Firmware 1.2

[tritentrue]

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LR says this update adds support for the 18mm lens.

 

It also updated the firmware on my T/TL lenses.

 

Other than resetting the camera to its default settings (and wiping out my settings), I can't see any other changes.  No option to specify function for the right dial, no option to specify if an R or M lens is attached.

 

Probably no fix for the glitches I've been experiencing the past week or so, either:  camera resetting left dial to "AF/MF" every time I put on a different T/TL lens . . . right dial defaulting to "F" (which it can't control) when a manual lens is attached with a dumb adapter . . . one dial or the other locking while the LCD screen is off and EVF is on . . . and several assorted freezes, all occurring at extremely inconvenient times--not that there's ever a convenient time for a freeze to occur . . . 

 

I'm generally a person who prefers to exploit a piece of equipment's strengths rather than gripe about its imperfections.  But this firmware update is not encouraging.

 

Will head outside to see what (if any) difference the lens firmware updates made . . . 

[LocalHero1953]

Any sign of improvements to AF to bring it to CL speeds?

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[tritentrue]

Paul, I only briefly tried the 55-135 and 35 so far.  First impression is that the 55-135 is faster and is now accurate at infinity at f/4.5.  The 35TL seemed to be no different, cycling back and forth before giving confirmation.  Tomorrow I should have a little more time for further testing in detail with more lenses.  

 

My experience with the CL is limited to a couple of minutes' in-store handling with the 18mm attached.  It seemed to focus instantly, compared to what I'm used to with the TL2.

 

One very helpful improvement that I noticed after posting earlier is that when the video button is set to toggle LCD and EVF, the camera now remembers last the last state on start-up.  Hopefully there are more such surprises to be discovered . . .  

[tom0511]

.....

 

One very helpful improvement that I noticed after posting earlier is that when the video button is set to toggle LCD and EVF, the camera now remembers last the last state on start-up.  Hopefully there are more such surprises to be discovered . . .  

 

this would be very useful for me.

[Guest]

I wonder if they will similarly update the Leica T...

 

That pancake lens would also be sweet on the T.

Very pocketable, and maybe AF performance won’t get in the way due to wide focal length lens DOF characteristics in general.

[cdekter]

Paul, I only briefly tried the 55-135 and 35 so far.  First impression is that the 55-135 is faster and is now accurate at infinity at f/4.5.  

 

 

This would be incredible if true! I will have to test my 55-135 ASAP!

[szabokristof]

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The exposure simulation which was useless in dimmed light condition is now works fine with the 1.2 

[tom0511]

The exposure simulation which was useless in dimmed light condition is now works fine with the 1.2 

 

+++ I am happy to hear this!

[tom0511]

this would be very useful for me.

 

yeah, it also works on my TL2 now. this speeds up the camera for my use. great!!!

AF with the 60 also seems more snappy. just first impression.

Edited November 29, 2017 by tom0511

[cdekter]

The exposure simulation which was useless in dimmed light condition is now works fine with the 1.2 

 

 

Absolutely fantastic! Will try it ASAP.

[HankPhoto]

Is firmware 1.2 available for my now old "T".  Where do you download for US.

[tritentrue]

Further use of the TL2 with FW 1.2 yielded a couple more unfavorable surprises . . . 

 

Before the update I set Auto Power Off to 5 min as a workaround for keeping the display set on the EVF.  On a typical morning walk during which I would shoot around 60-70 frames, the battery meter would show 2 or 3 bars of usage.  After the update I set Auto Power Off to 1 minute and left the display on the EVF unless I needed to make a change via the menu.  This morning a fresh battery completely died after just 80 shots.  Fourteen more shots on another fresh battery ate up another bar.

 

Before the update my 55-135mm could not achieve critically accurate focus at f/4.5 at long distances.  Now it cannot achieve critically accurate focus at any distance at f/4.5.  Stopped down to f/5.6, focus is perfect, both before and after the update.  The camera seems to confirm focus (whether correct or not) a bit faster with this lens after the update.  I tried AF-C with this lens on a bus moving towards me at about 50kph.  It "ballparked" on all five shots without being critically accurate on any.

 

After yesterday's underwhelming result when I tried the 35TL wide open on a low-contrast subject (a bit unfair of me), today it focused quickly and accurately with every shot on slightly contrastier subject matter in very dim light.

 

I noticed no post-update difference in performance in the 11-23, which has so far served me to perfection, using both Spot and Multi-Point. Almost the same with the 18-56, except that I didn't get critical accuracy on a few shots taken at 56mm.  I will try this FL again later to see whether user error could have been a factor, as this lens was 100% accurate before the update.

 

GPS data was recorded on only about 50% of the outdoor shots.  The misses all seem to have occurred just after wake-up, which would imply that GPS auto shuts off when the camera does . . . which leaves me wondering what on earth is causing the extra drain on the battery?

 

With Auto Review set to Off, there now seems to be about a half-second display of the recorded image.  I don't recall it being that way before the update.

