mutant M8: upgraded shutter but still 8000 / off by one?

[skwp]

Hi guys. I just bought this M8 and I'm wondering if anyone ever heard of this situation. The M8 was upgraded for shutter and framelines. It has the newer quieter shutter

However, I am able to shoot at 1/8000 - when the shutter is set to 1/4000 it actually shoots (or at least says it does as 1/8000) and all the speeds are 'off by one' meaning the 8s mark on the shutter dial actually shoots for 4 seconds (this is verified because it counts down from 4..I obviously can't time the shutter at 4000 to tell if it's really 4000 or 8000)

Anyway..this m8 has a wierd history where apparently during its upgrade leica forgot to 'reset the circuitry' in the m8 so it doesn't 'know' that it's been upgraded. And it's not the case that the dial is simply 'off by one' because the A position is still the A position, and the flash sync still works at the '125' mark which is as expected on an upgraded shutter.

Anyway..mutant leica 🙂 I'll probably send it in at some point but wondering if anyone has insight on this

 

[Freakscene]

No insight, but if the camera is trying to make, or actually making, the new shutter's second curtain move close enough to the first curtain to achieve 1/8000s it might spell trouble.

Is it as quiet as a 'regular' upgraded camera or M8.2?

Marty

 

[skwp]

I've never heard an M8.2 except on youtubes but I have heard an old M8 and this one definitely does feel upgraded, so I believe that. Also I have a repair receipt detailing the long history this camera has had with leica being apparently incompetent. This is the history

1. m8 was upgraded to new shutter
2. m8 was sent in for unrelated body repair work (bottom plate dings), during this time leica slapped on the original 8000 wheel onto the upgraded shutter
3. m8 was sent back get the right speed wheel for the new shutter, leica places the 4000 wheel on the m8 but neglects to do whatever magic is necessary for the camera to realize that it's been upgraded, thus the camera now thinks it can do 8k while the speed wheel only goes to 4k

kind of a mystery how this amount of incompetence can be allowed in a company like leica. or why they would even touch the shutter speed dial in a repair request to fix the bottom plate. what the hell

 

[skwp]

not dangerous

not dangerous

i got email from a leica tech saying firing the quieter shutter at 8000 is nit dangerous. i am waiting to clarify if he really understands the situation but this is interesting. i wonder then why they limit it. unless its because they thought people would want 8s more than 8000. strange...

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Wow...hang on to that camera. You are the only guy on earth firing the quiet shutter at 1/8000!

 

[ken_nyus]

My M8 was like this after it came back from the shutter upgrade. At 4000 it would fire at 8000. Using auto exposure it would also go up to 8000. If I put it on 8 sec I would count 4 seconds for the shutter.

I sent it back to get fixed, and I was worried that I did damage to the shutter by firing it at 8000 when the max should have been 4000. It seemed fine when it came back, and I eventually traded the m8 in for an m9.

The odd thing was I really impressed with the quietness of the upgraded shutter when I first got it, and when it came back from the repair I felt it was not as quiet, but it is hard to tell.

 

[skwp]

Here's an update from Leica, for those who are curious regarding upgraded shutters firing at high speeds

"The limit on speed helps to minimize the sound and vibration of the shutter assembly. When pressed for more information, a technician in our Service Department suggested a chance of slight exposure accuracy error at shutter speeds (automatic or manual) above 1/4000th ."

 

[popeye]

Fire away!

 

[jaapv]

The real reason they limited the shutter speed to 4000 is that the shutter runs slower to reduce noise. Hence the shutter slit is half the width. At 8000 the shutter slit would be so narrow that it will show diffraction effects. Now whether that is a Leica-like theoretical consideration or something a user would notice is unknown. So if your images are properly exposed I would not worry about it.