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[Duddingston]

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Recently bought CL as I used leicas many years ago as a prof photographer - now retired.

Is it possible to program  CL to only use "M" setting or to remain on the "M" setting when manually put on ?

(I want to control my exposure myself and not be dictated to by the camera.)

What "off camera" flash should I buy for the CL. Thinking of second hand Metz or new Nissin but which hot shoe to use ???

Thanks

Mike  

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[jaapv]

You set the camera to M by the wheel on top.  Half-press the shutter to activate manual focusing.

Only Leica flashes have full functionality.

[wda]

Mike, welcome to the forum. 

In addition, you could set the camera as you wish to use it, then save those settings as a Manal programme. That is, named in your list of profiles as MANUAL. Then, regardless of deviations during a shooting session, you can quickly return to your desired profile. You can read about profiles in the Instructions. 

[Duddingston]

Thanks,

Setting "Manual" as a profile seems like a good idea on the face of it, but correct me if I am wrong I can only set as a profile  "Exposure Preview" which gives me a choice of either   P-A-S or P-A-S-M. I can not set under a profile (I don't think) the manual exposure setting (M) so that when I choose that profile, manual exposure will be in effect "pre-set". This can only be done as Jaapv rightly says by using the left button and wheel (?).

With regard to a flash the CL is a professional camera (N0?) and in my day all professional photographers used a flash that didn't sit on top of the camera.

In my youth I owned a string of Leica's C's F's etc, I judged the exposure by eyesight or a meter, set the F stop and shutter speed and I was ready to shoot.

I was hoping to be able to set up the CL in a similar way. 95% of what the CL is capable of I don't need, it confuses and just gets in the way of being creative.

C'est la vie …. one lives and learns ...

[jaapv]

If you save your settings as a user profile you can always revert. It will retain all settings, including Manual. 
If you use M lenses on the adapter the camera will switch to manual automatically  

However, times have moved on since the film CL. I would encourage you to use the camera in a more practical manner. Set to A, project the histogram in the viewfinder, choose your aperture and use the wheel with exposure compensation to tweak exposure, judged by the histogram. You could use spot metering. Much more precise and far quicker. And, may I add, even simpler than your proposed method. Shutter speed can be controlled by changing the ISO with the other wheel.

[Duddingston]

Hi Jaapv and thanks,

I stand corrected a user profile will save the "M" setting. Thanks for that.

I have no idea what a historgram is. What I do have top left of screen is what appears to be a white balance graph

This I would like to get rid of. Also when I taker a picture I see a flashing light when I review the photo. I had got rid of this but it has returned.

You must think I'm a complete idiot and you may not be wrong …. 

Taking a photo should not be difficult and technology should not come between a photographer and his subject. I am spending more time trying to work out the camera than I am on taking pictures …… such is life ….

[jaapv]

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Nothing to do with the white balance. The left side are the shadows the right side the highlights. The graph shows the number of pixels exposed that way. It gives an exact representation of your exposure. As a starting point:an ideal exposure should ha the main bump in the middle and no spikes on the sides. You can start from there. 
https://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-read-and-use-histograms/?amp

 

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Duddingston]

OK so how do I get rid of the histogram from the screen - for me it is just one more thing to worry out ? Never had it in the past don't need it now. Thanks 

[wda]

26 minutes ago, Duddingston said:

Hi Jaapv and thanks,

I stand corrected a user profile will save the "M" setting. Thanks for that.

I have no idea what a historgram is. What I do have top left of screen is what appears to be a white balance graph

This I would like to get rid of. Also when I taker a picture I see a flashing light when I review the photo. I had got rid of this but it has returned.

You must think I'm a complete idiot and you may not be wrong …. 

Taking a photo should not be difficult and technology should not come between a photographer and his subject. I am spending more time trying to work out the camera than I am on taking pictures …… such is life ….

Mike, do not despair.  I guess you have plenty of time, right now, to master the basics of exposure control.

I have recently been learning how to take cuttings from dahlia tubors. A quick search online and I found several short videos showing the different methods. You could do worse than use similar methods to achieve what you are currently seeking. You need to be selective. Numbers of views gives a clue. Seek authoritative presenters. Practice each step until it becomes natural to you. Enjoy your CL.

Edited May 6 by wda

[wda]

1 minute ago, Duddingston said:

OK so how do I get rid of the histogram from the screen - for me it is just one more thing to worry out ? Never had it in the past don't need it now. Thanks 

Press INFO Button, one or more times.

