Screen flashing on reframing with shutter half depressed

[wlaidlaw]

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I have a relative (in the USA) who is looking at getting a Leica Q. He is currently playing with one belonging to a friend. He has noticed that if he half depresses the shutter button and reframes, the screen flashes, as if some sort of weird red-eye reduction was going on, as he is reframing. The flashing however, is only the screen. In other words there is no actual flash firing. I have asked how the shutter button is programmed (I don't know if the Q is customisable like the SL) to focus lock and exposure lock or one or the other. 

 

Is this normal for a Q and if so what is the thinking behind this odd behaviour? Alternatively is this a faulty camera? As I already had an M240 and amongst many other lenses, a 28 Summicron ASPH, I never considered buying a Q. 

 

Wilson

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[gbealnz]

Hard to tell with limited information Wilson.

My first (possibly well wide of the mark too) thought was the screen showing the actual exposure, hard to explain.

Where live view works the screen view is normal, but when you half-depress the camera then shows what the resulting image will actually look like. If the settings (manual I guess only) are wildly in the overexposed setting, the screen would flash bright.

A poor explanation on my behalf I know.

Gary

[wlaidlaw]

Gary, 

 

I can see what you are getting at but given that the two folks playing with the camera are both full time professional photographers and/or lecturers, I would have expected them to check the exposure settings (or at least I would hope so). 

 

Wilson

[bags27]

As gbealnz suggests, it's indicating clipping. I'm sure of that, even if they're professionals and I'm not. It toggles in both Photo Live View and Play Mode Setup. Absolutely certain that's what you're describing.

Edited May 12, 2018 by bags27

[wda]

The screen is being refreshed during reframing, with clipping selected. Hence the flashing. The simple solution is to toggle display options to remove clipping.

 

This behaviour is not unique to the Leica Q, but any AF camera capable of displaying clipping. Many users ignore the clipping display option although, at times, it can be useful.

[wda]

Further to my Post #5, the better solution is to go to Menu/Photo Live View Setup and set Clipping to OFF. I find the histogram much more useful and easy on the eyes..

[wlaidlaw]

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He has sent me a video. It looks like clipping warning is not on, as that would flash black, assuming it is the same as my CL or SL (where I have the clipping warning set to on) but the pixels are saturating/clipping when the shutter button is half depressed to display exposure preview.They are indoors with a bright window in the background, classic circumstance for getting clipping, especially if exposure is not on spot.  I suspect that reading the manual might have been a good idea 

 

Wilson

[odds]

...It looks like clipping warning is not on, as that would flash black

If it is not clipping warning where bright areas flash black/white, then what is actually the nature of the flashing?

 

Without understanding the nature of the problem: If the whole display on the camera back flickers on/off, make sure the user does not wave or keep a left hand finger near the viewfinder as that may trigger the "eye at viewfinder" detector and turn the display off. If this turns out to be the case, the user may want to try Display Settings->Eye Sensor Sensitivity set to Low.

[wlaidlaw]

It was not the clipping warning but just clipping when the shutter was half depressed for an exposure preview inside a room, so camera was setting for low light but pointing towards a window, which then overloaded the sensor. Typical pair of professionals - they had not read the manual because of course, they know it all already 

 

Wilson