atufte Posted September 13, 2007 Share #1 Posted September 13, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) While shooting some images on a commercial airplane the other day, i got a serious problem with my M8, it said "card locked" with every card i tried (6 different SanDisk Ultra III) i never seen this message and it's for sure a malfunction of some sort in the M8, since 6 cards can't be wrong...? Then i thought about the pressure cabin and maybe this caused it and tried to calm down until we landed, after getting of the plane i tried all the cards again without any problems, and it all worked fine for days, but today it all came back again this time without being on an airplane, after swithing batteries back and forth the camera went back to normal, but this is really scary....anyone else with this kind of strange malfunction...?? Thanks... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 13, 2007 Posted September 13, 2007 Hi atufte, Take a look here M8 Airplane Problem. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
etienne_werner Posted September 13, 2007 Share #2 Posted September 13, 2007 Hi, I do seem to remember reading an article about, both CF cards and MicroDrives not being very good at handling reduced atmospheric pressure. I wouldn't just dismiss the possibility that your media is faulty. Regards, Etienne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nscali Posted September 13, 2007 Share #3 Posted September 13, 2007 Alexander, It is a known issue. Are you using the latest firmware? I experienced it before but the most recent firmware upgrade seemed to eliminate the problem. In the meantime, if you experience it again remove the battery and card from the camera. Put them back and all should be OK. If it persists remove the battery and leave the camera on for a few days. The internal battery will drain and do a default system reset. NIcky Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradreiman Posted September 13, 2007 Share #4 Posted September 13, 2007 i knowthis sounds silly but there was something in the M8 manual about "cosmic rays" or something like that on airplanes affecting the m8. I have used mine with no adverse affects on many airplanes tho. Anyone remember or have the enrgy to look it up. There were threads on the forum about it...B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat_mcdermott Posted September 13, 2007 Share #5 Posted September 13, 2007 For what it's worth, a couple of weeks ago I shot on a commercial airliner without a single problem. Is it possible that different planes are pressurized to different altitudes? ... I'll have to ask my brother, who's a commercial pilot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
@bumac Posted September 13, 2007 Share #6 Posted September 13, 2007 In a airplane you have the same pressure like at 2000 m. I am a montiner and I have shot at 2500m , no problem at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted September 13, 2007 Share #7 Posted September 13, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Reiner, my experience is similar to yours - though I suspect you did more than get out of a cable car and walk a few metres <grin> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
atufte Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share #8 Posted September 13, 2007 Alexander,It is a known issue. Are you using the latest firmware? I experienced it before but the most recent firmware upgrade seemed to eliminate the problem. In the meantime, if you experience it again remove the battery and card from the camera. Put them back and all should be OK. If it persists remove the battery and leave the camera on for a few days. The internal battery will drain and do a default system reset. NIcky Yes the latest firmware, ill try your battery tip if this continues...thanks :-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted September 13, 2007 Share #9 Posted September 13, 2007 Alexander,Sorry to hear about your problem but I expect that there may be another cause. It's easy to think that because airplanes have pressurised cabins that it's probably the pressure that's affecting the camera but humidity is another unseen factor.A significant percentage of what humans breath out is water vapour and the air in airplane cabins is recycled many times during the flight so the air is deliberately dried. The process of drying the air means that the air around the air vents will have lower humidity but the air away from the vents will have higher humidity so if, for example, you were to walk the length of the cabin with your camera in hand then you're likely to pass through zones of high and low humidity. Perhaps the artificial change in humidity had an adverse affect on your M8.Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chetccox Posted September 13, 2007 Share #10 Posted September 13, 2007 Sorry, but try another reason. It was not 'cosmic rays' or pressure that caused the malfunction. Actually, the air in airplanes is not recycled at all, nor is it deliberately dried. The humidity at the altitudes jets fly is very low, and then this air is compressed. The air inside the cabin is therefore very dry, which I would think would be much better for electronics than very wet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Walt Posted September 13, 2007 Share #11 Posted September 13, 2007 Most large transport aircraft are pressurized to a maximum altitude of about 8,000 feet 2700 meters or so). I have shot many times with the M8 at such pressure altitudes without problem. This is one of the few problems I have not had with an M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlancasterd Posted September 13, 2007 Share #12 Posted September 13, 2007 While shooting some images on a commercial airplane the other day, i got a serious problem with my M8, it said "card locked" with every card i tried (6 different SanDisk Ultra III) i never seen this message and it's for sure a malfunction of some sort in the M8, since 6 cards can't be wrong...? Then i thought about the pressure cabin and maybe this caused it and tried to calm down until we landed, after getting of the plane i tried all the cards again without any problems, and it all worked fine for days, but today it all came back again this time without being on an airplane, after swithing batteries back and forth the camera went back to normal, but this is really scary....anyone else with this kind of strange malfunction...?? Thanks... Could it be caused by static electricity building up in the very dry air of an aircraft cabin? