EVF always attached?

[soundsgoodsg]

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I have a T with a Summilux-M 50mm, and using the EVF for focus is my preferred way of operating, so much so that I keep it on always. I found having to take off the hot-shoe cover and stow it, then get the EVF out of its case and stow its protector, attach it to the T and then fire it up, was way too time consuming. Keeping the EVF on permanently ruins the beautiful aesthetic of the T when it comes to a case (I had to get a new one to accommodate the extra height - built-in EVF like in the Q, or even a pop-up version like the Sony RX100 3 or 4 would have been so much better), but made sense operationally. 

 

I do notice that sometimes (as in 95%) on the first startup of the day, the T doesn't recognize the EVF. Solution is to power down and up, which is hassle, and twice in the last year it's frozen on the power down and needed a battery pull to reboot. Once it's recognized the EVF, the T will happily turn off for a while (lunch, coffee, etc.) and then be happy again when I fire it up. 

 

My questions

 

1. anyone else also keep their EVF permanently on their T? 

2. anyone who does keep their EVF always on their T, do they have any issues with the T not realizing the EVF is there? 

3. do most of the T users here let their T sleep when on a stroll and wake from sleep, or are they battery life conscious and power their T down? 

Edited August 16, 2015 by soundsgoodsg

[euston]

1. I keep the EVF on permanently.It fits easily in a Billingham Digital bag.

 

2. I’ve never experienced that. Make sure the contacts are clean.

 

3. I keep it switched on and let it sleep between shots. Battery life seems to improve slightly after it’s been through about three charge/discharge cycles.

One of the advantages of the Visoflex over a built-in EVF is its tilt action. I use it a lot to shoot from waist height.

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[Hunebed]

1. Permanently as well,

2. Never,

3. On around my neck, out in the bag.

[Guest VVJ]

1) Permanently on.

2) Never had the issue, the EVF lags sometimes though

3) Always power it off, just a habit, do this with other cameras as wel, I have 4 batteries but rarely use more than one, even with GPS on

[MichaelU]

1. Permanently on.

2. Never.

3. Mostly, I switch the T off.

[dkCambridgeshire]

Not permanently on … especially when using flashguns.

 

dunk

[cornbarn]

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1. Always on.

2. Never.

3. Usually switch it off.

 

Tony

[Guest]

I had a similar problem with the EVF not activating on my first 2 T bodies (without a reboot) - and I exchanged them with Leica NJ.  (First body also shot cold - couldn't come close to the right white balance).

 

From what I can tell, this EVF-related problem may have arisen by charging the camera using the USB port with the EVF attached.

 

I could have sworn the output rating of the transformer plug that I used was within the spec from the T's instruction manual.  (Perhaps the transformer plug contributed to the problem ??)

 

I shared my observation with the folks at the Leica NJ service center - and at the time, they had not received similar complaints (1 year ago).

 

Nonetheless, Leica exchanged the body - and I no longer charge the camera using the USB port - and I have had no further EVF activation problems.

 

I keep the EVF on the camera always, btw - although I find that when using the T's auto-focus lenses, I rarely use the EVF...  And, since you ask, I usually keep the T powered on while strolling.  I find the battery life to be adequate (but keep a spare in my travel bag).

 

I hope this is helpful.

Edited August 17, 2015 by Guest

[AndreasAM]

1. Permanently on.

2. Never.

3. I switch the T off between shots.

[Belle123]

I keep my EVF on it always too, fits into the one side of my small Billingham Hadley with 28mm Summicron M lens.  No problems with it so far.  And I power off between shots.

[Petercoll]

I have a T with a Summilux-M 50mm, and using the EVF for focus is my preferred way of operating, so much so that I keep it on always. I found having to take off the hot-shoe cover and stow it, then get the EVF out of its case and stow its protector, attach it to the T and then fire it up, was way too time consuming. Keeping the EVF on permanently ruins the beautiful aesthetic of the T when it comes to a case (I had to get a new one to accommodate the extra height - built-in EVF like in the Q, or even a pop-up version like the Sony RX100 3 or 4 would have been so much better), but made sense operationally. 

