Learner Posted July 22, 2018 Share #1 Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Grrrr! I have just finished reading the 96-page English manual (“Instructions”) for the Leica CL … A frustrating exercise to say the least. The text is awkward and hard to follow. I often found myself scratching my head and muttering, “What the heck does this mean?” Clumsiness aside, there are numerous spelling mistakes and, inexplicably, a fair amount of German text that survived translation. At this time, I won’t get into the awkwardness of the text or the plague of minor annoyances throughout, but I will point to untranslated German and misspellings, all of which would have been detected by an English word-processing spellchecker. I hope that Leica corrects the online pdf and adds an addendum regarding the effect of Firmware 2.0 on the initial text. I’d like to know what others think of the manual. Please chip in ... What errors have you found? In particular, let readers know if you have come across processing / technical errors. Be sure to state precise locations. Here's what I spotted on my read-through ... Remember these jottings relate ONLY to spelling errors and German text: Page 2, left side, halfway down: “cahngeable” Page 3, left side, bottom line: German text Page 5, left side, last two bullets: German text Page 14, left side, bottom line: “comptuer” Page 20, left side, next to bottom para contains German Page 20, right side, 8th line from the bottom: “butto” Page 24, right side, middle: “fuctions” Page 28, right side, middle: “selectt” + the German“Erweitert” ... What is TID_3717? Page 29, left side, middle: “Selectt” + bottom line: “GSelect” Page 32, top: “availabe” + “GSelect” + 4thline from bottom: “GSelect” Page 32, right side, middle: “für” Page 32, right side, bottom line: “GSelect” Page 34, left side, bottom: “GSlect” Page 36, middle: “funtion” Page 36, near bottom: “electroninical” Page 36, bottom line: “GSelect” Page 36, right side, 4th bullet: German sentence Page 38, right side, top: “automatical” Page 46, left side, first bullet: “Correpsonding” Page 48, right side, middle: “shower” should be “slower” Page 51, left side, 4thline: “containig” Page 54, right side, second header: German Page 55, left side, 4thblock of text: German (”ist”) Page 56, left side, 2ndand 3rd bullets: German (“wählen) Page 59, right side, in the last para before the “Notes” header: “influende” and “chaged” Page 63, right side, middle: German sentence Page 75, left side, middle: “isettings” Page 81, left side, middle: “differes” Page 82, left side, near bottom: “LLeica” Page 82, right side: first word (“Bei”) Page 82, right side, middle: “smarphone” and German “Passwort” Page 85, right side, bottom: “whifirmware” Page 86, left side near bottom: “exthat” Page 94, left side, near bottom: German (“oder”) Edited July 22, 2018 by Learner Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 22, 2018 Posted July 22, 2018 Hi Learner, Take a look here Reading the Leica CL English manual ... A frustrating experience. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
ramarren Posted July 22, 2018 Share #2 Posted July 22, 2018 Hmm. By and large, I don't read the instruction manual as if I were doing an editorial review so I haven't really noted where all the typographical and word usage problems are. I also have some German language and often don't notice the occasional mixed language use in the text. I find the CL manual about average in its content: It has so far provided all of the detail I needed to understand how the controls and settings work, so I can't agree with it being a frustrating experience. By and large, it seems a far better thought out manual than the one that the Leica SL shipped with regarding context and usability. So I praise Leica's tech writers for producing an improved instruction manual experience in the CL, and suggest that the documentation department ought to improve their editorial effort to eliminate more of the typos and word usage/language irregularities before publication. Yes, I was a technical writer and editor myself before I retired. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted July 22, 2018 Share #3 Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) Learner ....... you are in a minority...... apart from my original M9 I have never read a Leica manual and have referred to one on a handful of times in the last 10 years. Most Leica cameras need little if any reference to the manuals ..... and once you have had one you will find most of the functions and menu options follow a similar, fairly logical pattern. The CL manual follows an illustrious past where similar typos and obscure baffling statements are par for the course. Put it back in the box with all the other bits you are never going to use and consign it to a cupboard/basement/loft where it belongs .... Edited July 22, 2018 by thighslapper 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 22, 2018 Share #4 Posted July 22, 2018 I usually read the Leica manuals in German, their translations are a bit better than LFI, but nor by a wide margin. Hey! Now you can be sure that the camera is made in Germany 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted July 22, 2018 Share #5 Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) I usually read the Leica manuals in German, their translations are a bit better than LFI, but nor by a wide margin. Hey! Now you can be sure that the camera is made in Germany Well, at least the manual is made in Germany. And the CL manual is correct except for some errors in telling you what the wheels do, which is irrelevant in Firmware 2.0 where you can swap them. The SL manual was much worse. I tend to enjoy the lost bits of German that someone didn't get around to confirming the translation of. Now for real Leica errata, check out the technical specifications on the SL's new 16-35, where the two engineering drawings have a different number of glass elements. Edited July 22, 2018 by scott kirkpatrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 22, 2018 Share #6 Posted July 22, 2018 Japanese is worse. Do you know what a “lamp” mode is? I figured it out in the end. B=Bulb=Lamp. (Canon) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill W Posted July 23, 2018 Share #7 Posted July 23, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) I usually play with the camera and only look at the manual when I need to clarify something. And I also come to this forum where someone call usually answer my question....! 