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109 - Manual and Menu!


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Many have already complained and I would like to add my voice, once again, to whoever is listening in Leica or Panasonic: Your Manual and Menu SUCK!

 

For a simple question we have to jump several times forward and backward and still not find any answer!... I had many cameras before, but have never seen such a mess!

 

This camera is wonderful and offers great features, but it is impossible to learn anything with a manual that has been written by people with no common sens!... What a mess! :(

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Many have already complained and I would like to add my voice, once again, to whoever is listening in Leica or Panasonic: Your Manual and Menu SUCK!

 

For a simple question we have to jump several times forward and backward and still not find any answer!... I had many cameras before, but have never seen such a mess!

 

This camera is wonderful and offers great features, but it is impossible to learn anything with a manual that has been written by people with no common sens!... What a mess! :(

 

This is what happens when Panasonic gets their little fingers in the mix.

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Just for info, the LX100 has two manuals, "Basic Operating Instructions" (96 pages) and "Operating Instructions for advanced features" (332 pages).

By comparison, the DL109 has one manual of 150 pages only if i'm not wrong

I don't find the Pana manuals more complicated than others but i use them as pdf files so the lack of alphabetic index is not a problem really.

Good thing is one can export the Pana manuals as Word files and extract pages from them as pdf files if need be, which is impossible with the Leica manual seemingly.

FWIW

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This is what happens when Panasonic gets their little fingers in the mix.

 

I gave up reading the useless so called “Manual”!... All I am hoping now is to see someone writing a “109 for Dummies”! I am sure he/she would make a much better job!...

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Just for info, the LX100 has two manuals, "Basic Operating Instructions" (96 pages) and "Operating Instructions for advanced features" (332 pages).

By comparison, the DL109 has one manual of 150 pages only if i'm not wrong...

 

The Leica manual is 301 pages.

I have not compared the manuals in detail but the Panasonic LX100 seems to have more sophisticated flash having wireless RC settings which the D-Lux lacks.

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There's good news at hand. If anyone's familiar with Alexander S White's "Photographer's Guide to <insert model here>" series of camera instruction manuals, he's planning to release his version for the LX100 in January 2015 and will probably follow it up with one for the D-Lux (Typ 109) further details at this link.

 

I've used his books for the D-Lux 2, D-Lux 4, and D-Lux 5 and they are a massive improvement on Leica's (and Panasonic's) manuals because they are written from a photographer's perspective. I highly recommend them, particularly in the case of the LX100 and the DL109, which I repeatedly find unfathomable, especially when you notice the camera doing something you don't want it to and then trying to find out how to stop it using the manual.

 

For examples, the first time I turned my DL109 on I could hardly set anything and it took me quite a little time to discover that the little "A" button beside the appallingly placed on/off switch had been pressed and the camera was in Snapshot mode. Then for the first three weeks of owning my DL109 I had irritating horizontal and vertical cross-hairs across the LCD and EVF and I couldn't find out how to get rid of them. While looking for another feature I discovered that they're called Guide Lines and can be turned on or off using the Disp button. Pffft.

 

Anyway, hopefully Alexander S White's help is at hand.:)

 

Pete.

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I have downloaded the DL109 User Guide in anticipation of getting my camera.

Reading through that lengthy tome it does seem to make sense for the basics but from all the comments above, application of the words to the instrument sounds like a challenge. Forewarned is.........

Richard

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Thankfully I've found the camera and menu system easy to navigate and familiar given I've used numerous Panasonic m43 cameras. I've not yet used the manual but have it as a pdf on my iPad just in case. I think I may have to read it if I ever try the WiFi though.

 

If you have a question about how to do something, post it here and I'll try to help!

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  • 3 weeks later...
You can get the Panasonic ebook from ITunes - Whites site mentioned above gives links for getting the book.

 

The book for LX100 is out and people who bought it seem to be very pleased. I am just wondering if the manual and the menu of LX100 and 109 are exactly the same? or, should I wait for 109 book?... If I can recall it right, the menu between previous DL and LX cameras were different!

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The book for LX100 is out and people who bought it seem to be very pleased. I am just wondering if the manual and the menu of LX100 and 109 are exactly the same? or, should I wait for 109 book?... If I can recall it right, the menu between previous DL and LX cameras were different!

 

Wait for the 109 book.

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  • 1 month later...

Just found this thread which shows I am not alone with obscure problems and solving. My problem was trying to match listed menu items with what my camera shows. For example, I have spent a long time trying to work out why the 9 o'clock position on the Control Dial did not show me the expected choice of AF Modes. Solution: PRESS THE 'A' BUTTON.

 

So my next challenge is find how I can DISABLE the A button. It can be pressed all too easily when operating the ON/OFF switch. What thoughtlesss placing on the top plate!

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Just found this thread which shows I am not alone with obscure problems and solving. My problem was trying to match listed menu items with what my camera shows. For example, I have spent a long time trying to work out why the 9 o'clock position on the Control Dial did not show me the expected choice of AF Modes. Solution: PRESS THE 'A' BUTTON.

 

So my next challenge is find how I can DISABLE the A button. It can be pressed all too easily when operating the ON/OFF switch. What thoughtlesss placing on the top plate!

 

see instructions page 75.

 

mike

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The "A" button cannot be disabled AFAIK but it is possible to press and hold it instead of pressing it only. Works fine on my LX100. See attached page 75 of the Panasonic manual. Page 75 of yours should be exactly the same with different names ("A" instead of "iA" button, "snapshot" instead of "intelligent auto" mode). Hope this helps. Another difference is pages of the Pana manual are easy to copy, contrary to Leica's which are protected. Different mentality at work :rolleyes:.

Edit: Thanks to Mike for his confirmation above.

Pana_manual_page_75.pdf

Edited by lct
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