Guest Walt Posted October 25, 2007 Share #1 Posted October 25, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) The newest of my M8 bodies, a replacement received from Leica at the end of May, has worked without major problems until now. The serial # is 311XXXX. Using the camera a few days ago with a fairly fresh battery, the camera suddenly went completely dead between two shots. Removing and reinstalling the battery did not help, but a fresh battery started it up again, and I finished up what I was doing with another 10 shots or so. As the weather was very warm, I cannot say if the camera itself was generating heat at this time. Returning home, I installed another fresh battery and left the camera sitting on a table in standby (to see if it would deplete the battery). About two hours later, I picked up the camera to find that it was extremely warm and that even the lens (a 35/1.4) was radiating a lot of heat. The source of the heat was the right side of the body (not the battery side). I removed the battery (and the lens), allowed the camera to cool for about an hour and installed a fresh (third) battery and let it sit in standby overnight. It is no longer heating up and appears to function normally this morning. The battery in the camera during the heating incident was significantly depleted in two hours of standby because it took about two hours to recharge. Have other incidents of this type just resolved or led to future failures? I am so reluctant at this point to send it in for another one--in eight months I have had three out of five bodies fail (in different ways) and this would make it four out of five. Each replacement seems to have some kind of new problem. And yet, this sudden battery depletion and heating seems like a problem that bodes poorly for the future of this body. Thanks, Walt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 25, 2007 Posted October 25, 2007 Hi Guest Walt, Take a look here Consensus or optinion on "hot" M8 body?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
marknorton Posted October 25, 2007 Share #2 Posted October 25, 2007 OK Walt, right hand side of the camera, viewed from the back. Can you say front or back. Here's what's inside... 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! At the bottom right (viewed from the back), you have the SD card holder and the power supply circuits for the DSP board. On the right hand side at the front you have the shutter/motor wind controller which have their own power supply. In particular, right at the front of the camera, there's the shutter lock which is an electromagnet; if left powered, it might get hot. Do these pictures allow you to say with any certainty what the source of the heat was? Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! At the bottom right (viewed from the back), you have the SD card holder and the power supply circuits for the DSP board. On the right hand side at the front you have the shutter/motor wind controller which have their own power supply. In particular, right at the front of the camera, there's the shutter lock which is an electromagnet; if left powered, it might get hot. Do these pictures allow you to say with any certainty what the source of the heat was? ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36541-consensus-or-optinion-on-hot-m8-body/?do=findComment&comment=385478'>More sharing options...
Guest Walt Posted October 25, 2007 Share #3 Posted October 25, 2007 Mark- I would say the front of the camera, centered to the right of the lens bayonet release button and aabout at the level of or a bit lower than the button. Even the right side of the lens was hotter than the left, and the base plate was hotter than the top plate. I'll look at your photos again, because I'm not too well oriented to the internals. I've looked at the photos again and the shutter controller or power supply seems to be it. I've just fired off about 120 frames in a ten minute period and there is definitely some slight warmth in this area--but perhaps that has always occurred and I just never noticed it. What happened last night was with the camera in standby and the camera got *very* warm, enough to heat up the lens. Incidentally, the shutter seems to work fine, in both S and C modes with normal sounds. I cannot detect any mechanical irregularity in it. I will try this heavy firing with my other body and see if it produces comparable warmth. Walt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted October 25, 2007 Share #4 Posted October 25, 2007 Sounds like the shutter lock elecromagnet is the culprit - check my anatomy thread - it's mounted directly under the shutter controller in the position you indicate and if a high current was to flow continuously, it would heat up and the heat would be dissipated into the body casting. The shutter lock is released as the first step in releasing the shutter by energising the electromagnet. It sounds like the current is not being switched off, either because the software is failing to do it or because the hardware is marginal and not acting on the signal from the microprocessor. There's also a position sensor in there to tell the microprocessor when the shutter is locked and it might be that is not working properly. If the problem recurs, I think you need to send the camera back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtmerideth Posted October 25, 2007 Share #5 Posted October 25, 2007 My M8 doesn't heat up but it depletes the battery overnight. NJ says send it in. g. