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Leica Q Firmware 2.1 Wishlist


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 1) To remove the wake-up click needed for the exposure compensation wheel.  As it stands the first rotational detent/click only wakes up the function and then succeeding clicks actually change exposure.  So if set for 1/3 stops, I have to apply three clicks for 2/3rds stop exposure compensation.  Once the value is set, I have to again add an additional click for a change, i.e. two clicks for 1/3 stop, and four clicks for a full stop.  Is this a "safety" feature?  The best safety IMO is a strong detent on the wheel, which it thankfully already has.  Can I disable this non-ergomonic behavior?  

 

I would NOT see that changed, it's a more than welcome security to not have the exposure compensation activated when the camera gets out of the bag or when it hang at my neck.

 

If they make this optional though it's ok.

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I would NOT see that changed, it's a more than welcome security to not have the exposure compensation activated when the camera gets out of the bag or when it hang at my neck.

 

If they make this optional though it's ok.

I second that... It is bad enough to have the diopter setting shifting every time, having the ExpComp do the same would not be very nice (although more consistent ;) ). BTW: has anyone found a decent (not duct tape...) solution for the diopter shift problem?

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I second that... It is bad enough to have the diopter setting shifting every time, having the ExpComp do the same would not be very nice (although more consistent ;) ). BTW: has anyone found a decent (not duct tape...) solution for the diopter shift problem?

 

 

Bart, if you  have / use the ThumbsUp for the Q that pretty much solves the really annoying diopter shift problem........somewhat more costly than using tape but it works fine and there's handling benefits too. By the way, don't use duct tape as it leaves adhesive residue that's sometimes hard to clean off, use black paper camera tape instead, that's much better.....My M's and the Q are plastered with it covering and protecting various bits..

 

A couple of links......

 

http://www.theblackandblue.com/2011/03/07/the-two-types-of-camera-tape-you-need/

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ProTapes-Permacel-Coloured-Paper-Artist/dp/B00CYDPEYI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470645841&sr=8-1&keywords=black+craft+paper+tape

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I second that... It is bad enough to have the diopter setting shifting every time, having the ExpComp do the same would not be very nice (although more consistent ;) ). BTW: has anyone found a decent (not duct tape...) solution for the diopter shift problem?

This is weird to me that many people complain about the diopter shift, since mine never shifted once in the last 4 months. I walk in the streets for hours the Q hanging at my neck and this has never happened to me. Maybe I'm lucky.

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This is weird to me that many people complain about the diopter shift, since mine never shifted once in the last 4 months. I walk in the streets for hours the Q hanging at my neck and this has never happened to me. Maybe I'm lucky.

Wow, indeed you should consider yourself lucky, I think. I did a 2h shoot today and it happened 3 times during this short session... I guess that many factors (physique, clothing, strap, shoulder or front wear, your "walk") influence that but I do know I am not the only one to have this complaint. When I first got the Q and this happened, I actually thought there was something wrong with the AF, it is that bad, really completely blurry. Now, I immediately know what is wrong but it causes missed shots now and then.

 

From my perspective, this is one of the very few mistakes that Leica made designing the Q. Diopter settings on all my other cameras are locked and this makes sense, you do not change it once it is set, and you suffer when it gets inadvertently changed.

 

I just hate to use tape but Peter's suggestions are worth checking and a very small piece would do the trick I guess...

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This is weird to me that many people complain about the diopter shift, since mine never shifted once in the last 4 months. I walk in the streets for hours the Q hanging at my neck and this has never happened to me. Maybe I'm lucky.

I have had no trouble with dioptre shifting inadvertently..

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We all get to disagree.  Or put another way, we could all disagree and leave Leica without meaningful direction.

 

My user's mind would very much appreciate direct control of the exposure-compensation wheel, without the first "safety click".  A user-selectable option would give users the ability to experiment with which way they prefer.  I find it a wee incredulous that others feel strongly against it.  Think about it, if one detent does not protect against accidental movement, then how could a second detent?  Are users actually experiencing accidental movement?  Every Q I have handled have each had a snappy detent to prevent against accidental movement. Also, movement of the wheel does nothing when the camera is off or in powersave (by wire), which is the vast majority of the time when the camera is shoulder carried or in case.  That is better than what you'd experience with my Fuji X100s, for which the exposure compensation wheel lacks a strong detent and it also is direct-drive, meaning that if I rotate the wheel when the camera is off then the change takes effect once the camera is turned on again. Also for comparison, my Nikon D5 with sublime ergonomics allows the user to program the exposure compensation wheel to take effect with no other buttons pressed ("easy compensation"), and accidental movement is not a problem even though the detent is softer than the Q and the camera many times heavier. Following the train of thought a bit more, if a "safety click" is warranted for exposure compensation, then shouldn't that apply elsewhere like aperture ring, shutter speed, on/off, and shutter release?  

