Sold my XP1, committed to the M9...uh oh

[David_Manning]

I was on a trip to Rio de Janeiro this past weekend, and the photography was wonderful. I had my M9 and trusty 35/2 Biogon with me, and really "in the zone." So, I agreed to sell my X-Pro 1, 35/1.4 and 18/2 lenses, and all the accessories to a friend of mine. I was committing to the Leica as a system.

So what happens?? I'm on Ipanema Beach, and the M9 locks up, blinking red light, and starts erasing/corrupting files on the memory card! WTF?!

I lost 30 frames before I could yank the battery out (switching OFF didn't solve the problem). So, I came crashing down to earth in a fit of Leica ownership reality. I've been asking myself if I made the right decision for the last 48 hours.

Tonight, I updated the Firmware in the M9 (the previous owner hadn't done it) to the most recent version. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I just sold (and delivered over lunch today) a great working camera, with lenses and great high-ISO capability. I really hope I made the right decision. I enjoy the RF experience, but not at the expense of total unreliability.

Rant over. Thanks for listening.

 

[Godfrey]

Machines know when we're being foolish, and punish us. ;-)

Seriously, you're on a trip and you sell off half/two-thirds of your gear while you're still traveling? That's a braver person than I.

G

 

[burancap]

That never happened to me, but it was the reason I dropped out of all of my digital M.

Try "File Juicer" on your memory card before giving up hope -it saved me once.

 

[GaryLH]

Ohhhh man what a bummer...

I agree give a couple of the flash card file savers (recovery program) a try.. Before u format or write over the shots. So long as the location on the flash card has not been used yet for another pic, there is a good chance that it can be recovered.

I have used CardRaider photo recovery on my iMac with some success in the past.

Good luck w/ the m9.

Gary

 

[GaryLH]

Machines know when we're being foolish, and punish us. ;-)
G

Ain't that the truth 😀 :bang:

Gary

 

[icebear]

Of course something like this sucks.
I'm using an M9 for 1.5 years and a MM for about 1 year and have never encountered any issues. I use only one type of SD cards (LexarPro 16GB class 10 UHC). I never delete pictures in camera, I do not use any folders. I download at home put the cards back in the camera and format the card. I'm running an older firmware and will NOT update because it works for me. Guess I'm just lucky 😉.

 

[2WK]

I have an X-Pro and a Monochrom. The Leica has spent more time in NJ being repaired than with me since I bought it. 🙁 The Fuji, on the other hand has proven to be a reliable backup / color cam / workhorse.

 

[mrksgrn]

Sorry to hear that happen, definitely not a great entrance into your RF journey 🙁

Personally, I feel that the myth of Leica has always been about analogue, and not the digital experience. The promise of the Leica experience, personally, has always been attached to mechanical simplicity and the pensiveness that is required to shoot with one because film does not lend itself to instant gratification. Along with a new array of wildcards and reliability issues associated with semiconductors, digital Leica, again personally, diverges from the legacy that Leica in the film era left behind.

My first Leica was a M9. It was sold within a month because aside from the romance of using it, I could not find a compelling reason why it trumped my Fuji x100s which had the viewfinder, had autofocus, had the ISO, a quarter of the cost, and half the weight. Considerations about image quality of Full Frame vs APS-C? Not a substantive reason for someone who shoots F16 most of the time and who could care less about noise response and pixelpeeping. Changing lenses? Plenty of systems can do that, and plenty are of the Full Frame persuasion as well. My Leica romance was strong, but I was quickly disillusioned because it was just that, a idealized notion of what a digital camera was based on hype, reading reviews, and internet overexposure. Many Leica users cite the normative experience of authenticity or purity for buying into the system, except many more buy into digital M's demanding the same experience in digital without the frills and uncertainties of film and the requisite process. I quickly realized that I was trying to emulate a contingent, film experience using digital, and I personally felt this was a b4stardization of the process itself. I do believe that there is some experiential truth to the myth of Leica that makes Leica special, but I discovered that I could not find this in digital.

So I sold my M9, bought a M4-P, then bought a MP. Now I do believe that in an era without digital that once existed, there was something special about the Leica experience that provided the simple, mechanical experience that facilitated the pensive process of film in a particular, perhaps enhanced, way. Normatively, this may translate to the authenticity and purity that we crave from the Leica experience. But I was certain about one thing: that this could have only happened with a film Leica.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[Godfrey]

...
I'm using an M9 for 1.5 years and a MM for about 1 year and have never encountered any issues. I use only one type of SD cards (LexarPro 16GB class 10 UHC). I never delete pictures in camera, I do not use any folders. I download at home put the cards back in the camera and format the card. I'm running an older firmware and will NOT update because it works for me. Guess I'm just lucky 😉.

Similar here. I've not updated my M9 since I got it in January 2012. I've basically used one card in it all this time, an SDHC HP 32G Class 10 card, which I regularly upload the contents to my computer whenever it seems appropriate to do so and format when I put it back in the camera. I tested all my 32 and 16 G cards in it, they all work fine far as I can tell. The camera has never even hiccuped.

