Q2M "Sensor Is Incorrect"

[trickness]

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Well, my Q2M died yesterday. Screen flickered erratically for a few moments out of nowhere. The I got an OIS error message on the screen, and a reboot message. Then the LCD screen stopped working altogether. Called my dealer who suggested re-installing firmware; tried doing this but could not navigate around the menu screen, even through the EVF. Changed batteries, SD card, nada. Now the Q2M displays the simple message "Sensor Is Incorrect" on the LCD when I boot it up. Calling Leica NJ this morning and I'm ready to not have the camera for a few months I guess 😪

 

I don't get it at all - the camera has been babied, never dropped it or abused it in any way. It was raining pretty good yesterday, but the Q2M is weather sealed, right? Luckily I didn't lose any of my images and I still have my SL2 to use, but it's a bummer. Can't find anything online about this particular error.

 

 

[NICOFRANCA]

That doesn't sound good. First time I've heard that with a Q. Electrical components fail from a malfunction, mechanical components fail physically. Which sucks because it doesn't matter how well you care for your gear sometimes as It could still fail. Not like wear & tear items either. Speaking of the rain, did it take any water yesterday? Did you use it during the storms?

[trickness]

3 hours ago, NICOFRANCA said:

That doesn't sound good. First time I've heard that with a Q. Electrical components fail from a malfunction, mechanical components fail physically. Which sucks because it doesn't matter how well you care for your gear sometimes as It could still fail. Not like wear & tear items either. Speaking of the rain, did it take any water yesterday? Did you use it during the storms?

I was using it in the rain, but the camera is advertised as weather sealed. It didn't get submerged, or dropped, or knocked. I wouldn't think a camera advertised as weather sealed would fail during a rainstorm, quite the contrary. Leica NJ already told me it's going to have to go to Germany.......

[junix]

On 4/8/2022 at 4:15 PM, trickness said:

Well, my Q2M died yesterday. Screen flickered erratically for a few moments out of nowhere. The I got an OIS error message on the screen, and a reboot message. Then the LCD screen stopped working altogether. Called my dealer who suggested re-installing firmware; tried doing this but could not navigate around the menu screen, even through the EVF. Changed batteries, SD card, nada. Now the Q2M displays the simple message "Sensor Is Incorrect" on the LCD when I boot it up. Calling Leica NJ this morning and I'm ready to not have the camera for a few months I guess 😪

 

I don't get it at all - the camera has been babied, never dropped it or abused it in any way. It was raining pretty good yesterday, but the Q2M is weather sealed, right? Luckily I didn't lose any of my images and I still have my SL2 to use, but it's a bummer. Can't find anything online about this particular error.

 

 

I’m sorry to hear your Q2M is dead, I quite like your work with it. Hope the trip to Germany will not last too long.. waiting for updates.

I rarely use my Q2M in the rain but it happens occasionally, if the rain is such that it doesn’t bother me my camera should be able to handle it too.

[jaapv]

Sorry to hear this... The way it failed does suggest water damage, let's hope it is not so. As to weatherproofing, the Q2 is IP 52 rated:

Quote

Protected against direct sprays of water up to 15 degrees from the vertical.

Which means that you can shoot it in normal rain, but that it is vulnerable to rainstorms with the water coming in horizontally. 
Reason that I do not set much store by such claims by camera manufacturers in general.
Leica is quite conservative in its ratings, so the cameras are quite well protected (there was even a dunked M8 club on this forum) but they are certainly not waterproof.

As a comparison, an iPhone is IP68, which means it will resist submerging in 1 m of water for 30 minutes.

[trickness]

On 4/10/2022 at 5:10 AM, jaapv said:

Sorry to hear this... The way it failed does suggest water damage, let's hope it is not so. As to weatherproofing, the Q2 is IP 52 rated:

Which means that you can shoot it in normal rain, but that it is vulnerable to rainstorms with the water coming in horizontally. 
Reason that I do not set much store by such claims by camera manufacturers in general.
Leica is quite conservative in its ratings, so the cameras are quite well protected (there was even a dunked M8 club on this forum) but they are certainly not waterproof.

