SL2 & USB-C Charging

[beewee]

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Just doing a bit of mental exercise in how an SL body would work as a webcam, it seems a bit over complicated in that, if you wanted shallow depth of field for talking head shots, you’d need to use continuous autofocus which would result in annoying pulsating focus. Otherwise, you’d need to get by with fixed manual focus in which case if you move backwards and forwards from the camera you’d go out of focus. On the other hand, if you decided to increase depth of field by stopping down, you end up with the same webcam look with a bit better dynamic range.

I can see how the dynamic range would be helpful for backlit settings, especially when talking with customers/clients where good video quality can make an impression but for general video conferencing with coworkers, it would seem a bit excessive.

I think in general, given Sony’s superiority with face/eye detect and continuous autofocus, I would stick with a Sony body, especially if I already have one.

Edited August 4, 2021 by beewee

[charles tay]

2 hours ago, beewee said:

Just doing a bit of mental exercise in how an SL body would work as a webcam, it seems a bit over complicated in that, if you wanted shallow depth of field for talking head shots, you’d need to use continuous autofocus which would result in annoying pulsating focus. Otherwise, you’d need to get by with fixed manual focus in which case if you move backwards and forwards from the camera you’d go out of focus. On the other hand, if you decided to increase depth of field by stopping down, you end up with the same webcam look with a bit better dynamic range.

I can see how the dynamic range would be helpful for backlit settings, especially when talking with customers/clients where good video quality can make an impression but for general video conferencing with coworkers, it would seem a bit excessive.

I think in general, given Sony’s superiority with face/eye detect and continuous autofocus, I would stick with a Sony body, especially if I already have one.

So far I quite happy with Sony 6400 and Likely to stick to it. 
Sony AFC works well. 

[charles tay]

2 hours ago, Stef63 said:

Maybe it is just me or it could be that I’m to old and come from the days where (digital) camera’s were fragile instruments with limited lifetime for the shutter for example. However it still feels to me that using an SL with an M lens for a zoom meeting is like towing a trailer with a Ferrari.  Of course that will work but if I would be a Ferrari fan it would not feel right.  Anyway, interesting to learn that people are using Leica equipment for purposes they were certainly not designed for.  The little Leica purist in me conflicts here with the opend minded way that still keeps me amazed about other people behaviour and thinking.  Interesting to say the least.  And good luck with te setup.

BTW I use a 200 € Razer Kiyo for zoom meetings with a build in ring LED.  And an SL2 and M10 … for weekdays and weekends  😀

Yes I do get what you mean haa and Sony Auto focus works well. I just exploring options and knowing it’s available is a good thing. Right now I using Sony A6400 and Logitech c930e as zoom cameras. 
 

I still toying the idea of owning my second Leica -if I wish to go with SL2 S with M lens or m10 with M lens. 
 

 

[meerec]

8 hours ago, beewee said:

Just doing a bit of mental exercise in how an SL body would work as a webcam, it seems a bit over complicated in that, if you wanted shallow depth of field for talking head shots, you’d need to use continuous autofocus which would result in annoying pulsating focus. Otherwise, you’d need to get by with fixed manual focus in which case if you move backwards and forwards from the camera you’d go out of focus. On the other hand, if you decided to increase depth of field by stopping down, you end up with the same webcam look with a bit better dynamic range.

I can see how the dynamic range would be helpful for backlit settings, especially when talking with customers/clients where good video quality can make an impression but for general video conferencing with coworkers, it would seem a bit excessive.

I think in general, given Sony’s superiority with face/eye detect and continuous autofocus, I would stick with a Sony body, especially if I already have one.

I think you over complicate things. Reality is much different. I use my SL2 as a webcam with the Summilux-M 35 FLE fully open at 1.4 for blurring the background nicely, so I don’t need to set up my green screen if I feel lazy quite often. And I don’t need a lot of strong lights either as the beautiful Leica M lens does the tricks. Obviously this is a manual focus setup, and rather super shallow depth of field, the lens is 0.7-0.8m away from my nose. It doesn’t matter if you are sitting at your desk in front of your computer. I don’t move back and forth, don’t walk around my office. If I needed this, I’d go with the latest iPad Pro with the M1 chip and the camera that supports what is called Centre Stage. Lots of people tell stories without actually trying things. They make them up based on what they think they know. 

[tangosix]

This was a helpful thread.  Especially, in regards to voltage transfer in camera while the camera is live during streaming or presentations. 

I was using both a sony 6400 (superb autofocus for movement) with elgato 4k camlink for online financial presentations in the past.  

I just successfully used the sl2s for a three hour presentation via ms teams.  Everyone in the meeting commented on the quality of the video.  Of course, since I was asking for funding, it was worth the extra effort.  Virtual presentations are still going strong instead of travel in my world. 

Some asked me to set up a similar setup for their presentations ... ha ha ... I did not have the heart to explain how much I spent on my moonlighting gear. 

[kobra]

So, after reading this thread and the other linked one, I still am unsure whether one can use an external battery pack to extend the battery life while the camera is powered on. Some would like this for video, but for me it will be for landscapes and astro, where extended use and cold temperatures are very limiting on internal batteries. I would much rather use an efficient battery power bank instead of adding the Leica grip. The power bank will be smaller and I already need that for charging other electronics. 

So, I think I still have 2 questions, and hoping someone can share their experiences:

-is it true that an external USB-C battery bank will power the camera when it is on, perhaps even add charge to the camera battery?

-does anyone have recommendations for a good battery bank that is confirmed to work well in this application? (I have had good success with Anker, but I don't see a lot of options using the latest GaN tech)

Thanks in advance for any info on the above!

Brad

[Photoworks]

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1 hour ago, kobra said:

So, after reading this thread and the other linked one, I still am unsure whether one can use an external battery pack to extend the battery life while the camera is powered on. Some would like this for video, but for me it will be for landscapes and astro, where extended use and cold temperatures are very limiting on internal batteries. I would much rather use an efficient battery power bank instead of adding the Leica grip. The power bank will be smaller and I already need that for charging other electronics. 

So, I think I still have 2 questions, and hoping someone can share their experiences:

-is it true that an external USB-C battery bank will power the camera when it is on, perhaps even add charge to the camera battery?

-does anyone have recommendations for a good battery bank that is confirmed to work well in this application? (I have had good success with Anker, but I don't see a lot of options using the latest GaN tech)

Thanks in advance for any info on the above!

Brad

Batteries, cables, internal batteries all seams to make a difference .

You can use the camera for streaming and a battery USB-C with PD (power delivery) should keep the camera going for hours.
If you recording video the Camera Uses more processing power, different resolution setting act differently, but the USB-C is not providing enough power to go for a long time.

In any case the USB-C PD battery only charges the internal battery very little when the camera is in use, often not enough to keep it going for a long time...
You still need the internal battery to have a charge to run.
Many people haven't gotten the grip because they had success with USB-C batteries.

 

I have not done any tests with Timelapse , you may want to give it a try

[kobra]

Thanks, I think I will give it a try... I appreciate the feedback. 

Brad