SL Manual - written by the chocolate teapot company of Wetzlar?

[wlaidlaw]

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Now I know that the English language versions of Leica manuals have never been a model of accuracy and helpfulness but am I alone in finding the SL manual particularly unhelpful. I have now read it cover to cover twice and various bits of it a number of times over in addition. Puzzling out how to set up the various functions on the configurable buttons seems especially badly and illogically explained. I have to admit I am struggling with how it all comes together far more than any other camera I have had. Focus/Auto focus seems very difficult work out how to configure it and the layout of the menus do not seem to help a lot, with bits of it in Image and bits of it in Setup. Other functions seem to be duplicated in both sections of the menu e.g. card formatting - why? I am actually considering booking a session at Leica Akademie in London, to short circuit the learning experience, as otherwise I am sure there will be features or shortcuts that I will miss out on. Are others finding it difficult also? 

 

Wilson

 

Does the L stand for Leica? 

 

 

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[digitalfx]

you are not alone. Its terrible. 

They must hire an english copy writer.

Edited November 21, 2015 by digitalfx

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[ramarren]

Yes, it needs a better guide for learning and getting up to speed with. The manual is all right insofar as a reference manual goes, but it's a fairly poor teaching tool. 

 

I'm working on it. 

 

...

One hint that will be in my guide:

 

I found the explanations of how to operate the various controls somewhat opaque until I understood what the displays would show me. For that, I turned to the APPENDIX - DISPLAYS on page 284 (English section) first. Just understanding what all the displays would show, and then reading the subsequent APPENDIX - MENU LIST to gain an understanding of what the menu options actually were made the discussions of how the controls worked make much more sense. 

 

Then, of course, just working the controls a lot and seeing what happens starts to fill in the missing discussion. 

 

Give it a try. :-)

Edited November 22, 2015 by ramarren

[IkarusJohn]

Yes, it needs a better guide for learning and getting up to speed with. The manual is all right insofar as a reference manual goes, but it's a fairly poor teaching too. 

 

I'm working on it. 

 

...

One hint that will be in my guide:

 

I found the explanations of how to operate the various controls somewhat opaque until I understood what the displays would show me. For that, I turned to the APPENDIX - DISPLAYS on page 284 (English section) first. Just understanding what all the displays would show, and then reading the subsequent APPENDIX - MENU LIST to gain an understanding of what the menu options actually were made the discussions of how the controls worked make much more sense. 

 

Then, of course, just working the controls a lot and seeing what happens starts to fill in the missing discussion. 

 

Give it a try. :-)

 

I look forward to seeing the end result. Sounds like a useful exercise we will all enjoy!

[mjh]

Admittedly the manual leaves something to be desired but the German language version isn’t much better than the English one I’m afraid. Having said that, I haven’t found the camera’s menu system to present any difficulties even without the benefit of a manual. Configuring the soft buttons isn’t that difficult really.

[Flu]

lol, I'll have to check out the manual when I get a chance to see how messed up it is. Luckily, the button and menu system is almost identical to my S 007 system. So, no learning curve as far as operations go here.

[Jeff S]

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Luckily, the button and menu system is almost identical to my S 007 system. So, no learning curve as far as operations go here.

I was going to suggest that it might help to download the S manual, but as a non-user, I'm not sure if it's much better.

 

Many people find the S controls elegant and intuitive.....I didn't when I experimented at the dealer, much preferring simply labeled buttons....but then I guess I'm old school.  The Pentax 645Z looks busy with all the buttons, but I didn't need a manual when testing it.  Different cups of tea...

 

Jeff

[ramarren]

... Many people find the S controls elegant and intuitive.....I didn't when I experimented at the dealer, much preferring simply labeled buttons....but then I guess I'm old school.  ... 

 

I haven't seen the S manual but I don't expect it to be much different. Leica's manuals are all good reference and poor learning guide material, in my experience. 

 

The SL's operation is very elegant and intuitive after a little bit of time to grok the system. Once you get it, and it doesn't really take much time, it comes naturally and easily because the logic is sound. So unlike some other cameras of recent memory ... ! 

[wlaidlaw]

What I think I would have liked to have seen is a folded up A3 or A2 sheet of paper, with a chart of all the buttons and controls and what single quick push, double push, long push or turn does for each different camera configuration - Still Aperture Priority, Still Shutter Priority, Still Manual, Video, Still Playback, Video Playback and so on. You would then have a partially blank part of the chart, where you could write in your own alterations to the button functions. I think I have just about got my head round the standard still button functions but it is quite a steep learning curve, coming from being a 50+ year M user. 

[Peter H]

I'm thinking of all the instruction manuals I've used, cars, TV, cameras, tools etc etc...for one that I could hold up as a good example to writers of manuals.

 

I can't immediately think of a single one that stands out. 

 

One thing they always seem to miss is that the new user is not already familiar with all the buttons and functions. So they address us as if we already understand it all and just need a little reminder. And they don't even do that well. 

 

The same goes for on-line help. 

 

To all writers of guides and manuals: you will not insult me if you assume I know nothing about your product.

[LocalHero1953]

Still waiting for my SL manual (and SL).......

