Leica fotos, worst app ever used

[IkarusJohn]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

1 minute ago, wlaidlaw said:

CL and SL good. M10-R very slow to connect and connection can be unstable. 

Wilson

I’ve wondered for some time if this is related to the Wii tranceiver location on the M cameras, and the body material?

[nicci78]

14 hours ago, jaapv said:

Strangely enough, it works OK with the CL and TL

I guess that Q2 huge files make everything difficult for Fotos slow connection time. 
 

It is true that I used to use T frequently with Fotos. Its 16MP jpeg tiny photos help a lot. (You cannot shot in DNG only, so you always have a JPG in hand) 

Sadly I only shot in DNG only with Q2 et CL. Hence bigger file to transfer wirelessly 

Edited February 16, 2022 by nicci78

[Advertisement]

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

[Pelu2010]

On 11/17/2020 at 3:13 PM, didier said:

I am perfectly happy with the Leica Fotos App. Works perfectly to get quickly OOC jpegs onto my iPad, with no Problem at all, from my SL and M10M.

It allows me to quickly share pictures when needed.

For DNGs, I exclusively use my laptop, so I don’t use Leica Fotos but a card reader.

Didier

Hi Didier, 

so you use the app as a viewing experience and that is fine. If the camera and phone could do this in any other way it would suite you right. 

To some people it's like an extension of the camera and they would like to have features that the camera does not provide. 

And I can understand that  in the situation you are in, there is no need of a speedy and responsive app.

When I come from hunting I am chilled to and I have time to enjoy the new german slowness or GSN.

Hold that thought! 

Imagine yourself hunting. Your are hiding and it is crucial that you can use the app fast and stealthy. 

Now we are talking about speedy connection and responsive interaction. You need to make a low angle shot and can't lay down, 

because the soil is contaminated with chemicals or you need to shot with a pole monopod and the camera does not react. 

And here is why people complain: 

the q2 has no ports! There will never be a scenario where this camera can be executed with a cable (if Leica does not develop a handgrip with ports) 

So this excellent camera can do a lot of things, but for the extrem perspectives you will have to jump with your Hermenegildo zenga jacket into the mud. 

Imagine the faces of your family and friends. 

Such an App is the possibility to show your ingenuity, but I can't see this. 

And at this level of product value I would expect something else. 

kind regards 

Peter 

[didier]

I come from film… I don’t need instant results indeed… FOTOS is a nice add-on for me to get a few the pics on my iPad, edit them in Lightroom and share them, without getting the SD card out of my camera and edit precisely my pics on my desktop computer.

I could even live without screens on my cameras, so… Everyone have their use  

It works almost flawlessly on my SL, M10M and now Q2

Didier

[scott kirkpatrick]

On 2/15/2022 at 2:19 PM, wlaidlaw said:

CL and SL good. M10-R very slow to connect and connection can be unstable. 

Wilson

All the M10s use a wifi chip which takes a painfully long time to synchronize the code sequence that is used to transfer data and control information, and connect with software which painstakingly checks each step of the bringup, falling on its face if anything goes wrong.  The M11 does much better, but there is apparently more function coming soon.  I didn't get to try the firmware update because I did an old-fashioned update to 1.2.1 and suffered the surprise bricking, which was easily overcome, once the secret was spread around...  So I'm holding my breath.  The L mount family do much better.  The L mount software has had a strong influence on the functions implemented in the M11 on its new Maestro 3 processor, already in use in the SLs.  But the wifi is probably on a different chip.

[Joel Webber]

I've been lurking on this thread for a while, trying to understand if my experience was out of the norm. I'm using a CL2, and have tried the FOTOS app with several Android phones, and now an iPhone 13. Each time, I think to myself "I'm sure it's gotten better by now", and am repeatedly disappointed. While I'm tempted to use terms like "obscenely slow" and "unusable", I'll instead stick to quantifiable data, so perhaps we can compare these samples to those finding the app to be useful for their purposes.

So the following data comes from an iPhone 13, in several different environments, including some in rural areas with little to no 2.4/5 GHz background noise. And while I don't have data from my attempts on my Android phones, I can attest that it felt nearly identical.

Connection time: ~15s

Load a single new preview tile: ~20s

Download a single image (6M JPG): ~55s

Download a single image (55M DNG): ~5:30m

 

To my mind, these factors are the primary thing rendering the app useless to me. Whether or not they're a function of the app itself, the camera's network stack, the wifi chip, wifi firmware, or otherwise is impossible to determine, because AFAICT there's no other software to connect to the camera via wifi. I'd also note that these times are so long, and apparently running wifi on the CL2 is so expensive in mWh terms that it usually either disconnects and/or drains the battery to zero long before I can download more than a handful of photos, even at JPG quality.

I tried this unofficial Leica Sync app (https://transienteye.com/software/), but have thus far had no luck getting it to work. Which is extremely frustrating, as I'd really love to be able connect the camera to my laptop directly when traveling (no modern mac includes an SD card reader; yes, I could bring one with me if I thought about it, but I rarely remember to when packing, and in all honesty shouldn't have to, given that there's no fundamental hardware reason that the wifi shouldn't work).

So my question to everyone here finding the FOTOS app useful is this: Which of the following is true?

a) You're getting much better performance than this. If so, I'd love to know what's different in your scenario.

b) You're getting similar performance, and somehow find it useful anyway.

c) Something else I'm not considering?