 

Pardon the soapbox, but after a lifetime of cameras I find the behavior hard to switch back and forth between different bodies and since mechanical product development is my bread & butter, I survive with observation and opinion!

 

Guess I'm also lucky, because after owning three Q's (not so lucky with the first two), but I've yet to experience accidental diopter shift.  I just tested and indeed the detent on the wheel is weak.  This is direct-drive so a software lock might not be possible?  For your band-aid, how about an itsy-bitsy drop of a removable rubber-urethane cement like E6000?

 

The Q is such a nice camera and got many things right.  I would prefer a teeny nipple-bump on the FN button so it's easier to find by feel, and I would prefer that the Zoom/Lock-Button stuck out as far as the other buttons because I'm a BBF user.  I've wanted to try the urethane cement to achieve both, but have just been too dang busy with the bread & butter job.

 

Cheerio!

 

The Q is a nice camera and got many things right.  I would prefer a teeny nipple-bump on the FN button so it's easier to find by feel, and I would prefer that the Zoom/Lock-Button stuck out further.

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Guest jvansmit

I would NOT see that changed, it's a more than welcome security to not have the exposure compensation activated when the camera gets out of the bag or when it hang at my neck.

 

 

 

same here...I used to have duct tape over the thumbwheel before the firmware update. Now I set the Fn button mode to Exposure Comp so the thumbwheel is disabled unless I press Fn first.

 

A Thumbs Up didn't solve the diopter wheel shift for me so now that's locked with tape. I either have extremely clumsy fingers or the early models like mine have slightly slack diopter wheels.

Edited by jvansmit
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We all get to disagree.  Or put another way, we could all disagree and leave Leica without meaningful direction.

 

My user's mind would very much appreciate direct control of the exposure-compensation wheel, without the first "safety click".  A user-selectable option would give users the ability to experiment with which way they prefer.  I find it a wee incredulous that others feel strongly against it.  Think about it, if one detent does not protect against accidental movement, then how could a second detent?  Are users actually experiencing accidental movement?  Every Q I have handled have each had a snappy detent to prevent against accidental movement. Also, movement of the wheel does nothing when the camera is off or in powersave (by wire), which is the vast majority of the time when the camera is shoulder carried or in case.  That is better than what you'd experience with my Fuji X100s, for which the exposure compensation wheel lacks a strong detent and it also is direct-drive, meaning that if I rotate the wheel when the camera is off then the change takes effect once the camera is turned on again. Also for comparison, my Nikon D5 with sublime ergonomics allows the user to program the exposure compensation wheel to take effect with no other buttons pressed ("easy compensation"), and accidental movement is not a problem even though the detent is softer than the Q and the camera many times heavier. Following the train of thought a bit more, if a "safety click" is warranted for exposure compensation, then shouldn't that apply elsewhere like aperture ring, shutter speed, on/off, and shutter release?  

 

Pardon the soapbox, but after a lifetime of cameras I find the behavior hard to switch back and forth between different bodies and since mechanical product development is my bread & butter, I survive with observation and opinion!

 

Guess I'm also lucky, because after owning three Q's (not so lucky with the first two), but I've yet to experience accidental diopter shift.  I just tested and indeed the detent on the wheel is weak.  This is direct-drive so a software lock might not be possible?  For your band-aid, how about an itsy-bitsy drop of a removable rubber-urethane cement like E6000?

 

The Q is such a nice camera and got many things right.  I would prefer a teeny nipple-bump on the FN button so it's easier to find by feel, and I would prefer that the Zoom/Lock-Button stuck out as far as the other buttons because I'm a BBF user.  I've wanted to try the urethane cement to achieve both, but have just been too dang busy with the bread & butter job.

 

Cheerio!

 

The Q is a nice camera and got many things right.  I would prefer a teeny nipple-bump on the FN button so it's easier to find by feel, and I would prefer that the Zoom/Lock-Button stuck out further.

Thanks for the input!

 

You have a couple of strong points. I agree on you that giving meaningful direction to Leica on new and especially altered functionality is very important. I also very much agree that getting all cameras you use to behave more or less the same is important. Differences and quick switching between cameras can lead to missed shots.

