Now moved past SL 4 button design

[MarkinVan]

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I was reluctant to let go of the SL 4 button design but now that I have had a chance to use my new SL2 I have let it go.

My biggest complaint on my original SL was that I could not assign magnification to the TR Button.

When using the 90-280 I would  have to let go of the front of the lens with my left hand to hit the LL button to magnify which would drop the front of the lens, losing my focal point and round and round I'd go.

Now with the SL2 I have back button auto focus with the Joystick, assigned magnification to lower front button so I can manually fine tune without letting go of the front of the lens and keeping focal point in place..

This alone made the upgrade worthwhile.

So happy!

 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Glad you’re happy. Unfortunately, if anything, I dislike the new layout more than when I first got my SL2. I do like the camera more than many others but it feels like a step back in usability to me. Not being able to play back an image in the EVF without lowering the camera to find the play button annoys me every time I use the SL2.

Gordon

[MarkinVan]

Hopefully that will be resolved in a firmware update.

[Mr.Q]

Still enjoying the 4 buttons on my SL. Not a fan of the 3 buttons on the M10, Q2 or SL2.

[MarkinVan]

I know, but I can't get that now, just paid the big bucks and trying to find the bright side.

 

[sillbeers15]

I felt the resistance to change from the 4 custom buttons layout of the SL after 4 years of use and really liked it. However I am surprised at myself how fast I have accustomed to the SL2’s five custom button layout. One real benefit I agree is there is no need to remove my view from EVF while I make the functional changes as I do not assign any customisation to the rear screen’s 3 buttons.

[michali]

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I've moved on from the SL601 4 button set up, and quite comfortable with the new set up on the SL2. When I use the SL as a back-up body with the SL2, I switch between the 2 cameras it's no big deal IMO.  It is what it is...

 

[thighslapper]

3 hours ago, michali said:

I've moved on from the SL601 4 button set up, and quite comfortable with the new set up on the SL2. When I use the SL as a back-up body with the SL2, I switch between the 2 cameras it's no big deal IMO.  It is what it is...

 

I think without the default initial Status Screen and all the touchscreen options to change parameters quickly, I think the change from the 4 button SL layout would have really p*ssed me off. 

As it is, the combination of this and a few assignable Fn buttons seems to work fine. 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

If Leica can allow me to have the ability to set one of the top or front buttons to playback then I’ll settle down. The S1R allows this. In fact the S1R allows a LOT more customisation than the SL2.

The best thing about the SL 601 is the ability to hit the play button with the camera to your eye and it’s a function I have come to *require* in a camera with an EVF because of how good it was on the SL. Short press for play. Long press for ISO. I was in usability heaven. I do 90% of my image playback through the EVF. It’s also my biggest gripe on my CL and Q2. On the M, I don’t mind because it’s an OVF camera primarily. But I wouldn’t say no.

It couldn’t have been that hard to push the screen to the left and have the buttons available to the right hand. On the CL/Q2 it would also stop the inadvertent movement of the focus point when your finger hits the bottom right corner of the screen while holding the camera.

Leica could, if they’re not too reliant on the S1R firmware as a base, make the right side of the screen a pair of soft buttons and allow playback with the camera to the eye that way.

I’ll stop now. I’m harping on a bit on this one.....

Gordon

[SrMi]

I first got hooked on using EVF for image review with my Z 7. Before that, I used mirrorless cameras like I use DSLRs: use LCD for image review.
I wish that Leica would allow assigning image review to one of the buttons. Still, for me, it is only a minor peeve.

[LocalHero1953]

Just think how terrible it could have been. They could have decided that all those sales of M10Ds meant that no one wanted image review, and removed the Play button entirely.

😲

Total disaster averted.

Edited January 30, 2020 by LocalHero1953

[Musotographer]

As a relatively new SL user I love the four-button layout + joystick - using it has very quickly become instinctive. I’ve had the M10 for nearly three years and never really bonded with its three-button layout - in some ways I prefer the M9’s.

[Stuart Richardson]

I am the same as above. I preferred the M9 to the M10 button layout, and I prefer the SL to the SL2, but that maybe because I am a long time S user. The S006 is, in my opinion, the best designed interface of any digital camera I have used. I was delighted when they incorporated it into the SL, and quite disappointed when they ditched it for the one in the SL2, which appears to me to be superficially easier at first, but over time is less useful. I do not own the SL2, so I cannot comment with authority, but my initial impression in using it and in reading about the interface was that it was not as fluid for me as that of the SL or S. I think the biggest and most legitimate gripe about the four button interface is that they do not have labels as to what they do, as they are customisable. I wonder what it would be like if they could be made to have an e ink or otherwise non-disruptive customisable display, if only for a few characters. So for example, if your top right button is play, have the play icon, and if the long press is wb, have a small indicator saying play (just the icon)/wb. These displays are cheap enough that most grocery stores here in Iceland have them under every item on a shelf, so I do not think it would be that expensive, but perhaps too difficult to fit into the body... Maybe it is hard to describe, but what I was thinking is that the four buttons themselves are the displays, and that they change based on what you choose them to do. Kind of like the touchbar on a macbook pro, but with e-ink instead of oled.