leica digilux 1 issue Digilux 1 issue

[TONY COWAN]

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Can anyone shed any light on this problem with my Digilux 1?

I recently was left by my late brother a near mint , complete and hardly used Digilux 1 which he had bought new in 2004. I know that he only had taken a few hundred photos in all this time. I  tested it out in a local churchyard and produced a rather nice set of photos. I then decided to use an SD card which I had cleared and formatted on my iMac. When I then inserted the card into the camera a message appeared on the screen saying "No memory Card". I tried again and re-inserted the battery. I tried the card in more modern Leica Digital cameras and it worked perfectly. I tried other cards known to be working but still got the same message on the screen. The green light stayed on permanently even with the camera switched off! Removing the battery sorted that.

However, there was still an image on the screen and I could take a flash photo which of course could not be saved. The zoom and focus still worked.

Was it just a co-incidence or did that iMac formatted card cause the problem?

Your thoughts, please!

Thanks, Tony cowan

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wda]

Tony,  welcome. I suggest you do a factory reset using the  D1 menu. Then format a known good memory card in your D1. Test and tell us the results.

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[TONY COWAN]

Thanks David, but the camera does NOT respond to any of the buttons on the back!

[wda]

If the battery is the original, replace it with a new one and try again.Having spent a long time uncharged, the battery will be highly suspect. Alternatively,  see if the camera will connect to an external power source. My Digilux 2 has that option.

[TONY COWAN]

The battery is brand new (not Leica of course,) is fully charged, was in the camera for those churchyard photos that I mentioned and the camera "takes" flash photos as well without any problem. No difference when using mains unit, I'm sad to say! Still will not recognise any SD card.

[wda]

Try gently cleaning the electrical contacts. Resistance can build up when equipment lays unused for many years.

[TONY COWAN]

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Do you mean the contacts where the SD card goes in? After all it is SD cards not being recognised. The other power sucking funtions i.e. flash, zoom etc. are still fully working which would suggest that power is getting thro' alright. However, I'll give them all a light clean with a suitable alcohol fluid-nothing to lose!

[wda]

Yes. Debris can get trapped or worse over time, depending on past usage. A good blow-out might also help. Running out of low-cost ideas now.

[TONY COWAN]

I tried cleaning all contacts as best I could but made no difference. I really do think that it is a software/firmware problem which could possibly be sorted if I could have restored everything to factory settings. Possibly a suitably equiped camera repair shop could access all this-it is finding one in the UK that would be suitable. Thanks again for trying to help me.

Tony

[wda]

Tony, in your circumstances I would contact LEICA UK https://www.leicastore-uk.co.uk/pages/customer-care  and explain the background to your request for help or advice. Leica Mayfair are in the process of moving to new premises, but you will get a response from them. Better still, if your live or work in London, telephone them to make an appointment to visit them at a suitable time. Almost certainly they will not carry spares for such an old camera. But they might well know who else is better able to help you. It is worth the effort.

[williamgm]

I have a Digilux 2 camera, and that camera will only take SD cards up to 2Gb capacity; maybe the 'new' SD card you've formatted is too large to be recognised by the camera? I think the maximum card size for the Digilux 1 is smaller still, only 1Gb.

The only other possible answer I can think of is that you've inadvertently moved the 'lock' slider on the SD card.

Geoff

[TONY COWAN]

Thanks David, I'll probably pop them an email.

And thanks to you too Geoff, for your suggestions but the message appears with any 2GB or under SD card inc. the original Leica branded 256MB one! I also have made sure that the "lock" sliders are in the "go' position

 

Tony

[lct]

I would suggest to use the right card i.e. SD up to 2GB and to format it in the camera not on your Mac.

[TONY COWAN]

Thanks lct but if you read my posts you will see that the camera won't recognise ANY card so I can't possibly format any card. If it was that simple, I wouldn't have a problem!

 

[lct]

You said that you formatted your cards in your Mac didn't you? If i were in your shoes i would try to format an old 1GB or 2GB SD card in SD Formatter in the first place and try again to format it in the camera. Forgive me it is too simple again, i'm just trying to help. 

[TONY COWAN]

 I did indeed format a card on my Mac but I am not familiar with "SD Formatter".  I will Google it to find out. Yes, I know that you are trying to help but you did suggest that I format a card in the camera when it was obvious that I could not do so. Nor did you previously mention "SD Formatter"" I'll try and find out more and let you know how I get on.

[TONY COWAN]

Managed to download SD Formatter for Mac and formatted two SD cards, a 1GB and a 256MB card. Alas, exactly the same result in the camera with both-"No Memory Card" and all buttons on back still not responding. However, thanks for the suggestion anyway.

Tony

[LucisPictor]

Have you tries the old version SD cards (and made sure that it isn't an SD HC card)?

[TONY COWAN]

Yes to both questions, Luis but thanks anyway. tony

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[DaveMo]

I was reading another thread and the name Aperture Camera Repairs was mentioned. They are in London close to Tottenham Court Road tube station so they might be able to help you out. Just a thought for you.

Check them out at http://apertureuk.com

Edited January 23, 2019 by DaveMo
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