Leica Updates M8 Firmware

 Cameras  No Responses »
Sep 202008
 

I was cruising through the newly revamped Leica website trawlingLeica M8 for info on the last big announcement they are saving for Photokina when I came upon this little nugget:

Leica has updated the M8 Classic firmware to v2.0 which adds the following features to the original Leica digital rangefinder:

* Auto ISO – The M8 Classic can now automatically adjust ISO settings to maintain a minimum shutter speed. This is activated from the M8′s SET menu. Parameters are adjusted on the MENU menu which include making the Auto ISO parameters lens dependent.

* SDHC Support – Gone are the manacles of 2GB SD cards! The M8 Classic now supports higher capacity SDHC cards. I tested with a 4GB PNY SDHC card and reported space for 370 RAW images. Sweetness!

What’s not there (that requires upgrading to the M8.2):

* Hardware updates – No amount of firmware updates will replace the shutter mechanism, add sapphire glass, or provide a method to alter shutter cocking behaviors. That requires that new bits be installed in the camera.

The firmware update is a welcome bit of news to Leica M8 owners who have been complaining about lack of SDHC support and Auto ISO since Day One. It will also allow Leica M8 owners to make a better choice about upgrading to the new model by virtue of providing two of the major features of the new version for free to existing customers.

You can download the update from Leica here.
I have mirrored the update here.

UPDATE: Leica recommends that Lexar & Sandisk SDHC be used for maximum compatibility. I can report that PNY cards up to 8GB work just fine. 8GB PNY SDHC = 753 RAW images. All for $34.99 from Best Buy.

Leica M8 Firmware 1.201 Test – Multiple Light sources

 Cameras, Photo Essay  No Responses »
Feb 012008
 

I went to a local mall today and looked for a shot that included multple light sources. I managed to find a fine example that combines daylight, fluorescent light and incandescent (halogen) light.

The image is unadjusted other than a conversion from DNG to jpeg in Lightroom 1.3.1. The AWB setting has managed to do a good job with this combo, maintaining the colors very well. Click on the image to see a larger version on Flickr.

Leica Updates M8 Firmware

 Cameras  No Responses »
Jan 312008
 

Leica has released firmware 1.201 for the M8 Digital Camera on their website. The new firmware addresses several issues not the least of which is Automatic White Balance (AWB).

White Balance (for the uninitiated) is a measurement of the color temperature of the light being used to illuminate a scene being photographed. Color temperature is measured on the Kelvin scale (the one with Absolute Zero). Varying light sources have different color temperatures and the lower temperatures are in the red part of the spectrum (oddly referred to as warm light) and the higher temperatures are more in the blue part of the spectrum (again, counter intuitively referred to as cool light). A sensor in the digital camera takes a reading at the time of exposure and makes a guess as to what the correct white balance is. Sometimes it makes a good guess and sometimes it doesn’t.

The film equivalent to this was film type. If you were going to shoot outdoors, you selected daylight balanced film. If you were going to shoot in a studio (with studio lighting), you selected tungsten balanced film.

One of the Leica M8′s more known quirks was a white balance sensor that waffled more than John Kerry. Shots taken in the same lighting condition would have wildly varying white balance settings. Most photographers got around this by shoot in RAW mode (the native format of the camera sensor). With firmware 1.201, Leica has made some real strides to correct this glaring problem.

The shot above was taken in fluorescent light, a very cool light that often gives M8′s fits. The shot was stored in RAW mode and processed in Adobe Lightroom 1.3.1. No adjustments were made to white balance. The color (to my eye on my calibrated monitor) seems spot on.

Another shot taken in daylight shows similar results. You can view that photo here. For Leica M8 owners, this firmware is a must-have item for your camera. It won’t help you take better pictures, but you’ll have to massage them much less to get them to look really good.

The firmware can be downloaded from Leica’s website.

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