 

I am not strongly against direct control for the exp.comp. wheel, but preferably optional. I have had no trouble with accidental changes, but of course I cannot say if that is because the detent is indeed strong or because of the extra safety click. I am not unhappy with the way it works now, and simply removing the safety could introduce the chance of accidental changes, although you do have a point about the strength of the detent and that during sleep/power down no changes are possible. The point is that if Leica decides to implement this at all, I fear that they might not make it optional, simply not to clutter the menu too much. This is something that is valuable to many users, so they could be reluctant to add more entries. Also, they have a way of "doing it half right" now and then when it comes to firmware updates. To sum it up: for me, it would not be a big deal to leave out the safety click if the detent does indeed prevent inadvertent changes. So If is introduced as an option, so much the better. If it is not an option and I find myself seeing inadvertent changes, then I will be less pleased.... Look at it this way: I am seeing very regular diopter shifts, you and others do not. So maybe some users do have accidental exp.comp/changes, or will start seeing them after removing the safety click... Agreement is not just a matter of opinion, other equipment in use or shooting style, but can also be dependent on differences in this kind of behavior.

 

It is a good thing to have fora to discuss these matters. I always try to keep an open mind and learn from others. My opinions do change now and then as a result of this. That said, it will be very hard to compile a list of clear wishes on which we all agree, or more properly: on which the least amount of disagreement exists.

 

As to the diopter, a drop of a removable rubber-urethane cement is actually what I am planning on doing. I think I prefer that to tape and it could be more durable. Although not everyone is having this problem, I know I am not alone. And I repeat: on all my other cameras, this setting is locked. Normally, it is set only once and then locked. So, locking it with tape or cement is not such a big deal. For me, this is certainly worth it. Yesterday it happened 3 times (maybe clothing has influence) and that made me decide to do something about it before the next shoot. I should have done so earlier...

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I put off updating the firmware until a couple of days ago, did my first day of shooting today. The one thing, which I've seen others mention I guess on another thread, is the fact that in extended EVF the ISO and function button menus show up on the EVF not the LCD. I find this to be a big pain in the, er, neck. I did see one person at least say they like it on the EVF, and I'm a fair minded guy! So I wish this could be customizable, those functions user selectable for either the LCD or EVF in EVF extended mode.

Edited by stevieboy
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By the way just to add my two centimes, I have mild diopter shift problems, meaning once in a while it changes a little. Not enough to worry about much in my case, I wouldn't be above using a bit of tape if it were enough of a problem. I'm fine with low tech solutions even on such a high tech device as the Q.

 

I guess it just depends on specific ways you tend to handle or carry your camera. "I carry it a lot" doesn't really matter, or any other description. Either something you do moves it, or you don't have the problem. No problem!

Edited by stevieboy
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I put off updating the firmware until a couple of days ago, did my first day of shooting today. The one thing, which I've seen others mention I guess on another thread, is the fact that in extended EVF the ISO and function button menus show up on the EVF not the LCD. I find this to be a big pain in the, er, neck. I did see one person at least say they like it on the EVF, and I'm a fair minded guy! So I wish this could be customizable, those functions user selectable for either the LCD or EVF in EVF extended mode.

I agree. Not showing it on the LCD at all is not very well thought through. For me, in EVF Extended mode, it would make more sense to show FN/ISO screens on the EVF when the eye is on it (as detected by the sensor) and on the LCD when it is not. That way, you can also set ISO/FN stuff without taking your eye of the viewfinder, but also have it shown on the LCD when not looking at the EVF. That is the whole purpose of the sensor, I would think: detect the presence of the eye and use the EVF in that case... EVF extended mode is then simply a way of not showing the LCD preview (shooting) screen when the eye is not on the sensor. But opinions differ on this...

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I put off updating the firmware until a couple of days ago, did my first day of shooting today. The one thing, which I've seen others mention I guess on another thread, is the fact that in extended EVF the ISO and function button menus show up on the EVF not the LCD. I find this to be a big pain in the, er, neck. I did see one person at least say they like it on the EVF, and I'm a fair minded guy! So I wish this could be customizable, those functions user selectable for either the LCD or EVF in EVF extended mode.

 

 

When the beta test begun this is the first thing I reported. Many testers reported the same thing and Leica didn't do it.

 

The way I understand it is they coded the new firmware, gave it to beta testers for bug reporting and fixed the bugs but didn't change a single line of code. BTW this is how it work in computer industry so I'm not surprized.

 

That's why we (all of us, users) should prepare a complete et comprehensive wish list for the next firmware so (maybe) they will look at it before starting coding. When the firmware hit the beta test it is frozen already.

