Q2 Monochrom "stuck" bright white pixels

[Jantoni]

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My Q2M went to Wetzlar yesterday. Looking forward what they'll do.

[hdmesa]

45 minutes ago, Jantoni said:

My Q2M went to Wetzlar yesterday. Looking forward what they'll do.

They will probably walk around Wetzlar taking photos with it for two weeks until the dead-pixel firmware detection runs and then send it back

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[nwphil]

59 minutes ago, hdmesa said:

They will probably walk around Wetzlar taking photos with it for two weeks until the dead-pixel firmware detection runs and then send it back

I guess your changing date-ahead-hack might be out of question then....

[hdmesa]

1 hour ago, nwphil said:

I guess your changing date-ahead-hack might be out of question then....

I wonder if setting the time backwards by two weeks will add more dots 😆

[Guest]

On 1/12/2021 at 10:04 AM, nickkraal said:

Has anyone noticed that the "stuck" pixels are now gone?

In recent shots I do not see these "stuck" pixels (Disclaimer: My sample pool is small at 5 shots only) and perhaps my Q2M has run the pixel refresh procedure. Fingers crossed that these do not return.

Urgh. Was too excited reviewing my earlier pictures and did not think of the ISO (which were taken at ISO 200). Switched over to ISO 6400 and there the "stuck" pixels are. Coincidently Leica Singapore contacted me for DNG files and I sent these over.

Here are the recent screenshots from LR.

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[nwphil]

Anyone that has send the camera to Leica received any updates?

Mine arrived at LeicaUSA on the 4th, received an official confirmation receipt on the 12th and today the repair service emailed me saying that the camera is being routed to the factory for completing the repair. ( I assume Leitz in Germany ofcourse - darn I am jealous of my own camera now...lol)

So they either found more issues or LeicaUSA does not have yet the ability to fix the dead-pixel issue, if that is indeed the problem.

[Leica28]

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I’ve never received any communication with Leica beyond a single email saying someone would be in touch with me.  That was weeks ago.  To date, nothing has been done; my phone calls have not been returned; and I can only assume at this point - worse case scenario.  I  contacted American Express this week and they have assured me that they will make it right - one way or another.  God Bess Amex.

[nwphil]

1 hour ago, Leica28 said:

I’ve never received any communication with Leica beyond a single email saying someone would be in touch with me.  That was weeks ago.  To date, nothing has been done; my phone calls have not been returned; and I can only assume at this point - worse case scenario.  I  contacted American Express this week and they have assured me that they will make it right - one way or another.  God Bess Amex.

ouch .....! sorry to hear that. Did you contacted Leica AG directly (via email)? I suspect they all might be overwhelmed by demand volume and lack of staff, but does not justify absolute silence.

Bear in mind that took them 8 days to go from receiving the camera - UPS delivery confirmation,  till sending me an email saying that have it, and 8 more days to show progress.

LeicaUSA - repair center was responsive back in December, but it was indeed Leica AG that took decisive steps after receiving my email complaining about lousy service received.(from Leica Customer Service)

-----

Yes, Amex has my back since 1993, and saved my dough with eBay, Paypal and others in past litigation situations - They always took my side first and solved the issues later without me having to wait ( and yes, their disclaimer said in case I was at fault they would reverse the resolution, which never happened)

[anuncastshadow]

Just wanted to chime in to say I received my replacement Q2M from the retailer (as opposed to having Leica send a warranty replacement) about two weeks ago. I noticed that there was a significantly fewer amount of these white pixels, not nearly as distracting or annoying as they were on the previous unit. Being unaware of what Leica means exactly by "giving it two weeks" to allow the sensor to resolve anomalies, it's difficult for me to say if I've performed the required number of shutter actuations, but I would guess I'm still below that threshold.

I haven't heard anything from Leica since sending along the DNG and JPEG examples of the issue, but I also haven't made an attempt to reach out since the week of the New Year if I'm being honest.

I do quite enjoy using the camera, so I'd hate to have to send it to Leica for some kind of permanent fix, as I'm still hoping there's a firmware update planned (or at least some sort of support from CaptureOne or Adobe maybe?), but I'll be anxious to see how everyone else fares with their experiences.

[Miltz]

After reading this thread and looking at the DNG sample images I don’t think this is a defect. All sensors have this issue it’s just that the software processes them out so we can’t see them. Whether it’s in camera or in camera raw. I suspect the fix will either be a firmware update or camera raw update or even both. The odds of Leica shipping “defective” sensors in all their Q2 Monochrome cameras would be extremely unlikely as they all have this issue. I used to see this on my Olympus and removed them by doing a sensor mapping in camera. My Nikon had a similar issue, same remedy. I think because the sensor is BW it’s a lot more noticeable. On the Nikon it was red. That being said, until I read this thread I didn’t even notice it. 

