haydenc

Interesting to note that the CL now has the ability to adjust the EVF brightness as of firmware 3.1. ”You can now adjust the brightness of the electronic viewfinder in 10 steps” Leica have added this ability in firmware to the M240 and T way after initial release. (could be others too, I own both of these) Why not for the SL? (which is the only one that really needs it)

Hi guys, i have long complained about the EVF brightness. I took my camera back as I though it was faulty. I reluctantly took it back as I was told they would enable the EVF to be brightened in firmware. The X2, M240 and the T all did not have the ability to brighten the EVF at launch, but were all added in later on via firmware. Just before my camera went out of warranty, I took it to be tested. My camera’s EVF brightness was comparable with the test camera they had, and within Leica’s specifications. I have tested the EVF brightness to the best of my ability, and it is 2 stops under exposed in bright sun light. (Test using manual mode apps on an iPhone measuring the light directly from the EVF and comparing that to the exposure of the actual image taken by the camera) A hat or an eye cup helps, but it is not the fix. To me this has been the biggest disappointment with what has mostly been a fantastic camera. I regret not insisting on them take it back when I first bought the camera. Especially as 4 years later it still bugs me every time I use it.

Can the EVF brightness be adjusted on the CL? (Long running gripe with the SL!!!) Has anyone tried the Novoflex Eos adapter to see if this will work with Canon lenses? I am very tempted by the CL. Just trying to work out which camera has to go to make room for it!

How do you meter then? Histogram, external meter, internal meter or by eye off the evf? If it is either of the last 2 then this does actually effect your exposure decisions. If you have only been adjusting by 1 stop you probably wouldn’t realise the issue. Ok, just re-read what you said. That sounds great if you can take your time, but what a complete joke of a way to adjust exposure, then turn up the brightness to take a shot (via exposure comp) then drop it down again, set metering, adjust exposure comp up again, etc etc. If you are taking shots of something static with little to no changes in lighting then yes this way could work fine. Edit: Even when I change the exposure to completely over expose the entire frame to white, it looks like light grey. So to me it says the lcd back light in my EVF is not turned up enough. It is nothing like an optical viewfinder in brightness, (in bright conditions).

Did you realise that by doing this I f you dial in exposure compensation, it resets the scale of the exposure? So if you are metering your exposure to the middle of the scale, you are actually over-exposing the shot by whatever you are setting the exposure compensation to. I'll put some figures on it to (hopefully) clarify what I am seeing. I am in a pretty dark room as the sun has set in Melbourne. M Mode Shutter - 1/10 second, Aperture - 3.5, ISO - 12500 case 1: exp comp +1, meter = 0 case 2: exp comp off, meter = +1 So while you think that is a fix, it actually isn’t. (Pulled from a Post I made on here in 2016) Edit: Obviously Manual settings lock in the exposure. If you plugged those settings in from a light meter, then great no problem. The problem with using exposure comp to brighten the EVF is that I base exposure decisions off of the meter. And the mid point of the meter is adjusted by exposure comp in manual mode.

It is perfect for my use too except the viewfinder brightness. As most Leica cameras have the ability to adjust the viewfinder brightness, I have been patiently waiting for them to bring that basic feature to this camera. (Introduced in firmware in the M240, Leica T etc etc way after those cameras were launched.)

Yes, mine is 2 stops under in bright sunlight. I took the camera back the day after I got it. The shop tested it and found mine to be the same as their other cameras. Leica was informed and they said they would be adding the ability to adjust the EVF. I reluctantly accepted the camera back based on that. I have written about it on this forum. Fast forward 2 years and I still have a camera that annoys me every time I use it.

