New to Leica world, still getting used to some quirky menu/interface things after shooting years on Fuji and Canon. Nothing I wasn’t expecting. And I’m really happy with the images I’m getting … when I can get them. I’ve had my Leica QP about 3 weeks and I have to say, the daily freezing/crashing has me pulling my hair out. Is this normal for Leica digital cameras? This can’t be normal. While the images are wonderful, the performance is so finicky I could never use this camera reliably on a work project.
My experience so far, is I’ll be shooting normally (single shots, street and candid portrait) and then it just freezes up. At first I thought it was just taking a little longer to write to the card, but on trial/error I found when this happens it never resolves and I have to take the battery out to restart. Not the end of the world if it happened very occasionally. But sometimes it keeps the image, and sometimes it doesn’t.
Last night I was taking some candid portraits of my kids, nothing taxing, and in a 10 minute period it froze/crashed 6 times. If I was 14 I would have thrown it across the room and written off Leica for good. But I’m 41, so I just thought about it and took a very deep breath.
Any other Q or QP owners having these issues? I’m going to reach out to B&H today about returning it. To have it crash repeatedly under the most mundane and normal “every day” shooting situations is mind boggling. Leica, if you’re reading, I really want to love this camera…but so far it’s been 20 percent joy 80 percent PITA.
I had purchased a Leica Q-P round about the same time as yours. I have had exactly the same problem from the beginning, although initially happened very rarely. Nowadays (after a year) it is happening more frequently. In June 2019 I sent it to Leica to see if they could reproduce the issue. But they failed and returned the camera with no fix. The fact that you and I purchased it round about the same time points to a manufacturing fault of some sort. I sent follow up emails, but no response from Leica so far. Did you return your camera to B&H eventually?
- This reply was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by
ergun.
ergun- This reply was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by
Hi there!
Interesting to read. I have the same problem unfortunately. I bought a new Q-P about 2 weeks ago and it froze on me the very first days a couple of times. It’s an awful feeling. I returned it to the store yesterday and now I have to wait for 4-6 weeks to get it back…
If it’s resolved by then it’s worth waiting for. But I’m feeling sceptical. It’s a wonderful camera in itself, but I could never accept, even if it’s a Leica, that it freezes.
My intention is to work on projects and I need to be able to trust it. So if it occurs, even once, again I will return it to the shop and get my money back.SusanneLeica administration kindly responded to my follow up email and the indications are they will be chasing the issue rigorously. On Monday my Q-P camera will be sent to Germany for inspection and hopefully for fixes. @susanne it is worrying that you bought over one year after mine and Q-P still has the same issue.
Leica should chase this up seriously as many people are potentially affected. The fact that freezing is random and replication of it is statistically hard doesn’t mean that it is a fluke. The symptoms experienced by many are identical.
ergun
So both our Q-P´s will be in Germany soon. Do they have a plan I wonder? What I find really strange is that this problem isn´t new, since many Q users seem to have it since they released the camera in 2015. And still they haven´t been able to fix it? If all the users who experienced this only would let Leica know. Surprisingly many seem to accept it because it´s a Leica, just taking out the battery, changing sd cards, changing batteries. I don´t want a delicate camera to baby, I just want it to work. Actually I demand it especially from a Leica. For me it´s much more than that. If this new´loveaffair´ will work Leica needs to work on the trust right now;).
@ergun, please continue to write in this forum. Hopefully Leica take it seriously and go to the bottom with this problem.SusanneHi @samundar!
It’s more or less a year since you posted about your experience with the Q-P. Did you return it or did you keep it? Or could Leica fix it? A year later I am in the exact same situation and in limbo, waiting to get my camera back…hopefully fully working. But I have my doubts according to many posts in this and other forums. Perhaps you left Leica and this page altogether.
SusanneUpdate! (@ergun)
The shop where I bought the camera just called me to say that Leica claims that the camera has some kind of external damage, like it was hit. Now I get really upset! It was without a scratch when I returned it for checkup to Leica. Now they want to give me an offert of the cost of that damage. I didn’t damage it. 118 exposures inside the house. I don’t know what to do. I told the guy in the shop that it was spotless except for the freezing, which is why I bothered to bring it back in the first place. And I get zero support from him. He will send me pictures of the damage, that shall be interesting and will talk to Leica and call me back tomorrow.
SusanneWhen you lent your camera, they must have given you a Repair and Service Form with product condition section, though I think they only cover minor dents and scratches. I suggest you reach out Leica service management above the store if you have complaints. Also, checking out their Repair and Maintenance site here https://au.leica-camera.com/Service-Support/Repair-Maintenance revealed that due to Corona virus outbreak Leica suspended the repair service in Germany. They add “In the event that your product is already in our workshop, please note that processing will be delayed accordingly.” I hope eventually we all see our issues resolved.
ergun
Long story short. I was in contact with Leica and it seems like the damages are quite severe. They cannot warrantie that the lens will work correctly longterm, batterydoor stuck and so on.
