SL2 firmware update request

[sillbeers15]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

2 hours ago, Capnord said:

My request : add "Sensor Format" to FN button or (better) Status Screen. This format change is very useful for wildlife photographers, especially bird photographers (like me).

Alternatively save your ‘wildlife’ preferred camera settings including sensor format change into User profile and you can name it as well. One tap on Menu and another on User profile icon to select your desired settings. No need firmware updates.

[The206]

Does anyone actually think Leicas video color profiles even come close to being usable? The shadows block up instantly and have next to no ability to push in post. Fine if they don't want to give us full frame 60fps with log, even though both Sony and Panasonic offer this. Perhaps Leica doesn't quite understand what the word premium means. To me, premium means paying more and getting more features, at least that used to be what that word meant. The Canon 1dx III has 40 60fps in clog and my 1dx II had a log type profile that worked pretty good at approximating a log profile. So please give us at least a flat picture profile then that we can work with. I really think the SL2 is an amazing camera, like I said it just needs a few more tweaks to get into the competitions league, even for your own pride as Leica, why would you want to have less features then Canon or Sony?? Until then I guess I am stuck using an external recorder to get log at 60fps

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[simon_hsn]

- Color profiles: Set sharpness & contrast to “low”, saturation to “medium low”. There you have your usable, out of the box look. I agree, the base profile is way too contrasty and for user complicity sake they should offer two main profiles: 1. Log, 2. Usable out of the box profile

- 60 fps log: Leica cannot give you 60 fps in 10 bit internally. This is the point when they reached the limit of tech. Using log in 8 bit is absolutely terrible and you will not see the results you are after. This is probably due to most people’s YouTube knowledge, where they think their Sony A7 8 bit S-log is in any way usable. In my opinion, it looks terrible. Simple: For log you want to have at least 10 bits. Everything else is pure marketing gimmick. 

- Premium: You could rethink your proposition here: Paying more does not always equate to more features. Actually, it is often quite the contrary. Look in the watches market, car market, etc. It is only about what the user values. Sometimes, the value comes from taking options away that do not make sense. This is why Leicas are a joy to use and Sonys give you headache, because you you have 4000 options to configure the dials. 

- Competition: The Leica SL has more thermal constraints than the 1DX III which is 2x biger. Be happpy for what the SL2 already offers (which is super impressive in terms of specs) and be delighted for what it offers like absoute beatiful build quality, design,  usability and a beautiful color signature. 

- Future looks bright:  I am with you on waiting for the perfect Leica SL hybrid. For me, this would be 4k up to 120fps, 6k in 25 fps (no 4:3), everthing in raw. And this will happen for the next version of the SL3. If you look at the development of HDMI 2.1 and beyond, plus future SD Cards write speeds of 4 GB/s,  this will all be possible. So the future looks bright, until then, use what is offered today and be happy. 

[The206]

 Color profiles: Set sharpness & contrast to “low”, saturation to “medium low”. There you have your usable, out of the box look. I agree, the base profile is way too contrasty and for user complicity sake they should offer two main profiles: 1. Log, 2. Usable out of the box profile

ALL THE COLOR PROFILES LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME, NOT ONE DIFFERENCE AT ALL AND THE LOWEST CONTRAST AND SATURATION SETTINGS ARE 10X MORE CONTRASTY THEN ANY OTHER COLOR PROFILE ON ANY OTHER CAMERA I HAVE EVER USED, CANON HAS HAD THE ABILITY TO LOAD IN YOUR OWN COLOR PROFILE FOR OVER A DECADE. SERIOUSLY ITS PISS POOR THAT LEICA HAS SUCH PATHETIC COLOR PROFILES IN 2020

 

- 60 fps log: Leica cannot give you 60 fps in 10 bit internally. This is the point when they reached the limit of tech. Using log in 8 bit is absolutely terrible and you will not see the results you are after. This is probably due to most people’s YouTube knowledge, where they think their Sony A7 8 bit S-log is in any way usable. In my opinion, it looks terrible. Simple: For log you want to have at least 10 bits. Everything else is pure marketing gimmick. 

 

THE CANON 1DC HAD 8BIT LOG, ALBEIT IN 24FPS BUT IT LOOKED PRETTY DAM GOOD, IF YOU THINK THE LEICA PILE OF CRAP COLOR PROFILES ARE BETTER THEN HAVING ACCESS TO LOG YOU ARE HIGH AS A KITE. THERE IS NO REASON WHY THEY CAN'T GIVE US AN APS-C CROP MODE WITH 8BIT LOG

 

 

 

- Premium: You could rethink your proposition here: Paying more does not always equate to more features. Actually, it is often quite the contrary. Look in the watches market, car market, etc. It is only about what the user values. Sometimes, the value comes from taking options away that do not make sense. This is why Leicas are a joy to use and Sonys give you headache, because you you have 4000 options to configure the dials. 

