Orlando L. Morales Posted March 17 Share #1 Posted March 17 Advertisement (gone after registration) My M7 after being stored for approximately one year works only with the two mechanical shutter speeds (1/60 and 1/125). All electronic functions have ceased to work , no red displays on view finder and all “AUTO” settings will not work. I have cleaned and changed the batteries three times, cleaned with a little q-tip and alcohol the camera’s battery housing and the result remain the same. Can anyone provide some advise as to how this problem may be solved. Your assistance will be deeply appreciated. thank you Orlando Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 17 Posted March 17 Hi Orlando L. Morales, Take a look here My M7 after being stored for approximately one year. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jaapv Posted March 17 Share #2 Posted March 17 Instead of alcohol try a Q tip with contact spray. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnakChan Posted March 18 Share #3 Posted March 18 I have the same issue. In my case stored for more than 1 year though - more like 8-9 years of non-use. Replaced the battery but doesn't power on. Only the two designated mechanical shutter speeds work, the others don't. Tried cleaning too and that didn't help. I don't see any corrosion or dirt on the contacts but cleaned anyway. Think it has to go back to Leica Service unfortunately :-(. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikep996 Posted March 18 Share #4 Posted March 18 Well...the worst thing for any mechanical or mechanical/electronic device is to NOT use it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 19 Share #5 Posted March 19 That is a rather sad comment on the build quality of modern Leicas. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kivis Posted March 21 Share #6 Posted March 21 But we have been told a million times; exercise your camera. I pull out all my film cameras, once a month and run thru the shutter exposure at different speeds Better yet go out and shoot real subjects. In otherworld's, if you don't use it, you'll lose it. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted March 21 Share #7 Posted March 21 Advertisement (gone after registration) It would be reasonable to expect an expensive camera to last longer in storage than a packet of biscuits. This isn't something that can be blamed on the user. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fotoklaus Posted March 21 Share #8 Posted March 21 But the electronic biscuit is over 20 years old now. Maybe there is a dried out capacitor somewhere that causes the problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Barnack Posted March 21 Share #9 Posted March 21 7 minutes ago, Fotoklaus said: But the electronic biscuit is over 20 years old now. Hell hath no fury like an electronic biscuit scorned. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesop Posted March 21 Share #10 Posted March 21 7 hours ago, Anbaric said: It would be reasonable to expect an expensive camera to last longer in storage than a packet of biscuits. This isn't something that can be blamed on the user. ...I'm just loving the idea that the basic laws of science should be determined by or subject to price points. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted March 22 Share #11 Posted March 22 14 hours ago, aesop said: ...I'm just loving the idea that the basic laws of science should be determined by or subject to price points. Who says my biscuits are cheap? I get them from Fortnum & Mason! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted March 22 Share #12 Posted March 22 On 3/21/2024 at 11:44 AM, kivis said: But we have been told a million times; exercise your camera. I pull out all my film cameras, once a month and run thru the shutter exposure at different speeds Better yet go out and shoot real subjects. In otherworld's, if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Nonetheless, most reasonable people would expect a camera to still work after being put away for a year (assuming stored at normal room temperature and humidity, etc.). (I don't visit the forum very often nowadays but I see it hasn't changed.) 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matlock Posted March 22 Share #13 Posted March 22 41 minutes ago, wattsy said: (I don't visit the forum very often nowadays but I see it hasn't changed.) Well, not for the better 🤣 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpsawin Posted March 22 Share #14 Posted March 22 52 minutes ago, wattsy said: Nonetheless, most reasonable people would expect a camera to still work after being put away for a year (assuming stored at normal room temperature and humidity, etc.). (I don't visit the forum very often nowadays but I see it hasn't changed.) Perhaps have a face to face conversation with the camera, stressing what is reasonable, might help.. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danner Posted March 22 Share #15 Posted March 22 On 3/21/2024 at 9:03 AM, Anbaric said: It would be reasonable to expect an expensive camera to last longer in storage than a packet of biscuits. This isn't something that can be blamed on the user. Storage conditions, such as humidity, ocean air, vibration, and household chemical, could lead to degraded or damaged electronics circuits. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colint544 Posted March 22 Share #16 Posted March 22 FWIW, I found my old Olympus MJU2 in the bottom of a cardboard box at my mum's house, back in 2018 in a cold cupboard on the ground floor. It had been there close to 20 years. Replaced the battery, and to my surprise, it was good as new. Still using it today. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted March 22 Share #17 Posted March 22 4 hours ago, Danner said: Storage conditions, such as humidity, ocean air, vibration, and household chemical, could lead to degraded or damaged electronics circuits. This is why I try to avoid storing my Leica in the cleaning supplies cupboard in the engine room of my luxury superyacht. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kl@usW. Posted March 25 Share #18 Posted March 25 My suggestion : Check if --battery is OK ? -- contacts are clean? --if yes: leave the camera switched on for a while--may be one of the capacitors needs forming --if anything fails: call the CS.... ( had several M7 s over the years. Never had that problem ) You might check if the M7 has a back-up battery. I don't remember. If so, that might need some time to reload or even needs to be replaced) -- let us know what happened. K. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted March 28 Share #19 Posted March 28 I received a 2008 M7 yesterday that looks new - obviously little used, and (as the frame line masks were stuck) likely unused for quite a while. The masks freed up with exercise, the IR DX reader worked with several cassettes 100-3200 ISO, Shot and processed a test roll last evening and all looked fine - even 1/1000 looked fine. Tried to turn it on this morning and it also seemed dead. Batteries checked fine. Then discovered that I needed to wind-on the shutter before turning it on, otherwise it acted dead. Not sure if this is normal. Masks were sticking again today, so I'll keep checking it closely for problems. I have a couple weeks to return it to KEH if it doesn't seem sound. As nice as it is I may send it to DAG to fix the frame mask issue, if nothing else crops up. It handles low-light/High ISO much better than my M6. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisberg Posted March 28 Share #20 Posted March 28 1 hour ago, TomB_tx said: Then discovered that I needed to wind-on the shutter before turning it on, otherwise it acted dead. Not sure if this is normal. I can turn mine on without the shutter cocked but I don't see any LEDs light up in the finder until I cock the shutter, so it seems "dead" befor I cock the shutter. -Thomas Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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