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EVF lag?


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I have been enjoying my new CL for 3 months now.  In particular, the autofocus means I am no longer discarding shots for want of accurate focus.

On the other hand, I seem to have many pics taken just after the intended moment.  For example, as the subject starts to blink, turn away or change expression.  This has reduced the number of 'keepers' I get.   It does not appear to be shutter lag.  When I press the shutter the camera seems to react quickly enough.  I wonder if there is an "EVF lag" which means the viewfinder is a few microseconds behind the actual image? 

With the M cameras I have been using, the view through the OVF is continuous and uninterrupted, so I never had this problem.  When photographing people or actions I could select the precise moment for the exposure, usually with success.

Has anyone else noticed this, or come across measurements for the delay time of the CL?  Would appreciate hearing.

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19 minutes ago, rob_w said:

I have been enjoying my new CL for 3 months now.  In particular, the autofocus means I am no longer discarding shots for want of accurate focus.

On the other hand, I seem to have many pics taken just after the intended moment.  For example, as the subject starts to blink, turn away or change expression.  This has reduced the number of 'keepers' I get.   It does not appear to be shutter lag.  When I press the shutter the camera seems to react quickly enough.  I wonder if there is an "EVF lag" which means the viewfinder is a few microseconds behind the actual image? 

With the M cameras I have been using, the view through the OVF is continuous and uninterrupted, so I never had this problem.  When photographing people or actions I could select the precise moment for the exposure, usually with success.

Has anyone else noticed this, or come across measurements for the delay time of the CL?  Would appreciate hearing.

Not sure if this information will help you Rob.   I do know what you mean, and have experienced the same myself, think it is a fact with all mirrorless.  

Speed: The Leica CL is fairly fast: it starts up in 1.0 seconds. In bright light, the CL’s autofocus takes only 0.26 seconds, with a total shooting time of 0.34 seconds. In low light, the autofocus takes 0.29 seconds, for a total shooting time of 0.37 seconds. The camera can capture 9.6 JPEG frames per second (fps) until the card is full, and 9.6 Raw fps for a total of 34 shots.
Read more at https://www.shutterbug.com/content/leica-cl-mirrorless-camera-review#SX0gkmZ8KUsVTj6E.99

 

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The CL is quite fast for an AF camera, The problem you are having is not due to EVF lag, that is the time it takes the EVF to "recover" after you have pressed the shutter button, or the stuttering if panning in low light. The answer is simple: learn your camera's behaviour and anticipate.

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23 minutes ago, jaapv said:

The problem you are having is not due to EVF lag, that is the time it takes the EVF to "recover" after you have pressed the shutter button [...]

This time is shorter when auto review is set to off, with M lenses at least. I have no idea about L lenses though.

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No matter anything else, all EVF cameras are different from reflex and tunnel optical cameras in the way the viewfinder works. An EVF display can ONLY display an image after the camera's sensor has captured it, and this process does have some time associated with it, whereas an SLR or RF viewfinder displays the light that goes through it at the speed of light (perceptually, instantaneously). You see this most clearly when you compare an SLR running a high-speed sequence capture vs an EVF camera running a high speed sequence capture: in the SLR, you see the subject up to an instant just before the capture is made where with an EVF camera you see the subject an instant AFTER the capture is made, for each successive frame. 

Once your brain realizes this, you learn how to release the shutter by predicting the next instant when a person's expression will be exactly what you want, rather than releasing the shutter the moment you see that instant. This characteristic of EVFs is independent of AF focusing time and shutter lag, which are also there and are the same issues you see with different SLR and RF cameras. The Leica M has always had one of the shortest shutter lags (said in more positive terms, "the Leica M has always had one of the most responsive shutter actions...") because of its lack of moving mirror, autofocus, etc.

Don't worry though: I find that most people learn to accommodate the EVF delay very quickly. It's not too difficult. :)

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Thanks everyone.  I forgot to mention the latest experience was when using manual focus (Summilux-M 1.4/50mm) so AF was not in the equation.

Two takeaways from your advice: turn off auto review and learn to anticipate.   I am quite re-assured by that.  Even with the M there is always a degree of anticipation, so re-calibrating the anticipation should be natural enough with practice.

Edited by rob_w
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I'm using 50/1.4 and 50/1.5 M lenses a lot with the digital CL. I have not the feeling to have to anticipate significantly more than with my M240 in RF mode. I mean in good light at least. In low light things can become a bit slower. BTW auto review is set to off by default on all my digital cameras. 

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