No self-timer in continuous shutter mode

[Leica Guy]

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I just ran into this oddity this morning. I was photographing newly blossomed Iris and wanted to use the self-timer for 2 sec. so I’m not jarring the camera during initial shutter opening. I had a small breeze so I was trying to time it for no blur and I just wanted to push the shutter button and take a dozen photos with the lowest continuous shutter speed. Later in LR, I would pick the sharpest or least motion blur due to wind. Yes, I had a slow shutter speed due to f/11 and ISO 100. On tripod. To my surprise, the self-timer is unavailable. I only wanted it to delay the first shot. Not a big deal, but I was not expecting it to be unavailable. Different than my DSLR. 

[Kwesi]

I only shoot an M10-P but my understanding is that the Q2 has a built in intervalometer. Perhaps that's your solution?

https://www.apotelyt.com/compare-camera/leica-q2-review

quote from link above:

Do I need to purchase an external camera trigger to shoot time-lapse sequences?

No, the Leica Q2 has an intervalometer built-in, so that low frequency shooting (for example, flower blooming, sunset, moon rise) can be undertaken without the need to purchase a separate external intervalometer and related software.

 

[mikegml]

5 hours ago, Leica Guy said:

I just ran into this oddity this morning. I was photographing newly blossomed Iris and wanted to use the self-timer for 2 sec. so I’m not jarring the camera during initial shutter opening. I had a small breeze so I was trying to time it for no blur and I just wanted to push the shutter button and take a dozen photos with the lowest continuous shutter speed. Later in LR, I would pick the sharpest or least motion blur due to wind. Yes, I had a slow shutter speed due to f/11 and ISO 100. On tripod. To my surprise, the self-timer is unavailable. I only wanted it to delay the first shot. Not a big deal, but I was not expecting it to be unavailable. Different than my DSLR. 

You mean you were hoping to press the shutter once and then a series of shots to be taken with the first shot of the series after a 2s delay?

[Leica Guy]

2 hours ago, mikegml said:

You mean you were hoping to press the shutter once and then a series of shots to be taken with the first shot of the series after a 2s delay?

Yes. Maybe a dumb expectation on my part, but it’s the way my Canon DSLR works and I just kind of expected Leica to operate the same. That was a mistake. Not a big deal. It meant the first image may have some blur due to camera shake of initially pressing the shutter. I really wish there was a remote shutter button. I know FOTOS is supposed to be the solution, but so far it’s just too much trouble and not reliable enough. Maybe someday it’ll be better. 

[Kwesi]

This can be easily achieved by using the interval setting in the drive mode menu

[Leica Guy]

55 minutes ago, Kwesi said:

This can be easily achieved by using the interval setting in the drive mode menu

But not with bracketing which I used extensively. 

[mikegml]

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11 hours ago, Leica Guy said:

Yes. Maybe a dumb expectation on my part, but it’s the way my Canon DSLR works and I just kind of expected Leica to operate the same. That was a mistake. Not a big deal. It meant the first image may have some blur due to camera shake of initially pressing the shutter. I really wish there was a remote shutter button. I know FOTOS is supposed to be the solution, but so far it’s just too much trouble and not reliable enough. Maybe someday it’ll be better. 

Yeah, I've done timer bracketing series on other cameras too.  But you're right I checked and 'timer' is greyed out as soon as you move out of 'single' drive mode.  Suppose you'll have to use the intervalometer option and run different exposures each time.  This is one of those occasions when the simplicity of the Q becomes a disadvantage.

[Delirious123]

Can you use the touch focus and shoot option on the LCD screen with continuous shoot mode? I haven’t tried this so I don’t know if it works on continuous shoot mode. Not the same as a self timer as you still have to touch the camera but hopefully a less intrusive touch of the screen rather than a pressing of a shutter button.

Cheers,

Delirious.

[Leica Guy]

2 hours ago, Delirious123 said:

Can you use the touch focus and shoot option on the LCD screen with continuous shoot mode? I haven’t tried this so I don’t know if it works on continuous shoot mode. Not the same as a self timer as you still have to touch the camera but hopefully a less intrusive touch of the screen rather than a pressing of a shutter button.

