TL2 Updates?

[mikeLD]

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I recently purchased a new TL2 Black body.  I already have a TL2 Silver body but want to be less obtrusive in my street shooting.  I have all the TL Vario lenses and one fast Sigma 30mm.  They are all fantastic and I can't be more pleased.  I discovered what appears to be "performance upgrades" in my new black body.  My silver body was manufactured in 2017 and my black body was manufactured in August of 2019.  Although both are running the version 5 firmware I have observed and tested two "features" being significantly different.  One, the speed of file downloads over the USB Cable with all else (computer, SD Card, etc) being held equal is almost twice as fast on the newer manufactured black body.  Two, the recharging speed (all factors held equal) is also much faster on the newer black body.  Having been associated with computers, cameras and electronics extensively of the past 50 years, I suspect that relevant components on the circuit boards were likely upgraded, perhaps just as a matter of manufacturing and supply logistics (older components are replaced with newer functionally equivalent replacements).  Knowing the degree of precision and specification accuracy that is followed by Leica, is this likely??  Has anyone else observed other possible feature changes?

Edited May 8, 2021 by mikeLD
type correction

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[jaapv]

I cannot find it strange that a product will undergo some undisclosed component changes during its production run, and a manufacturer will certainly look for improvements when doing so. The sum of such minor changes may well be noticeable when comparing cameras side by side.

[Dopaco]

@mikLD

I only have a TL2, silver color, I can't make comparisons.
How can I know the date of manufacture of the camera? ..

Edited May 8, 2021 by Dopaco

[mikeLD]

15 minutes ago, Dopaco said:

@mikLD

I only have a TL2, silver color, I can't make comparisons.
How can I know the date of manufacture of the camera? ..

I found the date of manufacture on the on a label affixed to the inspection and packaging certificate which was in the box.  The label had the Verk. Nr. and the Fabr.Nr. which I believe are the work order number and the production serial number. Fabr.Nr. was the same as the serial number on the camera body but with a leading 0.  On the far right end of the label was the stamped date.  The serial number and the date seem to coincide with the previous number sequencing I've researched in the past.  The certificate also contains the signature confirming that the camera body was meticulously inspected during production and another signature of the person who packed it.  I lived in Germany for a number of years in the early 1980's and although fairly fluent then, my translation now has weakened.  My Silver body has the same sticker on the outside of the outer box and was dated 2017/06/23 which seems to coincide with the first releases of the TL2 model 18188 and my black TL2 model 18187 is 2019/08/02.

[Dopaco]

Thanks friend, I will look at the box and the documentation that accompanied the camera to see if I find that date.

[Dopaco]

@mikLD

 

Thanks, I found it, every day you learn something new. It has all the characteristics of being correct.
My silver TL2 camera finished manufacturing on 11/29/2017, a few months after yours.

The speed of downloading the file via the USB cable to my Mac computer is fast enough not to worry me. I can't check either since I don't have the other camera.

It is curious and rare but not impossible, there may be many factors that affect it such as SD card, USB cable, USB plug connector and something very important that happens is the charging of magnetic fields.

Manual Page 199:

"• If the camera malfunctions due to the effects of electromagnetic
fields, remove the battery and then turn the camera on again.
Do not use the camera in the immediate vicinity of radio transmitters or high-voltage power lines.
Their magnetic fields can also interfere with picture recordings."
 

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[mikeLD]

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2 hours ago, Dopaco said:

@mikLD

 

Thanks, I found it, every day you learn something new. It has all the characteristics of being correct.
My silver TL2 camera finished manufacturing on 11/29/2017, a few months after yours.

The speed of downloading the file via the USB cable to my Mac computer is fast enough not to worry me. I can't check either since I don't have the other camera.

It is curious and rare but not impossible, there may be many factors that affect it such as SD card, USB cable, USB plug connector and something very important that happens is the charging of magnetic fields.

Manual Page 199:

"• If the camera malfunctions due to the effects of electromagnetic
fields, remove the battery and then turn the camera on again.
Do not use the camera in the immediate vicinity of radio transmitters or high-voltage power lines.
Their magnetic fields can also interfere with picture recordings."
 

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!

Excellent, I missed that date for a long time which I spent on trying to research serial numbers until I bought the new black body and saw it.  I agree the time difference on downloading and charging are not significant.  I was shooting micro 4/3 Panasonic Lumix cameras, often with Panasonic - Leica lenses for a long time.  Now that I found the TL2 I am smitten with the quality of the photos and the craftsmanship in the design.  My next mystery is decoding the first two digits of the serial number?  Here is a shot of a little souvenir I found.  Notice that the edges are not beveled like the TL2.  Cheers, mike 

Edited May 9, 2021 by mikeLD