M240 battery

[YueIBM]

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2 hours ago, m-d262 said:

"Digital Rights Management"

I am not an expert, but with regards to batteries, it essentially prevents or limits the use of third-party batteries. There is likely some sort of proprietary authentication handshake between the camera and battery.

Good point, hopefully it's not public key encrypted.  Maybe we'll have to make the replacement battery be able to interface the old battery on initialization to read out or generate the same authentication token.  Or have the old battery sent in to extract its key into the new battery management chip that's not bricked / permanently on low capacity / set the end of life flag yet.  

[lct]

2 hours ago, YueIBM said:

Good point, hopefully it's not public key encrypted.  Maybe we'll have to make the replacement battery be able to interface the old battery on initialization to read out or generate the same authentication token.  Or have the old battery sent in to extract its key into the new battery management chip that's not bricked / permanently on low capacity / set the end of life flag yet.  

I have no idea but the current battery being a Leica spare part made by Varta it might be wise to seek legal advice before planning such a project 😎

[YueIBM]

1 hour ago, lct said:

I have no idea but the current battery being a Leica spare part made by Varta it might be wise to seek legal advice before planning such a project 😎

Good point!  I should message Leica, their response could be interesting haha.  Has anyone asked them why it's not available? 

[Mute-on]

3 hours ago, YueIBM said:

Good point!  I should message Leica, their response could be interesting haha.  Has anyone asked them why it's not available? 

What, and avoid over 200 posts of speculation and conspiracy theories?  Baa ha ha. Don’t make me laugh. 

[Deeetona]

People panicking about the availability of batteries for a camera body which they are going to trade in for a newer model in a couple of years anyway ("behause it has more resolution").

[m-d262]

10 hours ago, YueIBM said:

Good point!  I should message Leica, their response could be interesting haha.  Has anyone asked them why it's not available? 

Yes, plenty of people have contacted Leica directly included myself.

I can only speak to what I was told, which was "The M (Typ 240) batteries are currently extremely limited in supply due to a very high demand" and "These batteries are still being produced, but they are also in extremely high demand currently."

There is an estimated 6-8 week wait time, although mentioned it could be more, and a limit of 1 per customer.

[m-d262]

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6 hours ago, Deeetona said:

People panicking about the availability of batteries for a camera body which they are going to trade in for a newer model in a couple of years anyway ("behause it has more resolution").

We aren't all like this. Some of us just spent good money on an M-D in 2025 and would like a second spare battery as reassurance that the camera will remain operable for years to come. Alas, I will wait for my pre-order and not spend hundreds on markup on the used market. But the discussion here is still valid nonetheless. These cameras are not that old, and you would think batteries, a single point of failure, would be slightly more available.

We should require an "owned batteries" count when posting in this thread. I feel there is a difference of opinions between the haves and have nots.

Owned M240 Batteries: 1

[Deeetona]

Why not.

 

Owned M240 Batteries: 10

[m-d262]

5 minutes ago, Deeetona said:

Why not.

 

Owned M240 Batteries: 10

Almost spit my coffee out.

[Mrpete]

1) I saved for a year to buy my M240 which I will keep till either it or I die. 
2) I own 2 used batteries. 
and 3) owned is the past tense of own. 

[m-d262]

7 minutes ago, Mrpete said:

 3) owned is the past tense of own. 

actually, in this usage, "owned" is correct as it is functioning as an adjective that is modifying the phrase "M240 batteries", but we digress.

edit: of course there are many other ways to phrase it, some of which may sound more natural to you, however, the current usage is grammatically correct.

Edited January 19 by m-d262

[pegelli]

I own 4, 3 genuine Leica, one "3rd party". They all last pretty long (weeks for my usage) in my M240 and M246. All my cameras and batteries were bought 2nd hand.

They actually last so long that even when they would lose 50% capacity I'd still be more than happy with their performance, so for the time being I have no worries.

 

[reuter]

3 rd party? Which exactly?   

[m-d262]

27 minutes ago, pegelli said:

I own 4, 3 genuine Leica, one "3rd party". They all last pretty long (weeks for my usage) in my M240 and M246. All my cameras and batteries were bought 2nd hand.

