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My opinon and suggestion for the Leica T


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I’ve recently purchased the Leica T and took it down to Sydney and the Blue Mountains for a week and a half holidays and wanted to share with you all my opinion of the camera. In summary the camera is a joy to hold and use and I think Leica has nailed it when they say they have captured the ‘essence’ of photography. Whilst on paper the camera is not as capable as some of the other cameras of a similar price, I have the say the camera has cause me the least problems (in terms of user interface) and the lens (18-56 zoom), when the camera manages to focus properly, is one of the best lenses I have every used. However there are some gripes I have with the camera which I will explain below. Please keep in mind that these are simply my own opinions based on my own experiences with the camera.

 

The camera strap

This is, in my opinion, the worst and most annoying part of the camera; Annoying enough that I have decided to invest in an artisan and artist case with built in lugs or a match technical replacement prior to purchasing the ‘m to t’ adapter or evf. I’ll explain why below:

 

 

 

  • Whilst the plastic strap that comes with the camera is well built it is non-adjustable (at least the one that comes with the camera is not), stiff, and because of its stiffness, a pain in the @ss trying to put the strap and camera back in the camera bag; I currently use a medium sized bag capable of carrying a d700 and an extra lens and I still struggle with the strap.

 

  • The plastic strap is also overtly grippy which makes it useless to wear the camera ‘sling’ style as the length of the strap suggests – trying to pull the camera up to take a shot ends up dragging your shirt down.

 

  • After a stroll around Sydney the strap started to burn my neck even after I had retreated into the shade – the plastic holds the heat in a lot longer than cloth straps.

 

  • The strap adds unnecessary heft to the camera – most noticeable when you hold the camera and drop the strap causing the camera to jolt or ‘bounce’ in your hand.

 

 

Firmware 1.3 Bugs

 

  • Like many others I have also noticed that the camera restarts the numbering of photos even if the sd card was formatted in-camera.

 

  • I’m not sure if this is related to the firmware or just a limitation of the camera in general, however whilst I was visiting the Jenolan caves in the Blue Mountains the camera locked up on me multiple times – the camera would not switch off and none of the buttons or touches worked, but the lcd and the live view functioning properly. I had to remove the battery and reinsert battery to get the camera to work. However this only happened when I was inside and high up the caves (no issues when I returned outside and have not experienced it since) where my iphone 6 was also having problems registering touches on the screen so I wonder if I had simply taken it to ‘too extreme’ of an environment.

 

  • The new af-c function doesn’t seem to work on my camera and speaking of autofocus I sometimes find that the camera miss focuses despite me using spot focusing and the camera confirming that it has locked on. I hope Leica can improve the accuracy of the autofocus before improving the autofocus speed (if that is possible)

 

User Interface Improvement Suggestions

· I have noticed that the ‘video record’ button is never used by me on this camera and I was wondering whether Leica should just completely repurpose this button for a different function altogether, especially when they have just introduced the function to switch between video and photo mode with a swipe on the screen.

My suggestion would be to make the button toggle what the left hand dial would control. So for example in manual mode the right toggle could be set to control the shutter speed and the left set to aperture. However if I were to press the video record button the left hand dial would switch from aperture to a second customisable function which I could program to ISO; giving me quick control and access to the ‘essentials’ without removing my eye from the evf (when I get round to purchasing one) with a Leica t lens attached. Pressing the video button would let me switch between iso and exposure comp (or any other programmed combination) both of which would be controlled by the left dial.

What do you all think of this idea?

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User Interface Improvement Suggestions

· I have noticed that the ‘video record’ button is never used by me on this camera and I was wondering whether Leica should just completely repurpose this button for a different function altogether, especially when they have just introduced the function to switch between video and photo mode with a swipe on the screen.

My suggestion would be to make the button toggle what the left hand dial would control. So for example in manual mode the right toggle could be set to control the shutter speed and the left set to aperture. However if I were to press the video record button the left hand dial would switch from aperture to a second customisable function which I could program to ISO; giving me quick control and access to the ‘essentials’ without removing my eye from the evf (when I get round to purchasing one) with a Leica t lens attached. Pressing the video button would let me switch between iso and exposure comp (or any other programmed combination) both of which would be controlled by the left dial.

What do you all think of this idea?

 

I agree re the video button. Allowing reprogramming would be a great improvement.

 

I also agree re the strap. I had an old Luigi strap and bought replacement lug fittings, which I prefer to a case.

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Yes ...... the strap is a love it or hate it experience ......... get a nice Arte di Mano strap and modify to fit the lugs ......

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-t/344508-arte-di-mano-case-strap.html#post2769321

 

The new AF functions are for the zoom telephoto lens(es) that Leica will release soon ...... it is lens specific and inactive currently.

 

AF is no better or worse than any other camera I have used ..... and all can be fooled by low contrast subjects etc ..... I always AF on something with a contrasty vertical edge close to the focus point I want (if possible) and this ensures a 100% hit rate

 

Lock-ups ...... make sure you have Wi-fi OFF when you are out and about ...... there is a bug where the selection wheels in particular become inoperative if the camera is searching for a network and cannot find anything ......

 

The numbering issue is a bug in the latest firmware only and should be fixed soon (Leica soon, that is )

 

It took 18 months of pestering to get Leica to allow the video button to be disabled on the M let alone assignable to other functions .... so I am doubtful if they will move on this ....... the XV is similar..... and more of a problem ...... as it is easy to press it accidentally when changing aperture on the adjacent dial.

Edited by thighslapper
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The strap is the worst thing about the T. Both the one in the box and the after-market accessory one.

MT lugs or A&A 1/2 case or adapting the existing fittings - all are vastly better solutions.

 

It's time Leica acknowledged this and scrapped the straps. And I haven't even begun on the "cases' yet!

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The strap is the worst thing about the T. Both the one in the box and the after-market accessory one.

MT lugs or A&A 1/2 case or adapting the existing fittings - all are vastly better solutions.

 

It's time Leica acknowledged this and scrapped the straps. And I haven't even begun on the "cases' yet!

 

In defense of the strap, the T is the only camera that I've ever been able to carry sling style when I go out riding. The fact that it doesn't slide around my body is an advantage.

 

I also think that the quick disconnect strap lugs are a great because it is very quick and easy to remove the strap when not needed. If I were improving it, I would embed a steel cable or Kevlar or something for strength then make the strap notably thinner. Then I would leave one side of the strap sticky and make the othe side something that slides.

 

I'd also either make a place to store the strap hole covers in or behind the door with SD slot or make the holes self covering.

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