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted October 25, 2007 Share #6 Posted October 25, 2007 Hi Walt, I don't have any good advice for you but I'm sorry to hear this. Cheers, Sean Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Walt Posted October 26, 2007 Share #7 Posted October 26, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Mark and Sean- Thanks for the diagnosis and the condolences, respectively. I will wait and see if the full syndrome happens again, but in the meantime the camera is now suddenly running through batteries too quickly and probably needs to go back just for that. I can only assume, at this point, that any replacement camera will very likely have its own, new problems. Four out of five cameras failing in eight months is a dismal record. This is the most operationally flawed and unreliable camera in my entire 40 year experience using cameras and I have half a mind to throw the pair of them in the garbage. Oh, I failed to mention earlier that the "heat treatment" appears to have damaged the Summilux 35 that was on the camera during the episode--the focusing mount on this six-month-old lens is now rough and binding. If I'm lucky it's just melted lubricant and New Jersey will only need it for two months. Walt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted October 26, 2007 Share #8 Posted October 26, 2007 Continuing this line of thought for those interested, this is the shutter lock electro-magnet: 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! You can see the black coil which releases the lock when required. If the current flowing through it (which must be enough to saturate the magnetic field created by the permanent magnet core) were not switched off, the coil would heat up, the heat would flow into the frame and through the three mounting points into the body casting. Looking at the electronics which controls this: The shutter lock electro-magnet connects to the two solder pads left centre, and the two circled components are transistors which will be used to switch the current on and off. You can tell by comparing their size with the transistor at the bottom that these are heavier duty transistors, designed to carry the higher current through the electro-magnet. There's also a 1 ohm resistor top left which looks to be there to sense the current flowing through the electro-magnet and provide feedback to the microprocessor. The gold pads are there for testing. Look carefully and you can see tiny pin pricks where the circuit has been probed during manufacture to test it automatically. Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! You can see the black coil which releases the lock when required. If the current flowing through it (which must be enough to saturate the magnetic field created by the permanent magnet core) were not switched off, the coil would heat up, the heat would flow into the frame and through the three mounting points into the body casting. Looking at the electronics which controls this: The shutter lock electro-magnet connects to the two solder pads left centre, and the two circled components are transistors which will be used to switch the current on and off. You can tell by comparing their size with the transistor at the bottom that these are heavier duty transistors, designed to carry the higher current through the electro-magnet. There's also a 1 ohm resistor top left which looks to be there to sense the current flowing through the electro-magnet and provide feedback to the microprocessor. The gold pads are there for testing. Look carefully and you can see tiny pin pricks where the circuit has been probed during manufacture to test it automatically. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/36541-consensus-or-optinion-on-hot-m8-body/?do=findComment&comment=385910'>More sharing options...
rtphotos Posted October 26, 2007 Share #9 Posted October 26, 2007 Sorry to hear about your experience, Walt. 4 of 5 cameras failed? Wow! Just last week I sent my 2-month old (sn 319xxxx) M8 to Leica NJ after I contacted Robert Fisk explaining that the camera had experienced an overheating episode. See my post: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/36037-m8-found-overheated.html I don't recall if a particular side of my camera was hotter - it was hot all over! I'm waiting to hear back from Mr. Fisk as to what the problem is and what they plan to do. I'll report back for anyone interested. Good luck on getting your camera sorted. rt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankg Posted October 26, 2007 Share #10 Posted October 26, 2007 4 out of 5 cameras! That is incredible. I'm very sorry to here that. Also makes me very nervous. I'm hoping mine continues to be problem free. I'd hate to have to go back to a DSLR. I'm also hoping that a good part of development resources are going onto making the M9 bulletproof even if that means only minor improvements in features and function. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tummydoc Posted October 26, 2007 Share #11 Posted October 26, 2007 The newest of my M8 bodies, a replacement received from Leica at the end of May, has worked without major problems until now. The serial # is 311XXXX. Just last week I sent my 2-month old (sn 319xxxx) M8 to Leica NJ after I contacted Robert Fisk explaining that the camera had experienced an overheating episode. Just curious if anyone with M8 serial # 3,2xx,xxx or higher has had this or any other issue requiring sorting at Leica? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted October 26, 2007 Share #12 Posted October 26, 2007 Just curious if anyone with M8 serial # 3,2xx,xxx or higher has had this or any other issue requiring sorting at Leica? I've had 3100, 3108 and 319 and none of them ever failed to work or even get hot. I think this is totally random with no correlation as to when they where built. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtphotos Posted October 31, 2007 Share #13 Posted October 31, 2007 Sorry to hear about your experience, Walt. 4 of 5 cameras failed? Wow! Just last week I sent my 2-month old (sn 319xxxx) M8 to Leica NJ after I contacted Robert Fisk explaining that the camera had experienced an overheating episode. See my post: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/36037-m8-found-overheated.html I don't recall if a particular side of my camera was hotter - it was hot all over! I'm waiting to hear back from Mr. Fisk as to what the problem is and what they plan to do. I'll report back for anyone interested. Good luck on getting your camera sorted. rt Update to my defective hot m8: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/36037-m8-found-overheated.html#post390928 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.