M Monochrom fried? Toast?

[Ken Abrahams]

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I use 8 Gb cards or sometimes 16 Gb . Buried somewhere back in these pages circa 2012/3 were lengthy discussions about the use of certain cards in the M Monochrom, of which some had better results with banding issues. It has always been recommended to use slower, low volume cards with the MM1. I wouldn't think that the reason for your cards not working in the MM1 has anything to do with the camera's "operational perfection". It was a unique camera when released, it wasn't perfect and not really state of the arts when it came to its electronics. . 

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[Lew]

This making me batty. Who even makes such low tech cards anymore?

[adan]

A suggestion, for a camera that sat on the shelf for a long time..

Make sure the internal battery (that powers memory like time, date, and such when the main battery is removed) is fully charged.

And that the removable battery is fully functioning - they do wear out after several years, or after recharging 1000 times or so (once a day for three years).

And that the battery contacts are clean - storing a battery in-camera for a long time is not recommended, and can foul the contacts.

- Charge the main (removable) battery until the charger indicates it is full charged.

- Put that in the camera and use the camera's battery indicator to check that the camera also shows it is fully charged. I've had aging M8/9 batteries that seem to charge fully, but only indicate 90% or so when placed in the camera - it's a sign they're on their last legs. Or - additionally - Leica chargers that wore out. After 10 years using M8/9 batteries, I definitely had a couple reach "end of life" and have to go in the trash can.

- If battery is working right, turn camera OFF, and let it sit for a couple of days, so that the main battery can charge up the internal backup battery.

- then see if that clears the remaining malfunctions.

If not, the internal backup battery itself may have reached end-of-life, and need replacing by Leica NJ.

The sensor "scratch" that suddenly appeared could well be sensor corrosion that took place while stored. The corrosion I got on my M9 was linear and looked like a hair that would not clean off. Sample:

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[Lew]

The internal battery certainly took at hit as the date was somewhere in 2099, but it's working ok now. The scratch was odd in that it appeared on the last frames shot before putting the camera away, but earlier shots and the ones I'm taking now have no scratch. The scratch was horizontal & resembled what you'd see if you rubbed a 35mm neg against a sharp piece of metal while still wet.

[colint544]

I've never used a card bigger than 16GB in my M Monochrom mk1. And always a Sandisk one. I saw a number of people reporting problems with the bigger cards, back when these were current Leica cameras. M9 and M9M were notorious for being picky about which cards they liked.

Good luck, hope it comes good.

[Jeff S]

I’ve had no problems using Lexar 16GB cards, v.1, 300x45mb/s.

Jeff

[analog-digital]

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These cards work in: M8 / M Mono / M9-P

However, I have noticed that when formatting you sometimes have to wait a little until the card is recognized (M8)

 

 

 

[GaryMulcahey]

I have been using 32gig cards in my v1 Mono for years without issue.

[carbon_dragon]

After formatting a card in my M10, it would no longer work with my M9. Probably not the issue, but I thought I'd bring it up. It definitely worked before. Now I label the cards.

[Lew]

Right. Some cards now labeled and stored separate from everything else: MM1. Also, I have a clear memory of a warning message when I tried to use a 64gb card, in contradiction to everything else on this thread. I bought a number of slow, 16gb's (inexpensive now). They seem to be working fine and a sensor scratch seems to have disappeared.

[a.noctilux]

This old Monochrom can be picky, slow at time, but it's unique .

Have fun .

For me, done the same, those 8-16GB SD cards labelled M9/MM (not to be used on later M models)