Cheers,

Delirious.

Unfortunately not on the Q2. Touch and release is not part of the Q2 feature set. It still is on the Q I believe. Good idea though. Thank you for your creative idea. 

[Delirious123]

5 hours ago, Leica Guy said:

Unfortunately not on the Q2. Touch and release is not part of the Q2 feature set. It still is on the Q I believe. Good idea though. Thank you for your creative idea. 

Yes, it is there. I've just tried it. I'm using firmware version 2.0. On the 1st page of the menu go to Focusing > Touch AF > Touch AF + Release. Then in Drive mode select "Interval Shooting" and setup how you want (I.e. number of shots, interval between, and crucially a countdown timer to start from. Then once you have the camera setup how you want you can just touch the back display on the point you want it to focus on and it will start shooting away. No need to hit the shutter release button. A work around I guess and it may or may not work for you but perhaps an option to try.

Cheers,
Delirious.

[Leica Guy]

7 minutes ago, Delirious123 said:

Yes, it is there. I've just tried it. I'm using firmware version 2.0. On the 1st page of the menu go to Focusing > Touch AF > Touch AF + Release. Then in Drive mode select "Interval Shooting" and setup how you want (I.e. number of shots, interval between, and crucially a countdown timer to start from. Then once you have the camera setup how you want you can just touch the back display on the point you want it to focus on and it will start shooting away. No need to hit the shutter release button. A work around I guess and it may or may not work for you but perhaps an option to try.

Cheers,
Delirious.

Well, I stand corrected. Last time I looked it was not in the Q2. Thank you. I will check it out. Appreciate your tenacity. 

[Delirious123]

4 minutes ago, Leica Guy said:

Well, I stand corrected. Last time I looked it was not in the Q2. Thank you. I will check it out. Appreciate your tenacity. 

No worries. The only downside is I think you will need to be in Auto Focus for it to work. However at least you can touch on the screen precisely where you want the camera to focus.

Hope it works for your needs.

Cheers,

Delirious.

[PhotoCruiser]

Am 7.6.2020 um 16:50 schrieb Leica Guy:

Different than my DSLR. 

Yes, you are right.
I also ran in several not available settings and small features who make some photographiers easier.
When i got te Q/Q2 i was surprised about the number of modern features as i thought that she has basically only A-P-M Automatics.

I guess that Leica is having a policy that their cameras should be used the old way, but now they are somewhere in the middle.
They don't want too much "Pro" Features in their "Big-Bang-4-The-Buck" camera, same as DSRL's have too, so this may work in the SL2 or S models.
We both are shooting top level DSLR cameras and they have more features than their entry level models, so we are spoiled from their features.

Chris

 

[Leica Guy]

13 hours ago, Delirious123 said:

No worries. The only downside is I think you will need to be in Auto Focus for it to work. However at least you can touch on the screen precisely where you want the camera to focus.

Hope it works for your needs.

Cheers,

Delirious.

Thanks. There’s no perfect solution. Always trade-offs. I will try it. Again, I appreciate your follow-up.

Dan

[Leica Guy]

6 hours ago, PhotoCruiser said:

Yes, you are right.
I also ran in several not available settings and small features who make some photographiers easier.
When i got te Q/Q2 i was surprised about the number of modern features as i thought that she has basically only A-P-M Automatics.

I guess that Leica is having a policy that their cameras should be used the old way, but now they are somewhere in the middle.
They don't want too much "Pro" Features in their "Big-Bang-4-The-Buck" camera, same as DSRL's have too, so this may work in the SL2 or S models.
We both are shooting top level DSLR cameras and they have more features than their entry level models, so we are spoiled from their features.

Chris

 

What I really find is my Canon DSLR is a workhorse. It just works. The Leica Q2 is a superb camera,  but it still gets in my way at times. Simply using a remote shutter release on a cable that has no lag is simple on my Canon. Impossible on the Q2. One of my bigger frustrations. On the other hand, the Q / Q2 leaf shutter is pure magic. Flash sync to 1/2000 is stunning and I cannot do that with any DSLR.