M8 Firmware 2.004

[chris_tribble]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I would want to hear the shutter cocking sound BEFORE I take the picture...like mechancial film advance cameras: advancing film and cocking the shutter at the same time.....now just leave the old levers in place and use it for cocking the shutter alone. Is this not possible? Should I give up on hoping for an M9 that can do this?

 

Do you actually own an M8? Sorry - the re-cocking procedure feels completely natural when you use it. Sadly - looking at Mark Norton's anatomy of the M8 there's just not the space for the mechanical bits you'd like to have.

[plasticman]

I'm hoping the separation of the re-cocking is going to allow me to shoot at slower shutter speeds .

 

Haven't got my M8 back yet so I can't test myself - but how does this work? Surely the photograph is already taken when the shutter is re-cocked, and therefore is no help at all with steadiness?

 

Or am I missing something?

 

PS: Oh I just realized the implication of the smiley face. Sorry people - I'm slow today.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Steve Ash]

Upgraded my M8.2 firmware successfully. Thus it is ready to use the new Noctilux! Now I only have to find a way to upgrade my bank account accordingly.

 

Regards

Steve

[scott kirkpatrick]

A small undocumented improvement is that now you can just load the 2.004.upd file into the root directory of your SD or SDHC card that is currently in use (no reformatting), follow the rest of the directions, and after the install completes, all user settings are unchanged, and the .upd file is erased from the SD card. File numbering continues from where you left off.

 

Installation side effects that we complained about have been removed.

 

scott

[offshore]

Thank you Leica!:D:D

[footnoteblog]

Thank you Leica!:D:D

 

Huh. Nice feature, I guess. The click is still louder than the older Ms though, if I recall correctly.

[offshore]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Huh. Nice feature, I guess. The click is still louder than the older Ms though, if I recall correctly.

My M8 has the shutter upgrade which significantly lowered the noise level, now that the shutter mechanism noise and re cocking noise can be seperated it is almost as quiet as my M6. Besides footnoteblog has this forum reached the point of bitchiness that someone can't give a polite thank you without someone making a comment about it???

[gabrielma]

Now if they can just change the shape of the M8 to match the M6 (meaning making it less thick and bulky), and changing the silent mode to having a mechanical film advance lever act as the shutter cocking device like on the M6.... Having to keep the shutter release depressed to avoid the clunk sound does not seem like a revolution of thought to me.

 

Although this has never been advertised as "a revolution of thought" (hence, I don't understand that particular complaint), I agree with the comment about the advance lever. I've been harping about this since before the M8 was shipped.

 

People get a mind-block when this is brought up: "there's no room for that sort of mechanism!" You don't need to have an actual mechanical advance mechanism: you can have the advance lever simply be...a lever. (!) It would act as a switch which would do the recocking of the shutter. Very simple.

 

So, in essence, you'd "wind" the shutter with the lever (which will send a signal to the board to actually do it). You shoot, and it should act just like this new "discreet/ete" mode (whether you think it's discrete or discrete, it doesn't matter to me, either are applicable).

 

They've already added a few millimeters of depth to the body, a few more on top (or rearranging the actual top cover space at the right half without increasing the body's height) to accommodate this lever-come-switch wouldn't be detrimental.

[footnoteblog]

My M8 has the shutter upgrade which significantly lowered the noise level, now that the shutter mechanism noise and re cocking noise can be seperated it is almost as quiet as my M6. Besides footnoteblog has this forum reached the point of bitchiness that someone can't give a polite thank you without someone making a comment about it???

 

I wasn't dissin' yer thanks. Though, the irony of your post is pretty damn funny.

 

It's all good!

[jaapv]

Now if they can just change the shape of the M8 to match the M6 (meaning making it less thick and bulky),

 

It would be nice, but how would that work? The lens register is the same as the M6, and they need extra space for the motherboard and the LCD. They have already stolen a couple of mm by redesigning the mount. Surely you wouldn't want an M9 with a lens mount ring sticking out in front of the camera?

 

And I wouldnt like a lever, I've been adding winders to my cameras since year one...

[offshore]

I wasn't dissin' yer thanks. Though, the irony of your post is pretty damn funny.

 

It's all good!

footnoteblog your point, whatever it is supposed to be, is lost. Irony? Funny? It was an expression of gratitude for something, nothing more until you came along.