 

RETHINK? THATS MARKETING BS FOR EXPECT LESS FOR MORE. HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. YES LEICA'S ARE GREAT IN THE HANDS, THATS WHY I HAVE ONE BUT THERE IS NO REASON WHY I CAN'T EXPECT A LITTLE MORE IN TERMS OF ACTUAL IMAGE RESULTS. AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU CAN'T TELL THE QUALITY OF A CAMERA HAND GRIP BY THE PHOTO ITSELF. WHAT I WANT IS THE ABILITY TO TETHER INTO CAPTURE ONE, FUJI THREW SOME MONEY AT C1 AND GOT SUPPORT, LEICA DOESN'T HAVE A CAMERA THAT COMPETES WITH PHASE ONES BACKS, SO TIME TO PONY UP THE MONEY SO THAT WE HAVE A MORE PRO WORKFLOW, LIGHTROOM JUST ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH

 

- Competition: The Leica SL has more thermal constraints than the 1DX III which is 2x biger. Be happpy for what the SL2 already offers (which is super impressive in terms of specs) and be delighted for what it offers like absoute beatiful build quality, design,  usability and a beautiful color signature. 

 

WILL THAT LEICA'S STICKER TAG SEEM OK WHEN THE EOS R5 HITS THE SHELVES AND A CAMERA JUST AS COMPACT AS THE SL2 IS CAPABLE OF 120FPS 4K IN LOG WITH RAW? I THINK NOT, AGAIN WE SHOULD AT LEAST HAVE 8BIT 4K 60FPS LOG IN APS-C

 

- Future looks bright:  I am with you on waiting for the perfect Leica SL hybrid. For me, this would be 4k up to 120fps, 6k in 25 fps (no 4:3), everthing in raw. And this will happen for the next version of the SL3. If you look at the development of HDMI 2.1 and beyond, plus future SD Cards write speeds of 4 GB/s,  this will all be possible. So the future looks bright, until then, use what is offered today and be happy. 

 

YES THIS CAMERA YOU ARE DESCRIBING IS THE EOS R5 AND IT COMES OUT IN 2 WEEKS, THE SL3 IS AT LEAST 2-3 YEARS OUT. WHAT WE NEEDS ARE COMPACT PRIMES, CONSTANT APERTURE ZOOMS AND CAPTURE ONE COMPATIBILITY. GIVE US THE ABILITY TO LOAD LUTS INTO THE CAMERA AS WELL, THAT WILL GO A LONG WAY IN KEEPING THIS CAMERA RELEVANT INTO 2022

 

 

Edited June 27, 2020 by The206

[BernardC]

I appreciate your frustration, but you should know that there aren't any mirrorless or DSLR cameras that match your requirements at this point in time. Some future Canon model may, but we'll have to wait until they actually release it.

There is a Leica interview that explains why they didn't enable 8-bit log in the SL2. It is available in the SL, but it isn't very useful. In my experience, 8-bit log isn't workable with any camera, at least when you want high image quality. I have used it in the past, but only in B-cams, when it was more useful to have all footage in Sony Slog2 (the A-cam on those projects was a Sony professional video camera, not a mirrorless consumer cam). We would have used 10-bit internal if it had been available (which it is with the SL2). Cards are faster and cheaper now, so there's no reason to use 8-bit log in-camera if the camera offers 10-bit. Of course, for 60fps, you need to go external to get 10-bit. The SL2 is the only mirrorless that offers that option, so you should look at dedicated professional video cameras if it's a must-have.

15 hours ago, The206 said:

THE LOWEST CONTRAST AND SATURATION SETTINGS ARE 10X MORE CONTRASTY THEN ANY OTHER COLOR PROFILE ON ANY OTHER CAMERA I HAVE EVER USED

There's a thread about that elsewhere on this site. Are you sure you aren't using "extended" instead of "legal" mode? 10x is a lot, and it seems out of line with what others getting from L-log. What NLE do you use? Is this internal, or with an HDMI recorder?

[Photoworks]

Here is a test, can you guess what is what in the 3 clips?

[Capnord]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

On 6/25/2020 at 11:09 AM, sillbeers15 said:

Alternatively save your ‘wildlife’ preferred camera settings including sensor format change into User profile and you can name it as well. One tap on Menu and another on User profile icon to select your desired settings. No need firmware updates.

It’s a good alternative that I use. But using FN button would be quicker (three taps vs one clic). And there is enough space in the menu; just one line to add.

Edited July 1, 2020 by Capnord

[sillbeers15]

7 hours ago, Capnord said:

It’s a good alternative that I use. But using FN button would be quicker (three taps vs one clic). And there is enough space in the menu; just one line to add.

