Some V-Lux 2 help, please

[stuny]

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With my R8 (with DMR) and favorite lens (80-200) in for repair, and probably not going to be returned in time for our next adventure, I arranged to borrow a V-Lux 2 to supplement and back-up my D2. Yikes, do I miss analog controls.

The V-Lux 2 is amazingly complex, on which one does most things via menus. The manuals I downloaded from Leica are not that much help to me, and I’d like your help figuring out how to do some rather basic things:

1. How do I focus manually? As I read the manual I either fail to understand it, or it can’t be done very well.

2. The manual speaks of various modes of video, using acronyms without explaining them. What are the modes, and what are the relative advantages of each?

3. Somehow I managed to put the camera into black and white record mode and can’t find a control to take me back to normal. How do I do that?

4. The manual speaks of several color modes. Which mode is without “enhancement?”

I’m certain to come up with more issues as I adjust to the camera, but that’s it for now. Thank you in advance for your help.

[adan]

1. How do I focus manually?

 

First, set the switch on the left side of the lens to "MF" - then press IN on the horizontal control dial (#13 in the diagram of controls) several times until orange letters "MF" appear on the screen - then focus using the < or > cursor buttons, OR by turning the control dial (#13).

 

It is not intuitive that the knurled control dial can also be pushed in (as well as dialed left and right), but that is the secret handshake.

 

If you turn on "MF assist" in the Setup (toolbox) menu, the screen will magnify the center of the image (as in the Digilux 2), when you go into manual focus mode, for more precise check of focus.

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2. The manual speaks of various modes of video, using acronyms without explaining them. What are the modes, and what are the relative advantages of each?

 

Realistically, to really describe these would take a textbook! But....

 

AVCHD is a format designed primarily for playback to a HDTV screen, directly from the camera. The digital version of playing your home-made VHS tape back directly to the TV without editing.

 

1080i has higher spatial resolution (more pixels) - 720p has higher time resolution, a full frame every 1/60th or 1/50th of a second, where 1080i is interlaced: odd-numbered lines of pixels in 1/60th-1/50th of a second, and even numbered lines of pixels in the next 1/60th-1/50th, for a full image every 1/30-1/25 second.

 

(European standard is 1/50th or 1/25th, U.S. standard TV is 1/60th or 1/30th) - which you get is determined by another menu item, choosing PAL (Europe) or NTSC (U.S.).)

 

Of these choices, 720p is better for smooth video of fast action - 1080i is sharper if the subject is static.

 

Motion jpeg is much more compatible with computer editing (as opposed to simple TV playback). Motion JPEG (which is essentially Apple's Quicktime ".mov" format) can be opened directly into programs like Final Cut, whereas AVCHD has to be re-rendered or converted.

 

For High-Definition Motion Jpeg, (720 pixels tall, 16:9 format) use the "HD" version - the others are lower res and shaped for old-fashioned TV sets. (4:3 aspect ratio).

 

With Motion JPEG you get 30 frames per second, period.

 

So - choose AVCHD if you plan to simply play your videos as shot on a high-def TV screen. Choose 1080i for scenics and average action speeds. Choose 720p if you're shooting serious fast action (sports).

 

Choose Motion jpeg if you plan to edit the results extensively in your computer before viewing, and then just pick a resolution/aspect ratio according to your final purpose. "Old" TV format is 640 x 480, high-definition is "HD"

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3. Somehow I managed to put the camera into black and white record mode and can’t find a control to take me back to normal. How do I do that?

 

4. The manual speaks of several color modes. Which mode is without “enhancement?”

 

The menu for setting both of these appears to be:

 

Record > Film Mode

 

"Standard/Color" will give you the least "enhanced" color - unless you fiddle with the contrast/saturation settings within that mode.

 

Note that "Film Mode" only applies to jpeg images, or video - RAW still images will always be color, and unenhanced until you do your own enhancing in the computer.

[adan]

BTW - that really is an eye-crossing manual! One simple control like "Film mode" scattered over three sections 50 pages apart!

 

It was easier when we had the V-Lux 2 in the store and I could just poke around in the menus directly!

[stuny]

Andy -

 

Thank you. Your advice and some further fooling around with the camera solved all the issues.