R8/DMR woes on the way to being sorted. Great service from MK - again

[andybarton]

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So, I have just driven 4 hours not to buy a DMR.

 

Turns out that my R8 is one of those that, when fitted with a DMR, just go "Whirr, click, whirr, click"

 

It's a pity that Solms didn't see that mine was a rogue one and offer to sort it out for me while it was there. They did a lot of work that I hadn't requested while it was out there, so why not this?

 

We are now looking at another 8 week sojourn so that it is DMR compliant.

 

To say that I am not a happy bunny is an understatement...

 

Edit: If you are new to this thread, please read my post at the far end. Me jumping to conclusions, I'm afraid ...

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[marknorton]

Where does the incompatability come from? If it's fixed by firmware, they should certainly have upgraded yours to the latest spec. Very disappointing for you.

[andybarton]

I think it's something to do with the gold contacts, from what I read when the DMRs first came out.

 

Do R9s have round tops to the gold pegs in the camera body? My R8 pegs are flat.

 

I was tempted to buy the DMR and either fill the void above the pegs with silver foil () or just send the body back to Solms for the upgrade. But, my wife would have had me sectioned if I'd just spent three grand on something that didn't work...

[andybarton]

Note the flat tops to the gold contacts...

 

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[marknorton]

So are you saying the DMR contacts are not making a contact to the base of the R8?

[leicamann]

Note the flat tops to the gold contacts...

 

[ATTACH]5089[/ATTACH]

 

Yeah..so...mine is the same and I am sure Conrads' and many other R8's are the same..whats the rub? Why is yours "not working"?

 

 

Sorry to hear about that Andy...back to the M2

 

Regards, Leica Mann

[andybarton]

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So are you saying the DMR contacts are not making a contact to the base of the R8?

 

That's what appears to be happening. It's either the base or the back contacts not connecting properly.

 

The small dealer I was going to buy from had only sold two before and had not fitted one to an R8 before. But, he said that it was making exactly the same noise as the dodgy R8s did when fitted with winders or motor-drives. Mine has had neither fitted before, so this issue has never shown up before.

 

I am sure that this was supposed to be the cause of the problem.

 

I will have to do a search of the old forum now that it's been archived.

[mgcd]

Andy - Mine are exactly the same and they work. My understanding is that some of the older R8s require a camera firmware upgrade to be compatible with the DMR. These are reputed to be few, however it seems that lightning has struck you twice. Sorry mate.

 

Cheers,

[timbedsted1234]

Andy,

 

Bear in mind that you also have contacts beneath the film advance lever, 1) You may just have to clean the contacts 2) have them replaced 3) need to have print boards inside the body replaced 4) have your R8 body realigned so it will fit the DMR 100 % 5) a combination of the above

 

Typically here in Denmark you send the R8/R9 and DMR away to Solms and have them ensure that this given DMR woks on your given R8. It appears that the problems with mating these two systems together are so severe that it is now standard operating procedure to require that R8+DMR be shipped off to Solms rather than just selling the DMR and hoping for the best, so it might not have been such a bad idea to acquire the DMR and then haev everything shipped back.

 

Regards,

Tim

[mgcd]

I also noticed your camera "vintage" sort of, mine appears to be in the same "ballpark". Actually, both my R8s are compatible without any modifications whatsoever and they were purchased 6 years apart.

 

Cheers,

[jbstitt]

Andy,

 

I had some problems when I first installed my DMR on my R8. They sound similar. I suspected it was the contacts as someone else mentioned. My R8 was rather old too and used for film so the bottom contacts were exposed and dirty. I had some plastic safe electronic component cleaner and I put some on a Q-tip cotton swab and cleaned each recessed contact. While at it I did the ones on the inside too. Put it back together and Walla, it has been working fine since. It is worth a try. Be sure to use the plastic safe type not the motor cleaner type of electronics cleaner. I know the R8 is metal but the other cleaner will strip the paint and who knows what it will do to the circuit board inside. You should be able to get some plastic safe cleaner at a good electronics outlet or a Radio Shack if you have those across the pond.

[andybarton]

Andy,

 

Bear in mind that you also have contacts beneath the film advance lever, 1) You may just have to clean the contacts 2) have them replaced 3) need to have print boards inside the body replaced 4) have your R8 body realigned so it will fit the DMR 100 % 5) a combination of the above

 

Typically here in Denmark you send the R8/R9 and DMR away to Solms and have them ensure that this given DMR woks on your given R8. It appears that the problems with mating these two systems together are so severe that it is now standard operating procedure to require that R8+DMR be shipped off to Solms rather than just selling the DMR and hoping for the best, so it might not have been such a bad idea to acquire the DMR and then haev everything shipped back.

 

Regards,

Tim

 

That really is unacceptable, don't you think?

