lct Posted December 26, 2024 Share #161 Posted December 26, 2024 Advertisement (gone after registration) It is Wetzlar who said that batteries are available as spare parts. I would ask Wetzlar then... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 26, 2024 Posted December 26, 2024 Hi lct, Take a look here M240 battery. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
adan Posted December 28, 2024 Share #162 Posted December 28, 2024 (edited) May be worth noting that VARTA has been in significant financial trouble for about the past 8 months or so, similar to the trouble Leica had in 2004. I found that out checking on the shortage of M10 batteries (also Varta Microbatteries Indonesia products). VARTA was just rescued a couple of months ago (maybe!) by significant investments from Porsche AG (EVs) and (sound familiar?) an Austrian investor. But in the interim, they may have gotten behind in production and shipments (cost cuts and such to slow the losses). https://www.marketwatch.com/story/varta-moves-closer-to-completing-financial-restructuring-plan-49000213 Edited December 28, 2024 by adan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roydonian Posted December 28, 2024 Share #163 Posted December 28, 2024 (edited) I was able to buy a spare battery from Red Dot Cameras in London back in early August. But my limited experience of the spares department at Wetzlar is that they are not very fast at shipping stuff, even in response to orders for off-the-shelf spare parts. Edited December 28, 2024 by roydonian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
setuporg Posted January 3 Share #164 Posted January 3 On 7/17/2024 at 3:26 PM, sometimesmaybe said: there are still loads of them floating around. i have 3 to keep my m246 going forever That's a year of shooting right there!:) 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted January 6 Share #165 Posted January 6 I emailed Leica UK last week and had a prompt reply. Yes, they can order the M240/M246 battery as a 'spare part', cost £50 each. 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrpete Posted January 10 Share #166 Posted January 10 Contacted Leica USA $90 plus tax. They are backed ordered. I emailed back to get me one. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsolomon Posted January 10 Share #167 Posted January 10 Advertisement (gone after registration) 5 minutes ago, Mrpete said: Contacted Leica USA $90 plus tax. They are backed ordered. I emailed back to get me one. Same as a month ago, still awaiting the back order Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcin_szoltysek Posted January 13 Share #168 Posted January 13 I was just about to buy M262 with two batteries in very good price but I thought - hmm let's google term "leica M262 battery problem". And here I am, thinking how lovely it is to shoot my M2 with no worries. Well, if you guys still have some batteries I wish you many years of shooting, but I'm going to stick to my film M. Now I don't even know if I should consider M10 because of the same problem within few years... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted January 13 Share #169 Posted January 13 What made you suddenly search for “leica M262 battery problem"? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcin_szoltysek Posted January 13 Share #170 Posted January 13 If I want to buy a camera I often google potential problems. Did the same with M2. I even called local leica repairman to ask for opinion on repairing M2s. So far all good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted January 13 Share #171 Posted January 13 If you are worried about what might happen in the future of M cameras, stick with meterless film options. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute-on Posted January 13 Share #172 Posted January 13 On 1/6/2025 at 5:36 PM, Chris W said: I emailed Leica UK last week and had a prompt reply. Yes, they can order the M240/M246 battery as a 'spare part', cost £50 each. On 1/10/2025 at 9:06 AM, Mrpete said: Contacted Leica USA $90 plus tax. They are backed ordered. I emailed back to get me one. So they are, in fact, available to order in both USA and the UK. One assumes that the orders are able to be filled at some point, possibly with a delay of some months at worst. Is this not indicative of crisis averted? I was lucky enough to purchase two new spares from HK online a few months ago, just as the batteries became a ‘spare part’. I now have 4 for my recently acquired M262. With the Varta issues that @adan described, it seems a little patience is perhaps all that’s required. Luckily M240/262 batteries do last for weeks at a time, so even a diminishing battery with less than 100% charge capacity should provide more than adequate charge for a week of use … at least for capturing photos. As we all know, the aftermarket for rechargeable batteries does tend to provide for discontinued factory versions, albeit with some potentially diminished function, but they do work. In the worst case, we will have some alternative in the long term. As it stands, any new batteries that become available from Leica ought to last at least 10 years - a more than reasonable life in digital terms for a camera that is already a decade old, is it not? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted January 14 Share #173 Posted January 14 I would like to think that batteries would be available to keep my camera working until the camera breaks. I don’t know how many M240 family cameras Leica sold, but I’m willing to bet that about 93% of them are still working just fine and will continue to do so, for another ten or twenty years. Leica need to understand what getting into the premium electronics market means in real life. Not all of their customers need, want or can afford to replace their cameras just because the battery has worn out 🙋♂️ 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 14 Share #174 Posted January 14 12 hours ago, Mute-on said: So they are, in fact, available to order in both USA and the UK [...] And elsewhere, HK in your case, France in mine. No sure what the problem is exactly. That it takes too long to get a battery as spare part? Wrong in my case since mine was in stock in Paris but we've been waiting to order a new battery for more or less 10 years already so a bit more patience doesn't look totally unexpected. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-d262 Posted January 15 Share #175 Posted January 15 2 hours ago, Al Brown said: I went to check the Darwin factor at eBay sold items and I was not disappointed. Some sold for even more yesterday. I'm a little worried considering I just picked up an MD with a single battery 😢 If anyone has a spare they'd be willing to part with at a reasonable price to help a newcomer out, that would be amazing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLeventhal Posted January 15 Share #176 Posted January 15 These prices are insane! I just bought a used battery from B&H for $120, seems fine to me. bruce Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 15 Share #177 Posted January 15 Last time i bought one (July 2024) the price for a new battery was 170 EUR in Europe (France). Just for info. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcin_szoltysek Posted January 15 Share #178 Posted January 15 Today I bought the last one in Leica Store Warsaw. Packed in plastic foil, sold as spare parts. 200 EUR. I talked to the seller who remembers similar situation with M9. Back then Leica relaunched the production of the batteries, so he believes it can be similar with M240 batteries. However that's his personal opinion, not Leica statement... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute-on Posted January 15 Share #179 Posted January 15 8 hours ago, m-d262 said: Some sold for even more yesterday. I'm a little worried considering I just picked up an MD with a single battery 😢 If anyone has a spare they'd be willing to part with at a reasonable price to help a newcomer out, that would be amazing. M240 (262/246) batteries last for days or weeks on a full charge, not hours (like the M10 batteries for which spares seem almost mandatory). You really have nothing to worry about. When (not if) the M240 batteries become readily available again, buy another one or two for peace of mind. Meanwhile, don’t buy into all the scaremongering about some kind of persistent battery shortage for the rest of your (or your camera’s) life. That would be pointless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-d262 Posted January 16 Share #180 Posted January 16 1 hour ago, Mute-on said: M240 (262/246) batteries last for days or weeks on a full charge, not hours (like the M10 batteries for which spares seem almost mandatory). You really have nothing to worry about. When (not if) the M240 batteries become readily available again, buy another one or two for peace of mind. Meanwhile, don’t buy into all the scaremongering about some kind of persistent battery shortage for the rest of your (or your camera’s) life. That would be pointless. I will do my best. Definitely will not be spending hundreds on a used battery. I just don't want my camera to be crippled due to a lack of battery, so having a spare would give me a little piece of mind for the years to come. That being said, I just hope the batteries remain in production for the foreseeable future. Perhaps the shift from stocked to parts-order triggered a bit of a run on the remaining stock? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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