 

But recently I bought a new VW Golf automatic. It used to be that I got in a car and drove it. Now they are so tech-laden I had to read the manual to deal with basic operations. The VW has adaptive cruise control and speed limiter, auto park brake, auto engine switch-off and restart, auto emergency brake, parking sensors, auto wipers, auto headlights, auto engine hill-braking and more.

So I read the manual from cover to cover. It was all there, but in the end I just wished that they had cut out every repetition of the precautionary messages, H&S warnings, and even the first-time-funny-but-nth-time boring "This system cannot over-ride the laws of physics" message.

 

What we need are online manuals where you can select a "cut the cr4p" option that eliminates these 4rse-covering messages and gives you a simple sequence of how to do each operation.

Edited November 22, 2015 by LocalHero1953

[scott kirkpatrick]

I'm thinking of all the instruction manuals I've used, cars, TV, cameras, tools etc etc...for one that I could hold up as a good example to writers of manuals.

 

I can't immediately think of a single one that stands out. 

 

One thing they always seem to miss is that the new user is not already familiar with all the buttons and functions. So they address us as if we already understand it all and just need a little reminder. And they don't even do that well. 

 

The same goes for on-line help. 

 

To all writers of guides and manuals: you will not insult me if you assume I know nothing about your product.

 

That's why we have tech writers.  But I think an all-electronic manual should have levels of expertise and interest that can be set as filters.  The first 6-10 pages always manage to get me through the steps of checking the package for any missing small parts, charging the battery and setting the clock.  I never want to see that part again, but at least I can flip past it easily.  Then there should  be a setting for first time users and a final view that doesn't go as slow and answers all properly phrased questions, that you can't even phrase properly on day 1 (how often have you been unable to find the right term to look for in an index?)  Instead we get one size fits all, blessed by the legal department, paper manuals passed along as huge PDFs.  But if engineers have to write the manuals, when they should be fixing firmware bugs, the result will be what we see.  I still have a week or more to prepare for unboxing.  Better start studying!

 

scott 

Edited November 22, 2015 by scott kirkpatrick

[scott kirkpatrick]

BTW, I don't find instructional videos, which take even longer than RTFM, very helpful, either. 

[ramarren]

Lots of interesting ideas, thank you. :-)

[wlaidlaw]

BTW, I don't find instructional videos, which take even longer than RTFM, very helpful, either. 

Actually I have found video repair instructions very useful recently. Our condensing tumble drier had died and I found a very useful little video on YouTube, which pointed to the probably culprit on that model, being a pair of small thermostats. It then showed exactly how to test and replace these, which once you knew how, was quite simple. The total cost was around £7 and an hour's work. If I had got a repairman in, I would have been at least £100 poorer.

 

Some heavy handed person has broken the power switch in the handle of our Miele upright vacuum cleaner, with it permanently in the on position. Again I have now found out from a video, that the whole handle is a sealed unit and has to be replaced. This is not at all difficult, taking just a couple of minutes but the cost of the handle is £167.50, which is not far short of what I paid for the whole vacuum. If I had taken it to the repairers, which I was going to do next week, I would have had a bill of around £200. Instead I have bought an inline power/RCD switch, which I will insert in the power line near to the cleaner. It cost £11. I am very grateful to these public spirited folk who have taken the trouble to video themselves repairing various devices and then posting on Youtube, for as far as I can see, little in the way of remuneration. 

 

Maybe an SL instructional video on button use, configuration and customisation would not be a bad idea at all. 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Actually I have found video repair instructions very useful recently. ....

 

Maybe an SL instructional video on button use, configuration and customisation would not be a bad idea at all. 

 

A nice idea, specific target and all.  Even that might need to be broken down into a basic understanding --WHY?-- video, followed by a separate --HERE's HOW-- piece with the examples.  You could watch the first one once, and the second one as many times as it takes to make sense.

 

scott

[johnwolf]

.... To all writers of guides and manuals: you will not insult me if you assume I know nothing about your product.

 

I'm a contract technical writer, and unless otherwise requested by the customer, that is always my assumption. 

 

If Leica wants to send me an SL, I'll be happy to rework their manual. Keeping the camera should cover my fee.

 

John

[Peter H]

Another request: please may future instruction manuals have a proper, comprehensive index at the end where you can find it, which simply lists everything alphabetically instead of requiring you to know which section it might be in before you can look it up?

 

Thank you.

[ramarren]

Another request: please may future instruction manuals have a proper, comprehensive index at the end where you can find it, which simply lists everything alphabetically instead of requiring you to know which section it might be in before you can look it up?

 

I like an index too, but you still get into a naming problem with them. For example, "What do I call the little button next to the viewfinder so I can look it up in the index...?" and "Is it a control wheel, a control dial, a thumb dial, the top wheel, or what...?" and "Do I look up 'LCD', 'display', or 'monitor' to find references to the EVF (or the screen on the back)...?" 

 

Issues and ambiguities like this take a bit of ingenuity to overcome. A glossary and an index help, along with illustrations that quickly identify the significant bits without cluttering up the information with too many call-outs ... like, do I really need to have call-outs in an illustration of the camera to tell me what is a strap lug, a flash shoe, or a viewfinder ocular? Is that level of ultra-basic information necessary for someone buying an $8000 camera? 

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[mgrayson3]

The diagram call-outs (is that what diagram labels are called? I didn't know) could have reference page numbers as well as names. A visual index.