sensor in the VF020, but I don't find that in Fotos for the M10-D.  Sorry to see that, but the VF020 GPS is pretty weak, so I haven't missed it.  I would expect that GPS is always enabled on the M10-D when you insert a VF020, as LiveView is also always on when the VF020 is attached. To save power, it would be nice to control both from Fotos.

The drive menu offers to set up continuous shooting, but the remote part of Fotos cannot trigger it.  However, if you trigger at the camera, you do get continuous shooting.  I think the problem there is that the Remote shutter button only starts an exposure.  It has no way to stop a series of exposures or know when they have finished.  This must have been solved for video support on L mount cameras, but I haven't tried it recently.

A lot of things that Leica has not gifted or implemented in the M10-D there Scott, it really could and should have done so much better for what is a great concept but essentially a hobbled camera due to lack of support..........I cannot understand why Leica has not developed the potential of this version of the M10 properly. Low sales maybe? If so that really would be a disppointedly sad excuse.

[poli]

It would be nice indeed if Leica did one more serious firmware update. Biggest quirk I have is the startup time. It is too slow in my respect. The GPS Visoflex thing is also a bit silly in my book. 🙃

Edited December 16, 2020 by poli

[lb1800]

I aluded to this in another thread ... I was joking but only half joking...my advice is to stop thinking of this as a digital camera. Forget about colour temperature, EVF's GPS, Fotos, firmware and all the rest of it. Just shoot, like you would a film camera...and enjoy taking out the SD card at the end of the day and uploading the files instead of having to send a film off for processing. 

 

[scott kirkpatrick]

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1 hour ago, poli said:

It would be nice indeed if Leica did one more serious firmware update. Biggest quirk I have is the startup time. It is too slow in my respect. The GPS Visoflex thing is also a bit silly in my book. 🙃

A specialized product like the -D has to piggyback on the firmware written for all the other M10 products.  It can't change the hardware at all.  Look at how little hardware is changed in the SL2-S, introduced as a whole new product to balance and backstop the SL2.  In the case of the M10 line, the WiFi hardware takes 30 seconds to wake up and get synchronized.  That's the cause of the slow Fotos connection startup, and other systems which are shared across the line determine shooting startup.  Actually power management and shooting wakeup times are not a big issue for me.

The more annoying limitations are all the things that an M10-P can do that we can't seem to do on an M10-D.  You'd like to think that we should be able to see everything that is in the menus of a conventional M10, because it must be down there in the firmware somewhere. But the process of setting the state of the camera from outside is more complex than it might seem.  To protect the camera, each side of the wifi link is managed by a server, which checks all requests to change a control for validity and safety before making them happen.  Setting some parameter that lives three levels down  in a camera menu means going through a message-checking server three times.  And finding out if a command is appropriate before issuing it or checking that it is completed before issuing the next command is even more complex (that's probably what prevents Leica from letting multi-shot or continuous shooting commands be issued).  All of this is much easier if the firmware is designed from the beginning to allow it, and is very restricted if the distributed operation is a pure afterthought, as it is here.  I've compared Leica's Fotos and LIS commands with what CaptureOne is able to do for tethered control, and with other cameras' remote apps.  Everyone has gaps in their capabilities.  Leica's no leader but they are catching up.

[Aswin]

Thank you @scott kirkpatrick @petermullett @lb1800 & @poli for the insight that you all have given me. 

[Aswin]

I would like to share the e-mail I received from Leica AG answering my questions:

 

Thank you for your request.

The Leica M10-D with attached Visoflex needs around 10 – 15 minutes at the first time or when you moved more than 300 km between the last GPS fix. During this time the GPS receiver download the correction table from the satellites. In this time the Visoflex has to be switched on permanently.

 

With the M10-D it is not possible to set the kelvin value manually. This is an error in the manual. It is not planned to change this setting in future.

[poli]

Thanks for the info Aswin!

It would have been handy if Leica included that information in the manual...