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Casual Report of Recent Condition of My M8


badpets

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I bought my M8 for almost two year now. Repaired once and got replaced with brand new body one year ago and recently sensor went bad so also got that replaced. It has been working fairly well - like today I shot 950 shots and after that I still have one bar of battery left. However, its buffer still screws up from time to time; the red light flashing and sometimes never recovers no matter how long i wait! what about your guys'?? anyone has a near "perfect" M8 now??? thanks in advance for reading my post and hope to hear from some of you. :)

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A little more than 2 years. No problems really. Sensor replaced because of a darn blue line (only visible in extreme cases), at

time of shutter-, glass- and line - upgrade. Twice sensor cleaned in Solms (oil spots), both times free of charge.

No card problems, and I never let my battery run below 1 stripe.

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i'm using 16G extreme III sandisk and only shoot DNG.

 

usually when the red light flashes, i just have to wait for about 30-40 secs before everything goes back to work. but today for the first time, it kept flashing and M8 got really hot. i had not taken out my batter to solve problem for almost entire year.

 

you are right, it must be that i shoot too fast and too much...

 

as for the batter, i usually use it til it goes complete out. i always think it's good for the battery?? or maybe not?? i dont really know though.

 

I think the buffer problems is caused buy low battery or semi bad card or you are shooting DNG+JPEG and the camera is just not fast enough for that when you are shooting many shot in a row.
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i thought that would not be good for the battery to not completely used up batter before recharging it...

 

A little more than 2 years. No problems really. Sensor replaced because of a darn blue line (only visible in extreme cases), at

time of shutter-, glass- and line - upgrade. Twice sensor cleaned in Solms (oil spots), both times free of charge.

No card problems, and I never let my battery run below 1 stripe.

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I think complete depletion of the battery is not required, and may not be preferred either. Recent batteries do not have the "memory problem" as was the case with the old NiCd batteries.

 

My M8 was serviced once for viewfinder alignment. With early firmware, there was the "Venetian blinds" effect. No one remembers that now after firmware corrections.

 

Otherwise, it's my prefereed camera. A shot from Pantheon-Rome, from the 9m ocular sunlight:

 

0609RomePanteon.jpg

 

Who cares if there are vertical lines, hot spots, etc., when only M8 can take this photo.

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My M8 is now over 2 years and 7 months old (batch 2), and it has performed flawlessly. (A card locked up once when an image was being stored during which the battery died.) Never been open. I do take a lot of pictures; over taken over 1000 in one day. But I do not do this as often as a professional would.

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i'm using 16G extreme III sandisk and only shoot DNG.

 

usually when the red light flashes, i just have to wait for about 30-40 secs before everything goes back to work. but today for the first time, it kept flashing and M8 got really hot. i had not taken out my batter to solve problem for almost entire year.

 

you are right, it must be that i shoot too fast and too much...

 

as for the batter, i usually use it til it goes complete out. i always think it's good for the battery?? or maybe not?? i dont really know though.

 

Although the M8 can use SDHC cards I have heard others reporting some problems when using these large SD cards.

You could try a smaller card, something in the 4GB range, and see if the same things happen.

Myself I still use standard 2GB SD cards and have never had this happen.

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maybe i should try.

 

Although the M8 can use SDHC cards I have heard others reporting some problems when using these large SD cards.

You could try a smaller card, something in the 4GB range, and see if the same things happen.

Myself I still use standard 2GB SD cards and have never had this happen.

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Thanks for your report, badpets.

 

I know of no perfect M8. I bought mine in April 2007. All the M8 I know of have been to Solms. Either for 'The Red Line' or 'Dead Camera'. Or both. Mine has been to Solms for 'The Red Line'. Only. The M8 must have been an economical disaster for Leica.

 

I use mostly a pair of Lexar Professional (that's what it says) 2GB cards. I shoot only RAW. I have both some 4 GB and 16 GB cards, but prefer to use them with my Canon 1Ds III. With this I shoot jpg+RAW and can do long watches of bird photography and wildlife. My M8 is the camera I use daily. When going overseas on business trips, for walks with my wife or at unformal family gatherings. At more formal family photography, I use my 1Ds III with several 550EX flashes placed around in the room and a transmitter on the camera.

 

I have tried the same with the M8 and whenever such flash shots are perfectly exposed they look incredibly good. This is due to the contrast rich and sharp glass. But in the heat of a family gathering I prefer something 'automatic' as multi flash E-TTL. It is a pitty that this is not available on a M8.

 

Two things irritates me with the M8. The spots on the sensor. This has practically disappeared with Canon's ultrasonic dust removal system. And that the batteries fail on you unexpectedly. I have two batteries and both a worn, but I haven't come around to buy any new ones.

 

I will not upgrade. I will wait for the M9 and rather save money for that.

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Pssst. Don;t know how to say this.

 

One of the first M8-s, bought November 8, 2006.

