M8 Firmware 1.10 Update

I'm happy to see some progress. The cyan issue will come next as well as (I hope) the ability to tell it your focal length for uncoded lenses and lenses that have multiple FLs. I would like it to record the estimated f-stop or allow me to manually specify for the exif data. Hopefully, the other bugs have been fixed. Time will tell.
 
A roll out in stages would make a lot of sense. First the fix for freezes and image glitches. Next they could make available the cyan fix for the current wide-angles. Followed by the rest of the lenses that can be coded and patches for any wonkiness in the fix for the freezes and image glitches.

Users can skip updates that won't impact them.
 
I've got 1.09 on one and 1.091provisional on the other. Fun to compare this weekend🙂. Both appear to be working OK though, I'm trying to replicate the glitches reported, but no succes yet.
 
Jorge Torralba said:
I have the file if anyone wants it.

Also, I have been shooting with a 15 and the corners still show a lot of cyan.
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Maybe you should check whether unofficial distribution of the firmware isn't in violation of Leica's copyright? And if the firmware or file is buggy, since Leica pulled it they're off the hook and you're on it 😱 Also I think you might be misunderstanding that 1) this version doesn't contain the cyan correction, and 2)even if it did it wouldn't work on the 15 because there is no code for it...one of the existing Leica lens codes will need to be self-coded on an adaptor and it will be sheer luck if one can be found that works just right. If a secondary tweak in Panotools is required, there isn't any point in coding it.
 
Sailor Ted said:
Ben Z,
If this solves the problem are you going to join the mostly ecstatic ranks of M8 photogs?
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If it solves the problems and doesn't introduce more of them, then I do plan to get one. The cyan correction doesn't concern me because as you said, it's an easy post-process fix, and besides, my 15, 21/4 and 28/1.9 are all Voitlander lenses and if self-coding with a Leica substitute doesn't completely correct the cyan I'll need to use Panotools anyway, so why bother with the coding at all.
 
Ben Z and crew,
What do you think is up with the staggered and then stuttered 1.91 release? Is it a diabolic ploy at beta testing as you suggest (I doubt it but still fun to contemplate) or did someone pull the trigger without the proper authority? What do you really think? Was this a message to say "we are working on the firmware so don't worry" If so that's not working.

Why did Leica release a staggered firmware update and then pull it a short while later?
 
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Ben Z said:
Maybe you should check whether unofficial distribution of the firmware isn't in violation of Leica's copyright? And if the firmware or file is buggy, since Leica pulled it they're off the hook and you're on it 😱 Also I think you might be misunderstanding that 1) this version doesn't contain the cyan correction, and 2)even if it did it wouldn't work on the 15 because there is no code for it...one of the existing Leica lens codes will need to be self-coded on an adaptor and it will be sheer luck if one can be found that works just right. If a secondary tweak in Panotools is required, there isn't any point in coding it.
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Let's drink lots and lots of beer. Followed by Scotch and then a rousing game of lawn darts!

Seems kinda silly (to me) to download a firmware "fix" that got pulled hours after release (or was it only minutes) and now has mixed reviews. Better to wait for official word from Leica (crickets chirping). My M8 is working fine and though I’d like a better Auto and profiled WB I’ll not take that chance just yet.
 
Leica has spoken at leica-camera-user.com forums. It was a CMS error, and they recommend returning to 1.09 and holding your breath until end of March.
 
Now it's the end of March? Nope Jenoptik had nothing to do with this- nothing at all. Ben Z your original assertion may be correct after all.

Well at least they set a new bar- the end of March : )
 
Sailor Ted said:
Was this a message to say "we are working on the firmware so don't worry" If so that's not working.

Why did Leica release a staggered firmware update and then pull it a short while later?
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Well if I was a conspiracy theorist I might imagine that Jenoptik had been working on 1.10 and when they severed the Sinar deal Leica had a beta version in their possession, which is what they "accidentally" put it on their website as "1.091" to quash suspicions that they don't have anyone to pick up where Jenoptik left off.

But since I'm not a conspiracy theorist, (at least not as long as I remember to take my meds 😀 ) I suspect it may be just another instance of Leica's inept and sloppy management. Like the IR-filter issue, there are two directions of spin and neither one makes Leica look good.

I did download 1.091 from Guy M's You-Send-It link yesterday (it's been pulled since) so perhaps if those who have it installed report no catastrophic problems with it (honestly, I've never used either the playback or review functions on my 20D, I treat it just like a film camera, see the shots when I "develop" them at home) for a couple weeks I might (oh, I can't believe I'm saying this) take the plunge. I'd still rather wait for Leica to release though. Personally I don't think Jenoptik is the only company in the world that can write firmware for the M8, any more than Leica couldn't have found someone to write a new version for the DMR after Imacon split. That I believe was a matter of economics, the demand for the DMR wasn't worth the cost. The M8 is a different ballgame.
 