One man’s poison is another man’s meat. We each have our preferences. Personally I practice storing preferred settings in Profile as the profile is available in quick menu with just one press of the menu button. I also found the fn button display selection useful as required on demand so I left it in the default function. 

[MarkinVan]

On 6/27/2020 at 1:59 PM, The206 said:

 

YES THIS CAMERA YOU ARE DESCRIBING IS THE EOS R5 AND IT COMES OUT IN 2 WEEKS, THE SL3 IS AT LEAST 2-3 YEARS OUT. WHAT WE NEEDS ARE COMPACT PRIMES, CONSTANT APERTURE ZOOMS AND CAPTURE ONE COMPATIBILITY. GIVE US THE ABILITY TO LOAD LUTS INTO THE CAMERA AS WELL, THAT WILL GO A LONG WAY IN KEEPING THIS CAMERA RELEVANT INTO 2022

 

 

Seems none of zooms for the new Canon EOS R5 and Nikon Z  are constant aperture.

[MarkinVan]

I'd like to see the ability to add Pre Focus On/Off to the Favourites menu.

[trickness]

The only things I’d like in a future firmware update are a) better battery life, and b) greatly improved EVF eye detection. I don’t know what they did in this new version versus the SL but I never had any problems with the EVF turning on when I look through the viewfinder, and on the SL2  it’s a complete nightmare of unreliability on either high or low settings.

[chris_tribble]

I've hunted through the forum and on line for this and don't know if I'm alone in feeling frustrated with how both Single Point Focus and AE-L are implemented on the SL2.

1. Focus Point Lock - What I WANT is the ability to LOCK the single point focus so that any accidental movement of the joystick doesn't leave me either having to adjust back to centre in AF mode, or finding myself lost when I'm trying to magnify an area when in MF mode with an M lens attached.  The only way I can find to immobilise the AF point (in spot focus mode - which I like to use) is to lock the joystick - but I then can't use the joystick for AE locking.

2.  AE-L - What I want is something that replicates how I'm used to working with the Canon 5 series where there's a dedicated AE-L button.  I find this invaluable in mixed and complex lighting.  I'd really like to be able to use one of the front buttons for this - that would work fine.  Press once to store an exposure and then shoot as normal (with an indication in the view finder that AE-L is active).

Any thoughts?

Otherwise it becomes a FW wish!

[scott kirkpatrick]

The "wandering focus point" complaint is long-standing.  When Leica offered to solve it by locking the joystick out altogether, they missed the problem.  What's needed is to lock out motion of the focus point, or fix it at center, leaving the AF function of pressing the joystick unchanged.  I don't know why this is so hard.  It's a generic L-mount concern, on SL and CL as well.

[chris_tribble]

2 hours ago, scott kirkpatrick said:

The "wandering focus point" complaint is long-standing.  When Leica offered to solve it by locking the joystick out altogether, they missed the problem.  What's needed is to lock out motion of the focus point, or fix it at center, leaving the AF function of pressing the joystick unchanged.  I don't know why this is so hard.  It's a generic L-mount concern, on SL and CL as well.

Completely agree - and shouldn't it be possible to fix?  Or at least let you allocate AE-L to another button?

[Eclectic Man]

My request:  I have several Leica R lenses, only one of which has a ROM.  It would be nice if when I mount one on the SL2 using the Leica R to L adapter, I could add each lens to a personal menu, and select from that, rather than having to go through the sequence of selecting from the complete list of R lenses.  I suspect the same would be true for users of old M mount lenses.  (The ability to remove a lens from the personal menu would be essential too.)

[Leicaiste]

2 hours ago, Eclectic Man said:

My request:  I have several Leica R lenses, only one of which has a ROM.  It would be nice if when I mount one on the SL2 using the Leica R to L adapter, I could add each lens to a personal menu, and select from that, rather than having to go through the sequence of selecting from the complete list of R lenses.  I suspect the same would be true for users of old M mount lenses.  (The ability to remove a lens from the personal menu would be essential too.)

It is available in the R lenses menu, at the end of the menu. 

[Leicaiste]

Same for M lenses. 

[Mdol]

Hi,

An other firmware improvement idea :

On the SL, I can easily have the date, time and focal info of a picture while in play mode. On the SL2, these informations are not shown. It would be useful to have them, especially when doing timelapses, to know when a pic was taken. 

And another one : being able to create a folder on the SD card for the next shoots.

[Eclectic Man]

15 hours ago, Leicaiste said:

It is available in the R lenses menu, at the end of the menu. 

Thanks, I had not scrolled down that far, nor had I found it in the manual.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[thatkatmat]

Going back to locking the focus point...Why not do like Sony did and be able to set a button to make the FP go back to the center instantly. I REALLY NEED this feature. I get stuck all the time, especially when i hand the camera to my wife or friend, when they hand it back, they ALWAYS move the FP to the edge of the frame. 

Edited August 23, 2020 by thatkatmat