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MM freezing

GMB

Active member
Got my MM yesterday :D. Took it out for a little walk after dark. As with my M9 (and M8.2) set to discrete mode. After a few shots, camera froze, i.e, did made the shot but then did not clock he shutter. Also, I was unable to shut down the camera, but had to remove the battery. (Note, I was not shooting rapidly and in single not continuous mode.)

I understand that others had the problem as well, and that it also occurred with the M9. (I never had that issue with the M9.)

I was looking in this forum and the LUF, but could not find a thread with a solution. Any suggestions.

I was using an older SD 4 GB card, which worked fine on the M9.

Thanks.
 
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Vivek

Guest
Georg,

Slow down!! Take a shot and watch the LED blinking (writing the file to the card) and see how long it lasts. When you extend the camera by keep tripping the shutter when it is doing that (busy writing to the card), you can understand why it would freeze.

Turn the "auto review" to "off" and shoot only RAW (no Raw +Jpegs unless you are inclined to use jpegs which are worth crap) to "speed up" the camera.

This is one heck of a camera, enjoy! :)
 

cam

Active member
Monochrom does not work with Discreet mode, period.

i've been hoping they will eventually upgrade the firmware to do so (seems all resources have been on the new M) but, in the meanwhile, get out of Discreet.

(i am a total Discreet shooter, even going to an earlier firmware on the M9 to be able to continue using it, but knew going in that this wasn't working on the MM, but... after a few frustrating tries, i was forced to set the advance to Standard.)
 
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Vivek

Guest
"Discreet"- there is no such thing! The camera makes the same whining sound after the shutter is tripped. And it makes absolutely no difference to the operation of the camera
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Never had that issue with the M9, M9P or the MM.

Most likely the older card, especially if you previously used it in a different camera. Consider getting a bigger, faster card to be sure it isn't the bottle neck ... even if it isn't the bottle neck, it makes for faster downloads after shooting.

Is the battery new, or a carry over from a M9? Be sure it is fully charged, and consider a spare so you don't run the battery below 1/3 full.

You should be able to shoot a series of shots one after another even with the red light blinking, until you hit the buffer limit at which time the LCD message will appear "Data Transfer" ... which then takes a few seconds to clear. I've never hit the buffer while actually shooting, but have tested it so I know the limits.

-Marc
 

fotografz

Well-known member
"Discreet"- there is no such thing! The camera makes the same whining sound after the shutter is tripped. And it makes absolutely no difference to the operation of the camera
Agreed, just set it to Standard and get on with shooting.

-Marc
 

cam

Active member
"Discreet"- there is no such thing! The camera makes the same whining sound after the shutter is tripped. And it makes absolutely no difference to the operation of the camera
yeah, but with Discreet you can control when it makes that whining sounds...

for some of us (me me and me), it makes a difference.
 

cam

Active member
Never had that issue with the M9, M9P or the MM.
but you don't shoot Discreet, right?

that is the issue here and it's very real.

i beta-tested new firmware on the M9 and it almost killed my camera. when i got it back from Solms, they kindly included an SD card with the old firmware as they knew i was a Discreet shooter.

Most likely the older card, especially if you previously used it in a different camera. Consider getting a bigger, faster card to be sure it isn't the bottle neck ... even if it isn't the bottle neck, it makes for faster downloads after shooting.
Leica actually recommended shooting with older and slower cards when there were so many issues with the M9. the Monochrom firmware has not been updated since it came out so slower cards should not be a problem.

Is the battery new, or a carry over from a M9? Be sure it is fully charged, and consider a spare so you don't run the battery below 1/3 full.
again, a carry-over of issues on the M9 with the newer firmware.

You should be able to shoot a series of shots one after another even with the red light blinking, until you hit the buffer limit at which time the LCD message will appear "Data Transfer" ... which then takes a few seconds to clear. I've never hit the buffer while actually shooting, but have tested it so I know the limits.
i have to smile as we obviously shoot very differently. i like to shoot live events, especially in low light, and run up against the buffer more than i'd like... still, i knew what i was getting into when i chose the Monochrom over the M so i can't complain.
 
