Leica M9: New firmware improves SD compatibility

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posted Friday, November 11, 2011 at 12:28 PM EST

Leica's logo. Click here to visit the Leica website!Leica Camera AG has now released updated firmware for its M9 full-frame rangefinder camera, aiming to resolve an issue that's proven to be something of a thorn in its side for some time now.

Photographers shooting with the Leica M9 have had issues with their cameras locking up while writing images to the flash card in some circumstances, as described in a Leica release issued last August. When this occurs, data can be lost and the card itself can potentially be damaged.

Leica M9 firmware v1.174 is said by the company to resolve a bug that caused this issue, however it should be noted that the fix isn't absolute. The company is still recommending photographers avoid two specific card types, with which it noted that the Leica M9 still showed problems during in-house testing of the update. Specifically, Leica is recommending M9 shooters avoid using all capacities of the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC I UHS-1 and Extreme HD Video SDHC I card series.

No other changes are noted in the new firmware, which is available immediately for download from the Leica website.

Leica's M9 rangefinder digital camera. Photo provided by Leica Camera AG. Click for a bigger picture!

Leica's M9 rangefinder digital camera.
Photo provided by Leica Camera AG.