M Monochrom fried? Toast?

[Lew]

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This camera has been on the shelf for a few years and is only marginally operable now. I'd like to bring it back. Among its many problems: Won't format or overwrite sd card properly,  ccd seems to have bee scratched, sometime does not write images to the sd card, On the monitor, I read something like "L083673," presumably the file name of what should have been written, or worse a blank appears - in the case there's a total freeze; the only way to turn the camera off is to remove the battery. So, among other questions: what is the max size of the sd card that the M Mono will take and what is the high end write speed?

 

I am currently testing a different sd card, but observations, consolations and sympathy notes would be appreciated.

 

 

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[Herr Barnack]

First off, which Monochrom are we talking about? 

Is it v.1 or an M246?

Edited August 25, 2020 by Herr Barnack

[Lew]

v. 1, type 1

 

I had found that I can format a 16gb card and use it successfully to update the fw. A 32gb card was in the camera when I last put it away, so I assumed, in correctly, that it'd be ok.

[LocalHero1953]

I always used 32gb cards in my M9, so I see no reason why it shouldn't work in the Monochrom of the same generation.

[a.noctilux]

Lew try this,

- put the switch to "S", is the red LED blink then stop ?

- if the LED is not blinking, push "INFO", to see the battery and SD card

- report here what you have on the LCD

[Lew]

With a newly charged battery & newly formatted 16gb card

 

LED blinks, then stops

Both "Menu" and "Info" seem normal

If a make a test exposure and then press play, I get a series of what I think are file names, like "L101864," but there are no images.

Inspecting the sd card on my computer shows the folder structure DCIM->LEICA, however, the LEICA folder contains no images.

 

 

 

 

[analog-digital]

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Do you remove the front cap 😇

[Lew]

Yes, of course. Even if the front cap were not removed, I'd still get a blank image, not a file name. It's like the camera "knows" what the next file name should be and write that out somewhere, but then forgets to write the images to the sd card.

[Lew]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I always used 32gb cards in my M9, so I see no reason why it shouldn't work in the Monochrom of the same generation.

I don't see any reason either, but formatting a 32gb card just ran a loop for hours without finishing. Then, the fw update was ignored anyway. 16gb was formatted and supported the fw update, but all is still not well. Images are not making their way to the sd card.

[Herr Barnack]

It's starting to sound as if the problem goes deeper than firmware, and that a trip to Wetzlar may be required to get it sorted out.

[Sjz]

Have you looked at the contact points on the sd card that was in the camera for a few years.  All I can think of is there has been a little chemical reaction and the 32G card left some residue on a contact point inside the camera when you removed it for the first time in years.

[Lew]

27 minutes ago, Sjz said:

Have you looked at the contact points on the sd card that was in the camera for a few years.  All I can think of is there has been a little chemical reaction and the 32G card left some residue on a contact point inside the camera when you removed it for the first time in years.

Unlikely, I first formatted the card in my PC so there was no folder structure to begin with. Then, formatting in camera produced the expected DCIM->LEICA folders, so io must be ok.

[Lew]

34 minutes ago, Herr Barnack said:

It's starting to sound as if the problem goes deeper than firmware, and that a trip to Wetzlar may be required to get it sorted out.

I have a Tech, Mark, working with me via email.

[a.noctilux]

26 minutes ago, Lew said:

I have a Tech, Mark, working with me via email.

look like you will solve your trouble,

...

or send to Leica.

Another thing, had you "reset" to factory default (or something like that), just in case ?

[Lew]

Fourth round of reset then format tried and failed. Format->Overwrite doesn't work in any case. After 20-30 min of progress, it just loops around and starts formatting all over again, endless loop.

[Lew]

Ok, after more testing and seeing what's in the back of my desk drawers, it seems that SDHC I 16 & 32gb cards, while not tripping card warnings, just don't work. Can't be formatted & don't record images. The SDHC II's record images .... Now on to other problems.

[analog-digital]

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

This will work. The very newest NOT.

[Lew]

17 minutes ago, analog-digital said:

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

This will work. The very newest NOT.

It's a total mystery and the Tech I'm working with doesn't understand it either. I have 3 Transcend SDHC I's, 16 & 32gb, which bring the camera to a grinding halt. My 2 SDHC II's otoh, format & record just fine.

32gb is the largest card supported according to the tech spec sheet, btw.

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[Likaleica]

I found that some of the later, faster cards do not work with the M9M.  I just buy 16GB cards that are not speed demons.  

[Lew]

Yes. The Transcends seem to have to be Type II's whereas another poster reports success with SanDisk Type I's. Go figure. I must say that I don't have another piece of electronic equipment that's this finicky. I suppose there's some internal standard of excellence that demand this, although you'd expect the same specs (ie all Type II's work and Type I's not) would apply.

Edited August 26, 2020 by Lew