Finally, the seller said the words: “I took the battery out, I remember doing so”. So the fault is obviously NOT mine, since the batterydoor was fine then.Leica didn’t cause it according to them and the packaging from the store was intact. I really don’t want that camera back. End of story.
Now it’s up to them to find a solution. I want a new camera or my money back.
Hope you are more lucky!
Take care.SusanneI’m not a Leicaowner anymore. Since the camera had had severe impact I cancelled everything and the store finally had to agree to give me my money back. A really sad story.
So I can’t say why the camera frooze unfortunately.SusanneI’m also interested in this. I would like to start my blog about a photo, what can you advise?
@maisie I finally got my Q-P back from service in Germany. On the positive side, kudos to Leica, they gave me superb support. They believed in my experience, genuinely tried to help. Even though the freezing problem was random and very hard to reproduce, they agreed to send the camera to Germany, and during this time they lent me a brand new Leica Q2. Due to COVID outbreak it took long time for them to service the camera. Finally when their repair shop was open in July, they had been able to process my repair order. According to their maintenance report they replaced the entire electronics of the camera with brand new components.
Regrettably after I got my camera back, within couple of weeks of usage, the camera was frozen once. So looks like the issue remains unsolved.
I suspect the mechanical on/off switch and its voltage regulator may be contributing to the issue or perhaps there is a bug in the firmware software. The firmware has not been updated since February 2019. I will write back my experience.
So when the issue repeats, I switch it off, I take out the battery, put back in and switch on. It doesn’t bother me anymore as it doesn’t happen often. I don’t think it will become any worse.
On the other hand Leica Q2 worked like a clock. I am still a huge Leica fan, as their lenses are out of this world.
Hope this helps.
ergunDamm even I am having a similar kind of issue, I have searched all over the internet and even have posted on number of threads on different forum, no solution seems to work. I am really frustrated, can anyone of you here help me resolve this issue, I am very much tired now.
Hi, I reported the problem in March 2020. Leica repair workshop in Melbourne sent my camera to Germany. I was told electronics had been renewed completely. I received the camera in July 2020. Of course latency was not Leica’s fault, as the repair workshop was closed due to covid. Unfortunately the freezing problem returned, occurred just once in 5 months though. I have indications to believe it is related to battery switch, an electromechanical problem. I now recall I did not press the battery firmly before closing and locking its door. Try pressing the battery hard and fast, and hear the click sound before locking the battery door. Ever since I started to do that freezing has not happened. Hope this helps.
ergun
If it’s resolved by then it’s worth waiting for. But I’m feeling sceptical. It’s a wonderful camera in itself, but I could never accept, even if it’s a Leica, that it freezes.
Since December 2020 (nearly one year passed), freeze did not happen. So looks like the issue has been resolved for me once and for all. I always suspected weak battery insertion might have been the issue, which was very difficult to reproduce statistically. Ever since then, I paid attention and inserted the battery firmly, freeze stopped occurring.
I changed my habits too. I keep the camera turned on while walking, with power saving mode turned ON. Camera manages PS mode very effectively. After several hours shooting of nearly 200 pictures, battery indicator still shows full charge. In general Q’s battery performance is very good, and PS mode is very effective. Good luck!
ergun
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- This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by
spiceagent11.
- This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by
I just picked up a used Q-P in what looks like perfect condition. Except! The LCD has one line of dead pixels to the far right of the screen. Tbh it is hardly noticeable and I received a better price once I spotted it – the dealer hadn’t apparently. 😉
Anyway later in testing I have discovered the freezing and crashing issue.
Is the consensus that it might be related to battery compartment?
Another potential route of inquiry for me is the card I was using to test. It was from my M9 that I had with me. And it is a very very slow card compared to today’s cards – did anyone with the freezing issues ever try and check out whether it might be related to the SD card?
p.s. if anyone has heard of the LCD dead pixel issue – what might be going on? I guess it’s just the LCD – but I’m now concerned it could be related to the power issues.
Thanks ! Q-P is a beautiful camera !Yes… My Q freezes as many others. 🙁 It is pain. I have really tried to figure out what and how it triggers. No luck. Today it happened twice. Both times I could see interference on the screen just before it happened. First time the screen got a strange look with spots, just like a refresh did go wrong. Next time I saw a horizontal line wandering fast down the screen. Then I tried to take a picture, but the Q was dead again, and the screen was turned on until the battery was removed.
Maybe it only happens when the screen is set to auto. I will try without LCD for a while. Battery change seems not to help. I have three batteries. SD card has been changed. I use Sandisk 170mb/s.
One thing though. My shutter dial has a problem. Often if I have it on A, it switches between A and 1 second, when touching the wheel light. When I massage the wheel by turning it around a while, it goes away – but always comes back at some point. So there must be a problem with the electrical circuit. I have heard others who have this problem. That could be a part of the whole mess… Next time it happens, I will send it in. But 6+ weeks is long without an otherwise great camera…. And especially if they don’t fix it correct…..
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