 

I do notice that sometimes (as in 95%) on the first startup of the day, the T doesn't recognize the EVF. Solution is to power down and up, which is hassle, and twice in the last year it's frozen on the power down and needed a battery pull to reboot. Once it's recognized the EVF, the T will happily turn off for a while (lunch, coffee, etc.) and then be happy again when I fire it up. 

 

My questions

 

1. anyone else also keep their EVF permanently on their T? 

2. anyone who does keep their EVF always on their T, do they have any issues with the T not realizing the EVF is there? 

3. do most of the T users here let their T sleep when on a stroll and wake from sleep, or are they battery life conscious and power their T down? 

Hi, I keep my EVF on all the time with my 23mm lens fitted. I also have the 55-135 mm long focus zoom. Everything fits comfortably as they are in a small Billingham bag. I wear glasses, so I remove them to use the EVF, and 'throw' them in the relevant partition, which allows me to steady the camera against my eyebrow, and feel very 'connected' to the camera. If I want to view camera image and subject in real life simultaneously, then I do, just spontaneously holding the camera forward and putting glasses back on. The Leica 'T' is my second ever digital camera, the first a D-Lux 4, and I may be very easy to please, but I adore both and the images they make for me !

[marh]

1. always on

2. so far so good

3. used to let it sleep but on more then one occasion, when I tried to wake it from sleep and found the battery had drained off...maybe the gps was still functioning? so now i mostly turn it off but carrying a spare batt definitely helps!

 

marh

[soundsgoodsg]

Many thanks to all the feedback, interesting to see how many T users do like to keep the EVF on all the time. 

 

I do charge by USB - I wonder if charging the batteries via the charger has a hidden benefit of a battery pull?

 

I did start now by firing up the T, and if it doesn't recognize the EVF, without powering down, I slide it off and back on, and this has a 100% success rate of the T recognizing that the EVF is attached and to act accordingly.

[FeralCoton]

I keep mine permanently on today I find out the little plastic snapping tab had broken off. Hopefully they will swap it as I wanted the T and my safari on an upcoming trip. If not I guess there is take until I return.

[marh]

Many thanks to all the feedback, interesting to see how many T users do like to keep the EVF on all the time. 

 

I do charge by USB - I wonder if charging the batteries via the charger has a hidden benefit of a battery pull?

 

I did start now by firing up the T, and if it doesn't recognize the EVF, without powering down, I slide it off and back on, and this has a 100% success rate of the T recognizing that the EVF is attached and to act accordingly.

I have never charged via USB before but doubt the "battery pull"effect using the charger. Although I have not encountered the same EVF issues as you, I definitely had my share of camera hang-ups. But removing the battery solves the problem all the time!

 

marh

[cornbarn]

I get the same problem with hang ups which seem completely random; at least I haven't been able to see any pattern. It can be a pain especially as I have to remove the half case (with a small coin) before removing the battery. However, it works every time and doesn't happen very often. 

 

I've never charged the battery via USB.

 

Tony

[Guest]

Sounds like your problem with the EVF not being recognized is identical to mine.  This happened to me on 2 different T bodies when I charged the camera with the EVF on - using the USB port.  The problem got progressively worse for me also - to where it occurred 100% of the time.  Removing and replacing the battery had no effect to fix this for me.

 

Leica gladly exchanged each camera body for this very reason.  I no longer use the USB port to charge the camera and don't have that problem.  While it rather stinks not to be able to charge the camera using the USB port, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

I am pretty convinced the USB charging is the root of this particular problem.

 

I suggest you contact Leica and get the camera exchanged under warranty.  They should look into this as it seems like it's a design flaw of some sort...  That shouldn't be happening with a near $2k camera (cost is for body plus EVF).  

[sbarrenos]

1. Always on. It fits perfectly well in my Thinktank Urbandisguise 5 and 10 cases with 18/56 lens attached and 55/135 lens also in the bags.

2. Never.

3. I use to turn off the camera