Faulty mechanical shutter

[Qlan]

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Hi, I've had my fair number of freezes and issues with the M11 (freezes on 2 different M11 mostly due to uncoded lens in my opinion, overexposure but very rarely, sometimes red light of death but also uncommon, etc).

Now I got a new bug that is the cherry on top. I was on a trip to Yosemite this weekend. The camera performed well, had a freeze or two (even after I manually coded my non-Leica lenses) and I did some astrophotography without issues (up to 10 minutes exposure).

The day after, no issues, but when I tried to do long exposure again, the mechanical shutter maxed out at 1s. Even when I put the camera on full manual and select > 1s for the shutter speed, or on auto and metering determined it should be > 1s, after pressing the shutter, it stops at 1s instead of the setting I set. It also happens in Bulb mode. I don't release the shutter but the camera stops at 1s. It happens on both of my (manually coded) lenses, I reset the camera, popped the battery, removed the SD card, selected a profile, etc. Basically tried anything I can think of.

The thing is that is not even consistent. Sometimes it maxes out at 1.5s, or even 2.5s, and after a while, it sometimes works again before maxing out at 1s on the next shot. Note that the electronic shutter works as expected.

My theory is that the IC board is faulty (maybe a condenser that holds the shutter open for long exposure is faulty and cannot hold the current as well as before). Shutter speed <= 1s works perfectly.

I feel like there's nothing more to do than send it back to Leica and I have low hope they'll get me a new body. Instead I'll have to wait many months without a camera.

Anyone experienced this? Seems like it's somewhat related to the mechanical shutter not opening at startup.

I'm getting very frustrated with all the issues I'm having with my M11 when it seems like many people don't have an issue at all.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Qlan

[SrMi]

Have you tried with electronic shutter?

Did you reset the camera to factory settings?

[Qlan]

1 hour ago, SrMi said:

Have you tried with electronic shutter?

Did you reset the camera to factory settings?

Yes I did say in my post that the electronic shutter works as expected. Yes I did reset the camera. Still persists. 

[DenverSteve]

I would work with my original dealer and arrange for an exchange or return to Leica for attention.  No amount of freezes, or issues, is normal.  They will address it once you return it for attention. 

[jaapv]

The shutter is mechanical. Copal as far as I am aware. It is a development of the R8 shutter. If it is broken, which obviously can happen, albeit rarely, the replacement is quite an operation as 80% of the camera internals must be removed to access it. 
Have a look at the M8. The M11 is even more crowded. 

 

[MysteriousCo]

On 2/20/2023 at 10:51 PM, Qlan said:

Hi, I've had my fair number of freezes and issues with the M11 (freezes on 2 different M11 mostly due to uncoded lens in my opinion, overexposure but very rarely, sometimes red light of death but also uncommon, etc).

Now I got a new bug that is the cherry on top. I was on a trip to Yosemite this weekend. The camera performed well, had a freeze or two (even after I manually coded my non-Leica lenses) and I did some astrophotography without issues (up to 10 minutes exposure).

The day after, no issues, but when I tried to do long exposure again, the mechanical shutter maxed out at 1s. Even when I put the camera on full manual and select > 1s for the shutter speed, or on auto and metering determined it should be > 1s, after pressing the shutter, it stops at 1s instead of the setting I set. It also happens in Bulb mode. I don't release the shutter but the camera stops at 1s. It happens on both of my (manually coded) lenses, I reset the camera, popped the battery, removed the SD card, selected a profile, etc. Basically tried anything I can think of.

The thing is that is not even consistent. Sometimes it maxes out at 1.5s, or even 2.5s, and after a while, it sometimes works again before maxing out at 1s on the next shot. Note that the electronic shutter works as expected.

My theory is that the IC board is faulty (maybe a condenser that holds the shutter open for long exposure is faulty and cannot hold the current as well as before). Shutter speed <= 1s works perfectly.

I feel like there's nothing more to do than send it back to Leica and I have low hope they'll get me a new body. Instead I'll have to wait many months without a camera.

Anyone experienced this? Seems like it's somewhat related to the mechanical shutter not opening at startup.

I'm getting very frustrated with all the issues I'm having with my M11 when it seems like many people don't have an issue at all.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread here, Qlan, did you ever figure out the solution to this? My M11's been giving me the same trouble (among the typical freezes it often does). Beginning to think this may be my last M digital camera. Absolute mess of bugs even after firmware updates.