If it's luck, it's not my fault. ;-)

(I have two other Leica RFs, an M4-2 and CL, at this point in time. Both work great. I've had a dozen or more over the years since 1970 ... they've all worked great. For me, the Leica experience is just as strong with the M9 as it has been with all the others. Even though my *main* system is something else, I love having the Leica M9, M4-2 and CL around to work with. They complement the main system..)

G

 

[noimmunity]

Of course, in some kind of reverse Murphay's Law, I haven't had any trouble with an M-E that I purchased new (for less than the price of an M8 when it was new).

The XP1 is a great camera, but in the end I followed the same path as the OP. Just like RFs too much.

 

[leicapixie]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137986

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137986

In my experience over many years,
my Leicas required the most attention.
They were used in difficult conditions,
but really not more so than my other systems.
Canon FD and EOS. A AE-1 required a service.
Fuji SLR M42 mount. never. used rarely.
Minolta MD system. never.used slightly.recent purchase.
Nikon-F. A few services. Most from dropping or impact.(riots)
one awful air trip caused vibration problems..
Pentax Spotmatics and K-Mounts. never serviced.
used heavily. major money makers.These are all basically mechanical cameras..

The digital Leica is a different animal, with electronic problems.
I read the forums and Leica is not alone with problems.
Free oiled sensors with Nikon, non focusing EOS,etc.
These are very complicated units.
In the past it was Always the electronics that failed.
Nikon-FTn heads. Leicameter. Meters built into Rollei TLR and the Rollei 35 etc.

An outside drive has failed on my PC.
Yet, with a lot of 2013 sent to digital "never see again land",
i like using digital and will continue!
I am simply at this time shooting more film..😀
Check the card. Cards can be a source of problems.
My drive may have been affected by a SD card.

You have 2 choices.
1.Have the M9 checked and repaired.
2.Sell as quick as possible!
My feel is that such expensive units are no longer required.
Simpler, cheaper solutions abound.
Review your actual needs.

 

[SausalitoDog]

I guess the galling part is that the Leica costs about 6x compared to the xp1.

Anything can break...but we all hope the more expensive stuff breaks less. Then again, a Porsche 911 was quite expensive in it's day and that broke down on me more than any car I've ever owned

I'd be pretty PO'd at Leica...

 

[--s]

the m9 is a very slow camera software wise. i also had issues with locking up etc. until i realized that i just had to give her the time she needed. as long as i don´t disturb her with any knob or dial action while she is busy calculating, she is very reliable. just my experience...

 

[thegman]

I guess bad things can happen regardless of camera used, maybe look into some backup options like laptops/tablets/dedicated devices etc.

No camera is perfect, the M9 will have issues same as all cameras do. Personally, even though I'm a film guy, I love the idea of cameras like the Nikon D7000 having two SD card slots, constant backups.

 

[Grahamb]

I do not have a leica M digi, but a Canon 5D, not to different a story, backed and backed up, but in the end everything, and i do mean every thing stopped at once, 3 off board drives, a few cf cards, two on board drives, if it was not for my dvds and cds i would not have anything to show.

I think digi has no world with us yet, at the last 20 years we have gone from floppy to 7", 3.5 zip, tape, and more, where are all that data now, no matter how you back up, the next installment will trip you up, how to get that data.

The op, yep i have been there, got a digi, but to rely on it, no! don't think so.

 

[peter_n]

David I'm very sorry to hear of your problems, but the probability of your experience happening (plus all the other glitches) has stopped me from buying any of the Leica digital bodies. I'm still using my three M bodies with B&W film and will probably never buy a digital Leica, more's the pity.

Even for an amateur like me, the defect rate on these cameras is unacceptable. I have very limited time to pursue my hobby and I can't stand unreliability. I hate to say this, but I'd go back to the Fuji. I've been using Sony bodies with Leica lenses and so far they've been bulletproof like my mechanical M bodies. So far...

 

[jsrockit]

The M9 has a slow processor. I had this happen to me when I tried to chimp before it was done processing the file. It's a slower camera than the M8. I could blame this on Leica, but we know who was really at fault. 😉 Sold my M9 once I found out the X-Pro1 worked better for my photography.

 

[Luke_Miller]

The only time I've had a camera fail on travel was the one time I failed to take a backup. Somehow they know 🙂

 

[Frank Petronio]

You're lucky, now you can unload the M9 - anywhere else but here apparently - and get the second generation Fuji system.

 

[Pete B]

I have 2 M9s and they have never played up. BUT:
1) I shoot them like a film camera, usually waiting for buffering to stop before taking the next shot ( at most, 3 in quick succession).
2) I never review the image whilst buffering (well, very rarely)
3) I don't allow the battery to get too low on juice.
4) I never delete images from the card
5) I upload images to the computer ASAP then in-camera format.
6) I don't use them in anything but a normal climate

Despite never having had a problem, i know their reputation so I never take them on trips, shooting film Ms instead. I don't get much satisfaction from the other digital cameras available, so I'm stuck caring for these for the foreseeable future.
Pete