Leica confirms data corruption issue with M9 camera

Camera manufacturer Leica confirms in a statement that the Leica M9 camera has a data corruption problem with some SDHC cards, mainly from Sandisk. The company is looking for a solution and calls to report problems.

According to Leica has found from user feedback that the problem mainly occurs when several photos are taken in succession and photos are viewed on the display while they are being written from the buffer to the memory card. The camera can then ‘hang’ for tens of minutes, while the LED for writing to the memory card remains lit. According to photographer Gil Lavi, who first reported made of the data corruption problem, the problem may cause loss of photos on the card and make the card unusable.

According to Leica, the new M9 firmware, with version number 1.162, is not the reason for the occurrence of the problem and users are therefore advised not to downgrade the camera to the previous firmware version. However, there is a good chance that if the problem occurs with an SD card, it will occur again in the future.

Leica does not recommend that users reformat memory cards that have had no problems in the past. According to Leica, it does not matter whether the formatting is done in the camera or in a PC. The company also warns not to view photos when using new memory cards as long as the LED for writing to the SD card is lit and to stop using the card if the problem has occurred. Corrupt photo files may be repairable with special software, but Leica makes no guarantees.

Leica calls in the Leica User Forum to report problems with the M9 and memory cards and complete a questionnaire to help find solutions. Users who have no problems with the M9 are also asked to respond.

The Leica M9 is a rangefinder camera with a CCD-type full-frame image sensor. The image sensor has 18 megapixels and is designed by Kodak. The Leica M9 is the successor to the Leica M8, which was equipped with a ccd image sensor in aps-h format.

Image sourced from PetaPixel