Is this a record ?

[Mr C]

Being the proud owner of an M3 and an M6 I decided to take the plunge and blow a stack of my savings on the Leica M8. I picked up my M8 on 25th September took it home and lovingly removed it from the box. I fully charged the battery over a few hours while I had a read of the manual. When the battery was fully charged I turned on the camera.

I was looking through the menu structure & noted that the firmware was not the most recent so I logged onto the Leica website and downloaded the latest firmware. I followed the update instructions to the letter. The website stated that the update should take approx 3 minutes. After a couple of minutes the firmware update progress bar on the LCD screen hit 100% and then the screen went black. I left the camera on waiting for the OK to reboot prompt for over 10 minutes but to no avail. I had to turn off the camera and then turn it back on to be greeted by a solid red LED which refused to go off and a camera that refused to boot. Removing and re-installing the battery and SD card made no difference.

One phone call to Leica confirmed that I had to return the camera to them. The camera was returned to Leica on the 26th without having taken a single photo. 😱 To say I'm gutted is an understatement. Is that a record ??

 

[etrigan63]

These things happen even in the best of families. I discovered my unit came with a gimpy battery. Went back to the dealer and they swapped it out for a new one. Am now testing that battery for endurance (# of photos/charge). The original battery lasted about 80 photos before needing a recharge.

You may have had a corrupted firmware image. Did you format the SD card in the computer or the camera? I would have formatted the card in the camera before using it. Once corrupted firmware is installed the camera will generally go tits up. Same thing happens to PC's. In fact, one motherboard maker (Gigabyte) makes their mobos with a backup BIOS (firmware) in case the main one tanks on a bad update. The backup BIOS allows you to go in an reload a previous version that worked.

 

[Mr C]

I formatted the SD card in camera as recommended.

Geographical location meant it was easier to return direct to Leica.
My dealer is 160 miles away and I had to make a 320 mile round trip to pick up the camera. Leica recommended I return it to them anyway. Just got a mailshot saying that it has to be returned to Solms from Leica UK.

Looks like I may be without this camera for a while 🙁

 

[skueh]

.

I was looking through the menu structure & noted that the firmware was not the most recent so I logged onto the Leica website and downloaded the latest firmware. /quote]

Did you remember which firmware came with the camera? Mine came with firmware 1.09. I was advised by Leica USA to update it to 1.102 before download the latest 1.107 firmware.
I hope this is not your case.

Sze-Han

 

[Mr C]

Mine also came with firmware 1.09 but I flashed with the 1.107 firmware.


Do you know the reason why it is suggested to flash with 1.102 first? Is there a higher risk of firmware flash failure when upgrading direct from 1.09 to 1.107?

 

[jipps]

My m8 went back after a couple of exposures - the brightline image wasn't flush in the viewfinder! Kinda makes a mockery of the little signed test card you get in the box.... However, Robert White were superb and shipped my a new one asap.

 

[dee]

Goddess ! I bet they did not have these problems when they launched my Leica II in 1932 !
.. and I am considering a Leica M8 and am computer phobic .
i hope that they get it sorted -

Why can't all of this be done before buying - or does it have to be linked to the pc/mac ?

dee

 

[nikon_sam]

You would be amazed what some manufacturers will allow to get out the back door just to meet deadlines or get payments due before shipping...
I saw million dollar machines that I knew weren't ready or fully tested pushed out by upper-management bean counters who had deadlines or wanted payment...and they knew the machines weren't ready and that we (service reps) would fix it in the field...
This kind of everyday business makes me leery of other companies no matter what they sell or reputation...

 

[Gid]

I wouldn't guarantee that you hold the record. My first two M8s lasted a bit longer than that. When the first failed (SDS) I phoned the dealer and he arranged for a new replacement - no messing around with repairs. When the second wasn't up to scratch I phoned the dealer again and he arranged for me to get my money back. I eventually bought a third (which has been 100% fine) from the same dealer. If I were you I would insist on a replacement, not a fix and I'd insist on it NOW. You are within your rights to return the camera to the dealer and request either a replacement or your money back. The camera you bought is clearly not fit for purpose - the fact that you updated the firmware as recommended by Leica makes no difference.

FYI my dealer is Photo Design in Woolacombe , Devon. Highly recommended.

 

[David Murphy]

Goddess ! I bet they did not have these problems when they launched my Leica II in 1932 !
.. and I am considering a Leica M8 and am computer phobic .
i hope that they get it sorted -

Why can't all of this be done before buying - or does it have to be linked to the pc/mac ?

dee

If Leica had had these problems in '32 we wouldn't be discussing Leica right now -- they'd be a dim memory at best.

 

[etrigan63]

They did have similar problems in '32. None of us existed then, and if someone here did, they would't have had enough money to own one. Besides, who was rising to power politically in Germany at the time? Ol' Crazy Eyes became Chancellor in '33. Do you think he would have allowed the legend of "German Engineering" to be tarnished by shoddy bits of kit? No, it was all good or else.

 

[Ben Z]

Mine also came with firmware 1.09 but I flashed with the 1.107 firmware.


Do you know the reason why it is suggested to flash with 1.102 first? Is there a higher risk of firmware flash failure when upgrading direct from 1.09 to 1.107?

I don't know about any of that, but I just checked the zip file I downloaded from Leica's website with 1.102 and the date was April 12, 2007. I'm assuming that Leica started installing 1.102 in the M8's they were building from about that time. My M8 that I got a month ago came with 1.102, just around the time that 1.107 was made available for download. So I don't understand how you got sold a brand-new M8 with 1.09, unless it had been sitting somewhere for a few months. Too bad you have to send it to Solms, but if I were you I would ask (in a politely insistent manner 😀 ) for a replacement camera, vs waiting weeks or months for them to fix that one.

 

[cme4brain]

Being the proud owner of an M3 and an M6 I decided to take the plunge and blow a stack of my savings on the Leica M8. I picked up my M8 on 25th September took it home and lovingly removed it from the box. I fully charged the battery over a few hours while I had a read of the manual. When the battery was fully charged I turned on the camera.

I was looking through the menu structure & noted that the firmware was not the most recent so I logged onto the Leica website and downloaded the latest firmware. I followed the update instructions to the letter. The website stated that the update should take approx 3 minutes. After a couple of minutes the firmware update progress bar on the LCD screen hit 100% and then the screen went black. I left the camera on waiting for the OK to reboot prompt for over 10 minutes but to no avail. I had to turn off the camera and then turn it back on to be greeted by a solid red LED which refused to go off and a camera that refused to boot. Removing and re-installing the battery and SD card made no difference.

One phone call to Leica confirmed that I had to return the camera to them. The camera was returned to Leica on the 26th without having taken a single photo. 😱 To say I'm gutted is an understatement. Is that a record ??

I am sorry that you have had difficulty. I bought my M8 February 6, 2007 from CameraWest in California. I have had absolutely no difficulty whatsoever. I have taken thousands of great photographs without one failure.

 

[HansRoggen]

It's not a record. My first M8 broke down while playing with in the store. They ordered a new one for me. 🙂

 

[jaapv]

Goddess ! I bet they did not have these problems when they launched my Leica II in 1932 !
.. and I am considering a Leica M8 and am computer phobic .
i hope that they get it sorted -

Why can't all of this be done before buying - or does it have to be linked to the pc/mac ?

dee

The main difference is that they did not have internet forums back then...😀