Ability to adjust the EVF brightness. For me it is coming up on 2 years of owning the SL and still my EVF is 2 stops underexposed when in bright conditions. I hardly use this camera anymore as a result. It is stupid as all my other Leica cameras can adjust the EVF brightness, however none of them need adjusting in the first place. (X2, M240, T, D Lux typ 109)

On that, Anyone know of the TL2 can turn off ‘exposure simulation’ for use with external flashes? Seems like a solid upgrade to me. I would love a built in EVF, however the ability to tilt up the view finder 90 deg to look down into the camera is something I love. (especially for portraits of kids or people sitting etc.) 4k, image peaking, bigger buffer, faster processor, bigger image files, electronic shutter. Etc. Funny thing is I am not considering this to replace the T, but instead my SL. I got a SL to replace a M240, but couldn’t let the M go. Maybe the SL might be swapped with the TL2... The ability to charge the camera over USB is a big plus. There are a heap of battery power banks available to charge your phone. I have used one of these on the old T when I have been running out of power. For a current T user that already has invested in the T system (EVF, a few lenses, lens adapters, spare batteries), I think it is a solid upgrade. If you won’t get much for your old T, then a T and a TL2 would be a great combination!!

The SL is a great camera. My EVF is a little dark for my taste but hopefully the option to brighten it will be fixed with firmware. The build quality is 2nd to none. This is a great camera to hold. If that feeling gets you in the mood to take better shots, then it might be worth the price. I have an Xpro2 Fuji which is a very capable camera, but is just no where near as refined as the SL. You can adapt so many lenses to most bodies now and some are using the Novoflex Eos-SL adapter to get autofocus on the SL with Canon lenses. (Some offer better auto focus than others) My main issue with Leica cameras is the lack of 3rd party HSS and TTL off camera flash options. It seems there are so many options for every other brand for both TTL and HSS from lots of flash manufacturers both cheap (chinese brands) to the established ones. I saw an interesting product for Fuji users that translates Fuji flash talk to Nikon so you can use Nikon flashes. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1243329-REG/roboshoot_rbsmx20rx20_mx_20_rx_20_flash.html I contacted their support to ask if they could look at one for Leica. They told me it took 18 months to reverse engineer this product and bring it to market. No one is going to do that for a potential few product sales to Leica owners. For manual flash off camera up to the max sync speed on 1/250, there are lots of options. I have used a few from Godox and Younguo successfully without issue. (Just no TTL or HSS)

Hi, I am not sure what you mean. What I was referring to is that if you manually set the exposure to be so under exposed, the screen/view finder is black, as it is simulating or previewing what the end shot will look like. The problem is that if you use a flash to add light so the image is properly exposed, the camera doesn't know about it. And you can't focus with a black screen...

The M10 has an OVF. The EVF is an optional extra. Which is the same one used on the T. Basically I am disappointed that the SL which only has 1 view finder, can't be adjusted. Re brightness of the SL. I use mine outdoors 90% of the time in bright Australian sun. The finder is roughly 2 stops under what it should be. You lose detail in shadow that makes it very hard to focus manually. I use the SL with only manual focus lenses. Also if you make exposure decisions off the EVF then you can over expose the image. I have had to learn to just trust that the dark image will be fine when I put it into the computer. I think my camera must be particularly bad in this regard, and I am going to try and get it repaired. (I tried to return it in Dec 2015 but reluctantly took the camera back after I was reassured that Leica would offer a fix via firmware in the coming months). In dark conditions I have no problems at all. It is so annoying as I only got the SL to fix a longstanding issue with the T. I still have the T in the hope that one day that will be fixed too.

I agree stray light is a problem, but not 'the' problem. Even if I block all stray light, as the viewfinder is darker than ambient light (in bright conditions), my eyes need to adjust to the darker EVF.

Just scanning through the M10 manual. Page 160 it has "The EVF Brightness option can be used to set the brightness of this kind of view nder in exactly the same way as described above." So the new Leica has the ability to adjust the EVF on debut. However the 15 month old SL still does not have this ability.

Thanks for the confirmation Gordon. I will take mine to be looked at again. I have been holding out for a firmware change to enable brightness adjustment. Might be best to get Leica to adjust it for me first. I wonder if they calibrate each EVF individually to each camera.