M9 freezing up - help!

[adam b]

When I turn on my M9, it will only let me do one function (i.e., take a photo, or press play and see a photo) and then it freezes. If take a photo it doesn't display it. If I turn the camera off and back on, it's still frozen. The only way I can get it to start again is buying taking out the battery and then putting it back in.
But then the same problem all over - one function and it freezes.
Should I re-install the firmware? Send it to Leica? It's still under warranty.
Thanks. Adam

 

[huntjump]

Leica NJ has been turning around repairs super fast. I'd send it in for warranty and you get a CLA probably

 

[swoop]

Is the battery fully charged? Is it a genuine Leica battery? What brand of SD card are you using?

 

[jsrockit]

Are you using a third party battery? Is the battery fully charged? Which SD Card are you using?

Haha, beat by swoop by mere seconds.

 

[jaapv]

Quite likely the SD card. Pop in a simple 4 Gb card and try again. Empty battery should produce a warning on the LCD when ypu switch on.

 

[swoop]

Haha, beat by swoop by mere seconds.

Just goes to show that these are some pretty common factors when an M8/M9 are being wonky. I know whenever my battery is low my M9 acts strangely. I own 3 genuine batteries and 2 fake batteries and neither of the fake batteries register as having a charge in my M9 so the camera is constantly telling me it's about to die. I've also had issues with Sandisk and Eye-Fi cards.

 

[Teuthida]

Welcome to the wonderful world of leica digital. My M8 freezes up too. Never can tell when or why. But then again, what do you expect of a $6k camera?

 

[jsrockit]

My issues, in the past, all went away with (1) the use of Leica brand batteries only and (2) the right SD card.

 

[adam b]

replaced the card - its working okay again. thanks! fingers crossed it doesn't happen again.
The one I out in is a SanDisk Extreme 8GB. The one I took out was a card I bought at Adorama and doesn't have a brand name on it.
Any suggestions for the best card these days?
fyi - i have one Leica battery and one that isn't - but neither one was helping when i had the problem.

 

[chrismoret]

My issues, in the past, all went away with (1) the use of Leica brand batteries only and (2) the right SD card.

What is the right SD-card?

 

[Fraser]

replaced the card - its working okay again. thanks! fingers crossed it doesn't happen again.
The one I out in is a SanDisk Extreme 8GB. The one I took out was a card I bought at Adorama and doesn't have a brand name on it.
Any suggestions for the best card these days?
fyi - i have one Leica battery and one that isn't - but neither one was helping when i had the problem.

Good news. Just stay away from the Sandisk there are still a lot of people who use them without any bother but why take the risk when so many other makes are out there.

 

[jsrockit]

What is the right SD-card?

One that works. Sounds simple, but the M9 is finicky. My point is that if you are having issues change cards.

Outside of that, you can do a google search and there are numerous threads on which cards work "best" in the M9. Also, there is Leica's FAQs:

http://leica-camera.pl/wp-content/downloads/M9_FAQ_en.pdf

 

[Paul Luscher]

Hmmm...I thought the last firmware update was supposed to deal with the Sandisk card issues. I've been using 8G Sandisk cards in my M9, since I got it, with nary a hitch (first cards I got were some Chinese brand that absolutely refused to work in the camera).

Just hope I haven't jinxed the camera by saying this....

 

[jaapv]

Well, what would you expect from some no-name card. As to the “best” card, older Sandisks are fine, if you have a genuine one, but I would be wary to buy a new one. All problems started when Sandisk renewed their card specs..
The absolute best are Panasonic Gold and Pretec for those that are, unlike me, willing to pay the price. Basically just about any branded card should work just fine (except Sandisk)

 

[beyond]

Since its under warranty, send it back.

 

[Richard G]

This is likely just the card. Do as jaapvy says and you'll probably be fine. I have one Sandisk 8G that played up but two others have been fine. It certainly is unsettling. And don't reformat the card in camera when the battery is near 25%.