Leica Releases Firmware v2.0.1.5 for M?

[Double Negative]

There's a ton of English strings in the M240 firmware, and even more line noise. But I found this one most interesting:

6Softune REALOS/FR is Realtime OS for FR Family, based on micro-ITRON COPYRIGHT(C) FUJITSU LIMITED 1994-1999

and...

Copyright (c) 2005-2007 Tokyo Electron

 

[Double Negative]

It confirms details of the Leica Maestro CPU, based on the Fujitsu FR80:

Leica Camera and Fujitsu Microelectronics Co-develop Image Processing System Solution for High-end Digital SLR Cameras : FUJITSU SEMICONDUCTOR

 

[jonoslack]

Jono - do you know what Leica did to reduce the LV lock ups? Just curious. Thank you.

Hi Jono,

Was there any discussion about changing the time exposure limits?

Thanks, Steve

HI John
Sorry for the delay in replying, I've been busy with Pink Ladies on Tractors.

. .
I'm sorry to have to report that I don't know what they did to reduce the lockups - only that they did it. I do remember some discussion about changing time exposure limits, and I think that it's down to caution and temperature, but it was a long time ago, and I'm not certain!

all the best

 

[John Black]

It confirms details of the Leica Maestro CPU, based on the Fujitsu FR80:

Leica Camera and Fujitsu Microelectronics Co-develop Image Processing System Solution for High-end Digital SLR Cameras : FUJITSU SEMICONDUCTOR

And that's where things get blurry... I think we may be seeing slow firmware development because the FR product line and the OS was sold to a company called Spansion (April 2013 Press Release). Alot of the documentation is still on Fujitsu's website, but it also Spansion's website too (see here). Leica may have had to get new agreements (for licensing fees?) in place with Spansion before issuing OS updates. This change of ownership could also cause a disruption in the Maestro chip successor. This is all speculation on my part and the product of too much time on Google

 

[John Black]

That's interesting. When you look at M9 firmware in a Windows text editor (the simpler, the better, like NotePad) you see nothing but Oriental characters. This seemed to mean that the bits in the firmware had been encrypted or randomized before shipping it, and that the M9 would decrypt this code before installing it. In the M8 and now the M240, you can read all sorts of text strings as they will appear on the camera screen. It took a bit of searching around, but in the M8 firmware it was possible to spot tables of information that produced the EXIF data in the output files. Since this is the last thing that Leica's engineers get around to while fixing more serious bugs, users like me or Carl Bretteville could identify why certain lenses would claim to have a maximum aperture of 1.0, signifying that this field in the tables had not been filled in. Perhaps if this kind of lapse persists in the M240, we amateur sleuths can help to spot the causes.

As an exercise, load up the new firmware in NotePad and use "find" to look for "Summilux".

scott

Yep, you caught me 28m F1.4 Summilux-M ASPH came to mind during my search

But other things were interesting too - like Leica NOT embedding the lens name into the EXIF, yet the data tables existed in the firmware, so what happened there...?... Leica fixed that in 2.0.15, but why was it messed up in the first place? There are also parameters for auto-focus, but assuming this firmware starts as some sort "off the shelf" code, the firmware writers may simply "turn off" parts of code for the M-240 and "turn on" for the Leica S/S2. Or, perhaps more interesting, did the M-240's firmware start with the Leica S2's? Seems like a stupid idea, but since both use the Maestro chip, maybe?

I'd be interested to know if Leica sent the specs and had a 3rd party customize the firmware or if Leica did / does it in-house with their own staff. Given all the customizations, I'd like to see it done in-house for continuity reasons. And looking forward, a camera like the Model T is essentially all firmware. If that is the direction Leica is headed (in terms of GUI's, etc), then I'd want 100% control over that software team.

I'd love to know how those Green Lantern guys take apart Canon's firmware and put it back together. If they can do it, then maybe some very motivated people could do the same for Leica's firmware.

 

[jonoslack]

I'd be interested to know if Leica sent the specs and had a 3rd party customize the firmware or if Leica did / does it in-house with their own staff. Given all the customizations, I'd like to see it done in-house for continuity reasons. And looking forward, a camera like the Model T is essentially all firmware. If that is the direction Leica is headed (in terms of GUI's, etc), then I'd want 100% control over that software team.

Hi There John
I can't comment on the actual programming, but I'm pretty certain that it's done in house with their own staff.

 

[Double Negative]

And that's where things get blurry... I think we may be seeing slow firmware development because the FR product line and the OS was sold to a company called Spansion (April 2013 Press Release). Alot of the documentation is still on Fujitsu's website, but it also Spansion's website too (see here). Leica may have had to get new agreements (for licensing fees?) in place with Spansion before issuing OS updates. This change of ownership could also cause a disruption in the Maestro chip successor. This is all speculation on my part and the product of too much time on Google

Exactly what I was thinking too. The Spansion acquisition probably muddled things up. Because really, this is the first "real" update to the firmware. The previous one was an "internal" update mostly, and the one before that fixed very minor issues. Seems they've been saving up all the good stuff with plenty of time to work on it.

 

[Double Negative]

...I'd love to know how those Green Lantern guys take apart Canon's firmware and put it back together. If they can do it, then maybe some very motivated people could do the same for Leica's firmware.

FWIW, a hacked firmware exists for Pentax cameras that use the same/similar Fujitsu/Spansion FR microcontrollers. It wouldn't be a stretch. Thing is, Leica has such a small marketshare compared to even Pentax, I'd wager. Same way malware authors target Windows instead of Mac OS X.

 

[John Black]

If the Sony A7's didn't exist, then maybe the video guys would be more interested in getting more out of the Leica cameras. But now it's just too easy to put a 35, 50 or 90mm M lens on the Sony A7's and get video and high ISO from that platform. I'm not expect "Red Lantern" software for the M-240 100º F temps have officially arrived in Texas, so we'll how the M-240 does with its new firmware.

 

[Robert Campbell]

I normally use the A setting on the exposure dial; I've set the maximum ISO and the maximum shutter is set to 1/2 times focal length.

This works fine with coded lenses, and I usually have the coding to automatic. But, it all breaks down if the lens isn't coded. The camera doesn't know the focal length to work out the maximum shutter speed, obviously; and it's very slow to change the ISO.

So, you can either enter a code manually, or set the maximum shutter speed to a value you're happy with, leaving the ISO on automatic. Or use manual mode, set a shutter speed and leave the auto ISO to its business.