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Some bugs updating firmware of D-Lux 5


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I don't know if anyone has had the same experience as I, but after up-dating the firmware of my D-Lux 5 I experienced some smaller issues. Or maybe they are big, I don't know. Depends on how sensitive you are. Anyhow, enclosed is the feedback I sent to Leica

 

"Yesterday I updated the firmware in my D-Lux 5, and discovered what must be a "bug" in the software for the new "miniature effect" option. In my quality setting I have RAW only, no jpeg. With this setting I can choose Miniature Effect and take pictures. On the screen of the camera I have the settings for Miniature Effect and when using playback I can see the pictures as Miniature Effect on the camera screen. But when copied to my Mac, the RAW-files are just RAW-files, no Miniature Effects. I can have the effect only if I change the quality setting and add jpeg-files to the RAW-files in the record mode.

 

As with some other effect settings on the camera, the software should change the quality setting to jpeg when changing to the miniature effect.

 

There is also a rather confused description on how to check the firmware version in your camera in the file "D-Lux5-Firmware-Update_English-2.pdf", which states:

"STEP 1: Checking the current firmware version.

 

Leica recommends that you update the firmware in your camera in the following case: If the firmware version indicated is older than the version being offered.

 

The firmware update is not necessary if the current firmware version on your camera is Version 2.0.

 

Turn the camera on.

 

Slide the [REC]/[PLAYBACK] selector switch to the PLAYBACK mode

 

Press [MENU/SET] to display the menu.

 

Press [] [ ] to select the [sETUP] menu icon [ ]

 

Press [] and select the [VERSION DISP.] menu item

 

Press [] again and [ ][VERSION DISP.] appears"

 

 

 

Point 2 must be superfluous since the D-Lux 5 don't have a "rec/playback selector" that you can slide. Otherwise the updated firmware delivered as promised, I appreciated the faster focusing on close ups.

 

The downloading instructions in the same document is apparently written by a pc-user for other pc-users. For Mac it is slightly different. The downloaded file size is slightly larger on a mac, 16,3 MB (since you state the size so exact down to the last digit, that could make some nervous). I had some problems having the camera to detect the firmware up-date, after some testing this worked; If I download the update from your website by clicking the "Download"-option, my mac automatically unzips the file to the Downloaded Files folder. This file didn't work. If I instead right-click on the download option and in the menu chooses "save as...", I can save the zipped file on my desktop and unzip it there. This time the camera could detect the firmware.

 

For post-processing I have a Macbook Pro 13" with Adobe Lightroom 3.6

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No idea how you do that on a Mac.

Do what? Updating the firmware works exactly the same, regardless of the computer or OS used. Differences in the number of kilobytes are probably due to the fact that unter Mac OS X, 1 KB equals 1000 Byte (under Windows it is 1 KB = 1024 Byte)

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Yesterday I updated the firmware in my D-Lux 5, and discovered what must be a "bug" in the software for the new "miniature effect" option. In my quality setting I have RAW only, no jpeg.

The miniature effect is applied in the internal image processing and thus only affects JPEG files. Raw data stays raw (as it should). It’s not a bug but a feature.

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"Point 2 must be superfluous since the D-Lux 5 don't have a "rec/playback selector" that you can slide. Otherwise the updated firmware delivered as promised, I appreciated the faster focusing on close ups."

 

Yes, that did confuse me too but I figured it out in the end. The slider bit too was too as was where to put the update but all's well now. The miniature settings would, I would have though, be only usable when shooting jpg as you would find if you tried to use B&W settings in RAW mode - it'll show on screen as your selection but it'll only save as a RAW file – I got caught out that way when I tried B&W in RAW mode too!

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The miniature effect is applied in the internal image processing and thus only affects JPEG files. Raw data stays raw (as it should). It’s not a bug but a feature.

 

That is correct, but as I remark further on in my comment, some other "Special Effects Settings" is only applied on JPEG-files and in those cases the firmware changes the quality setting to JPEG, if you have RAW-only as your choice. Maybe that is the bug.... :roll eyes:

 

Lars

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The miniature settings would, I would have though, be only usable when shooting jpg as you would find if you tried to use B&W settings in RAW mode - it'll show on screen as your selection but it'll only save as a RAW file – I got caught out that way when I tried B&W in RAW mode too!

 

Having made a "scientific" test, I can only conclude that Leica has some work to do to simplify the use of the special effects. I set the quality setting to RAW and took a photo with each of the special effects. Copied the files to my Mac using Lightroom 3.6, ending up with file-extensions as listed below:

 

Miniature Effect - RAW

Expressive - RAW

Retro - RAW (but change of color applied)

Pure - RAW

Elegant - RAW

Monochrome - RAW

High Dynamic - JPEG, effect applied

Dynamic Art - JPEG, effect applied

Dynamic B&W - JPEG, effect applied

Silhouette - RAW

Pin Hole - JPEG, effect applied

Film Grain - JPEG, effect applied

 

Since this is not stated in the full manual for D-Lux 5 (as far as I have seen), it could be to some importance to know.

 

Lars

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Fascinating and tricky camera, isn't it, Lars? :)

 

It took me three months to get used to how all the pieces went together with the D-Lux 4. I doubt I'd stand a chance with all the options the D-Lux 5 offers. :o

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No idea how you do that on a Mac.

