Don't do this!

[T25UFO]

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On Sunday I decided to go to the local park and take some black and white photos.  I put the M10M into my trusty Fogg Soprano pouch - a tight fit with two lenses but perfectly fine - and an empty SD card plus 100% charged battery in the camera.  Drove to the park and walked around for about 30 minutes before taking the camera out.

The camera was hot - I mean really hot.  Then I noticed it had been switched on while in the bag, but that shouldn't have caused the heat.  I thought it might be a battery problem, checked the battery, which now showed just 45% charge.  I pressed play and there was a blank frame.  Pressed play again and another blank frame, then another, then another.  I counted up to 20 blank frames and then stopped.  The camera quickly cooled down and was working perfectly - see attached photo of Finn with his favourite ball.

When I arrived home and checked the SD card there were 1,237 blank frames!  I always set this camera to Auto ISO with 1/250th shutter so it must have fired off all these frames while in the bag.  I have just started using a soft release button and can only assume that this triggered the sequence - I doubt it would have happened without the protruding soft release.  Anyway, lesson learnt.

I suppose the good news is battery life, using just 55% for 1,237 exposures!  And to prove the camera is still working, here is the photo of Finn:

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[mmradman]

You wouldn't be the first, it happened to me once or twice, don't recall the model now, on one occasion battery was fully drained.  The minimalist design of M digital cameras comes with pretty loose On-Off switch, if I am to be cynical for a moment the camera was designed to be display queen, much better on SL and S models where this switch is recessed.

Nowadays I make sure when inserting the camera  into the bag that the on-off switch  is on top and always check it is in OFF position.  Having spare battery is wise if nothing else but to overcome accidental drain while camera is in the bag.

[adan]

You should check to make sure there is no cat in your Fogg.

I had a cat back in the early 80s that fired off most of a roll in a winderized Canon AT-1 I left sitting on my living room TV table - apparently she was fascinated by the "click/whirrr" of the winder.

(The AT-1, like its more automated twin the AE-1, has a very sensitive electro-micro-switch shutter button. So sensitive it has a L(ock) lever precisely to avoid documentaries of the insides of camera bags. But who knew I needed it locked just sitting around in the living room.... )

[mmradman]

3 hours ago, adan said:

You should check to make sure there is no cat in your Fogg.

I had a cat back in the early 80s that fired off most of a roll in a winderized Canon AT-1 I left sitting on my living room TV table - apparently she was fascinated by the "click/whirrr" of the winder.

(The AT-1, like its more automated twin the AE-1, has a very sensitive electro-micro-switch shutter button. So sensitive it has a L(ock) lever precisely to avoid documentaries of the insides of camera bags. But who knew I needed it locked just sitting around in the living room.... )

This called for a thread along the lines "My dog/Cat" did that 😂

[Herr Barnack]

@T25UFO - Glad to hear that your M10M is okay, particularly considering how overheated it became.  It sounds like you dodged a bullet! 😳

Your near miss is a learning experience for all of us - make sure your camera is off before you put it in the camera bag, remove your soft release if you use one before putting the camera in the bag and make sure your camera bag is not such a tight fit that it can activate any of your camera's controls.

I haven't used a soft release in a long time but back when I did, I would always remove it and store it in a plastic 35mm film can to avoid inadvertent pressing of the soft release and possible damage to the shutter release mechanism.