Leica M 240 LiveView Stopped Working. Kaput.

[bobby_novatron]

Just posting this on RFF for the records.

I am the second owner of the M 240, I purchased it in April 2015.

The camera functioned 100% fine until about a week ago. LiveView suddenly stopped working. One minute it was fine, then suddenly -- nothing. Black screen.

When you press the 'LV' button, the shutter clicks and the LCD screen pretends it's in LV mode, but the image is black.

Whatever is wrong with the camera, it also affects the 'Sensor Clean' mode. The shutter will not stay open, not even momentarily.

And again, the same glitch affects the Multi-Field metering function.

Fortunately, I can still use the camera in 'classic' mode. But LiveView was very handy for shooting legacy glass, among other things.

Solutions I've tried:

• swap batteries
• change SD cards
• re-install firmware
• check interior of camera for debris
• clean lens mount with isopropyl alcohol
• reset camera to factory settings

Nothing has worked.

Anyway, just thought I'd put this one down for the records. It doesn't seem to be a very common complaint with the M 240, I could only find a couple of online references to this particular glitch.

Off to Leica NJ we go... 🙁

 

[raid]

What a bummer. I am sorry it happened to you. I hope that this problem can be fixed easily and for little cost to you.

 

[Godfrey]

Sorry to hear it, but I'm sure Leica will put it right.

G

 

[BLKRCAT]

you check your lens cap?

 

[bobby_novatron]

you check your lens cap?

Wait a second ... :bang:

Actually, yes.

 

[mdarnton]

How's the battery? Digital cameras often start acting poorly when batteries get old and tired, and can't kick out sufficient power quickly (would that be amps?), even though the camera may tell you there's a full charge and works well doing low-demand jobs. Both live view and sensor cleaning/holding shutter open are heavy lifting for a battery, I think.

 

[bobby_novatron]

How's the battery? Digital cameras often start acting poorly when batteries get old and tired, and can't kick out sufficient power quickly (would that be amps?), even though the camera may tell you there's a full charge and works well doing low-demand jobs. Both live view and sensor cleaning/holding shutter open are heavy lifting for a battery, I think.

I have two factory OEM batteries, I fully charged both and tried LiveView each time, still nothing. I think it's a firmware issue, because I didn't have this problem before I upgraded the firmware in the late Summer. But that's just a guess.

 

[taemo]

what about if you use a EVF?
If you're in Calgary, you can test my Olympus VF2 on your M240 since mine is currently in Leica NJ for cleaning.

other than that, it definitely sounds like you have to send it back to Leica for repair

 

[bobby_novatron]

what about if you use a EVF?
If you're in Calgary, you can test my Olympus VF2 on your M240 since mine is currently in Leica NJ for cleaning.

other than that, it definitely sounds like you have to send it back to Leica for repair

Thanks for the offer, I appreciate the viewfinder might work. I'm in Edmonton so the drive is a little too far right now for me to make.

In other news, the camera has developed an entirely new problem -- horizontal banding across the sensor image. This just happened today. I couldn't believe my eyes. Every photo I took had a perfectly horizontal black line across the entire frame.

I think the camera needs some serious first aid. I've got it packed up and ready to ship to Leica tomorrow.