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M240 Tethered Shooting (multifunction handgrip)


jrtbloke

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Hi all

 

A question for M240 owners using the multi function handgrip for studio shooting.

 

How well is this working? this function is about my only reason to upgrade to the M240, so would appreciate any feedback before i buy one and find it doesn't do what I'm after!

 

does this show the live view on the tethered computers screen while shooting using using leicas image shuttle app? is there remote previewing or triggering from a handheld ios or android device while shooting this way?

 

if no to either of those, is the M240 with grip compatible with capture one 7 and the capture pilot app for remote review and triggering?

 

many thanks in advance

John

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Hi,

 

I just received my MF grip a few days before. So I haven't done a serious studio shooting till now. Only made some small tests, to look how it's working.

I think there is no way to display a live view on the computer. You need Leica Image Shuttle 2 software to connect with the camera. You can download this for free after register the camera there. In LIS2 you can open a window, but it only shows the last shot.

I managed to shoot in the capture folder of a C1 7.1.6 session. Then the picture appears right after shooting in C1. I didn't managed to connect and drive the camera directly with C1, but via LIS2 it worked fine.

With LIS2 you can also change the camera settings at the computer and take a picture from there. Of course you have to focus manually at the camera.

Unfortunately the included USB-cable is only 1,5 m long. Way to short for studio shooting IMHO. But I asked about it in the german forum and a guy told me he got the camera working with a active 10 m USB-cable extension. I use a MacPro with OS X 10.6.8.

 

Hope that helps.

 

f-)

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I have this grip and like it but it won't do what you want.

 

You can't get live view on your computer.

 

You can't preview on a mobile device because the M 240 does not have HDMI out.

 

I can't comment on Capture One.

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I got the grip only for its USB port to tether, all its other functions a lost on me.

 

I haven't found a decent solution to get it done, and the placement of the usb port sucks.

 

it's on Ebay now.

 

that grip is one of the most annoying accessories I bought for the Leica. GPS is very patchy, it feels cheap, it doesn't improve the handling.

 

if I want to tehter M-glass I use a sony A7r now. no life view tehtering, but prety stable with RemoteCameraControl.

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I bought the MFH only for tethering via USB. Works with Lightrom 5.3 and a flat 5 meter USB cable immediately perfect.

 

Does this mean that you can use PC as LV? And with additional SW control settings of camera from PC? Sorry about ignorance :o

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Lightroom 5.3 works with the m-240 as well as with other systems. Leica-Image-Shuttle also provides control of camera parameters via PC. The system is absolutely suitable for studio work. LV on the PC does not exist. Because of the manual focus of M that would also make little sense.

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Because of the manual focus of M that would also make little sense.

 

I don't agree. A colleague and I do quite a bit of studio work with a Nikon on a studio stand and tethered live view is a huge time saver. I understand that manual focus could be cumbersome if you are working alone and the camera is awkwardly positioned in relation to the computer screen but in other situations tethered LV with the M240 could be a real boon. I appreciate that there are altogether more suitable cameras for studio work of this kind but if Leica are going to include LV in the M240, it is rather disappointing that it has such a limited capability.

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The connection is via USB 2.0, not HDMI—so no live view on the computer monitor. All you can do is to fire the shutter via the computer and then see the picture on the computer monitor a couple of seconds after it's been taken.

 

The USB cord coming with the multi-function handgrip is 1.5 m (5 ft) long which is way too short for any serious tethered work ... with the possible exception of maybe some small-scale table-top still-lifes. It's a shame. For the handgrip's price, Leica really should include an USB cord with a useful length. USB supports passive cords up to 5 m (15 ft) length. Longer cables are possible if they include an active USB signal repeater.

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  • 2 years later...

Running C1Pro V-8.1.1.2. Macbook Pro running 10.10.5 Yosemite. Leica firmware is up to date. Trying to tether my Leica M240. C1Pro release notes say it will tether but the software does not see the Leica. Cables are OK, as it will tether to my Canon DSMKIII. I thought about upgrading to C1Pro V-9, but V-9 release notes say the Leica is not supported. Trying to migrate away from LR, which I’ve found to be very buggy; constantly drops the tether signal and is very slow.

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I spoke to Phase One a year or so on this and they seem to have no intention of providing tethered support for any Leica. Their relationship with Leica seems to have deteriorated badly and now is pretty poor. For example, three months after its release, there is still no support for the SL in C1. 

