Leica M8 AE Lock?

[thedreamscene]

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Hi so I just received in the mail a Leica M8 and I'm testing it out and I'm incapable of getting any kind of AE lock. The shutter fires at the slightest touch. Is there a menu setting I'm missing for this? Or could there possibly be something wrong with the camera. Thanks for any info

[JohnW.]

If the shutter fires as you say then there is a problem with the camera.  The M8 shutter has 3 pressure points, the 1st point activates the metering, the 2nd point holds the metered setting (as long as the shutter is held in this position) and the 3rd pressure releases the shutter.  Refer pages 89-90 of the instruction manual.

[a.noctilux]

I think you may have a look in the shutter menu, if I recall, it's one of the two types of "Advance" Menu in M8.

My firmware is 2.014.

One is "Standard", maybe "Discreet" is set.

[adan]

Hmmm - the M9 had a menu option for "soft release," which did just what you describe - reassigned the exposure-hold step to fire the shutter immediately. For old film-Leica users like me who loved the quicker response.

The M8 had a late firmware upgrade (2.004) in 2009 to allow discreet shutter cocking (standard in the M8.2) - delaying shutter cocking until the finger lets up on the shutter button (presumably so that a user could hide the camera under their coat or some such to muffle the cocking sound).

I don't recall the M8 firmware ever offering the "Soft" option - but it has been 13 years since I had an M8.

Anyway, check the menu for 1) the FW version, and 2) ADVANCE options (if any), as in shutter/"film" advance/cocking.

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by adan

[farnz]

No, the M8 never had a software-selectable "Soft" option.  A later firmware upgrade introduced the "Discreet" option that would prevent the loud shutter re-cock until you took your finger off the shutter release to give you time to mask the sound behind your back in quiet environments.

Unfortunately some M8's had troublesome shutter release columns - I remember that my first M8 had a 'gritty' shutter release action that would resist releasing the shutter until you pressed harder and then suddenly release it as pressure was applied.  The shutter release on my current M8 is much smoother and I have no problem in taking a meter reading with a half-press and then releasing the shutter with a little more pressure.

It seems that your M8 might benefit from a CLA (Clean, Lubricate, and Adjust) at Wetzlar but if you do do that then make sure to emphasise that the shutter release needs sorting out.

Pete.

[thedreamscene]

Thanks for the replies. It seems like maybe the camera hadn't been used in a while and needed warming up. When I first started shooting it would fire at the slightest touch but now after shooting with it a bit I can feel the different stages of the shutter and get ae lock