6bit reader issue

[chasdfg]

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Hi all,

So yesterday evening, I noticed my Noct 0.95 not registering as a coded lens. It kept showing up as my only non-coded lens (35lux pre-asph). Lens detection has always been set to auto and it was recognised before, so I thought this was weird. I wiped down the IR reader glass and the 6 bit coding pits on the lens and tried again and it didn't work. I also tried my other lenses and realised all my lenses with the first bit coded white (i.e. "0" in binary terms) worked ok, but the other 2 lenses (50APO and 75lux) with the first code black (i.e. "1") suffered the same issue as the Noct 0.95. I did multiple resets, swapped batteries and wiped the internal memory several times (side note, one time i was formatting the internal memory, which is normally very quick, the camera took a long while and eventually hung). Still no luck.

I then inspected the reader more carefully and realised something a bit mucky under that portion of the reader which reads the first bit. I told myself if the screws didn't offer much resistance, I would go ahead and remove them screws and mount and take a look underneath the IR glass. They didn't offer much resistance. So I removed the mount and took a look at the IR reader. That part of the reader was covered in some mucky (surprisingly easy-to-clean) substance. I wiped it all up (and the IR reader cover glass on the mount), put it all back together and tested the 3 lenses again, and the 3 lenses still had issues. The other lenses without issue worked as before.

I narrowed down the timeline for when this issue may have arisen and it seems it was sometime in the past 2 months (the last time I used one of the 3 lenses was in Feb and it was fine then). I have always kept my lenses and cameras in a dry cabinet (I live in Singapore) except for 1 week in India (it was very warm) and 2 weeks in Japan  during those 2 months, and during the middle of the latter trip it was very humid and rained a lot. I used the camera in the rain (not torrential downpour) and always wiped it down after use and left it to dry overnight. However, I never did wipe down any potential moisture at the lens mount (I never un-mounted the lens on the trip), so part of me suspects that some remnant moisture may have got to the IR reader area and encouraged some mould to grow. I am skeptical of this theory for a few reasons - 1) it was only very humid for a four or five days and I used the camera every day 2) the rest of the IR reader is fine 3) the mucky stuff was easy to clean and not fungus-y and etched, and seemed quite similar to other stuff around the lens mount when I took the mount off.
The only issue with 3) is that i wouldnt know how any of that stuff got transported to that particular area of the reader. I didn't clean off any other stuff under the lens mount as it appeared to be some light grease/glue applied when the lens mount was installed and which had dried up. 

In any case, after wiping the reader down, it still doesn't work...so identifying the cause isn't really helpful in terms of rectifying the problem. Will probably send it in to Leica to have a look at (I know taking off the mount may void warranty) and be without a camera for a few months.

Just curious to hear if anyone has come across something like this before. Moving forward I might exercise some additional caution to wipe down the mount areas of the camera and lens body after using them in rain.

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[Al Brown]

I was in Indonesia on assignment for just 3 weeks and my Noctilux 0.95 sucked in a bewildering amount of moisture in the form of droplets. Crazy.

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[jaapv]

This seems to be a good time to send the camera and lens to Leica. Corrosion is progressive and can destroy cameras over time. 

[Segal]

I had a similar issue last year after a summer trip to Japan and shooting in humid conditions. I sent my camera to Leica, who fixed the problem for free. 

[chasdfg]

Thanks for the replies! I will send my camera in next week.

@Segal There's something about Japan, holidaying and M11s...will bring another camera the next time I visit (kidding)

[Segal]

4 minutes ago, chasdfg said:

Thanks for the replies! I will send my camera in next week.

@Segal There's something about Japan, holidaying and M11s...will bring another camera the next time I visit (kidding)

Nope, I'm doubling down and taking my M11 to Japan again this year

[chasdfg]

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3 hours ago, Somchai said:

Let us know what Leica said. The tolerances on a Leica M can’t be this bad. 

I'm surprised because it seems the tiny gap between the mount and the body itself appears to allow moisture to get in, and with the 6bit reader near such gap, it is potentially exposed to these moisture issues. No gaskets or anything, which is fine, cause my other M bodies never had a gasket under the mount (as far as I'm aware), but I used them in the same conditions and they never had problems. The supposed better weather sealing of the M11 gave me a false sense of confidence (not that I used it in very heavy rain). My precautions post- rain of wiping the camera down as a whole didn't seem to help either. May keep a thicker rubber band or scrunchie with me to put around the mount area next time i ever use it in light rain.

[chasdfg]

1 hour ago, Somchai said:

Hmm. I just asked Jonás Rask (you know him?) about it. He said he has taken his M10P to Iceland in pretty bad weather and nothing happened to it. 

I've used my previous Ms in bad weather before and I never had problems either. M240 mainly, but also M10M and M10D. Which is why I'm surprised my M11 has this issue, which from Segal's and my experience would be due to humidity and maybe rain, despite the supposed better weather sealing (probably not at the mount anyway).

I never doubted whether digital M bodies and M lenses could be used in bad weather/wet weather until my own experience. I used to confidently tell anyone whom I was with that the camera can take it, that it was no sweat, if I was asked if my camera was ok.