VisoFlex issues with Leica M10

[Snap Happy]

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My Visoflex continues to work as it should on my M10. I recently acquired an M10-P and immediately had issues with the Visoflex. At first it worked, then after a while it worked only intermittently. Everything is in good order, and the contacts are clean. Before I posted this I tried again - and now it's working again! Weird.

[erniethemilk]

I bought a Visoflex around 9 months ago and it works great. The rubber eyepiece has a very small split in it, but I find it great for working in a woodland environment which is very busy and sometimes hard to nail focus with the optical RF. 

[mujk]

On 3/7/2021 at 12:48 AM, Fontan said:

So, I am having a goofy issue with my Visoflex on my my M10 now. When indoor it works just fine but taken outside it shuts off. Very annoying, actually. Tried cleaning contacts but no luck. I would hate to send it in for stupid crap like this . . . .  let alone potentially being charged for it and no top of the cost of shipping etc. 

Have you tried setting the LV screen target to EVF? The sensor in the Viso that should detect when you bring the camera to your eye can sometimes fail in bright light, particularly when you wear glasses.

[Ecniv]

I got one due to having an evf on the m240 previously. Battery drains faster (as expected). 

My problem is using bigger, longer lenses turns off the evf, or live view as if disconnecting the lens. Usually when tilting. Or focusing. Very irritating. 

Took the offending lenses (leitz 135mm) and 105mm nikkor via novo flex to the store. Showed it happening. The sales clerk suggested in the leitz it was the mount needing replacing at half the price of the lens. For novo flex it was possibly the mount, but as it is an adapter... 

Admittedly this is not the same problem as op but similar and more noticeable with the evf. 

Other than that, the evf is a worthwhile addition with peek and focus lines assist. 

 

 

[Printmaker]

On 5/18/2019 at 5:55 AM, farnz said:

The Visoflex on my M10 has always needed a little gentle persuasion with a wiggle or two when it's mounted so I suspect that it's a contact issue but I've never been worried or irritated enough about it to do anything about it.  And it's good exercise.😄

Pete.

My experience exactly. It mostly occurred  when using long R lenses. I found this disturbing enough that I bought a SL.

[Ignatius Z]

I had the exact same problem as some posts above. I got a m10-r and the Visoflex late in 2020 and they've been working perfectly indoor or in city use. However, when I came back from some shots on a beach (and i actually clean my gear carefully after the beach walk), the Visoflex stopped working. When i turn it on it was a full frame of grey/silver lighting. I turned it on and off but nothing changed.

I when to the Leica Flagshop in Shanghai last Sunday and they tested it. It was found no problem on other cameras and then I put it back to my own M10-R... mysteriously it worked...

I think that may be the humidity/salty air from the sea had effected the connection between the body and the visoflex?

 

[a.noctilux]

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18 hours ago, Ignatius Z said:

I had the exact same problem as some posts above. I got a m10-r and the Visoflex late in 2020 and they've been working perfectly indoor or in city use. However, when I came back from some shots on a beach (and i actually clean my gear carefully after the beach walk), the Visoflex stopped working. When i turn it on it was a full frame of grey/silver lighting. I turned it on and off but nothing changed.

I when to the Leica Flagshop in Shanghai last Sunday and they tested it. It was found no problem on other cameras and then I put it back to my own M10-R... mysteriously it worked...

I think that may be the humidity/salty air from the sea had effected the connection between the body and the visoflex?

 

I don't have M10-R,

same trouble with my plain M10 + 020 ...since some years now.

The clean(ing) of contacts before/after use is the key.

I learn to protect the hot shoe's contacts, when not in use, and not switch the M10 'on' before putting in the shoe the Visoflex 020.

Sometimes, I need to slide in/out the 020 many times (to clean the contacts ? ) before they work together.

[rramesh]

Always use the hotshoe cover when not using the Visoflex. That's why Leica has provided one. If lost, buy any cheap rubber cover from eBay. I kind of like the one with a spirit bubble.

While useful, the Visoflex has build issues. Rubber deteriorates over time, hotshoe contact is not optimal and has a tendency to collect dirt each time the hotshoe is pushed in.

[lanetomlane]

I have the Visoflex but don’t use it often. When I do it has always worked perfectly with my M10 (that’s put the kiss of death on it). Apart from the obvious advantage of focusing with certain lenses I find it great for low angle view points. Flipping the eyepiece into the vertical position means I don’t have to get down on my knees; it’s not the getting down the bothers me but the getting up after.

[bellaluca]

My Visoflex stopped working without any warning.  I sent it to Leica Repair, I was told it was not repairable and past warranty just by 4 months.  Really frustrating, since they are very pricey but I depend on it when I mostly shoot with noctilux .95  .  Now I am considering buying a used one, but of course concerned with what to do, 3 month warranty for used, 2 year warranty for new.  Any advise? 

[Manualfocus]

A very sensitive bit of kit.  I use it for lenses <35mm on sunny days when viewfinder and screen ineffective. The eye sensor even works through sunglasses!

Clean the contacts on camera and Visoflex, and check it's positioned correctly.  It works fine.  For a bit.  When it stops, if you're in a position to clean and reposition while out on location, it starts working again.  No amount of off/on, removal and reattachment works.  The mystery is that it appears the contacts can get "dirty" or misaligned (?) even when the unit is in place on the hot shoe. 

I've never encountered a picture sensor (M10 in my case) so attractive to dust so perhaps in this the Visoflex is true to brand.