err..one more question: Minilux E02 error. Is it inevitable ?

raytoei@gmail.com

raytoei@gmail.com

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after shooting 2 rolls of mostly keepers on my Minilux Zoom last week in Karachi, Pakistan. I bought a Minilux and am waiting for it anxiously over the mail.

Is the E02 error inevitable ? Rephrase it another way, any of you regular minilux users still shooting it after all these years ?

I love the summarit 40/2.4 images from Minilux club!

raytoei



"B-B-Q Tonite", Karachi, Pakistan
Pictured captured on Minilux Zoom
Film used is Delta 400 Developed in XTOL

miniluxz-6.jpg
 
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Nice camera, great lens.

Stopped shooting mine as it developed E02 and Leica is charging serious money for the repair of their design fault.
Every other Minilux i know of sooner or later got the same error.

I`d try a Bessa R 2 3 4 A and one of Voigtlaenders great lenses instead. You gain more control and flexibility, a better viewfinder and less shutter lag.

Good luck!
 
No, it's not inevitable, at least it hasn't happened to mine yet! Trouble with internet forums is you only hear about the people with problems and not the ones who have happily used their cameras for years. If mine ever did go I'd just buy a replacement for £100 or so and hopefully get a few more years use from it. The camera really does have one of the best lenses you will ever get for 35mm photography and that included any of the Leica lenses.

Enjoy your minilux and hopefully it'll live for a very long time!
 
I had one that got the E02 twice. I got it repaired once and my brother got it repaired the next time. Still, you can buy another one on ebay for about the cost of the repair these days.
 
Thanks. Of course the various options to the minilux problem from my vantage point could be:

a. do nothing. buy another minilux 2nd hand. use the first e02 and consider a lens mod

b. buy an expensive cm. this has a faster shutter speed

c. stick to the Minilux zoom, lose out on the summarit 2.4f lens
 
Apparently not all do develop the E02, but they are prone to anyway.

It's in my wishlist... despite its limitations. See, there's still a market for these things! :)
 
Oh I just picked up a Minilux and knew about the dreaded EO2 error. I hope mine isn't a lemon and took a chance as I got it for cheap.

Does anyone have a manual for it or tips on how to use it? Is there a focus lock when using autofocus or will one need to use the focus scale? Also not too happy about the autoflash and having to shut it down every time I turn the camera on. Sorry for the newbie questions.
 
gi/john: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/leica/leica_minilux/leica_minilux.htm

yes is the answer to your ae lock question.

As for autoflash.. i do not have my Minilux yet, but on my Minilux Zoom and C3, i click-cycle to the "flash off mode" and hold down the button until it flashes, this becomes the default the next time i turn it on. Not sure if this works the same as the Minilux.

hope this helps.

raytoei
 
Awesome thanks Raytoei! I tried the flash mode setting by holding it down and it didn't work. Turned it back on and flash mode is on auto again. Oh well...it's one thing that bugs me about my Olympus Epic as well but gotta live with it.
 
andreas said:
Nice camera, great lens.

Stopped shooting mine as it developed E02 and Leica is charging serious money for the repair of their design fault.
Every other Minilux i know of sooner or later got the same error.

I`d try a Bessa R 2 3 4 A and one of Voigtlaenders great lenses instead. You gain more control and flexibility, a better viewfinder and less shutter lag.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
mine developed the fault three times.
Lens is now a film magnifier, the rest is landfill. Leicas attitude was appaling!!
Minilux and Fujica folding 645, the two worst cameras I ever owned in 50+ years of photography.
We are aware!! You still let me buy the bloody thing. NEVER again:bang:
Always wait a couple of years before buying a new design, let someone else have the expense and bother.
BTW Klasse also apeared in UK badged Rollei.
 
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I've often thought about these little cameras, as the lenses are wonderful. But I never bought one because I wouldn't want that hanging over my head. Will it be all right today? Tomorrow? If I were in the market for one now it would have to be for the CM. The extra money would be worth it, and it's an upgraded camera in other ways, I think.

As I've gotten older the manual cameras are really being appreciated now. Just pull out the old hand held meter and shoot away w/ no worries.
 
raytoei@gmail.com said:
after shooting 2 rolls of mostly keepers on my Minilux Zoom last week in Karachi, Pakistan. I bought a Minilux and am waiting for it anxiously over the mail.

Is the E02 error inevitable ? Rephrase it another way, any of you regular minilux users still shooting it after all these years ?

I love the summarit 40/2.4 images from Minilux club!

raytoei



"B-B-Q Tonite", Karachi, Pakistan
Pictured captured on Minilux Zoom
Film used is Delta 400 Developed in XTOL

miniluxz-6.jpg
Click to expand...

Yours is an interesting question. I have a precarious history with cameras/lenses and it seems that every camera I buy has an inherent problem at time of purchase or later develops problems.

I purchased a black Leica minilux with accompanying leather case and straps (very sexy, more like an S @ M outfit than a case a for a camera. This was a Leica after all and I wanted to splash out and get the black as I love black cameras.

I used and abused my Minilux for a year of constant shooting as I was enthralled with the thing after lugging around my M2. I was in Japan at the time working and living when I bought it. Anyway, I clearly remember the day it developed the dreaded E02 error. I had been shooting in the dead of winter and the batter was low. I kept trying to force more shots when there clearly wasn't enough power in the tank - the battery sign was at half. So, then E02 came up.

I trundled off to the Leica repair centre and the serviceman in white coat laughed and said in broken English E02. He then proceeded to tell me that E02 is more likely to happen if the BATTERY IS LOW. The power drain is linked to this particular malfunction.


They repaired it at almost the cost of another normal Minilux. Because mine was a sweet black model I couldn't let it sit as a paperweight as we had so much fun together in the past.

So, I continued to use it for the next 6 months. In that time I DROPPED it twice from face height as I was about to take a shot (someone bumped me). It landed on its corner on hard pavement. It still bears the scars. I then did it again from a table. It has also has the scar from that. I don't think many other high end point and shoot could withstand such abuse. I had a Contax T3 once and I was scared to handle it it felt so light. The T2 i still have is more likely to withstand a fall.

But guess what - it is still going! The shutter seems more reponsive after the fall. So for its electronic faults it has other positive attributes. It is built like a Sherman tank. And not to mention that sweet single coated Summarit lens. Just dreamy and EXCELLENT for black and white work. The contrast from the Contax T2/T3 is so strong on sunny days that this Leica will leave a wonderful rendition. Also, the T3 had such an annoying function of pressing your distance in instead of the dial that T2 employed. I lost many shots on the T3.

I also love the manual focus - just dial it to between 2m and 3.5m at f8/f11 and shoot away. There is less delay as it doesn't have to lock onto anything.

I also once owned a Leica CM. That lens had more coating and the contrast seemed slightly higher. It was remarked somewhere on the net that the CM and Leicas summarit M range of lenses were identical. I also loved that camera as it had a better viewfinder than the Minilux. I had to sell due to financial reasons.

So, anyone contemplating getting a Minilux I say do it. They are so cheap on the internet at the moment and you are getting a jewel of a Leica lens at a cheap price. She may be tempermental getting her wires crosses, but if she falls out of bed, I bet she will still be in one piece when you drag her back under the sheets.

good luck
 
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