Soft release - worth having for M9?

[TacTZilla]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Just wondered what peoples experiences were.

 

Cheers

Bob

[jaapv]

To me it is a major plus on the M9. It is a permanent setting for me.

[whill]

Standard seems firmer than my RD-1, I prefer "soft" squeeze likewise.

whill

[Philip Freedman]

Soft + discreet works for me. If you use AE, this does have the disadvantage that you cannot use a half press to get AE lock, but you can set the camera so that the rear dial can be used for exposure compensation without having to press anything else at the same time, or of course you can set the shutter manually.

Philip

[Samir Jahjah]

To me it is a major plus on the M9. It is a permanent setting for me.

 

Same here...add a thumbs up and a bug (soft release) and my low light shots have gained a lot in sharpness and clarity...at 1/8s, but sometimes it works well at 1/4s !

[rebelfocus]

Just wondered what peoples experiences were.

 

 

Ironically, they can make the shutter release feel less soft on the M8 and M9... verging on crunchy. The indents on the shutter feel quite gritty already and a soft release can just amplify this. They are great on the early film M cameras but really not so great on digital. I bought one with the thumbs up but hardly ever use it.

 

They are dirt cheap though so could be worth a try anyway as some people like seem to like them a lot so it seems to be a matter of taste.

[Samir Jahjah]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Ironically, they can make the shutter release feel less soft on the M8 and M9... verging on crunchy. The indents on the shutter feel quite gritty already and a soft release can just amplify this. They are great on the early film M cameras but really not so great on digital. I bought one with the thumbs up but hardly ever use it.

 

They are dirt cheap though so could be worth a try anyway as some people like seem to like them a lot so it seems to be a matter of taste.

 

I think Bob refers to the in-camera settings...and not the soft releases offered third party manufacturers/leica fans.

[jaapv]

The M8 has no soft release setting....Edit - Samir types faster and formulates more clearly...

[noah_addis]

My standard setting is also soft + discreet, and I love it. I never use any form of auto exposure so the lack of an AE lock isn't an issue.

 

The soft mode represents a huge improvement over the M8. I should also add that the discreet mode, which I initially thought would not be useful, is also a huge improvement.

[Jager]

Yep, Soft is a terrific improvement. Soft + Discrete is my default setting.

 

I do have a "No Soft" profile set, for those infrequent occasions when I want quick access to the half-shutter-press-locks-exposure function.

[jamriman]

On the M8.2 it's harder to hold exposure lock with a softie. I never use that feature anyhow so it's no biggie. The bug is cool BTW.

[ggits]

I started with Soft + Discrete, but find out that I needed AE lock - so I had to just go for Discrete.

[stunsworth]

Ironically, they can make the shutter release feel less soft on the M8 and M9... verging on crunchy. The indents on the shutter feel quite gritty already and a soft release can just amplify this. They are great on the early film M cameras but really not so great on digital.

 

Not sure if the original poster meant a soft release, or the additional function of the M9 firmware. Certainly on an M8 my experience of using a "softie" mirrors your exactly. After using one on film Ms for years I quickly abandoned using them on my M8 for the reasons you state,

[chris_tribble]

M9 Soft release mode - sometimes.

Softie button thing - never - I didn't really get the need for these. I've been generally very happy with the shutter release that Leica's provided.

[250swb]

My M9 shutter button was a little notchy when I first got it, but now its very slick and smooth in whichever shutter mode I set the camera to. So reading this thread I thought I'd try a 'softie' from my stock of unused gadgets and yes, its awful, the shutter button feels gritty and horrible. Its going back into stock.

 

 

Steve

[scc]

I concur with the sentiments of some of the other posters - for me, the best combo is:

 

Soft + discreet setting

TA softrelease

Thumbs up EP-1 (an ESSENTIAL IMO)

 

I've been getting some nice shots at 1/8 and occasionally 1/4 this way.

 

Its a pretty cheap accessory, so well worth a try.

[Guido]

I use the discreet setting, because I need AE lock. Plus a $2 soft release from China, which makes it easier to trigger the shutter with gloves.

[reynoldsyoung]

Soft + Discreet is default as well. But, I do find a couple of "what is that?" shots from accidental "discharge"! Too much fun!!