Does anyone dare to try to update his/her M8.x with the M9 firmware?

[mboerma]

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I don't want to try but maybe there are daredevils which did try it. What could go wrong? My M8 won't even recognize that there is firmware on the SD card. Maybe people know how to persuade the camera to use it.

 

Ah, just fantasies....

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[stunsworth]

It wouldn't work, so there's no point in trying.

[mboerma]

I don't think so either, but why not? I assume Leica used a similar firmware chip as in the M8.x. They invested a lot of money in the M8.x one so why not reuse it if possible. They only big change is the sensor size, but I don't think this really matters for type of DSP they used, just added some extra memory.

[blakley]

I don't want to try but maybe there are daredevils which did try it. What could go wrong?

 

You could brick the camera leaving it totally unusable...

 

The new firmware is according to Mark Norton encrypted, and it's not clear there's logic on board the M8 to decode it. Additionally the sensor hardware of the M9 is different from the M8, so the new firmware would not be getting the input data in a format it's expecting from the M8 sensor. And the vignetting and color correction logic of the new firmware is designed for a different sized sensor from the M8, so it would not correctly process an image from an M8 sensor. And....

 

Best just to wait and see what's forthcoming from the official source.

[dcuthbert]

As with anything related to security, if it's easily hardened, it's easily broken.

 

Encryption is often the easiest thing to break.

[haroldp]

Do not try this.

 

I am a lifelong software professional.

 

Firmware is extremely device and level specific, similarity is not nearly good enough.

 

Properly designed flashing software will usually recognize appropriate (or not ) firmware and refuse to flash the wrong version. In the unlikely event that you can circumvent or hack this, the almost certain result is 'bricking' the camera so it will have to go for a real depot repair where they will either replace or re-burn the processor.

 

Remember when flashing new firmware, the warning is always that you cannot go back, this is why.

 

Regards ... Harold

[dcuthbert]

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What would be nice, however, would be diff'ing the two firmware versions and producing a 3rd-party one.

 

I know it was done recently for the canon firmware found on the 5d, there isn't anything stopping it happening on the leica's, besides time and effort i guess.

 

Take the best from the m8/m8.2/m9 and create a frankenstein custom image.

[scott kirkpatrick]

You're wasting your time. I looked at the M9 firmware and found it is encrypted, unreadable. The M8 doesn't have the hardware or loader code to decrypt it, since its firmware is readable. If you diff the two files you will find almost no byte the same.

 

scott

[caparobertsan]

I will do it! ONly if I live close to Leica Germany factory. Mine is still under warranty so-

[adan]

Probably not even possible to try - the M9 firmware "starts over" at v. 1.002, so the M8 will just refuse to load what looks like an "earlier" firmware, just as it would refure to reload v 1.002 of the M8 firmware over something more recent.

[joppepop]

Oh, this will not work, they have likely very different hardware interfaces. If Leica has made the software that controls updates of the firmware right, it won't even load the firmware file. If you hack the M9 image and somehow replaces parts of the file data with data that fools this update controller it's a M8 file, then you're on your own with your fine but dead camera. Seriously, don't even try. It's not like cramming in a V8 in a Volkswagen, which you can do with the right skills.

[Olsen]

My grandmother had a sister that loved swapping medicines with others. It almost killed her. Wouldn't this be the same?

[mboerma]

After watching this video with an interview of Stephan Daniel on the M9 I'm convinced this is never possible. Even the possible addition of new features to the M8.x firmware is very far away....

[MV8]

My M8 won't even recognize that there is firmware on the SD card.

 

 

That should be enough of a hint not to pursue it.

[mboerma]

That should be enough of a hint not to pursue it.

 

I won't pursue it. You checking the options...

[earleygallery]

Have you tried loading a roll of Tri X in it instead?

[mboerma]

Have you tried loading a roll of Tri X in it instead?

 

When I take of the bottom part of the camera there is not enough room to stick it in. Any advise?

 

[okram]

Oh, but M8 is NOT a full frame camera.

 

 

Take out the battery.

Put APS-C film inside.

Close the bottom.

Try to shoot.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[MV8]

Have you tried loading a roll of Tri X in it instead?

 

LOL very funny!!!

[stunsworth]

When I take of the bottom part of the camera there is not enough room to stick it in. Any advise?

 

Use a hammer, that's what Leica use. 30 seconds into this video you can hear someone just out of shot loading a roll of Tri-X into an M9...

 

Assembling the Leica M9