Manual Focusing + Shutter Noise

[Le Chef]

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I managed to find an hour yesterday and grabbed the CL + 23 for some quick pictures in a quiet location.

I quickly realized that the mechanical shutter was distracting people (it is noisy!) so switched to the electronic shutter - better!

I also decided to use manual focusing as it would be quieter. I came to the conclusion that magnification screws up your compositional thinking, and peaking doesn’t always get it right. I miss the old split screen prism focusing aid on my old SLR’s! It’s a pity it’s not an EVF screen option on the CL.

Anyone else feel the same way about either of these things or am I just being super picky?

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Ravi]

I definitely agree about the split prism / ease of focusing.

I have an old Zeiss T star lens of my Dad's and on his Contax the focussing was SO easy, with the oblique prism. I was really hoping thatches would translate over to the CL when I got the adapter. Unfortunately it does not and I have to manual focus (as the auto focus won't work) and I rely on the peaking system, which I agree isn't foolproof.

Can't comment about the shutter noise as I haven't been anywhere super quiet where this would be an issue.

 

[huwm]

i use electronic all the time as i think it is a bit noisy 

can get problems indoors with some lights and I have to switch back to noisy when i most need silent

doh

[ramarren]

I've never noticed the shutter noise unless someone mentions it. Then I hear it for a minute and it disappears as I forget about it. It makes my Nikon F sound like a cannon and my Hasselblad 500CM sound like something out of the machine deck in a steam-driven freighter...  Per my usual practice, I have the shutter configured such that it is mechanical until it hits boundary 'extension' needs that the electronic shutter only option can provide because there are a lot of other minor disadvantages to the electronic shutter only. 

I have no problem manual focusing with the CL either ... since I only use M and R lenses on it, that's all I have available to me anyway. I never want "auto zoom" on focusing ... that gives me a headache immediately. I choose when to magnify for critical focus as per when I find it necessary (such as with ultra short focal length lenses). I use peaking when I want it to help quickly rough in the focus, which it does well once I understood what it is telling me. But mostly, with a normal (35mm focal length) lens or above, I just leave all the aids off and focus the camera the same way I always did with my SLR cameras (... because I always replaced the focusing screen with plain matte screens in them anyway). It does take a bit of time to develop the skill and practice it to ensure that you are able to focus quickly and accurately in a wide range of diverse light and subject types.

I find that I cannot properly evaluate a camera with objectivity until I've used it exclusively for at least a month or two, and let go of working habits for other cameras that are different. I usually advise people who ask me that whatever camera they buy will work fine but don't pass any judgement on how it is to use for at least a couple of thousand exposures... I felt reasonably comfortable using the CL within a day, mostly because a good bit of its control logic is similar to the SL, but it's only after the first 4000 or so exposures that I began to feel like I knew it well enough to just pick it up and use without having to think.  

Edited May 17 by ramarren

[Philip Freedman]

I use the electronic shutter most of the time.  I also prefer the M lenses and if I am shooting street with the 35mm Summilux M it is useful to use auto ISO and shoot hyperfocally focusing with the lens scale at 10 to 12ft at f16 , when almost everything comes out sharp, unless it is one of those rare occasions when I want to isolate the subject with a wide aperture.  

Philip