nico1974 Posted January 12, 2014 Share #1 Posted January 12, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello I am very happy with my recently purchased Leica M (Typ 240) but finding the virtual horizon almost impossible to use unless I mount the camera on a tripod which is not always possible. Does anyone know if Leica plan to make the virtual horizon more usable in future preferably overlaid in the LV image like Nikon and Ricoh do or is there a way to mount a traditional spirit level and use the electronic viewfinder at the same time? A rule of thirds grid would also be nice to aid with composition. I am mostly shooting architecture Flickr: nicoimages' Photostream and Nicholas Triantafyllou Photography and using the rangefinder or external viewfinder to frame subjects is not accurate enough. Many thanks Nicholas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 12, 2014 Posted January 12, 2014 Hi nico1974, Take a look here Virtual Horizon and Grid in LiveView M Typ240. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
mirekti Posted January 12, 2014 Share #2 Posted January 12, 2014 You must stand in line. First we need to get the auto iso "fixed", so maybe next year. ...just joking. Leica is working on a firmware upgrade for M, and hopefully it will bring some more enhancements not just the Auto ISO. I assumed this due to the long wait period. If they had been improving only Auto ISO function for four months than... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 12, 2014 Share #3 Posted January 12, 2014 There is a way: E-Bay item 121076897109 Not a very serious suggestion, but for 0.99 $ you can hardly go wrong. Anyway, it is so simple to straighten an image in postprocessing that this aspect has lost much of its importance. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/220026-virtual-horizon-and-grid-in-liveview-m-typ240/?do=findComment&comment=2507274'>More sharing options...
jip Posted January 12, 2014 Share #4 Posted January 12, 2014 You must stand in line. First we need to get the auto iso "fixed", so maybe next year. ...just joking. Leica is working on a firmware upgrade for M, and hopefully it will bring some more enhancements not just the Auto ISO. I assumed this due to the long wait period. If they had been improving only Auto ISO function for four months than... Don't be surprised when there will be a update coming out it only including the auto ISO... Leica has a very bad software team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted January 12, 2014 Share #5 Posted January 12, 2014 Hello Does anyone know if Leica plan to make the virtual horizon more usable in future preferably overlaid in the LV... Nicholas +1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted January 12, 2014 Share #6 Posted January 12, 2014 +1 Also +1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carduelis Posted January 12, 2014 Share #7 Posted January 12, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) +1 Also +1, the electronic spirit level on my Ricoh GXR is excellent. The horizon indicator on the M240 is impractical. Even when using a tripod, you can lose the composition when you are trying to level the camera. Would rather avoid fixing many of my shots in post-processing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted January 12, 2014 Share #8 Posted January 12, 2014 Don't be surprised when there will be a update coming out it only including the auto ISO... Leica has a very bad software team. They're all busy coding for the Model T. One can still hope that the T will use the same code as the M. This might even be the reason why they published a new version of the software for the M which did not change anything at all for the customer. And: I have no inside knowledge. It's pure speculation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithlaban.co.uk Posted January 12, 2014 Share #9 Posted January 12, 2014 Why Leica failed to deliver a virtual horizon that can be overlaid and the option of a grid is beyond me. Let's hope it's not beyond Leica. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted January 12, 2014 Share #10 Posted January 12, 2014 Leica has a very bad software team. I think you mean small. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmx_2 Posted January 12, 2014 Share #11 Posted January 12, 2014 Don't be surprised when there will be a update coming out it only including the auto ISO... Leica has a very bad software team. Actually they are hiring more people to that department. At least some weeks ago there was an job add on their homepage. So hopefully it will be better soon . Actually I cannot understand that they have sourced out most of the SW-development before; today a lot if quality lays in the software and having someone else doing that is always a pain in the a**. My company used to do the same (also a German one, but completely different branch) but we changed some years ago and it is just so much better. Bug fixing, new features everything is done within weeks instead of months as the case was before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonki-M Posted January 12, 2014 Share #12 Posted January 12, 2014 +1 on the overlaid level! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirekti Posted January 12, 2014 Share #13 Posted January 12, 2014 Actually they are hiring more people to that department. At least some weeks ago there was an job add on their homepage. I hope he/she is not the only one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmx_2 Posted January 12, 2014 Share #14 Posted January 12, 2014 I hope he/she is not the only one. It was actually a managing position:), which usually means that he will build up a department, but fair point;) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirekti Posted January 12, 2014 Share #15 Posted January 12, 2014 ...it might mean they'll start from scratch ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted January 12, 2014 Share #16 Posted January 12, 2014 Actually they are hiring more people to that department. At least some weeks ago there was an job add on their homepage. So hopefully it will be better soon . Actually I cannot understand that they have sourced out most of the SW-development before; today a lot if quality lays in the software and having someone else doing that is always a pain in the a**. My company used to do the same (also a German one, but completely different branch) but we changed some years ago and it is just so much better. Bug fixing, new features everything is done within weeks instead of months as the case was before. I thought Jenoptik did a lot of the work for the M9...... I'm not sure things were a lot better then ...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brill64 Posted January 12, 2014 Share #17 Posted January 12, 2014 In my experience only, I find any kind of virtual leveling on any camera useless in that it's a time wasting distraction. It's a gimmick at best so maybe this i why Leica buried it in the menu. Still, I find it useful practice to level the camera accurately before making the exposure, rather than in post because with a large batch of images, it's a lot of work to straighten & correct each one individually. For consistency, better to use a ballhead with built in spirit level or a leveling head beneath your tripod head for fast & accurate leveling. If you're spending the time to set up a tripod, alternatively remove the evf, replace with hotshoe spirit level, level the camera & lock, remove level & replace the evf. Personally, I don't use the evf to save time. Remember that liveview may cause some additional vibration during longer exposures so turn it off first to be sure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted January 12, 2014 Share #18 Posted January 12, 2014 They're all busy coding for the Model T. Model T seems such an appropriate new model name. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erudolph Posted January 12, 2014 Share #19 Posted January 12, 2014 There is a way: E-Bay item 121076897109 Not a very serious suggestion, but for 0.99 $ you can hardly go wrong. Anyway, it is so simple to straighten an image in postprocessing that this aspect has lost much of its importance. I actually use one of these on the MM, with 21 and 28mm. There's no good way to attach it, so I put a small square of gaffer's tape on the camera top and cement the bubble level to the tape. The level often helps, though only in landscape mode. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted January 13, 2014 Share #20 Posted January 13, 2014 In my experience only, I find any kind of virtual leveling on any camera useless in that it's a time wasting distraction. It's a gimmick at best so maybe this i why Leica buried it in the menu. Still, I find it useful practice to level the camera accurately before making the exposure, rather than in post because with a large batch of images, it's a lot of work to straighten & correct each one individually. For consistency, better to use a ballhead with built in spirit level or a leveling head beneath your tripod head for fast & accurate leveling. If you're spending the time to set up a tripod, alternatively remove the evf, replace with hotshoe spirit level, level the camera & lock, remove level & replace the evf. Personally, I don't use the evf to save time. Remember that liveview may cause some additional vibration during longer exposures so turn it off first to be sure. Yes, tripod and spirit level is the primary way to go. Except, what do you do when 99% of the time you do not shoot the M on a tripod? The overlay would be nice for those of us who run and gun. And, nice for use on the tripod as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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