Relearning & Practicing

[Le Chef]

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Last summer I borrowed a CL and TL 60 from the effervescent Mr. Dan Tamarkin who is the Leica AD for Chicago and runs the Tamarkin Gallery. I loved that experience! Even loving the discipline of using a lens I might not have considered for city/street photography. I've since acquired a "pre-loved" CL + TL 18-56 and a TL 23. I got it late last year, took a few shots and then got sick with bronchitis and pneumonia , so didn't touch it for a while. Yesterday I went out and took the camera with me. Lack of practice and familiarity made me feel all fingers and thumbs, as the expression goes. I noticed a couple of things that others have noted here. The focus point does wander about - very irritating! I kept nudging the exposure compensation dial so found my shots erratically over or under exposed. I also found the zoom ring on the TL 18-56 felt clumsy and distracting. Clearly I need more practice. The TL 23 OTOH was a gem and I can see I'm going to spend more time with this lens than I had originally anticipated. In the end there's nothing that can't be fixed by more practice until it becomes second nature. Now where's the light???

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[wda]

Sorry to hear about your ailments but hope all in now well and you can concentrate on mastering your CL. I have never had trouble with accidental adjustments and attribute that to my use of the handgrip. It seems to relieve pressure on the camera body and controls. Worth considering, perhaps.

Regarding zoom lens controls, I use left hand on top of lens barrel when making adjustments. When made to my satisfaction I change to a more conventional grip which removes left hand fingers from lens controls.

[Le Chef]

Thanks for your comments. I did buy a grip when I acquired the CL as I always seem yo have had grip on my cameras going way back. What I have found awkward is the tricky switch from zooming (left hand on top) to supporting the camera (left hand below).In contrast the TL 23 is a joy. I will persevere with the TL 18-56 but wonder whether in the end I wouldn't be happier with fixed focal length lenses. Now can I have a TL 16 f2 please?

[nicci78]

Just stop using matrix metering for central weighted one. Such as all Leica since the M6

[jaapv]

Switch the wheel function to stop yourself nudging EV compensation. You'll nudge aperture instead, which won't spoil the image.

[Le Chef]

FYI, I use center weighted or spot metering, and I switched the exposure compensation to the left wheel and use the right wheel for mode - Aperture, or Manual usually.