 

You can do a "right-click" on a mac the same way as on a pc (and get a quick menu). You only configure your mouse and/or trackpad in the settings to have that function.

 

Lars

pc-user for 25 years, mac for 9 months

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  • 2 weeks later...
Having made a "scientific" test, I can only conclude that Leica has some work to do to simplify the use of the special effects. I set the quality setting to RAW and took a photo with each of the special effects. Copied the files to my Mac using Lightroom 3.6, ending up with file-extensions as listed below:

 

{...}

 

Since this is not stated in the full manual for D-Lux 5 (as far as I have seen), it could be to some importance to know.

 

Lars

 

In short, as described by mjh, the camera achieves the special effects by manipulating the image. A RAW image is exactly that: The raw image captured by the sensor. Thus any manipulated image will be saved in another format, and on the DLUX-5 that's JPG.

 

If you want those in-camera effects (rather than applying them in Lightroom or some other PC based tool - and yes, a Mac is a PC) then just set the camera to capture images in RAW+JPG. That way you get the raw image but you also get the processed image in the JPG file.

 

Note that the JPGs you identified are because the camera doesn't let you specify RAW image capture in those modes.

 

Still, you did the right thing - you experimented. Have a play with every setting on the camera, find out what it can do, just as usefully find out what it can't do, then get the camera out there and play with the 2-3 settings that you think will help you on the day.

 

Over time you'll get to play with more - I ended up going manual focus the other day because the autofocus just wasn't picking up the object, which meant I had to give myself a crash course in MF on the camera. But I find that type of thing good fun :)

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...The raw image captured by the sensor. Thus any manipulated image will be saved in another format, and on the DLUX-5 that's JPG.

 

If you want those in-camera effects (rather than applying them in Lightroom or some other PC based tool - and yes, a Mac is a PC) then just set the camera to capture images in RAW+JPG. That way you get the raw image but you also get the processed image in the JPG file.

 

Note that the JPGs you identified are because the camera doesn't let you specify RAW image capture in those modes...

 

My digital experience only counts in month's, but I'm well aware of the difference between RAW and JPEG file formats. Since I've been "analog" for more than 40 years I was just frustrated over the inconsistency of how the software in the camera works. The point I try to make is that although the use of any of the special effects require the quality setting to be JPEG, there is no warning/information when you have your setting to RAW (which I prefer since you have more post processing options with a RAW-file and can choose JPEG-quality depending on which media you use to show the pictures). Still, you get a special effects picture on the camera display, but no one to download. Despite this, the camera produces JPEG-files in 5 of 12 special effects (when my setting is RAW only), which I think is a flaw since all settings require JPEG.

 

Lars

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"Yesterday I updated the firmware in my D-Lux 5, and discovered what must be a "bug" in the software for the new "miniature effect" option. In my quality setting I have RAW only, no jpeg. With this setting I can choose Miniature Effect and take pictures. On the screen of the camera I have the settings for Miniature Effect and when using playback I can see the pictures as Miniature Effect on the camera screen. But when copied to my Mac, the RAW-files are just RAW-files, no Miniature Effects. I can have the effect only if I change the quality setting and add jpeg-files to the RAW-files in the record mode.

 

This really is crap. We updated the new firmware just before our vacation and enjoyed playing with the Miniature Effect. As we usually shoot in RWL I just thought, as it is usual with these kind of effects, that the camera is recording JPGs. Wrong! Now, all the funny pictures we made with this effect are gone. In my opinon this feature isn't thought through very well. Very very sad.

 

Cheers.

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  • 9 months later...
This really is crap. We updated the new firmware just before our vacation and enjoyed playing with the Miniature Effect. As we usually shoot in RWL I just thought, as it is usual with these kind of effects, that the camera is recording JPGs. Wrong! Now, all the funny pictures we made with this effect are gone. In my opinon this feature isn't thought through very well. Very very sad.

 

Cheers.

 

That's exactly the point!

This is NO feature, it's definitly a very 'homemade' and therefor stupid bug!

Everybody who says something different must be very nerdy and off-this-planet!

If a setting can be configured but has no effect on the "downloaded" image, it's not even a setting! It's like when you record a band in a studio and inside the Studio everything sounds perfect after recording, but you can't listen to it outside the studio - outside it sounds like crap?!?! WTF!?

 

I'm really angry after losing all my "funny ideas" ...

I will sell this f*** crap camera tomorrow, really!

 

Until here, I really liked Leica ...

 

(still using my MP, M7, M9)

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...BUT BY THE WAY!!!

I FOUND A WORKAROUND TO SAVE YOUR PICTURES!!!

 

It just requires an ipad or iphone and an usb-adapter.

The ipad can't handle raws (or .rwl), so whren you copy the pictures to your iPad they are being converted into jpgs.

 

So finally I could save my "effect ideas",

but this doesn't change my opinion significantly - it's a very stupid bug...

 

regards

Camouflage

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The ipad can't handle raws (or .rwl), so whren you copy the pictures to your iPad they are being converted into jpgs.

I don’t think so. The iPad shows the embedded preview images of the raw files, that’s all. To do a raw conversion on the iPad you need a raw converter such as Sandy’s PhotoRaw app.

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