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I was joking about March. Here's the real message:

Its always surprising to see how quick you people are!
We put yesterday a less than perfect update online just ten minutes on the German homepage due to a content management system. As we saw it, we immediately reverted to the former version but a couple of you were quicker than we were! The people who download this "update" should please revert to the former version. We are still working on the real update for the M8. It will be advertised on the homepage in English also and I will announce it here too in order to avoid further confusion.
Please accept our excuses for this short problem,

JJ Viau
Leica Camera AG
Internet Management
 
No catastrophies yet my end ,Ben, but I am very disappointed: I have not been able to produce the playback glitch some have reported.🙁. But then the camera is even beter than before 🙂
 
Great news Jap- question is noise greater at 1250 ISO as some have reported? If not can you take a picture with one camera on 1.9 and the other at 1.91 and post? That will put this issue to bed if no difference or improved.
 
What I'm interested in is whether it solves the battery-charge or static electricity or whatever it is that causes M8's to shut themselves off and refuse to turn back on. And, if it solves the various banding problems not related to the original one that required the hardware repair. Since Jaap hasn't had those issues with his M8's it'll have to come from someone who had been seeing those issues. The WB problems were discovered back when Jenoptik and Leica were still on speaking terms, these other issues have surfaced more recently. What issues 1.091 does or does not address might give a clue as to when it was written😉
 
Sailor Ted said:
Great news Jaap- question is noise greater at 1250 ISO as some have reported? If not can you take a picture with one camera on 1.9 and the other at 1.91 and post? That will put this issue to bed if no difference or improved.
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All straight-from-camera jpg's @ ISO 1250, Summicron 35ASPH @ 4.0
Colour in 1.091 far better, noise better as well (don't know if it comes through on the web) general image better. 1.09 is too warm and yellow in relation to reality. The slightly greenish cast in 1.091 is accurate, as a matter of fact one of the frames on the wall shows the reflection of the green lampshade elsewhere in the room. If you look carefully at the inside of the gramophone horn the 1.091 is clearly less noisy. Somehow the green channel is always most finicky.


1.09:

109b.jpg



1.091:

1091b.jpg


Another interesting effect:

The highlight on the lampshade (the green cast culprit) in this 1.09 shot posterizes in yellow:


1-2.jpg



And does not do so in 1.091 ( the extra highlight is not an artifact, but a reflection of an overhead spot) backfocus=user error. Notice the grey book in the background (the Fritz Polking book) which is neutral gray. Some may wish to compare the colours on LFI too.

1-3.jpg
 
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Ben Z said:
What I'm interested in is whether it solves the battery-charge or static electricity or whatever it is that causes M8's to shut themselves off and refuse to turn back on. And, if it solves the various banding problems not related to the original one that required the hardware repair. Since Jaap hasn't had those issues with his M8's it'll have to come from someone who had been seeing those issues. The WB problems were discovered back when Jenoptik and Leica were still on speaking terms, these other issues have surfaced more recently. What issues 1.091 does or does not address might give a clue as to when it was written😉
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According to one or two users that had these issues it does indeed solve all known bugs. As you correctly say I did not have them (thanks be Daguerre and Saint Barnack!) so I cannot vouch for this. But at least it did not introduce any additional bugs on my camera - yet. But I am carrying a SD-card with 1.09 in my camera case to be able to downdate the camera if neccessary.
 
This is a really sad thing to happen. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe it's useful to a few who want proof that things are happening behind the scenes. My own feeling is that Leica are really out of their depth. I'll still wait and hold for my fourth M8 to arrive and hope it will be trouble free, perhaps even have the new FW already. I really like the camera and hope makes me smile again, just like it did when I first got it. I just wish I could get some positive feedback from Leica regarding what can and can't be fixed in FW so I don't have to feel like I've got 5K tied up in a dead duck. I could reinvest in other tools and be quite happy to have at least tried.
 
Interesting: Shooting daylight and DNG, it is clear that that camera is balanced for lenses without filter in the provisional 1.091. Shots with IR filter show a clear cyan cast especially in the greens, but the rest of the image as well. Without filter the cast is gone and there is a very natural-looking character. Hex-reading wizards tell me there is an as yet not active switch there for "with/without filter" with the camera applying "without-filter" settings as it is now.
So it means Leica is thinking of balancing the sensor output for filterless shooting and shooting with filters as well. This should be good new for those that use filterless/uncoded lenses. It will not be perfect without a filter,and certainly not eliminate IR contamination in some circumstances, but better nonetheless. As I have and use filters, I will be using my 1.09 camera more than the 1.091 ( or maybe I will revert that one to 1.09 as well) in the near future, but my mind is at rest regarding the new firmware.
 
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