M11's new bottom, corrupted DNG's and a proposed fix

[Edax]

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Suspecting there was a relation between file corruption and the fact that SD cards can only be replaced when the M11 is powerless, and after noticing that the M11’s write behaviour was fully in line with this theory, it was time for the last mile.

I took the spare battery, found a non-destructive way to remove the thin metal plate glued to its bottom, and removed the thin layer of plastic above the card slot location with a Dremel. All in order to be able to see what happens when SD cards are replaced with the battery present.

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Changing cards through this DIY hole in the battery with the M11 switched on: as far as I can see no data structure damage / file corruption and no problems with hidden MacOS/Windows files anymore! The theory holds!

It is now up to Leica to come up with a solution, either a (potentially time consuming) power-on software fix or a newly designed battery with an integrated SD card slot door(!). I am not going to spend a lot more words (and time) on this, except these: whatever happened at Leica is IMHO not a typical example of that world-famous German highest standards post-WWII engineering we expect in return for our money. No, this was Amateur Hour.

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[Smogg]

7 minutes ago, Edax said:

Suspecting there was a relation between file corruption and the fact that SD cards can only be replaced when the M11 is powerless, and after noticing that the M11’s write behaviour was fully in line with this theory, it was time for the last mile.

I took the spare battery, found a non-destructive way to remove the thin metal plate glued to its bottom, and removed the thin layer of plastic above the card slot location with a Dremel. All in order to be able to see what happens when SD cards are replaced with the battery present.

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!

Changing cards through this DIY hole in the battery with the M11 switched on: as far as I can see no data structure damage / file corruption and no problems with hidden MacOS/Windows files anymore! The theory holds!

It is now up to Leica to come up with a solution, either a (potentially time consuming) power-on software fix or a newly designed battery with an integrated SD card slot door(!). I am not going to spend a lot more words (and time) on this, except these: whatever happened at Leica is IMHO not a typical example of that world-famous German highest standards post-WWII engineering we expect in return for our money. No, this was Amateur Hour.

How does this theory fit with damaged files when I use the built-in memory?

[Smogg]

I’m still inclined to think that the M11 has a mechanical problem with the shutter, it freezes in some state unacceptable for the camera. Since it is the shutter button that stops responding when camera freezes, but I can continue to use the menu (I can’t just use the Play key)

Edited April 3, 2024 by Smogg

[Smogg]

Another option is possible when the shutter response is incorrectly monitored by the software and is not recorded to the corresponding variable and the camera freezes waiting for the desired variable value

[Derbyshire Man]

Or that it takes the frame, attempts to place into memory, does some sort of memory check, finds an issue and crashes. This would fit with the card issue above. This would also explain why my crash rate with save to internal and FTP (ie no files written to memory) to computer or card write disabled/card formatted after each upload (ie no files written or all files deleted) to computer reduce my crash rate to just about never.

[Derbyshire Man]

7 hours ago, Edax said:

Suspecting there was a relation between file corruption and the fact that SD cards can only be replaced when the M11 is powerless, and after noticing that the M11’s write behaviour was fully in line with this theory, it was time for the last mile.

I took the spare battery, found a non-destructive way to remove the thin metal plate glued to its bottom, and removed the thin layer of plastic above the card slot location with a Dremel. All in order to be able to see what happens when SD cards are replaced with the battery present.

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!

Changing cards through this DIY hole in the battery with the M11 switched on: as far as I can see no data structure damage / file corruption and no problems with hidden MacOS/Windows files anymore! The theory holds!

It is now up to Leica to come up with a solution, either a (potentially time consuming) power-on software fix or a newly designed battery with an integrated SD card slot door(!). I am not going to spend a lot more words (and time) on this, except these: whatever happened at Leica is IMHO not a typical example of that world-famous German highest standards post-WWII engineering we expect in return for our money. No, this was Amateur Hour.

Genius!

[Derbyshire Man]

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7 hours ago, Smogg said:

I’m still inclined to think that the M11 has a mechanical problem with the shutter, it freezes in some state unacceptable for the camera. Since it is the shutter button that stops responding when camera freezes, but I can continue to use the menu (I can’t just use the Play key)

I suppose the possible logical error we all have is we are looking for a single issue which is causing the crashes. It could of course be a combo of abnormal files on cards and some issues in particular bodies. Hence the variability between those with numerous crashes and rare/never, yours being in the former camp and others including mine (and LCT) being in the latter. LCT's being perfect due to his methodology.