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Q2 back button focus


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1 hour ago, Sapphie said:

What does 'Sharpness' mean in this context? Is it just a mis-translation of 'Focus'.

And, why doesn't Leica let that be a toggle feature? In my Fujis I can back button focus by pressing the button and letting go. Then concentrate on moving the camera if need be for the exposure.

Lee

Yes, sharpness is a 'placeholder' for focus :-).

On Q and Q2 it works the same as on Fuji and other cameras, and I would not call this a toggle as you do not switch focusing on and off by repeatedly pressing the button (a toggle mode is sometimes used for exposure compensation so that you do not need to hold the button for EC).

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2 hours ago, Sapphie said:

What does 'Sharpness' mean in this context? Is it just a mis-translation of 'Focus'.

And, why doesn't Leica let that be a toggle feature? In my Fujis I can back button focus by pressing the button and letting go. Then concentrate on moving the camera if need be for the exposure.

Lee

That’s exactly how it works now on the Q. You push the button and lock focus then let it go. The shutter button then locks exposure and causes a picture to be taken. It did not used to work this way. Now it is correct. 

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So for the sake of clarity are we saying that you do *not* need to keep that AF lock button pressed whilst pressing the shutter button, which is what Jono's review suggests? If so, Jono is mistaken on this?

When in manual focus mode on the Q2 can that button be used to make the initial focus?

Lee

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I believe that is the case. You do not need to hold the button down. It is puzzling to me only because I remember trying this in the first year I owned the Q and I hated the implementation at that time. I walked away believing the button had to be continuously held down. Now its different and the way I want it to operate. Either I blew it early on or in fact the feature was updated sonewhere along the way. With my Q and Thumbs Up, its ackward to use back focusing. With the Q2 and Leica’s new Thumb Grip, it looks very usable and I’ll likely set my camera up that way. When I finally receive it!! 

Edited by iQ2 (formerly Infiniumguy)
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On 3/9/2019 at 1:36 AM, jonoslack said:

Hi There

Right - I’ve checked and you’re quite correct - I’ve also updated the article and credited you with the correction.

Thank You!

Hi Jono,

I read the correction, but I think the following paragraph is still wrong:

"Secondly If you press the AFL button to focus (or AEL button to lock exposure) you must keep it held down until you have pressed the shutter."

If focusing operation is disabled from the shutter button, there is no need to hold the AFL/zoom button until you have pressed the shutter. Same as on Q.

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1 minute ago, SrMi said:

Hi Jono,

I read the correction, but I think the following paragraph is still wrong:

"Secondly If you press the AFL button to focus (or AEL button to lock exposure) you must keep it held down until you have pressed the shutter."

If focusing operation is disabled from the shutter button, there is no need to hold the AFL/zoom button until you have pressed the shutter. Same as on Q.

I agree. 

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1 hour ago, SrMi said:

Hi Jono,

I read the correction, but I think the following paragraph is still wrong:

"Secondly If you press the AFL button to focus (or AEL button to lock exposure) you must keep it held down until you have pressed the shutter."

If focusing operation is disabled from the shutter button, there is no need to hold the AFL/zoom button until you have pressed the shutter. Same as on Q.

Hi There 

That’s what should happen, but it isn’t what does happen - the focus (or Exposure) is only removed from the shutter release While You Are Pressing the Zoom lock button. 

1 Example with static exposure point and Zoom Lock button set to AFL

2 point the cross at granny’s nose

3 press the zoom lock button to focus

4 Let go of the zoom lock button

5 point the cross at the tree out of the window

6 press the shutter and the camera will re-focus on the tree outside.

If in 4 you keep the zoom lock button pressed then focus will remain on Granny.

All the best

Jono

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On 3/9/2019 at 6:02 PM, iQ2 (formerly Infiniumguy) said:

That’s exactly how it works now on the Q. You push the button and lock focus then let it go. The shutter button then locks exposure and causes a picture to be taken. It did not used to work this way. Now it is correct. 

Sadly it doesn’t seem to work that way on the Q2 - I think it might change with a firmware update though.

best

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27 minutes ago, jonoslack said:

Sadly it doesn’t seem to work that way on the Q2 - I think it might change with a firmware update though.

best

I seriously hope they fix that. It could easily be a bug carried over from an old version of software they leveraged into the Q2. The old way (now Q2) is totally unusable IMHO. Please Leica fix this. 

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27 minutes ago, iQ2 (formerly Infiniumguy) said:

I seriously hope they fix that. It could easily be a bug carried over from an old version of software they leveraged into the Q2. The old way (now Q2) is totally unusable IMHO. Please Leica fix this. 

I’m inclined to agree

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1 hour ago, jonoslack said:

Hi There 

That’s what should happen, but it isn’t what does happen - the focus (or Exposure) is only removed from the shutter release While You Are Pressing the Zoom lock button. 

1 Example with static exposure point and Zoom Lock button set to AFL

2 point the cross at granny’s nose

3 press the zoom lock button to focus

4 Let go of the zoom lock button

5 point the cross at the tree out of the window

6 press the shutter and the camera will re-focus on the tree outside.

If in 4 you keep the zoom lock button pressed then focus will remain on Granny.

All the best

Jono

Thanks for clarifying that, Jono! The manual is apparently wrong/unclear as the table on page 81 says that in AFL mode the shutter button affects only 'Exposure'. What firmware version are you using on your Q2?

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While they're at it, make AEL work the same (which is how I have the button set usually).  I can't think of any logic that says having to hold it down makes sense.

Edited by jon m
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  • 1 month later...

I just got the Q2 expecting (based on my reading of the manual prior to purchase -- and in fact totally predicating my purchase on the reading of the manual) that the zoom/lock would function the same way as the Q1. That is, that I would be able to lock focus and metering with the zoom/lock, and have the shutter button simply be a shutter release. That is what pp. 80-81 of the manual suggest is possible. I can tell you that in reality, you DO have to keep holding the zoom/lock down even if you've selected AFL/AEL in order to get the shutter release to just take the photo. This is *not* how the Q1 worked; with the Q1, you hit the zoom/lock button and can take your thumb off of it and everything is locked until the shutter release. This is very upsetting for those of us who back button focus, because this is not true back button focusing to have to keep the button pushed down. Jono - the update you made to your article might want to make it even clearer that you have to keep the zoom/lock button held down in order to get the shutter release to not have focus/metering components (right now it's kind of phrased as an either/or). 

Edited by RachaelGS
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That is disappointing. I have used back button focus for years and was hoping the Q2 I am getting next week would have this.  I hope Leica is reading this or is there a process to recommend firmware update requests?

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I received a very nice e-mail (pasted below) from Technical Support in response to my complaint about the lack of true back button focus. If we contact Technical Support, they will pass it along to HQ and will fix this with a firmware update. So please make your voices heard!

 

Here's the response I received:

I’m very sorry for the inconvenience and frustration this matter has caused and will forward your message to product developers at the Leica headquarters in Germany.  It is there that the concern needs to be understood as being very important to photographers like yourself, and where the solution can be implemented in a firmware update.

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This firmware fix would transform my Q2 (which I’m currently thinking of selling).

It gives a level of “manual” control that I’m missing in my move from the SL.  Without properly implemented back button focus, the Q2 handles too much like a point & shoot.  Unless in full MF mode, which kinda defeats the purpose of this sophisticated AF camera.

Edited by paul.bridges.3388
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