 

For perspective I will fish the old T out of the dry cabinet and see how it compares.  For sure, it will outperform the TL2's current battery life . . . 

[tritentrue]

Following up on my previous post, I left GPS switched off today and battery life seemed back to normal.  After seeing how the SL's GPS could obtain a position and record information very quickly after being switched on, even in concrete canyons and crevices where it could have been forgiven for failing, the performance of GPS on the TL2's Visoflex was disappointing, around 40% overall.

 

Paying more attention to focus speed today, it was no issue for me with the 11-23, 18-56, and 35TL.  Perhaps I am more tolerant of slower speeds because most of my past shooting has been MF and because I mostly shoot static subject matter at these focal lengths, but I'm satisfied with both speed and accuracy with these lenses.

 

The 55-135 is a different story. Going from near subject matter to a distant subject, it is just plain slow, especially so when Multi-Point is selected. It misses frequently regardless of which AF area is selected, mostly rendering "almost but not quite" -focused subject matter.  Beyond 100mm it appears to have a substantial amount of color and contrast cooked into Leica's embedded profile, as contrast detail is just not there. 

 

I suspect a 50-year-old 135mm Tele-Elmar would put it to shame in terms of sharpness, color, and contrast on a side-by-side comparison without digital corrections. 

 

With Auto LCD Off set to 30 seconds, the touch screen became less reactive and blacked out several times before I was able to change the time to 1 minute, after which it seemed to be normal again.

 

It seems that for as long as I used first the T and then the TL2 with manual-focus R- and M-mount lenses, problems were few. But with the numerous idiosyncrasies that seem to be prompted either by using AF lenses or by switching from AF to MF lenses and back, I'd almost wish that Leica would give the TL mount, sensor, and image processor to Panasonic and let Panasonic build the rest of the camera.   

 

MFT bodies in general seem to have the best running works of the mirrorless genre, and my very favorable experiences with the GX8 and GX85 lead me to think that Panasonic could produce a great TL-mount body. 

[Kamyar]

I can not update tl2. My camera is stopping

[jevidon]

With my TL2, the 1.2 firmware update and my 23m f/2.0 Summicron, I aimed at a very dark corner of my bookcase and took a shot. What printing I could make out was no worse than I could make out with my eyes and that printing was razor sharp on the camera LCD. Quite an improvement. There was no focus hunting and the focus was very fast.

Jim

[tritentrue]

In the process of taking a first shot this morning after mounting a 90mm Macro-Elmar-M via the M-Adapter-T, half-press of the shutter button generated an acoustic signal. 

 

Further checking showed that I had Touch and SD Card Full set to OFF, and AF Ok set to ON.  It made no difference whether the lens was focused or far out of focus, the acoustic signal still sounded.

 

Out of curiosity, I removed lens and adapter, and the focus confirmation beep still sounded with each half-press of the shutter button.

 

Doesn't Leica use beta testers for new firmware?  The stream of glitches I've encountered leaves me with less confidence that the camera can be relied upon during some upcoming travels.  At least (so far) image quality has not been adversely affected.

[frame-it]

and it was on AF-S or AF-C ?

 

 

In the process of taking a first shot this morning after mounting a 90mm Macro-Elmar-M via the M-Adapter-T, half-press of the shutter button generated an acoustic signal. 

 

Further checking showed that I had Touch and SD Card Full set to OFF, and AF Ok set to ON.  It made no difference whether the lens was focused or far out of focus, the acoustic signal still sounded.

 

Out of curiosity, I removed lens and adapter, and the focus confirmation beep still sounded with each half-press of the shutter button.

 

Doesn't Leica use beta testers for new firmware?  The stream of glitches I've encountered leaves me with less confidence that the camera can be relied upon during some upcoming travels.  At least (so far) image quality has not been adversely affected.

[tritentrue]

and it was on AF-S or AF-C ?

 

It was on MF, grayed out so that focus mode could not be changed.

[frame-it]

brilliant

It was on MF, grayed out so that focus mode could not be changed.

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Look here: Leica L-Mount

[tritentrue]

Forgot to mention:  with the TL2 set to AF-C and any one of the three AF area settings with the 55-135mm mounted, my TL2 now continuously, constantly, and slowly adjusts AF to focus on whatever the lens happens to be pointed at for as long as the camera is powered up. 

 

It locks focus and exposure when the shutter button is half-depressed, and continues to show the green confirmation brackets even if they are moved to an OOF subject. 

 

Some years back I (briefly) owned an entry-level DSLR that implemented full-time AF when AF-C was selected, and its battery life was similarly short in this mode.

 

Fortunately, AF-C is so slow as to be useless with moving subject matter on the TL2, which is why I leave the camera set to AF-S, except when checking its performance after the recent firmware regression.  

 

If the camera shows any more such oddities, I guess I'll have to send it to Leica, as no one else here has mentioned experiencing glitches with the recent firmware.