Leica M8, INFO button no longer working

I recently woke my M8 up from a long sleep and noticed the info button no longer worked. Everything else seems to work. I found one post recommending taking the battery out and waiting 5 days and waking it up again to see if that fixed it. Part 2 was that if it didn't to try finding the latest firmware and re-installing it. I'm currently on part 1.

 

Anyone heard of this problem, and have any other suggestions if this doesn't work. If not, anyone know what a service is likely to cost from Leica and where I am likely to have to send it to? Never done that before. Anyone know how long it's likely to take to get it back if I do?

 

As a side issue, a couple of my lenses aren't 6 bit coded. If I wanted to get that done professionally, I suspect I'd have to send it to the same place. Anyone know how long that takes Leica to do?

 

Thanks!

Assuming Leica has the needed parts to fix (some parts for the M8 are no longer available) and you are in the USA, Leica NJ is the place to send it, unless you want to go the extreme route and ship it direct to Wetzlar, which I know some have done to avoid what can be the nightmare that is Leica New Jersey.

 

I sent a 35mm f2 ASPH Summicron to Leica NJ last year for a general service. Took 6 months to get it back.

 

Leica will 6 bit code a large number of lenses that date back to the 70's and 80's. You might just want to check and confirm parts are there for the lenses you have. I had a 90mm f2 Canadian Summicron from the mid 80's 6 bit coded by Leica a year or so ago. Cost $350. Later I sent a 21mm f2.8 Elmart ASPH to Don Goldberg (DAG) and he did the 6 bit coding for around half the price. Same result, using the same factory parts. Have no recollection as to how long each took, but it was at least several weeks.

Thanks that is useful. Maybe I should try DAG if I can’t resurrect my info button too.

Does DAG work on electronics in these cameras?

Does DAG work on electronics in these cameras?

No, I don't think so. But DAG has a source for 6-bit coding (any M mount lens) at < $100 with a turnaround within around 30 days. Leica charges ~$300.

Yeah, he MIGHT adjust the rangefinder on a digital body, but any work on the electronics/sensor, etc. is something I would imagine only Leica itself would do.

 

Leica isn’t the only brand handled this way. The local authorized Nikon repair center here in Dallas, Archinal Camera Repair, will only look at non-digital Nikons. The guy there told me the models change too quickly for them to take the time to gain the technical knowledge on each new body.

Well Sunday I will try to bring it back to life and see if the INFO button is still dead. And if it is, I will try to re-install the firmware (after checking to see if there is a newer firmware -- which seems doubtfull). If none of that works, I guess Leica NJ might be the only answer for that. But maybe I'll contact DAG to code my 50 and 35 Summicrons (one at a time of course).

 

Doesn't really feel like a hardware glitch, but it's possible I guess. Switches do go bad.

 

I really just use the M8 as an IR camera these days, so being without it for a while won't be the end of the world.

Well, after restart and reinstalling the firmware, It seems to work according to the manual, but It appears I was also under a misunderstanding about how the INFO button worked on the M8 as opposed to the M9. On the M9 it gives you some status on the camera. On the M8 it only seems to give you additional information about the photos taken. That's useful, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's just different. It might have been right all along.