[jaapv]

And we are here to help you. BTW., PASM only affects the exposure simulation in the viewfinder.  You want it on.

[Duddingston]

Sorted ! (I think) Fingers crossed I am now good to go.

[DGP]

You can also permanently get rid of the histogram bar by scrolling through the menu. There’s an on/off options somewhere down the list for this histogram display. 

[ruskkyle]

1 hour ago, DGP said:

You can also permanently get rid of the histogram bar by scrolling through the menu. There’s an on/off options somewhere down the list for this histogram display. 

Menu #3 > Capture Assistants > Histogram

 

Once you have your camera set up exactly how you like it I highly recommend saving that in as a profile. That way you can always very quickly get back to those exact settings should you change anything.

 

For example I like to have one standard profile and another for landscapes with the artificial horizon and fully manual settings. I don’t use that one very often so by having profiles set up I can instantly switch between different styles of photography with everything ready to go.

[jaapv]

1 hour ago, DGP said:

You can also permanently get rid of the histogram bar by scrolling through the menu. There’s an on/off options somewhere down the list for this histogram display. 

But why would you do that? It is a very useful feature, and you can clear the screen completely by pushing the center button on the arrow pad for unobstructed shooting..

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[tommonego@gmail.com]

Set Manual with the top LCD, I believe it is the right top wheel, I set mine to the left wheel, press the center button in the wheel and the PSAM, and video settings will be in the top LCD, turn the wheel to the capital M, it will stick there until reset. That works well with M lenses. You can also use A with M lenses, the camera will estimate the best it can, I haven't had a problem, though I generally use M with manual lenses.

[Duddingston]

Hi to everyone and many many thanks for you all chipping in with your suggestions, its obvious to me you all have nothing better to do with your time but that of course might have something to do with  Covit 19

This is the first time I have ever joined a "Forum" so my next move I suppose must be to take up train spotting …...

On a more serious note I have resolved my problem by setting up user profiles so now I click and hay presto there are the settings I want. I don't accept that historgrams are necessary 'coz we never had them in the '60's and we still took passable photos.

The only remaining issue is which "off camera" flash I should buy. I don't want a piddly little object stuck on top of the camera and I don't really care whether I get to have TTL metering, all I want is for a flash that fires in sync with the camera !!! I am setting up a studio over my stables in France in July and have already bought "Bowens" type lights so the next problem I suppose will be how to trigger them given the CL can not be connected by a cable.

Oh why can't Leica produce a simple old fashioned camera with cable release and flash sync instead of these complicate bits of kit  that require a degree in computer sciences ? 

[jaapv]

Any flash that allows manual or/and thyristor settings will do. If you want TTL you are stuck with Leica. Don't forget that small modern flashes output far more light than big guns did in the past A SF40 has a real GN of 40 and will give better results than a hammerhead Metz.  If you want to use studio flash, there are plenty of threads on flash triggers.

Don't dismiss modern "gimmicks" though. Photography has advanced in leaps and bounds over the last decades.

[Duddingston]

I am not dismissing modern "gimmicks" but I would take you to task when you say photography has advanced leaps and bounds. Cameras may have advanced leaps and bounds but whether that is a good thing or not is open to debate. a photograph on the other hand  is timeless and hasn't changed since the invention of the camera obscura. All camera makers try to out do each other with what their cameras will do, just like motor car manufacturers but it is still great fun to drive (for example) a 1953 MGTF (real driving) so why can't camera manufacturers make a simple camera for those purists who enjoy taking pictures but don't want to be over powered by technology ?

Don't get me wrong some things are great such as doing away with film (although some purists might debate that) because you can see your results instantly.

I was a photographer for many years, studio in South London, colour laboratory, my own brand of film (Smile) and over 60 photographers working for me before I gave it all up and went into farming ! Love Leicas - best ever was the 3G. 

[jaapv]

Well, I never took it to  the scale that you describe - never had an ambition  for the business side of photography, but our roots may be quite similar. Nevertheless  the last fifteen years have done more for my photography than the fifty before. I guess I am as purist as the next guy, to stay with your car analogy, I prefer driving my TR4 whenever I can, but my Outlander plug-in hybrid can take me places  that I never could be in driving  the old coal-cart. The same with my photography - the Standard, 3f  and M6 sit next to my digitals and I just  got a new batch of Ilford in, but the CL  plus postprocessing feeds my  creativity far more, if only by making things possible that were either  impossible  or b***dy hard to do in the past.  And no, I don't feel overpowered, I am a type who likes to  understand the things that I use and make them work for me.