Shutter Release Button Firmware Issue

[not12bhere]

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The first time this issue exhibited on an SL2 I thought it was a fluke, but now that I have seen it a few times on a few bodies I wanted to let everyone know how to resolve it as I was about to send an SL2 in as defective. It appears to be a firmware issue.

Leica SL2 Issue: Half-Press on Shutter Release Button Ceases to Function.

Detail/Resolution: Both the Leica SL2 and Q2 exhibit a behavior where upon turning them off they will seemingly randomly freeze until a shutter release sound is heard. Both are seemingly random in occurrence. The Leica TL2 also exhibits this behavior seemingly at random.

SL2 will also exhibit a more concerning shutter release button issue where the half -press functionality ceases to register half-presses of the shutter release button. If this happens to you; begin a randomized switching of the on/off lever with and without the shutter release button fully depressed until half-press functionality resumes. 

[not12bhere]

Update:

It appears the shutter half-press failure may be linked to the use of user profiles.

Specifically, if one uses a profile configured for video/cine and a profile setup for default to photo. Switching between them seems to randomly cause half-press shutter functionality to stop working. Camera reset does not restore half-press functionality. Changing lenses does not address the issue. Of note, if one attaches the SL2 battery grip, the half-press shutter button functionality on the grip will work but the shutter button on the main body will still fail to function.

Refer to original post for interim solution.

For future troubleshooters: this issue is exhibiting in Firmware V1.0 of SL2.

Edited June 13, 2020 by not12bhere

[digitalfx]

I have never experienced this issue and have both profiles setup and regularly switch between them...unless I misunderstand what you are describing.

[Stuart Richardson]

The behavior of shutting off the camera and having it release the shutter sounds like dark frame management to me. Lots of digital cameras, Leica included, will periodically take an exposure occasionally when turning off the camera. This is to take a dark frame exposure to check for dead pixels and map them out from subsequent exposures. If you don't know what it is doing, it can be a strange behavior that looks like an error, but it is a normal part of the camera's self-maintenance. Leica cameras do this, as well as Sony. I am sure others do as well.

I am not sure about the half press issue. I have not experienced that.