Leica M240 series battery scarcity

Archiver said:
@Freakscene @Dante_Stella

Part of what has made me a better photographer is the instant feedback of digital. Shooting thousands of frames in every situation boosted my learning curve in ways that shooting film would not. Despite owning my M9 for 14 years, and feeling like I've used it every day and for extended periods, I still have yet to crack 70k exposures, let alone 100k. Many of those frames are throwaways and simple snapshots for documentation, so the learning process for a RF could have been more efficient, had I applied a more strict action/feedback/adjustment process.

I have batteries from my Panasonic GH3 from 2013 which have lasted through my GH4 (2015) and G9 (2020), which says a lot about finding a standard battery type and sticking with it through generations of gear. Leica seems to finally be doing this with the Q2/Q3/SL2/SL3 batteries. Leica kind of orphaned the M240 generation by using those batteries only once.

Spending a large chunk of change on my M9 has given me nearly 15 years of pleasure and results thus far. I justify the expense by amortizing the cost over years of ownership - at 15 years and $9400 initial layout, cost of ownership is about $626 per year up until now.
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How many frames has your M9 taken @Archiver ?
 
splitimageview said:
This is a small forum, only 141 members have read the thread, not sure how many of them actually have M240. No way to tally how many non-members viewed the thread, but not many.

The threads on reddit from many months ago are likely orders of magnitude more influential, not to mention dpreview and others. But if forums really had measurable influence, all the more reason for Leica to have fixed this problem months ago or at least published an official statement.
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I don’t own a Leica (Team Bessa represent!) and don’t know a M240 from a 240ZX.
Just reading the thread and munching away on a bag of popcorn.
At least it keeps me from doomscrolling the news.
 
Freakscene said:
Part of getting better is using your camera more and shooting more. Usually take one frame? Take ten. Take a hundred if you like. Any camera that you can use more makes you better if you apply thought to your approach and outcome. You can think and shoot a lot.

It doesn’t need to be an M11. Just get the digital camera you think is best for you, then use it. Try to use it up. The type of comments that this thread is full of seems to be levelled at Leica a lot because they have a long history, including of repairability, and the cameras are expensive. It still doesn’t matter. If you buy a digital camera, you’ll get the best value out of it by using it a lot.

I don’t really have time for film anymore. This is not ‘better’ or ‘worse’. Film makes sense if you like the aesthetic, the process or the output enough to justify the time. It makes a lot of sense if you learned on it and know what you are doing. If not, and especially if you are just starting out, digital makes a lot of sense because you can learn at essentially no cost after getting your camera.
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I do shoot digital--a lot. My commercial work has been all digital for at least the last 18 years, and it absolutely is the best way to accomplish the results that my clients need and expect. I haven't shot Leica digital because I can get the quality I need for my business from much less expensive DSLRs and their lenses. Since I have yet to have a DSLR body fail I don't know if I would be waiting months to get them repaired. And since I have always had at least two bodies that take my lenses, one failure would be a nuisance but ti wouldn't stop me from doing assignments. But if I were dependent on one Leica body, the slow repair service would be a deal breaker.

I agree with you that if I was starting to learn photography today that digital is the fastest way to learn technique and composition skills because of the instant feedback. As someone who has been doing photography for 50 years, give or take, I still enjoy my Contax cameras and lenses from the 1930's and 50's. But film is for me, not for clients.
 
maigo said:
I don’t own a Leica (Team Bessa represent!) and don’t know a M240 from a 240ZX.
Just reading the thread and munching away on a bag of popcorn.
At least it keeps me from doomscrolling the news.
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For some folks here, reading about battery unavailability is doomscrolling. Worse than climate change, nuclear proliferation, or overpriced eggs!
 
Retro-Grouch said:
For some folks here, reading about battery unavailability is doomscrolling. Worse than climate change, nuclear proliferation, or overpriced eggs!
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What I fear are flare, spherical or chromatic aberration, focus shift and field curvature.

Steve Huff Review 35mm f/2 Ultron

Yeah, that’s what I meant; initially assumed otherwise, and clearly Mr. Huff did too. Which makes the linked review even more baffling.
www.rangefinderforum.com www.rangefinderforum.com
 
Freakscene said:
What I fear are flare, spherical or chromatic aberration, focus shift and field curvature.

Steve Huff Review 35mm f/2 Ultron

Yeah, that’s what I meant; initially assumed otherwise, and clearly Mr. Huff did too. Which makes the linked review even more baffling.
www.rangefinderforum.com www.rangefinderforum.com
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The four horsemen of the apocalypse.
 
@Freakscene @Retro-Grouch

Flare appears indistinct, always backlit and obscured by flames of light. Spherical Aberration's steed has glowing purple hooves that thunder with the sound of a thousand Lightroom adjustment clicks. Focus Shift is never quite visible, no matter how much you try to see him clearly. Parts of Field Curvature appear closer than they are, while other parts seem further away. Together, they herald the Photocalypse...
 
Archiver said:
@Freakscene @Retro-Grouch

Flare appears indistinct, always backlit and obscured by flames of light. Spherical Aberration's steed has glowing purple hooves that thunder with the sound of a thousand Lightroom adjustment clicks. Focus Shift is never quite visible, no matter how much you try to see him clearly. Parts of Field Curvature appear closer than they are, while other parts seem further away. Together, they herald the Photocalypse...
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Indeed, the photocalypse. It hardly seems possible, but I first used that term in 1997.
 
Archiver said:
Spending a large chunk of change on my M9 has given me nearly 15 years of pleasure and results thus far. I justify the expense by amortizing the cost over years of ownership - at 15 years and $9400 initial layout, cost of ownership is about $626 per year up until now.
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How did you spend $9,400 on an M9? They were like 5 grand. Your cost should actually be a lot less per year?
 
Freakscene said:
Yes, $AU. Not everyone is from the US. Recommended retail in Australia at release was just under $10k.
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@Dante_Stella It was crazy. I was able to get a very minor discount because I paid half cash, half credit card and it was still $9400. It was the most expensive thing I'd ever bought, and as I've said before, I felt my guts drop out of my a$$ when I handed over my card. By comparison, the contemporary Canon pro 1D Mark IV that was selling in early 2010 was about $7300.
 
Dante_Stella said:
How did you spend $9,400 on an M9? They were like 5 grand. Your cost should actually be a lot less per year?
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In the USA, I paid $6350 for my M9 in 2012. US$6350.00 today is AUS$10208.70 today ... I imagine the currency conversion for 2012 wouldn't be that far different.

G
 
As I said before, the gent at Leica USA who called me when I inquired said that they have limited stock on all these batteries and can supply them for those who need one. They don't have enough stock, and the flow of supply is insufficient, to list them on the web store at present. If you really need a battery, just write to Leica USA and ask if they have one in stock that they can sell you.

A fresh, new battery for M10 or M typ 240/246 is $200, plus tax. The new one I ordered, at his behest, arrived yesterday and cost $218.25 total. No need to pay ridiculous prices for used batteries. Just a need to be patient and go through channels properly until the flow of supply returns to normal.

Exactly why the flow of supply is constrained at present ... I have absolutely no idea. But I am also absolutely sure that Leica USA is working to solve this problem to the best of their ability. I'm sure they're as aggravated about it as anyone here as it is costing them money and causing a negative user experience.

G
 
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