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Leica CL/TL2 and TL Firmware Update with Improvements, New Features and Bug Fixes


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What about the CL makes it "... the most frustrating camera I have ever used..."? I just finished reading the instruction manual and I find it to be a refreshingly simple camera to configure and use based on the instructions. I'm perplexed... I don't have a CL body yet to work with, but it really does seem pretty darn straightforward.

You are right. I didn't even bother to read the manual before first use (although it is wise to do so) and it was completely straightforward.

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[...] I can't remember to be sure, but I think I recall that in some previous updates the user profiles were not deleted during during firmware update. As a beta tester for this firmware, perhaps it was beta firmware that behaved that way. Or was it firmware with non-whole number versions?

 

No idea but formatting the SD card, as suggested by Leica, erases the "SETTINGS.LCS" file of the memory card so the camera cannot read its data.

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I have a user profile 'My default' which is just my starting point for other profiles and tweaks.

I don't suppose I'm alone in this practice.

I've a "standard" . user setting, and then a series of other ones, for long lenses, low light, B&W, etc.

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What about the CL makes it "... the most frustrating camera I have ever used..."? I just finished reading the instruction manual and I find it to be a refreshingly simple camera to configure and use based on the instructions. I'm perplexed... I don't have a CL body yet to work with, but it really does seem pretty darn straightforward.

The frustration level very much depends on what sort of subjects you might want to point the camera at and in turn how quickly you might need to make fine or detailed setting adjustments, the ability to do which is at least for me what decides how versatile any camera is, and in my maybe less than humble view nothing digitally so far has equaled let alone beaten the simplicity of having a 'M' like shutter speed dial coupled to a aperture ring.

Hence in the heat of a split second photo opportunity moment my CL before this latest firmware was already far too slow to fine tune, and post firmware is now slower still, hence my frustration as otherwise this camera is so capable of such superb results and could be so much more versatile than it is. Don (frustrated) Morley, Ex News and Sports Photographer.    

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The frustration level very much depends on what sort of subjects you might want to point the camera at and in turn how quickly you might need to make fine or detailed setting adjustments, the ability to do which is at least for me what decides how versatile any camera is, and in my maybe less than humble view nothing digitally so far has equaled let alone beaten the simplicity of having a 'M' like shutter speed dial coupled to a aperture ring.

Hence in the heat of a split second photo opportunity moment my CL before this latest firmware was already far too slow to fine tune, and post firmware is now slower still, hence my frustration as otherwise this camera is so capable of such superb results and could be so much more versatile than it is. Don (frustrated) Morley, Ex News and Sports Photographer.    

I admit I never saw the CL as a camera for sports or action, so I can see your frustration there.

I haven't found anything slower since the update; having the dials now do what I want makes it quicker in usage for me.

 

I took a decision recently to archive my M240 in favour of the CL for travel/casual/family, and this left me thinking about which is quicker. Yes, direct control of shutter speed and aperture is a bit quicker for the M, but for most normal subjects in reasonable light I find the AF of the 18-56 is faster than MF - I spend less time checking that I've got the focus as right as I need it, whereas eye detection, defaulting to multi-field, is very snappy and accurate.

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What do you want to tune then? You should put all the settings you need routinely under various user profiles and then set either the Fn button or right wheel press (which I prefer; faster) to change user settings.  Use the A setting and change aperture with the right wheel, exposure bias with the left. Or the other way around. I would not like to use the camera the way you describe either; I even have a profile only to switch between multi-point and spot focus.

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Hard to understand this frustration indeed. I use the digital CL in auto iso + manual mode mainly and i find it pretty straightforward this way, i mean with M lenses as i have no experience with AF on this camera. I don't find direct control of shutter speed and aperture the least slower than with M cameras thanks to the clever top wheels of the CL. Only con is slower focusing compared to RF cameras but there are digital Ms for that let alone AF lenses for those who like that. I just miss auto image magnification to be satisfied but other mirrorless cameras have the same problem with M lenses including the SL so i get over it so far.

Edited by lct
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I likewise set the user profiles individually to cover as many of my anticipated subject situations as I can but I do not enjoy or think this is the best or quickest way of working. Beyond that i am pleased for those that do, but for me it is a messy way of doing things and I would much prefer Leica for instance to have continued along with such as the X-Vario way.

 

I.E. Starting with a simple and conventional shutter speed dial (Analogue please not digital), and then likewise a simple ISO setting and override dial, I would then be happy to put up with all of the other settings and variations being done or altered via the rear set displays, and although I do understand others both like and rely on them, I have no interest at all in any of the 'Scene modes' as I prefer to make my own decisions rather than have them done for me. Don :( 

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I suspect you would find a minority of people here using Scene modes (though I've seen Panorama used), or P-mode.