No adjustments, no fixes, current firmware.

Well over 10,000 exposures.

Just a few, very few, lockups that required battery removal.

None in several months.

Chrome, looks like new.

 

I am happy.

Let's keep this quiet, eh . . :)

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M8 since sept 2007

 

0 crashes, lockups or glitches current FW

about 9000 exposures

use the thing in rain/snow/transport with a motorbike - still looks new

 

The only disconcerting thing is that it dies suddenly when the battery is depleted - there are no useful warning telltale signs of imminent death that I have managed to find. So every time that happens I start worrying, until I mount a freshly charged battery & the world is set to right.

 

EDIT: Ah I forgot, once it died in Finland probably due to condensation on the electronics, the problem cleared by itself without needing to remove the battery)

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2 bodies, one from 06-11-06, one fro 04-01-07. The "normal" update one body #1, one faulty charger, twice dropped camera which made repairs neccesary. Zero lockups, zero technical problems, 25000 exposures on the bodies combined. I saw the infamous green line twice, once on purpose.

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Pssst. Don;t know how to say this.

 

One of the first M8-s, bought November 8, 2006.

No adjustments, no fixes, current firmware.

Well over 10,000 exposures.

Just a few, very few, lockups that required battery removal.

None in several months.

Chrome, looks like new.

 

I am happy.

Let's keep this quiet, eh . . :)

 

Haven't even had the lockups. I'm in Toronto as well, sounds to me like Leica like (try saying that quickly) Canadians or maybe they just like Torontonians.

 

It's still an infinitely better camera than I am photographer.

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Thanks Olsen. :)

 

Me too, I only use M8 for more "serious" work; that's why I'm now considering a Sigma DP-2 for more casual occasions like family/friend gathering where you really want to enjoy being in it more than becoming a "photographer" which I think happens if you use M8. But of course, it's just you and me. Some people might feel differently.

 

As for the sensor cleaning on M8, my experience is to leave it to the professionals. It's not like I dont know how to clean it, but it really take hours as my room is really not a good condition for sensor cleaning - too dusty. I would end up repeat the cleaning again and again and again ...

 

I do not want to do any upgrade because I want to keep the classic M8 as original. What's the point making classic M8 looks like M8.2 but not as good as M8.2? And besides I don't know how to call it after the upgrade. hehe

 

M9 sounds like a perfect idea. I'm definitely buying it if it's really ever gonna be made.:D

 

 

 

Thanks for your report, badpets.

 

I know of no perfect M8. I bought mine in April 2007. All the M8 I know of have been to Solms. Either for 'The Red Line' or 'Dead Camera'. Or both. Mine has been to Solms for 'The Red Line'. Only. The M8 must have been an economical disaster for Leica.

 

I use mostly a pair of Lexar Professional (that's what it says) 2GB cards. I shoot only RAW. I have both some 4 GB and 16 GB cards, but prefer to use them with my Canon 1Ds III. With this I shoot jpg+RAW and can do long watches of bird photography and wildlife. My M8 is the camera I use daily. When going overseas on business trips, for walks with my wife or at unformal family gatherings. At more formal family photography, I use my 1Ds III with several 550EX flashes placed around in the room and a transmitter on the camera.

 

I have tried the same with the M8 and whenever such flash shots are perfectly exposed they look incredibly good. This is due to the contrast rich and sharp glass. But in the heat of a family gathering I prefer something 'automatic' as multi flash E-TTL. It is a pitty that this is not available on a M8.

 

Two things irritates me with the M8. The spots on the sensor. This has practically disappeared with Canon's ultrasonic dust removal system. And that the batteries fail on you unexpectedly. I have two batteries and both a worn, but I haven't come around to buy any new ones.

 

I will not upgrade. I will wait for the M9 and rather save money for that.

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I didnt know you can get sensor replacement for green line caused by extreme condition (nice pic)... i see similar green lines when i use high iso and in law light condition.

 

I think complete depletion of the battery is not required, and may not be preferred either. Recent batteries do not have the "memory problem" as was the case with the old NiCd batteries.

 

My M8 was serviced once for viewfinder alignment. With early firmware, there was the "Venetian blinds" effect. No one remembers that now after firmware corrections.

 

Otherwise, it's my prefereed camera. A shot from Pantheon-Rome, from the 9m ocular sunlight:

 

0609RomePanteon.jpg

 

Who cares if there are vertical lines, hot spots, etc., when only M8 can take this photo.

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I didnt know you can get sensor replacement for green line caused by extreme condition (nice pic)... i see similar green lines when i use high iso and in law light condition.

 

I doubt that a (darkish color) green line/streak caused by stray light from a sharp light source just outside the image perimiter will qualify for sensor replacement.

As I understand it is just an inherent property of the sensor, and something that can be avoided as well.

 

The darn blue line is another thing, caused probably by a dead pixel and then it gradually extends and gets worse. In my experience, that qualifies for sensor replacement.

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