Leica T Video Limitations

[johnloumiles]

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I was wondering if anyone here is knowledgeable when it comes to the video function in digital cameras. I'm curious to know how much of the Leica T is limited by hardware vs. software. For example, is shutter speed something that could be changed via firmware? I assume adding time lapse wouldn't be impossible since it's just taking photos at predetermined times, but I'm thinking slow motion is tied to the hardware currently installed? Any other video functions you can think off that may be addressed via firmware?

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[johnloumiles]

I had another question about using video on the Leica T that I wanted to add. Despite many people saying the video is nothing special, I find it to be quite pleasing when lit purposefully with a subject closer to the lens. The main problem is that the camera manually adjust the exposure as the scene changes. So if a room is lit as desired but then people walk in front of the lens the exposure bumps up on it's own. In the instruction manual it says the T will do this on its by pushing up the ISO even if you have it set to a specific film speed. It then says if you want to disable this function you must put the camera in manual and set the shutter speed. Unfortunately this does not work. I set everything as I specified for the look I was after and sure enough as soon as someone came in front of the lens the exposure pushed up on its own. Of course it's impossible to know what the camera is actually doing because none of the settings are listed when in film mode. Has anyone come up with a fix or am I do something wrong? I really don't understand not allowing full control of the camera at all times, this a Leica after all.

[SamJames]

I agree, in controlled conditions the Leica T has pretty nice video quality, especially with M lenses.  But in the manual it says to override auto exposure use Manual mode and control  the shutter speed but that doesn't seem to work.  It would be great to have this option in a new firmware update.

[bencoyote]

I had another question about using video on the Leica T that I wanted to add. Despite many people saying the video is nothing special, I find it to be quite pleasing when lit purposefully with a subject closer to the lens. The main problem is that the camera manually adjust the exposure as the scene changes. So if a room is lit as desired but then people walk in front of the lens the exposure bumps up on it's own. In the instruction manual it says the T will do this on its by pushing up the ISO even if you have it set to a specific film speed. It then says if you want to disable this function you must put the camera in manual and set the shutter speed. Unfortunately this does not work. I set everything as I specified for the look I was after and sure enough as soon as someone came in front of the lens the exposure pushed up on its own. Of course it's impossible to know what the camera is actually doing because none of the settings are listed when in film mode. Has anyone come up with a fix or am I do something wrong? I really don't understand not allowing full control of the camera at all times, this a Leica after all.

Have you filed a bug report with Leica?

 

I may be wrong about this but I believe that the Leica T is an evolving platform and especially with seldom used features, they may not have noticed problems yet and have inadequate test coverage to ensure correct operation. Your example and Program Shift being two examples that jump immediately to mind.

 

My overall impression with Leica is that they do a fairly good job but they need a few more firmware engineers on staff. In particular, I think that additional engineering resources need to be targeted primarily at existing project refinement and support such as bug fixes but then push their improvements into the mainline software being worked on by the new product engineering team. I would argue that one thing often overlooked by management who sees the revenue coming from new products is the value that is gained by the refinement based upon the experience of people currently using their products. Incorporating experience from current products into new products makes them all the more compelling. Furthermore when you have longer release cycles, the current product engineering team boosts the number of units sold by increasing the overall customer satisfaction over time. You can also work this to renew the social media and marketing buzz around an older product. You release a new firmware load and ask people to review it which can cancel out previous negative reviews and remind people of the products and its attributes.

 

Just guessing and not based upon any inside knowledge, I would expect a new firmware load around fall. Here is why:

1) Several new products have been released recently, therefore engineering resources can be redeployed back to other systems and new product enablement.

2) The chorus of requests for new prime lenses has been growing louder. I have to expect that Leica is hearing that and that to make the T-mount a viable system, they need to address that. It took about 6-8months to go from the first two lenses to the 2 additional lenses that they now have. If they follow that pattern, I'd expect the next lenses to be in the fall.

3) The T body has the firmware for the lenses embedded into it. When they release new lenses, they will need to release a new firmware version to support those in much the same way as they did when the 11-23 and the 55-135 came out. So at the very least, we'll get 1.4 around the time we start seeing new lenses. What else will be in that new firmware besides new lens support probably will be based in part by the bug reports and the new features that they have gotten so far.

 

Therefore, report your bugs.