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Vivek

Guest
yeah, but with Discreet you can control when it makes that whining sounds...

for some of us (me me and me), it makes a difference.
It does not for me. But my point (on topic) was that this mode or any other modes do not make one bit of difference to the freezing up that Georg has experienced as long as the buffer overload is taken care of.
 

cam

Active member
It does not for me. But my point (on topic) was that this mode or any other modes do not make one bit of difference to the freezing up that Georg has experienced as long as the buffer overload is taken care of.
Vivek, i adore you, but... i have shot digital Leicas far longer than you and Discreet has absolutely everything to do with the problem GMB is having.

Leica has never really gotten the Discreet mode right which is probably one of the reasons they left it out altogether in the M.

M8 -- total freeze when using Discreet with Continuous. sometimes cured by taking out battery, sometimes necessitating a trip to the mothership.

M9 -- newer firmware (designed to address card issues and erratic battery behaviour) causes many (but not all) of the cameras to behave unpredictably in Discreet -- not taking a shot, freezing, Data Transfer error, etc.

Monochrom -- see above re: the M9 and multiply it.

Discreet mode does NOT work on the Monochrom if you want a functioning camera.

eta: that the issues i am talking about with Discreet have nothing whatsoever to do with the buffer.
 
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Vivek

Guest
Cam, I do not even have my MM manual, however, all the so called modes in the camera are just BS and make not one bit of difference to the camera freezing or not (I have never had the camera freeze on me in any of the modes and I just have >1000 shots. Damn! Can't even sell it "as new" anymore! :D).

"Soft", "Soft and Discreet", "Discreet", "Standard"- they are all the same in MM. I do not have a clue how they are in any of the other Leica digicams but all I know is that it does not apply to the MM I use. Some inebriated Leica tech put all those modes for no reason.
 

cam

Active member
Vivek, i like those modes so kudos to the tech who put them in! hell, i'll even send him a bottle of his favourite libation if he can get them to work in the Monochrom :p

and congratulations to you that Discreet mode actually works on your camera. (how long did you use it, may i ask?) you may be the first person i've heard this from. i've heard nothing but grief from old-timers who are used to shooting in Discreet. most have turned it off altogether, though i do know one who is toughing it out and accepting that there will be lost shots on the whim of a camera.
 

GMB

Active member
Thanks folks for your comments / advice.

Just to be clear:

I used the M9 and the M8.2 always in discrete mode and never had any problem.

The MM froze after one shot (perhaps two, don't recall--but if two, not rapidly fired). So it cannot be an issue of buffer being full. (I did, however, note that the write speed was much slower than what I know from the M9 because the red lights were blinking unusually long.)

The battery was an old one but 100% charged.

Need to check the card, but it was 4 GB ultra or extreme.

I used DNG only.

It's probably not such a big deal, if discrete does not work, although I prefer discrete.

I need to try with the MM battery and a recent 60 MB/s 1g GB Scandisk card.
 
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Vivek

Guest
Cam, We are on the same page. There is no "discreet" mode or any other modes. They are all the same! :LOL:

(I am not inclined to sending anything to Leica for free.)

EDIT: OK scratch that. I will send them a bottle of beer if they would miraculously enable liveview. :D

Vivek, i like those modes so kudos to the tech who put them in! hell, i'll even send him a bottle of his favourite libation if he can get them to work in the Monochrom :p

and congratulations to you that Discreet mode actually works on your camera. (how long did you use it, may i ask?) you may be the first person i've heard this from. i've heard nothing but grief from old-timers who are used to shooting in Discreet. most have turned it off altogether, though i do know one who is toughing it out and accepting that there will be lost shots on the whim of a camera.
 

charlesphoto

New member
Try a faster card and newer battery. Write time is longer than the M9 as there is no compressed mode. No need to shoot discreet if you are firing off continuous shots. Almost 50,000 shots on my M9 and have never once used discreet. What's the point? The camera's going to make the wind on noise eventually and by shoving the thing inside your coat you've probably made yourself more obvious and a nuisance than if you just took the pic. Also you are bound to miss the next shot while trying to hide the wind on noise. It always seemed like a gimmick to me, Leica trying to put "lipstick on a pig."
 
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