Bright area at photos

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On 1/17/2022 at 1:54 PM, Tux4711 said:

Sometimes these areas even tend to be reddish

Could you show some examples of the reddish area?

To be honest, I'm still not certain we're not looking at a finger. How do you (usually) hold your camera? Any chance of stray fingers near the edge of the lens?

Edited January 24, 2022 by pop
typpo

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[Tux4711]

vor 26 Minuten schrieb pop:

Could you show some examples of the reddish area?

To be honest, I'm still not certain we're not looking at a finger. How do you (usually) hold your camera? Any chance of stray fingers near the edge of the lens?

Here is another example. I would exclude that it is a finger. I always use the lens hood, which makes it nearly impossible for the finger to slip too far forward. When reproducing the whiting under different conditions, I also took care to make sure that nothing was in the way.

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I agree that a finger is not a likely cause. Using a special program I can see that the red hue is present in both images you have shown so far, and at about the same amount.

You mentioned several times the dependency on the shutter speed. Could it conceivably be dependent on the f-stop instead of the shutter speed, i.e. does the problem show stronger with the lens wide open as opposed to stopped down? You should be able to determine that easily by taking several shots of a white wall in your flat, under identical lighting conditions, of course.

[jdlaing]

On 1/17/2022 at 6:54 AM, Tux4711 said:

Hi,

I am new to the forum although I have been a silent reader for some time now. I find the expertise gathered here great and would now like to get in touch with a technical issue as well. I own an M8 and regularly have a brighter exposed area in the bottom corner of photos (see attachment). Sometimes these areas even tend to be reddish. I have a feeling that the likelihood of this occurring increases when I use shorter exposure times. Does anyone know this problem? Is it a defect of the sensor?

Sorry if there is already a post regarding this issue. I have not found anything comparable.

Best regards

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What was the ambient temperature when you took that photo?

[Tux4711]

Am 24.1.2022 um 21:35 schrieb jdlaing:

What was the ambient temperature when you took that photo?

It was around 2 degrees Celsius. Do you think it has anything to do with that? At least the whitening I can reproduce at room temperature.

 

Am 24.1.2022 um 19:07 schrieb pop:

You mentioned several times the dependency on the shutter speed. Could it conceivably be dependent on the f-stop instead of the shutter speed, i.e. does the problem show stronger with the lens wide open as opposed to stopped down? You should be able to determine that easily by taking several shots of a white wall in your flat, under identical lighting conditions, of course.

I will conduct several tests. I can already tell that a bright light source must be nearby to get the effect. Photographing a wall in a room without daylight coming into the room doesn't seem to produce the effect. Therefore, it does not appear when shots are taken with the lens cap. That means I have to wait for the right day.

[jdlaing]

37 minutes ago, Tux4711 said:

It was around 2 degrees Celsius. Do you think it has anything to do with that? At least the whitening I can reproduce at room temperature.

 

 

That came to mind but it could also be shutter bounce. Is it an M8 with 8000 shutter speed on the dial?

[MikeMyers]

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2 hours ago, jdlaing said:

That came to mind but it could also be shutter bounce. Is it an M8 with 8000 shutter speed on the dial?

Would an appropriate test for that be shooting with the camera held upside down?  If that made a noticeable, and repeatable, difference, then the shutter might indeed be the culprit.

[jdlaing]

1 hour ago, MikeMyers said:

Would an appropriate test for that be shooting with the camera held upside down?  If that made a noticeable, and repeatable, difference, then the shutter might indeed be the culprit.

Possible.

[Tux4711]

vor 17 Stunden schrieb jdlaing:

That came to mind but it could also be shutter bounce. Is it an M8 with 8000 shutter speed on the dial?

Yes, 8000 is the maximum value.

vor 14 Stunden schrieb MikeMyers:

Would an appropriate test for that be shooting with the camera held upside down?  If that made a noticeable, and repeatable, difference, then the shutter might indeed be the culprit.

Holding the camera upside down doesn't seem to make any difference. Is there any other method to test for the issue?

Shutter bounce seems to make a lot of sense to me. I did not know the term and the phenomenon until now, but I thought of a similar cause.

I have performed further tests, but have not been satisfied with the available light. Anyway, I found that the more I increase the aperture, the weaker the whitening effect (at the same exposure time). At high exposure times, the effect is no longer visible above f/8, but the whole picture is also black. Therefore, I am unsure what conclusions can be drawn from this. I would say that under these conditions there is simply not enough light coming through the lens to create the effect.

Once again, I thank you all so much for your support.

[Tux4711]

Update: The problem persists and became very apparent to me again during my last vacation trip, where I used my camera more intensively again (see photo). The problem almost always occurs with short exposure times (from 1/1000 upwards). 

In the meantime, I made contact with Wetzlar and will be visiting them in the next few months. They will have a look at the camera and make a diagnosis. The guess is that the shutter is not closing reliably. I was already told on the phone that in the worst case, the shutter will have to be completely replaced. A new part from the M8.2 or M9 series will be installed for this. The expected costs will be around 1,200 euros. That is a hefty amount, since you can already buy a used M8 for that. Therefore, I strongly hope that the worst case will not happen.

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[Tux4711]

A short update: Leica Customer Care has now confirmed that the problem is caused by a no longer properly functioning shutter. They have offered me to install a new shutter (of a M9) for a total of 845 euros. I hesitated a bit, since you can already buy another M8 for less than twice that amount and I'm flirting with the idea of upgrading to M 240 or M10 anyway. However, I eventually agreed and hope to spend a few more great years with the M8.

[MikeMyers]

23 minutes ago, Tux4711 said:

Leica Customer Care has now confirmed that the problem is caused by a no longer properly functioning shutter. 

I'm surprised that they can't adjust the existing shutter, to get it to work properly, but I think you made the right choice.  While the camera is apart, hopefully they can check for anything else that ought to be done at the same time, while the camera is apart.  If you were in the USA, I'd suggest you contact Don at DAG Camera Repair, but I think you made the right choice.  I assume they will give you a warranty on their work, so if a month later it happens again, they will take care of it at no additional charge.

I have an M8.2 (for shooting in Infrared).  I also have an M10.  The M10 in every way would be a better choice.  Could they give you a price to upgrade?  Maybe to a used M10 even?  However happy you are with the M8, the M10 would likely be a better choice for the future.  If I were in your shoes, I think I would try to find a way to do the upgrade, if I could afford it.

[Tux4711]

vor 14 Minuten schrieb MikeMyers:

Could they give you a price to upgrade?  Maybe to a used M10 even?  However happy you are with the M8, the M10 would likely be a better choice for the future.  If I were in your shoes, I think I would try to find a way to do the upgrade, if I could afford it.

I thought for a while about asking for exactly such an offer. I was able to test in Wetzlar how fantastic it feels to shoot with an M10-R or an M11. The photos I took home were compelling. However, in view of the current developments in Europe, I will keep my savings aside for the moment. In addition, in view of the current developments in Europe, I will keep my savings aside for the moment. Or in other words: I would love to upgrade, but I think it would be more reasonable for my personal situation if I hold back for the present.