[andybarton]

Andy,

 

I had some problems when I first installed my DMR on my R8. They sound similar. I suspected it was the contacts as someone else mentioned. My R8 was rather old too and used for film so the bottom contacts were exposed and dirty. I had some plastic safe electronic component cleaner and I put some on a Q-tip cotton swab and cleaned each recessed contact. While at it I did the ones on the inside too. Put it back together and Walla, it has been working fine since. It is worth a try. Be sure to use the plastic safe type not the motor cleaner type of electronics cleaner. I know the R8 is metal but the other cleaner will strip the paint and who knows what it will do to the circuit board inside. You should be able to get some plastic safe cleaner at a good electronics outlet or a Radio Shack if you have those across the pond.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, but as I said, if I'd come home with this thing not working, my wife would have done her nut, cleaner or no cleaner.

 

Do R9s have the domed pins?

[timbedsted1234]

Andy,

 

This is the primary reason I haven't gone down the DMR route yet. I simply will not pay -35.000 DKR to have the DMR without knowing if I then have to add 3.000-5.000 DKR on top of that in order for Solms to get it to work together as a team.

 

The Danish Leica store at least makes you aware of this up front, which I think is a good thing. The store tells the prospective customer about this, because you are not alone in your misery!

 

Regarding R9 and contacts, please note you are making the implicit assumption that it is cause 1 or 2. It can't be cause 3 (because it is a R9), but if it is cause 4 then you still need to send the R9 to Solms so they can "untwist" the camera body.

 

Film seems to be a more forgiving media. You can have a minor twist in the body and still take perfectly focussed pictures, with digital it has to be perfectly aligned or you may enter the next stage of hell, where the Rx+DMR works but pictures are out of focus.

 

Regards,

Tim

[masjah]

Andy

 

Very sorry indeed to hear of your unhappy experience. Some time ago, I wrote to Leica UK, giving the serial number of my R8 (275xxxx - a good deal higher than yours I guess) asking whether mine would need to be updated to take the DMR. The reply I got was that it was not possible to tell from the serial number, and that it would have to be tried with the DMR. To me that indicates a tolerance problem as well as a possible firmware problem. My R8 contacts are flat, whereas my R9 contacts have a tiny dimple (more like a pinprick really) in their centre.

[andybarton]

I had known of this litany of problems I may have made a different choice when I bought the R8 in the first place.

 

I will wait for the R10 - another sale lost this year to Leica...

[leicamann]

I had known of this litany of problems I may have made a different choice when I bought the R8 in the first place.

 

I will wait for the R10 - another sale lost this year to Leica...

 

Whoa..hold on a bit.... as much as I like Digital and the DMR ..if my R8 proves to have the same issues as yours..I won't "throw the baby out with the bathwater".

 

At least my experience with the R8 is thats its an excellent camera, the tripod Manfrotto thing, chalk that up to learning, from your experience I am a little more careful when I place the R8 on my ' Manfrotto' quick release, I very carefully adjust the depth to be a little shallower.

 

I would take a few deep breaths right now, slap in a nice roll of Delta 100 Pro and go and enjoy a day of shooting some film.

 

I for my part will use film until the "ship sinks":)

 

Regards, Lei Ka Mann

[andybarton]

I'm not saying I'm jumping ship, John, I'm just not prepared to send my camera and three grand's worth of back to Germany for 8 weeks so that they can be "matched". What happens if they can't be matched? Will Leica give me my three grand back? I doubt it somehow. The real irritation is the fact that they have only just sent it back to me.

 

If it doesn't work in the shop, I am not going to buy it.

 

If you suggested to a Canon or Hasselblad owner that this is what they'd have to do, they'd wet themselves.

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[mgcd]

I had known of this litany of problems I may have made a different choice when I bought the R8 in the first place.

 

I will wait for the R10 - another sale lost this year to Leica...

 

 

Andy - I now feel bad, as I thought to tell you to get your R8's firmware checked when it was last in Solms. I assumed that as part of a general CLA, they would indeed have verified that, so I did not bother. I now regret that I did not say anything. I must say, that when I first got my DMR I wondered if my cameras would be in need of an upgrade having read on some fora, as stated, that some early R8s had that issue. Thankfully there have been no issues. This having been said, IMHO there is a tendency to amplify a few examples to general problems approaching paranoia (To be clear, I'm not talking about your case).

 

Cheers,

[andybarton]

Don't feel bad, Conrad! It's not your fault. I do feel a bit let down by Solms, who offered additional work to me when it went for its tripod problem, but never mentioned this firmware check. I assumed, maybe wrongly, that this would mean that all was 100%...

 

Moral - never take anything for granted.

 

My option to buy this DMR at such a good price probably won't last as long as it takes to have the firmware checked. And, as I said, I cannot justify spending that cash and then not even being able to take the camera on holiday at the beginning of September.

 

I'll get over this disappointment...