They actually last so long that even when they would lose 50% capacity I'd still be more than happy with their performance, so for the time being I have no worries.

Interesting, I was not aware any third-party batteries existed. I know there are two different looking batteries, i.e. the stickers on them are different, but to my knowledge, they are both original. I was under the assumption it was two different manufactures.

edit: see here

Edited January 19 by m-d262

[pegelli]

1 hour ago, reuter said:

3 rd party? Which exactly?   

I don't know, bought it together with my 2nd hand M240 from member @Maarten and he told me it was from a 3rd party. Maybe he remembers and can post the brand here.

Front side looks very much like the one in the link from m-d262 above, the backside is slightly different.

If there's interest I can post photos.

[Mrpete]

Go for it. 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/276822767884?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=x23ZXYVeQxC&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=y7d7Ux3bRN2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[reuter]

There is only one producer of these batteries: Varta.

LG Wolfram

[John Smith 23]

As a new Leica owner, this is a matter of some concern to me.

I've been a photographer for 50 years (not a pro, just a serious hobbyist) and though I've been very happy with another manufacturer's cameras and lenses, I recently received an M240 as a gift. Obviously I know of Leica's reputation for build quality and superb lenses, etc. And when the camera arrived in the mail, it was literally the first time I've ever even TOUCHED a Leica, let alone used one. I was impressed, even with this 11 year old camera and it's long out of date specs.

The camera arrived with two batteries, both of which seem to work properly.

But the batteries, already approximately 11 years old, won't last forever. It's a serious matter when a company won't make efforts to keep replacement batteries in stock and available at a reasonable price (though with Leica, maybe that means charging $200 for an $80 battery) so that their cameras can continue to function.

I've read this thread and am happy to see that some have been able to order new batteries (or do they mean, unused but still-11-year-old NOS batteries...this isn't clear) from some outlets, which is encouraging. I'll start calling around and see what I can acquire.

Maybe this issue will resolve itself, either because Leica cranks up the production of batteries OR allows 3rd party manufacturers to produce them, or both.

Either way I'll be watching closely, and hope I don't end up with a beautifully built brick. Good luck to everyone in your search for batteries.

 

[Steadimann]

16 minutes ago, John Smith 23 said:

As a new Leica owner, this is a matter of some concern to me.

I've been a photographer for 50 years (not a pro, just a serious hobbyist) and though I've been very happy with another manufacturer's cameras and lenses, I recently received an M240 as a gift. Obviously I know of Leica's reputation for build quality and superb lenses, etc. And when the camera arrived in the mail, it was literally the first time I've ever even TOUCHED a Leica, let alone used one. I was impressed, even with this 11 year old camera and it's long out of date specs.

The camera arrived with two batteries, both of which seem to work properly.

But the batteries, already approximately 11 years old, won't last forever. It's a serious matter when a company won't make efforts to keep replacement batteries in stock and available at a reasonable price (though with Leica, maybe that means charging $200 for an $80 battery) so that their cameras can continue to function.

I've read this thread and am happy to see that some have been able to order new batteries (or do they mean, unused but still-11-year-old NOS batteries...this isn't clear) from some outlets, which is encouraging. I'll start calling around and see what I can acquire.

Maybe this issue will resolve itself, either because Leica cranks up the production of batteries OR allows 3rd party manufacturers to produce them, or both.

Either way I'll be watching closely, and hope I don't end up with a beautifully built brick. Good luck to everyone in your search for batteries.

 

Batteries are available as spare parts, not as retail products. People buy a really small amount of batteries for old cameras, I think it makes no sense for Leica producing thousands of them. But then again, you are saying they are 11 years old, even if they cost 120 eur, that's what... 10 eur/year?   p.s. i ordered M9 oem batteries for 120 eur /each from my local leica dealer in Latvia, delivery is two weeks, waiting. I think they are the same as M240 ?

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[charlesphoto99]

11 minutes ago, Steadimann said:

 i ordered M9 oem batteries for 120 eur /each from my local leica dealer in Latvia, delivery is two weeks, waiting. I think they are the same as M240 ?

Nope, not even close to the same. That's been one of the more frustrating aspects of the M development, having different batteries for each model.