Edited by Voxen
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As suggested in another thread, add an option to invert single and continuous modes on the power button. Its impossible to switch to first position (S) with one finger while carrying the camera, while its very easy to switch to C mode. I'd like to be able to revert S and C.

 

Unfortunately I think this fix will never happen because that would mean Leica agree the camera has a design flaw ;)

Edited by Voxen
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A big trade-off for Leica (besides creating more unpaid work for themselves) is that a marketing appeal of the camera is that the controls and menu are simple, and adding customizable features pollutes this cleanliness.  Perhaps the added features can be all grouped under an "Advanced" category to keep the main menu short but still accommodate the power users?

 

 

I wish there could be an option for AEL toggle, not just hold on the Zoom/Lock-Button.

 

I totally see the value in this, although I work in the reverse using back-button-focus (perhaps I should learn your way too!).  For either, I think we would prefer a mechanical change (Q2) that makes it easier to hit this thumb-button.  I would enjoy it if it protruded further and even if it was domed.  I'll work to modify mine.

 

I wish a personal menu, short and easy to see

 

How about allowing the user to change what is in the FN menu?  The way the menu is set now, I will only use two or three of those items.  Some thinking thru this is warranted.

 

Can we have the possibility to write copyright,  owner name & contact in the Exif datas? It is just a matter of software, I suppose, should not be difficult...

 

I am surprised this is absent from the Q, after becoming accustomed to this using other cameras.

 

As suggested in another thread, add an option to invert single and continuous modes on the power button. Its impossible to switch to first position (S) with one finger while carrying the camera, while its very easy to switch to C mode. I'd like to be able to revert S and C.

 

Unfortunately I think this fix will never happen because that would mean Leica agree the camera has a design flaw ;)

 

I don't agree that the current implementation is flawed.  As it stands, you have "Off", next to "On" which is succeeded by "More On" (if you will).  To arrange "OFF" - "More On" - "On" would disarray the order. If you are in a hurry to capture your fleeting Pulitzer-prize photo, then throwing the switch hard will serve you well.  

 

We can expect a Q2 someday.  For that, perhaps a stronger detent for "C" compared to the first detent for "S" would be a little luxury.  Obviously a locking diopter wheel, or at least a strong detent.  I would also opt for a texture of some kind on the FN button so it it easier to find by feel while looking thru the viewfinder, or would if be better placed at the bottom position?  I already made the plea to make the Zoom/Lock-Button ("thumb button") more prominent.  

 

Last IMO, I would prefer a stronger detent on the aperture ring and for it to click in 1/2 stops.  Do y'all use the 1/3 stops?  I would prefer to be able to move the ring from f/4 to f/2 by counting or by feel, but with clicks every 1/3-stop it's too many when my brainpower is reduced because I'm trying to respond quickly.  It's a case of fine-tune refinement vs. speed.  Methinks that for a walk-around street photography camera the bias should be for speed.  But at least make the detent stronger.  I guess to be at the ready we would leave the aperture relatively small to be prepared for the unexpected, and then change to as wide an aperture as the scene allows to enjoy the nice look of subject isolation.  

 

 

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 BTW: has anyone found a decent (not duct tape...) solution for the diopter shift problem?

 

I set the diopter wheel for my eye, then put a tiny drop of orange fingernail polish on the edge of the wheel at the 3-o'cock position. That way I can tell if it has moved, and if it has, I can set it back to the right spot quickly. I'm not a big fan of tape on my cameras.

Edited by beez
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If the underlying sorftware is linux-based (which is definitely just a guess), allow direct handling of usb sticks from the camera,  in a simple mode performing reasonable backups to the thumb drive when connected.

(This through USB on-the-fly support.)

 

Inserting an usb stick, instead of doing just nothing, would raise a simple dialog, like 'do nothing/perform incremental backup/backup all', with possibly a preset to handle size like latest/earliest first, DNG alone or not.

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I would like to connect my camera via WiFi and let me connect to the camera using my computer and download pictures+video in the same way a WiFi or computer-based disk drive would.

 

Why couldn't the "Backup" option in the menus be used to simply make the camera's SD card accessible to computers trying to connect via WLAN? I would think that would be easy to implement and create tremendous value to dinosaurs such as myself who still use computers for photo and video editing.

 

I tried to verify whether this could be done, and it looks like my camera simply does not appear on my network to the Macintosh.  I have both computers connected to the same WiFi Network.  The camera says "Connecting to App" and hangs without any apparent ability to connect with a computer.

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