[carstenw]

btw: where is the lens with "value 51"??

Any ideas?

Something more in the pipeline in Solms?

 

Regards,

Stefan

 

Good question, and I was wondering that myself. Note that there is no gap in the order number sequence. Weird.

 

IMO, there are all kinds of possibilities here, but something really wide (15mm?) or a faster 28mm lens would be most probable.

[footnoteblog]

footnoteblog your point, whatever it is supposed to be, is lost. Irony? Funny? It was an expression of gratitude for something, nothing more until you came along.

 

never mind; it was all in good humor. chill, dude.

[squarenegs]

Hello all:

 

I've just downloaded and installed the 2.004 firmware update.

This is going to be so good! ...An M8.2? Forgetaboutit!

 

One thing I almost forgot was the fact that every M8 firmware update I've ever done has wiped out my menu settings. I was about to use the camera with no lens detection, sRGB JPEGs instead of Adobe RGB DNGs and the thing beeping and flashing review images on the display. There, I couldn't accept a great up grade without having some sort of complaint. .....Just like an M8 owner, eh!?!?!?!

 

My best to everyone on the Forum!

 

Sam

[jevidon]

Discreet???

O.K. I was exited as anyone to find that I could now get a discrete shutter activation for free by downloading the new version 2.004 firmware.

 

I t just came out today on the Leica A.G. site, so I did it.

At best, I am whelmed; neither over or under, if you know what I mean. I've now discovered that on the M8, the least noisy part of the shutter cycle is the auto cocking feature and not the actual shutter actuation which is still quite loud.

 

I guess that if discreet is a necessity, one should spend the money and get the new shutter modification or an M8.2, because this firmware update really does nothing for me.

 

It doesn't particularly bother me because I don't mind the standard M8 "thwunk-whirr" which is no worse and actually a little better than my DSLR "slap, thwunk,slap whirr." O.K., so that sounds like the sound effects from a Roadrunner cartoon, but you get the idea.

 

As I said, I'm whelmed!!

 

BTW, Squarenegs, the instructions for installation from Leica A.G. state that all of your menu preferences will be wiped out and need to be reset. That is the case in all of the firmware updates (all both of them).

Edited March 3, 2009 by jevidon
addition

[stunsworth]

One thing I almost forgot was the fact that every M8 firmware update I've ever done has wiped out my menu settings. I was about to use the camera with no lens detection, sRGB JPEGs instead of Adobe RGB DNGs and the thing beeping and flashing review images on the display

 

What version of firmware did you upgrade from? Upgrading from 2.002 retained all my setting. Wasn't there something in 2.002 about this?

[nitrox1]

Another successful update. Thank you Leica! I like the feature, as well as the previous auto ISO.

My M8 keeps getting better. For me, the next most useful featureI'd like to see added is manualy setting a lens code via the menu. Great job so far guys. On another positive note, this is the first update I've done where I didn't get the mad scrolling menu screen after restart from the update. On my camera, that's usually the only time it would ever do it, but it didn't this time.

 

For those that download the free 7zip file from the earlier posts to unzip the update, be advised that this free software adds yahoo tool bar to your home screen, changes your homepage setting, and ads some shopping helper thing. The toolbar and shopping helper can be uninstalled in the add remove programs control panel, and your homepage can be changed back to normal in the internet options tab of tools in your IE tool bar. I'm sure most here know that, but just in case....

 

John

[Shootist]

Discreet???

I've now discovered that on the M8, the least noisy part of the shutter cycle is the auto cocking feature and not the actual shutter actuation which is still quite loud.

 

!

 

.

 

 

Actually the shutter actuation is fairly quiet. It is the unlocking and re-locking of the shutter that make all the noise, clunks. The rewind is after that last locking point.

[footnoteblog]

I think the point of it really is down to the dictionary definition:

 

it's 'discrete', not 'discreet'.

 

All they're saying is that now the shutter rewind can be actuated at a different time than shutter release; not "it's going to be STEALTHIER!!" — discreet. DISCRETE, not DISCREET.

 

Seems good, and a bit more, ahem… discreet.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[fotografr]

As I said, I'm whelmed!!

 

 

Whelmed? Is that kind of like being neutered?