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 p.966 #14 · Leica M/X/T/S/Q/CL/SL Picture Thread | |
ricardovaste wrote:
Just curious what M240 user experiences on this board are with the locking-up/freezing of the camera? I've heard it's nothing to do with what cards are used but simply the processor not quite being up to it? Even with latest firmware. Is this isolated or widespread ?
Gary Clennan wrote:
I think it would be safe to say that the M240 will lock up at some point in time. Who really knows why... I have just accepted the fact that it will happen every now and again. However, it doesn't happen to me that frequently - especially with the latest FW installed.
BTW, I think these kinds of discussion have been considered acceptable in this thread for some time because it's about the only primarily Leica M dedicated discussion on FM. I feel it's a good mix with the photos.
I've posted some of my recent lock-up experiences in the LUF thread.
Lately I have rarely used the EVF, and rarely during the last few weddings during which I also had some lock-ups, which were not during EVF use. When I first got the camera, I used the EVF quite a lot and noticed that it could act a bit flaky from time to time. Not sure if the recent firmware has addressed this.
My suspicion is the lock-ups tend to occur when the camera is in constant use, though to complicate matters, this isn't always the case. It could also be a matter of rushing the camera, therefore I try as much as possible to avoid reviewing images or checking other menu settings while the camera is clearing the buffer. One kind of lock-up that is really a lock-out will occur when the buffer is full, or nearly full, is writing to the card and you review an image. Going back to shooting, the shutter release will be locked-out until the buffer clears. This doesn't always happen, and may depend on how many images are in the buffer queue. That said, until the light goes out, one is never certain whether it's a lock-out or lock-up.
Just to add another point to this, it has been suggested to me by one of the M240 beta testers that another photographer's lock-up problems were solved by a new set of batteries...
Add to that the speculation about memory cards. On that point, my M240 has locked-up with every kind of memory card I have, which is not a huge range, but includes the Panasonic Gold 32GB (non-pro version), Transcend 32GB SDHC non-UHS version and a recently added PNY 128GB UHS-1 card.
Frequency of lock-ups during events such as a wedding seems to be about once every 1000 frames.
charles.K wrote:
Richard, regarding the M240 lockups. I have only had a few and usually because I am impatient rather than waiting for the files to be written. This is usually just a battery removal and replacement. With the very latest FW, the lockups with respect to using the OVF have been greatly improved now.
The M9 I have had files jammed, and could not be written over, and ended up using a backup M9 for the rest of the shots on a day trip. The only way I resolved this was by disposing of the SD card, and using a newly formatted card. Mind you I did not lose the files up to the point of lockup.
Both cameras have improved dramatically with the latest FW's. The M240 is a great camera, 24MP and the ergonomics flow. It could be faster, yes.
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edwardkaraa wrote:
Regarding the lock ups, with the M9 I've had encountered at least 4-5 lock ups during the 18 months of ownership. The problem is that they occurred at really awkward moments. I think most lock ups happen when you're shooting continuously for a while so the camera electronics heat up. With the M240 I have yet to encounter a lock up, but that's because I never use LV and don't own an EVF. this said, it does happen that the camera becomes very sluggish in shooting and writing files. This is basically what causes the lock up when using the EVF. However, in this case, I wait for the camera to finish writing the files, then turn it off for a few seconds.
The M9 also destroyed a couple of cards, and I lost all the images as the cards became unreadable. With the M240 I lost one card so far, but the card was still readable and usable in other devices, but I threw it away nonetheless. Cards are cheap these days so why risk it.
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Thanks for pointing out this sluggishness Edward. I've noticed it from time to time too and it has baffled me. Good to know a quick 'reboot' should resolve it.
ricardovaste wrote:
Thanks Charles but also to everyone else who's commented on my queries... sorry to drag down the image-thread!
One question re: startup. If you leave it turned on and it "times out" (eg turns off after so many minutes), how long will it take to "wake" backup so you can start using it? I've heard 1-3 seconds for initial startup, depending on card, which is okay, but I would hope that this isn't the case when "waking up"? Not a huge concern though, as it seems they've put a rather great battery inside!
Like the M9, I turn off the sleep function, at least when shooting events. This will completely eliminate any shutter release 'wake' delay, but will understandably go through the battery fairly rapidly. It will also depend on how much you shoot. For a typical ~12 hour wedding I got through 2-3 batteries in the M240. For the M9 I used 5, and often would be on the last one while charging one at the reception hoping it will charge fast enough. The larger battery and more efficient electronics of the M240 were a welcome improvement.
Wandering around NYC on Sunday for ~8 hours with the camera on the whole time and I made it to about the 6 hour point with 15% remaining on the first battery.
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I might try contacting Leica to see if they have any official recommendations on this... not sure it'll make any difference though.
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That's an interesting response from Leica. Glad you got a reply.
Speaking for myself, and the reason they haven't yet 'officially' heard from me about my lock-ups is because I haven't yet determined a way to repeat it. I don't want to send them my only M240 to peruse at their leisure with a high probability of them not finding anything. I'd rather use the camera. If Leica had a more efficient service system, and the option for easy to get loaner equipment while mine is with them, it would be a different matter. IMO, this made a huge difference in how I feel about Canon now compared to 5-8 years ago when their CPS service here in Canada was somewhat a mess. If I can get a loaner, then they can take as long as they want servicing mine.
This is one of the few things that makes me reluctant about recommending Leica M for work, unless you're able to budget suitable backups. In my case, I mix Leica with my Canon system and so far it has worked well. I prefer to use the Leica for certain aspects of event coverage, but should it die in the middle of a job, I can fall back to just DSLRs.
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(but I was in my rig at that point 