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grduprey Posted September 14, 2007 Share #13 Posted September 14, 2007 Actually the Cosmic Ray theory is not that far off. Some years ago we were getting a small to medium batch of failures in Commercial and Military aircraft. All were high altitude problems. It turns out that certain semiconductor technologies, (If I remember right, HCMOS) are susceptible to radiation from outer space, I beleive the problem had to do with Neutron bombardment. At very high altitudes this is a very real possibility. I remember our Nuclear Lightning expert describing the problem, and the solution which is currently used in the aircraft industry is to avoid the semiconductor types which have this susceptibility. Also the static electricity suggestion is also a possible cause. I experienced this problem with mour remote controls for the TV and Cable remotes just this past year. They seemed to all have failed at the same time, I tried a replacement remote and it behaved the same way. With some experimenting I found they worked just fine when put directly in from of the sensor on the TV and cable boxes. It was the dead of winter and very dry and tons of static electricity. I turned up the humidity in the house and re-tried the remotes about an hour later and Voila! they worked perfectly. Gene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted September 14, 2007 Share #14 Posted September 14, 2007 Interesting stuff... Wilfredo Benitez-Rivera Photography Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted September 14, 2007 Share #15 Posted September 14, 2007 Interesting stuff... Wilfredo Benitez-Rivera Photography Yup, but none of it explains why Alexander had the problem on the ground as well. Was it a residual effect? Who knows. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippyk Posted September 14, 2007 Share #16 Posted September 14, 2007 Hi, Not sure if this helps and not on a plane, but I happily shot for about 9 days mostly above 2200m and sometimes up to 4400m above sea level. Humidity was very low. I experienced some of the other known M8 problems but nothing with the card. Regards, Dileepa. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speenth Posted September 14, 2007 Share #17 Posted September 14, 2007 I have never had a problem with my M8 airborne, but my Hewlett Packard PDA cannot be used in flight. This is because it is stylus-based and in flight the stylus/screen interface goes totally haywire. Wherever I touch the stylus to the screen some other part of the screen reacts - thus rendering the interface frustratingly useless. I put this down to the magnetic fields being generated by so much electrical cabling in the walls of the plane (all the wiring of the plane runs under the plastic wall panels - its quite impressive to see and its right by your shoulder - schooldays physics will tell you that means significant magnetic fields induced by the current in some of that wiring). The engines themselves will be generating huge magnetic flux too. There may also be some RF interference going on from radio and radar equipment on board. As soon as I'm back in the terminal the PDA always works as good as gold. I suspect the SD cards have picked up the induction current just like my electric toothbrush does when I place it on its entirely plastic-covered charger post. Its perhaps more surprising that the problem is as uncommon as it appears to be! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 14, 2007 Share #18 Posted September 14, 2007 The cosmic ray thory is certainly valid; it is mentioned by Leica in the manual. There is also a chance of a hot pixels being caused. It seems advisable to transport the M8 in a lead bag as for film when taking it into the Stratosphere at periods of high sunspot activity Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanhulsenbeek Posted September 14, 2007 Share #19 Posted September 14, 2007 I put this down to the magnetic fields being generated by so much electrical cabling in the walls of the plane (all the wiring of the plane runs under the plastic wall panels - its quite impressive to see and its right by your shoulder - schooldays physics will tell you that means significant magnetic fields induced by the current in some of that wiring). The engines themselves will be generating huge magnetic flux too. There may also be some RF interference going on from radio and radar equipment on board. As soon as I'm back in the terminal the PDA always works as good as gold. I suspect the SD cards have picked up the induction current just like my electric toothbrush does when I place it on its entirely plastic-covered charger post. Its perhaps more surprising that the problem is as uncommon as it appears to be! Apart from this interference - sounds very likely - and possible humidity problems and cosmic rays, I see no other problems. Height, as far as I know, only affects moving harddisks, like in Ipods (specs go to 3000 meters) and smaller hard disks like in CF size Microdisks. SD-cards have no moving parts. My M8 worked great up to 3000m this summer, and also in the tropical jungle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted September 14, 2007 Share #20 Posted September 14, 2007 I will be in Colorado the week after next at altitudes above 10,000 feet all week. I will certainly be testing the altitude issue. I have in the past though been right at sea level and very high humidity, actually got caught in the rain, with no issues. I had to walk over a mile up the beach with the M8 in a shoulder case. It had no problems.. I got drenched.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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