 

But if you know you want direct analogue controls, why waste money on a CL? I find people on the forum who post "this camera is not for you - buy (e.g.) a Sony" seriously irritating in general, but you do seem to have spent good money on something that you could never like - the CL will never have analogue controls.

 

----

 

Another aspect that came out to the CL's credit in my comparison with the M240 is exposure metering: using the CL histogram (M or A-mode with Exposure Compensation) gives me far more reliable exposures SOOC than the M without the EVF. I'm sure those users with much more experience of the M's indirect exposure metering are better at making corrections, and both cameras have enough DR to allow correction in post, but it is gratifying to produce so many shots with little need for adjustment of brightness in post, and no blown highlights.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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I likewise set the user profiles individually to cover as many of my anticipated subject situations as I can but I do not enjoy or think this is the best or quickest way of working. Beyond that i am pleased for those that do, but for me it is a messy way of doing things and I would much prefer Leica for instance to have continued along with such as the X-Vario way.

 

I.E. Starting with a simple and conventional shutter speed dial (Analogue please not digital), and then likewise a simple ISO setting and override dial, I would then be happy to put up with all of the other settings and variations being done or altered via the rear set displays, and although I do understand others both like and rely on them, I have no interest at all in any of the 'Scene modes' as I prefer to make my own decisions rather than have them done for me. Don :(

I don't think anybody ever suggested using scene modes, I certainly never do except for the rare panorama. Still, I don't quite follow your objections. It is so simple to configure this camera exactly to your use. The wheels can be set to shutter speed, EV comp and ISO, alternatively, using it with M lenses is even more intuitive...

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Does anyone use the new Button Lock feature and do they understand Leica's thinking?  The feedback that I saw for v1.0 was a desire to lock the focus point only.  Locking all the buttons puts the CL into a point-and-shoot mode with no override - do you think that is that the intention?  I wonder how much that was requested by users?

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I have mixed feelings about this upgrade.  The wheel improvement is incredibly clean.  People seem to be responding to whether their particular irritation can be eliminated or not, so it hasn't been clearly stated what was done.  For each of the four mode, P A S and M (no changes in video or "other"), there are two things that the wheels can do, same as before, but you can assign which one goes on the left and which one on the right.  Change mode, say from A to M or A to S, and the wheels change to whatever you selected for the new mode.

 

ECO mode was intended to stretch battery life to an extreme point by turning the camera off as soon as possible after each shot, each review or each control adjustment, or after taking the camera away from your eye.  And starting up relatively quickly with a half-press of the shutter.  Unless you need this (3 days up the Amazon and on your last battery??)  it's just annoying.  I often switch off while waiting the the next picture to start to happen, and can do it faster than ECO mode does.  But there could be times when you want this, and for those times I would even be happy with a shorter off-time.

 

Finally, there is the new lock function.  Somebody at Leica realized that on the left wheel button the short press produces mode shifts, but there was no function assigned to the long press.  So they invented a total lockdown function, and made it a long press of the left wheel button.  There are already two lock functions in the menus and accessible by touch.  These lock or unlock the left and right wheel (individually).  Only God knows why you would want this, and I do it from time to time accidentally by touch.  I have seldom managed to unlock them by touch, so I have to go into menu page 4 once I discover that I am locked out and can't change aperture or something.  I had hoped that the long press on the left wheel would at least unlock a locked wheel, but it has no effect.  The new lock function locks everything but the shutter and the on-off button (and maybe PLAY) but that is overkill.  What people were asking for was a way to reset the focus point at the center position or freeze it in one place once set.  This does neither.

 

As an extension to the function of the left wheel button, it is also inconsistent.  The right wheel can do several things with a short press, and a long press lets you choose among them by selecting from the menus.  Since you really do need mode selection, that should become the long press of the left wheel button, and other things could happen with the short press.  Perhaps the short press options could be chosen from a special menu entry for locking and control options... 

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Back button focus and better video options would be nice, but not until a later upgrade after Leica has decided how its product strategy will sort out.  These functions are sorely missed by those of us with SLs, but they may not want us to sell our SLs and switch to CLs with some extra functions.  There may not be enough buttons on the back of a CL to support back button focus a la the SL's joystick (the 4-way dial is already claimed for some rarely used functions while shooting).  And manual control of settings during a video shoot, plus more&better codecs is a pretty tall order.  The CL may not have enough processing cycles to do it. 

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[...] I had hoped that the long press on the left wheel would at least unlock a locked wheel, but it has no effect. [...]

 

It works for me. Long press on the left wheel brings up a close padlock icon and another long press an open one. Great when children are using the camera... as long as they don't know how to unlock it...

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