 

On another point, the GPS on the MF grip is close to broken because of an ill considered FW update 2 years ago, which changed the last obtained position deletion time from 24 hours from the last fix to just five minutes, The dingbat who came up with that one, obviously never tested it, as he would have then found, as it usually takes over five minutes to obtain a new fix, it means that for a lot of the time, you have no GPS position, particularly in cities with high buildings or in mountainous areas and obviously inside. Leica claimed this change greatly increased acceptance of the GPS on the M - in their dreams! Anyway, I have been lobbying Leica since the stupid alteration first came out, to correct this idiocy. Eventually they agreed over 18 months ago, that just maybe, it had not been the brightest idea and they would change the deletion period to either 2 or 3 hours, which was perfectly acceptable. This would be implemented at the next FW update. Well first they claim they just plain forgot to make this change and then that it had missed the testing deadline for the next FW update, so it might be in the next one (whenever that might be) or maybe not. What a bunch of clowns.  :angry:

 

For this reason, when I am doing my professional travel photography, I now lug around an SL, on which the GPS works very well and the SL's tethering to a phone or tablet is also excellent. It is really useful when you have the SL on a low set tripod or hanging off the bottom of the centre column, not to have to contort yourself to check the image but to be able to do it in comfort on an iPad, where you also have full control. 

 

Wilson

Edited by wlaidlaw
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Running C1Pro V-8.1.1.2. Macbook Pro running 10.10.5 Yosemite. Leica firmware is up to date. Trying to tether my Leica M240. C1Pro release notes say it will tether but the software does not see the Leica. Cables are OK, as it will tether to my Canon DSMKIII. I thought about upgrading to C1Pro V-9, but V-9 release notes say the Leica is not supported. Trying to migrate away from LR, which I’ve found to be very buggy; constantly drops the tether signal and is very slow.

 

 

Dont forget the camera menu item USB MODE; options are PTP or mass storage. There is also the Leica Image Shuttle software for tethered use (of a sort). 

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You can also use Image Capture on a Mac to tether an M240. I found this worked better than the original version of LIS but admittedly, I have not tried V3, which is the current version of LIS. I have just checked with Phase One and NO Leica cameras have tethered support on C1 see here https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products/Software/Capture-One-Pro/Supported-Cameras.aspx. 

 

I should have added that the phone and tablet tethering for the SL is wireless. Since the latest FW update, this now works pretty seamlessly.

 

Wilson

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Hello:

 

I did receive a great reply from the good folks at Dale.  They suggested I try Leica Image shuttle, which you can download from the Owner's area of the Leica site.  Although the documentation says "S", my M240 works well (I downloaded V2). I went to this link https://www.phaseone.com/en/Search/Article.aspx?articleid=2269&languageid=1      where Phase One gives you clear steps on how to enable their hot-folder function in C1Pro.  In C1, I set the capture folder (in my session), as the hot folder, and select the same folder in Image Shuttle.  Even though it's not a direct tether; using the hot folder as a conduit and then C1 imports the images, it's still much faster and more stable than LR, which is a direct tether.   So at least for now, problem solved.  I can now confidently update to C1Pro 9.

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Hello:

 

I did receive a great reply from the good folks at Dale.  They suggested I try Leica Image shuttle, which you can download from the Owner's area of the Leica site.  Although the documentation says "S", my M240 works well (I downloaded V2). I went to this link https://www.phaseone.com/en/Search/Article.aspx?articleid=2269&languageid=1      where Phase One gives you clear steps on how to enable their hot-folder function in C1 Pro.  In C1, I set the capture folder (in my session), as the hot folder, and select the same folder in Image Shuttle.  Even though it's not a direct tether; using the hot folder as a conduit and then C1 imports the images, it's still much faster and more stable than LR, which is a direct tether.   So at least for now, problem solved.  I can now confidently update to C1Pro 9.

 

Have you tried LIS 3 yet. I have it sitting in my Mac as well as LIS 2 but have not tried tethering my M240 yet, as I am mainly using my SL at the moment. For the equivalent of tethering on the SL you can, if you are desperate, use an iPad with the SL App together with auto sync of images via iCloud to a hot folder on a Mac, which then auto imports into C1 V9 Pro. It is not very quick (actually very slow), given the large size of SL DNG files, so I don't bother now and just take out the SD card to import the images direct to C1. Easier and far more stable - no more corrupted images, which I was getting on iCloud sync. 

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I am using LIS 2.  Works fantastic with the M240. To reiterate, even though C1Pro is importing images from the watched folder it's still much faster and infinitely more stable than LR. For some projects, I need to use my DSMKIII alongside my M240. Even with the Canon, I still use the same session/watched folder (without needing LIS of course).  Very convenient!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I purchased a USED one of these from Tibor at the Leica department at Samy's in LA. The GPS works fine but I'm having issues tethering it.

 

I didn't get any of the extras. I have a USB cord, is there some trick to this? Maybe it needs to have a charger (none came with the device I received).

 

I have installed Leica Image Shuttle 2, and even tried using Image Capture as one above poster did. I don't know, maybe my USB cord isn't V3 (it's older and I was testing it).

 

I just want to make sure the Handgrip doesn't have to be charged before I run down to my local Radio Shack and get a different USB cord.

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