As a comparison, an iPhone is IP68, which means it will resist submerging in 1 m of water for 30 minutes.

Thx. Yeah I can’t see any other reason why it failed other than rain. I do think it’s a bit ridiculous to call a product “weather sealed” and then have that not be the case. It should either be weather sealed, or not. I would never take an embody camera out in a rain storm, when I did think that a camera with a non-detachable lens would be fairly impervious to rain. I think they should revise their advertising and call the camera “weather resistant” which would be far more accurate. 

Now I’ve just got a wait a few months to get probably a large bill for this expensive lesson. Shame as I really do enjoy taking street photographs in the rain, you really do get different results than when the weather is nice.

[jaapv]

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Actually IP 52 is generally accepted to be “weatherproof” and is used as such across the industry. However I consider it misleading to the consumer as it is certainly not waterproof. I will take any camera out in a rainstorm but take adequate precautions. 
As to the repair, I hope you are lucky and that the cause is something else as a camera with this kind of moisture damage is basically irreparable. The good news is that it can often be claimed against insurance. 

[hdmesa]

IP 52 is below most pro level cameras like the SL2 which is IP54. The first IP number is the dust rating, second number is moisture protection. I wouldn't use the Q2 unshielded in moderate to heavy rain.

• Q2 – Protection assured against vertical drops of water when the product is tilted up to 15° from its normal position.
• SL2 – Protection assured against water splashing from any angle.

[tuna]

Sorry to hear about your camera - hopefully you will get it fixed and be back to using it in time…

Just last week I used my Q2M on a rainy night in the theatre district/ Times Square area in NYC - not far from your regular haunts I believe. I agree that bad weather always provides for some drama and I got some good shots but am now considering myself lucky after hearing of your experience. I kept the camera under a rain jacket most of the time but didn’t hesitate to take it out and shoot in drizzle to light rain…also counting on the weather resistance that is advertised…

[Peter Branch]

I suspect that this is a timely warning.  I've used my SL in heavy rain with absolutely no problem.

I had rather assumed that the my Q2M was similarly sealed - but apparently not.  I have to say that I don't think Leica make this distinction at all clear.

Hope Leica can repair the camera as water and electronics are somewhat incompatible.

I had an early iPhone which was a write-off after being caught in a rain shower. 

[matted]

Yikes, sorry to hear about this! I sent in my Q2 to New Jersey in early March to fix some physical issues with the lens due to a drop, and received it back last week, almost 5 weeks to the day after I ok'd the estimate, which is the timeline they quoted. I think my repair was done all in New Jersey, however, so that may be faster than what you experience.

[trickness]

Some good news - just heard from Leica that my Q2M has been repaired and it on it's way back to me, at no charge. Guess I'll have to look at the paperwork when it arrives and figure out what they found wrong and what they did. 

[trickness]

Got the Q2M back yesterday, paperwork says that the sensor and the main board were replaced. No explanation as to what was wrong with the camera, but I’m happy that all the internal organs have been replaced 🤓

[trickness]

On 4/19/2022 at 10:29 PM, tuna said:

Sorry to hear about your camera - hopefully you will get it fixed and be back to using it in time…

Just last week I used my Q2M on a rainy night in the theatre district/ Times Square area in NYC - not far from your regular haunts I believe. I agree that bad weather always provides for some drama and I got some good shots but am now considering myself lucky after hearing of your experience. I kept the camera under a rain jacket most of the time but didn’t hesitate to take it out and shoot in drizzle to light rain…also counting on the weather resistance that is advertised…

I think moving forward if I go out and shoot in the rain, I will tape over the microphone and speaker holes on the camera with electrical tape, and if it really starts chucking down I will call it a day. It’s a bit of a shame because I absolutely love shooting in the pouring rain, I’ve had some of my best days of NYC street photography when everything and everybody was getting soaked.