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learner Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share #8 Posted July 23, 2018 Somewhat miraculously, the "errors" I pointed to yesterday have been corrected. It could well have been that they were corrected before yesterday because I was working on a pdf I had downloaded at least two weeks ago. Either way, I am very pleased that Leica has made the corrections. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bags27 Posted July 23, 2018 Share #9 Posted July 23, 2018 The only thing these manuals are good for is saving them with all the packaging so that if/when you sell the camera the next person can keep the manual for his/her own reselling of the camera.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learner Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share #10 Posted July 23, 2018 (edited) I don't agree with the anti-manual brigade... Yes, there are those who instinctively know what to do with a new camera. Then, there are the plodders like me who appreciate a well-written manual. That said, I understand why Leica no longer issues manuals as a matter of course; rather the user is invited to request a manual. It might be a good idea to produce videos of the more complex aspects of camera operation / setting. Of course, this might be cost prohibitive. Edited July 23, 2018 by Learner Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted July 23, 2018 Share #11 Posted July 23, 2018 What many manufacturers do is let the customers make the videos. Then we can complain about inconsistencies between them or stuff that is all wrong... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted July 23, 2018 Share #12 Posted July 23, 2018 (edited) Leica Miami (and David Farkas through Red Dot Forum) often do a nice job producing video tutorials for various models. Their video on S system menu/controls also serves well for those seeking to better understand the similar SL interface. Here’s one related to the CL... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=txEwe6Qx5Fc Jeff Edited July 23, 2018 by Jeff S 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebride Posted July 23, 2018 Share #13 Posted July 23, 2018 Murphy's law: "In case you cannot figure out how it works, red the manual":) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebride Posted July 23, 2018 Share #14 Posted July 23, 2018 ...read... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted July 23, 2018 Share #15 Posted July 23, 2018 Another good source of info on how to operate the CL is here, particularly in this thread... https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/279975-cl-faq-how-do-i-do-such-and-such/page-1 Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerardjan Posted August 27, 2018 Share #16 Posted August 27, 2018 Grrrr! I have just finished reading the 96-page English manual (“Instructions”) for the Leica CL … A frustrating exercise to say the least. The text is awkward and hard to follow. I often found myself scratching my head and muttering, “What the heck does this mean?” Clumsiness aside, there are numerous spelling mistakes and, inexplicably, a fair amount of German text that survived translation. At this time, I won’t get into the awkwardness of the text or the plague of minor annoyances throughout, but I will point to untranslated German and misspellings, all of which would have been detected by an English word-processing spellchecker. I hope that Leica corrects the online pdf and adds an addendum regarding the effect of Firmware 2.0 on the initial text. I’d like to know what others think of the manual. Please chip in ... What errors have you found? In particular, let readers know if you have come across processing / technical errors. Be sure to state precise locations. Here's what I spotted on my read-through ... Remember these jottings relate ONLY to spelling errors and German text: Page 2, left side, halfway down: “cahngeable” Page 3, left side, bottom line: German text Page 5, left side, last two bullets: German text Page 14, left side, bottom line: “comptuer” Page 20, left side, next to bottom para contains German Page 20, right side, 8th line from the bottom: “butto” Page 24, right side, middle: “fuctions” Page 28, right side, middle: “selectt” + the German“Erweitert” ... What is TID_3717? Page 29, left side, middle: “Selectt” + bottom line: “GSelect” Page 32, top: “availabe” + “GSelect” + 4thline from bottom: “GSelect” Page 32, right side, middle: “für” Page 32, right side, bottom line: “GSelect” Page 34, left side, bottom: “GSlect” Page 36, middle: “funtion” Page 36, near bottom: “electroninical” Page 36, bottom line: “GSelect” Page 36, right side, 4th bullet: German sentence Page 38, right side, top: “automatical” Page 46, left side, first bullet: “Correpsonding” Page 48, right side, middle: “shower” should be “slower” Page 51, left side, 4thline: “containig” Page 54, right side, second header: German Page 55, left side, 4thblock of text: German (”ist”) Page 56, left side, 2ndand 3rd bullets: German (“wählen) Page 59, right side, in the last para before the “Notes” header: “influende” and “chaged” Page 63, right side, middle: German sentence Page 75, left side, middle: “isettings” Page 81, left side, middle: “differes” Page 82, left side, near bottom: “LLeica” Page 82, right side: first word (“Bei”) Page 82, right side, middle: “smarphone” and German “Passwort” Page 85, right side, bottom: “whifirmware” Page 86, left side near bottom: “exthat” Page 94, left side, near bottom: German (“oder”) Mmmm, I got mine in Germna, and must say, it's very well written. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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