[alksv]

My unit also has this issue, but as Miltz is saying, it's most certainly a software/firmware issue rather than a hardware defect. While annoying, I don't think there's any reason to be worried as it's a matter of time before this bug is fixed, hopefully sooner rather than later.

[nwphil]

It's not Leica ever released a camera or lens without issues - not to mention many other manufactures even of different products.

Then why was not noticed prior to release? why have not Leica provided an integrated solution? or announced yet they acknowledge an issue that "might" be self-solving?

the fact my camera was sent to factory raises even more questions imo, but that's me.

 

[alksv]

This shouldn't be the ultimate excuse for a serious company like Leica, but I'd cut them some slack since we're in the middle of an outbreak and somewhat of a crisis which surely made it difficult to QC the products they probably had in their roadmap they didn't want to deviate from. Looking back on 2020 as a whole I'd prefer to leave my pitchfork at home for the time being, but that's just me.

[nwphil]

26 minutes ago, alksv said:

This shouldn't be the ultimate excuse for a serious company like Leica, but I'd cut them some slack since we're in the middle of an outbreak and somewhat of a crisis which surely made it difficult to QC the products they probably had in their roadmap they didn't want to deviate from. Looking back on 2020 as a whole I'd prefer to leave my pitchfork at home for the time being, but that's just me.

That's why I did not simply return the camera -  without being political, the fact is, we are not in this together: we are STUCK in this together for better or for worse.

Leica did not place a disclaimer (as if) hey we are launching a product with issues because of the covid and such, btw you still have to pay premium price despite we are not placing above and beyond implementation QC.

It's not about kicking on the fallen; what bugs me the most it's their silence about it  

 

[Miltz]

I think people forget that Leica isn’t a software company. They rely heavy on Panasonic’s people to do their software and firmwares etc. Why do you think it takes them so long? Panasonic is the one doing it the software here while Leica does everything else. Obviously this is purely conjecture on my part, but it would explain a lot. This of course isn’t an excuse, but Leica makes beautiful cameras, software is another story. I don’t believe the have the software RD in house to fix issues like Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus etc. those companies are self sufficient, Leica isn’t. 
Anytime you have to reply on a partnership to get things done, it will take longer. 

[nwphil]

55 minutes ago, Miltz said:

I think people forget that Leica isn’t a software company. They rely heavy on Panasonic’s people to do their software and firmwares etc. Why do you think it takes them so long? Panasonic is the one doing it the software here while Leica does everything else. Obviously this is purely conjecture on my part, but it would explain a lot. This of course isn’t an excuse, but Leica makes beautiful cameras, software is another story. I don’t believe the have the software RD in house to fix issues like Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus etc. those companies are self sufficient, Leica isn’t. 
Anytime you have to reply on a partnership to get things done, it will take longer. 

I always heard that the partnership was related to lens development, mostly on the Panasonic side, and interface protocols sharing for a common lens mount ( also with sigma)

But I would hear more of that software partnership then - did a quick search,, and was not able to find specific references to UI/software  making for current Leica cameras. One can always learn more...

Thanks

[jaapv]

You have a Q. Open it up and you will find that many parts have a Panasonic sticker on them, others from various makers. No camera manufacturer produces the bulk of their components - there is a huge supply industry out there, mostly in South East Asia. Leica and Panasonic have a cooperation agreement; it would be strange if they did not make use of it. Software is more proprietary, as it is linked to the design concept of the camera, but I would be very surprised if there were not some form of cooperation in that field as well.

[nwphil]

It has been a while since I used a Panasonic camera - most modern one I handled briefly was a GX85 and a LX100 ( back in 17/18) has I was deciding between them and Olympus.

From what I recall, Panasonic UI was way better than  Sony, and a bit better than Olympus, but not as fluid as Canon's  or streamlined as Leica's, hence somewhat doubtful that Panasonic had some influence with Leica's software and interface. But it's feasible and not far fetch.

However Panasonic has pixel mapping for quite sometime - maybe was not compatible/useable with the sensors Leica uses on the Q2M....

[Jantoni]

My Q2M is on it's way home! 😊
Until now I have no information about what Leica did. Perhaps @hdmesa was right, because the two weeks are over now 😂

Am 12.1.2021 um 18:45 schrieb hdmesa:

They will probably walk around Wetzlar taking photos with it for two weeks until the dead-pixel firmware detection runs and then send it back

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[Leon_B.]

Information from Wetzlar about the hot/stuck pixel phenomenon of the Leica Q2 Monochrom at higher ISO values:
Leica has informed us that the problem has been identified and they are working on a software solution. 
We have the following important information for you: 

• It is not necessary to send the camera in 
• A firmware update will probably be available in a few weeks with which a manual pixel mapping can be done.

So a little more patience please, solution is on its way ...