I bricked my brand new SL3 after less than 5 minutes of use...

[LocalHero1953]

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9 minutes ago, NicoX said:

Hey guys!

Thank you for the suggestions you made. I'm back at being ecsatic!

I'm not sure what did the trick but I:

- Reformatted my SD card on my computer this time, and put firmware 1.1 back on it (and only that);
- I left the camera without battery and the SD card for 1 hour;
- I put the SD card and battery back in the camera afterwards and left it plugged into a socket overnight without a power strip.

The camera came back to life afterwards.

The only logical explanation is that the plug on which I had connected the camera when I performed the firmware update wasn't delivering enough juice (not sure how that's possible, but OK) and the firmware update somehow drained the battery altogether (and the battery icon was probably misleading indeed).

Lesson learned: firmware updates on fully charged batteries only. Always. At all times.

And now to enjoy this gorgeous camera!

Thanks again to all who chipped in, much appreciated! Happy Easter!

You write "without a power strip". I have had problems before now with charging a SL2-S from a multiport USB charger (Anker). The camera showed that no supply was detected. Plugging it directly into a single, simple USB port charger with sufficient power rating solved the problem.

Edited March 31, 2024 by LocalHero1953

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[NicoX]

23 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

You write "without a power strip". I have had problems before now with charging a SL2-S from a multiport USB charger (Anker). The camera showed that no supply was detected. Plugging it directly into a single, simple USB port charger with sufficient power rating solved the problem.

I originally used exactly that, a multiport Anker USB charger (with just the camera on it though). What's odd, in my case, is that it definitely charged the camera to begin with, as I had the green LED pulsing before I made the firmware update. But when I rebooted the camera as invited, the LED was no longer blinking and I had no visual indication that it was no longer charging (nor that the battery had drained entirely).

[jaapv]

My advice: Bite the (financial) bullet and get a charger and spare battery. I use in-camera charging as an emergency backup only.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

4 hours ago, jaapv said:

My advice: Bite the (financial) bullet and get a charger and spare battery. I use in-camera charging as an emergency backup only.

This shouldn't be necessary. Especially if Leica isn't even supplying a charger. I use my chargers as the backup. The opposite of your suggestion. Not having any issues.

I should note that the USB charging standard has become so convoluted that it's almost impossible to know what brick charges what. My Sl3 seems pretty happy with a USBC charger over 20 watts but who really knows. My best charger is a Lucent multi adaptor that supports everything. GaGN3, PD, etc. The Chris Nichols did a video on it that was worth a look ( DPReview I think).

Gordon

p.s. You did unplug the charger before upgrading, right? You shouldn't be plugged into anything while doing a firmware upgrade.

[jaapv]

Wouldn’t work for me, I usually have a couple of batteries per camera on charge whilst out shooting, especially when doing wildlife. Charging a camera overnight wouldn’t work either,  as I would have to get up to switch batteries in the camera in the middle of the night  and besides ,often the generator goes off at ten anyway. I have a 45A Navilock charging brick with three USB A ports and one USB C. Had it for ages and it will charge anything.