 

Cheers,

Joel

[jaapv]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

1 hour ago, Joel Webber said:

c) Something else I'm not considering?

https://nerdtechy.com/best-wifi-sd-card

[wlaidlaw]

8 hours ago, jaapv said:

https://nerdtechy.com/best-wifi-sd-card

I tried one of the Toshiba ones on my Leica C112, after Leica decided not to include it in Fotos supported cameras. Sadly it just did not work. The camera dealer said it was probably as the C112 had a metal outer body, which was blocking the signal. I have passed my C112 on to one of my grandsons, who I was pleased to see using it on Sunday. 

Wilson

[Joel Webber]

On 3/9/2022 at 6:58 PM, jaapv said:

https://nerdtechy.com/best-wifi-sd-card

Thanks, appreciate the reference. Just to be clear, though, are you suggesting that the reason others aren't having difficulty with the Fotos app is that they've worked around the terrible Wifi performance using Wifi SD cards?

I would still be curious to know if others are seeing completely different Wifi performance with the built-in stack on the CL2. Because if so, that would tell me whether I have an unusual problem that might be fixable, or one for which there is no solution other than not using the camera's built-in wifi.

[wlaidlaw]

When you say CL2, I assume you mean the CL Digital. Sadly we believe that the development of the CL2 has been cancelled. I would certainly have been a customer for a CL2 with a BSI and stabilised sensor. I have found the CL to be the ideal travel digital camera. 

Wilson

[Joel Webber]

1 hour ago, wlaidlaw said:

When you say CL2, I assume you mean the CL Digital. Sadly we believe that the development of the CL2 has been cancelled. I would certainly have been a customer for a CL2 with a BSI and stabilised sensor. I have found the CL to be the ideal travel digital camera. 

Wilson

D'oh, sorry -- that's right, I did mean the CL (I don't know why I keep making that mistake). I *love* this camera for exactly the same reason, and travel with it all the time. The fact that I tend to just throw it in my pocket when hitting the road is why I find myself so often wanting to use it with FOTOS, but the performance is so bad as to render the feature useless.

I'd also like to be able to use it with my laptop, but Apple hasn't had an SD slot for ages, and I rarely remember to bring an external reader with me. I know I should remember this, but I also think the Wifi feature on the camera should actually work, and it would be nice if they would provide at least very simple transfer software for laptop operating systems as well...

[wlaidlaw]

Joel, 

The CL used to have a WiFi viewing and transfer facility for computers (you connected to the IP address of the camera) for at least the JPEG images on the card. For some as yet, still unexplained reason and in a really dumb move, removed this facility from both the CL and SL. Even a very senior person on the tech side at Leica UK, who I know quite well, said that Wetzlar must really have had their head up their a*** to have removed this very useful facility. For quite a while they left the menu item there but it no longer worked. Are you connecting to the camera's own wifi not via a network? This is initially set up by getting the connecting device (iPad, Android phone) to view a QR code on the camera's LCD. I have found whereas the connection to the camera wifi does work, albeit very slowly for DNG's, via an external network, the app barely works at all. 

Wilson

[idusidusi]

On 2/14/2022 at 7:13 PM, nicci78 said:

Real issue ? Connecting to the camera is incredibly slow. 
It is faster to remove the SD. Plug it to your iPhone with SD to lightning adapter. Then download any photos. Put the SD card back. 
 

Don’t know why anybody should bother with such useless app. 
Open it only once a year. Be disappointed to death. Forget about it for a year then hoping for the best one year later, etc process continues again and again. 

Is it really that bad? I hope not.

[Simone_DF]

4 hours ago, idusidusi said:

Is it really that bad? I hope not.

Actually it's much worse

[idusidusi]

2 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

Actually it's much worse

Just as well Capture One is bringing out an IPad version, I will definitely utilise that. I have Leica-Fotos installed and will test it out for my use when I receive my M11.

[Alberto L.]

On 1/30/2021 at 4:06 PM, US00678 said:

Actually no way, I've tested Fotos both iOS and Android, geotagging always on or while in app, the satellite icon appears on the camera, but no shot has GPS info.

The camera is an SL2, firmaware 2.0, apps at the last version available.

Was anybody with SL2 able to get geotagged shots via Fotos, or is only me?

I write twice to Leica, I have a SL2S and even with the new version of Leica Fotos (3.1.1) no way to have gps data in my photos! It’s a shame!

[beewee]

13 hours ago, Alberto L. said:

I write twice to Leica, I have a SL2S and even with the new version of Leica Fotos (3.1.1) no way to have gps data in my photos! It’s a shame!

Have you tried resetting your camera? I had to do that with mine before I could get geotagging data working. No idea why but I tried all the obvious things like reconnecting, deleting the connection on both the app and camera, etc… but nothing worked until I did a full reset.

[LocalHero1953]

I was an early adopter of Fotos with the SL and CL and Huawei P10, but gave up because the connection was so unstable and slow to be practical, either for remote triggering or for downloading photos while out and about for adding to LR or posting on social media. 

I have just received a Q2 (firmware v4), and recently switched to an iphone 13, and so I'm giving Fotos another chance. My initial impressions are better: it takes 15-20secs to connect now (with no glitches), and downloading a 47mp DNG took about 20s - that is way improved over my previous experience. Downloading a small number of previews only took about 10s.

I shall give it some tougher tests, including how distant the remote connection can hold out for, and how well geotagging works (though it is not a high priority for me).

TBH I'm not expecting miracles, just a reason to keep Fotos on my phone.

Edited May 5, 2022 by LocalHero1953

[jrp]

The problem used to be that either phone or camera went to sleep and couldn't reconnect without a lot of faff.  You were also stuffed if you only wanted GPS as the app would insist on downloading photo previews before allowing you to start shooting.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[beewee]

21 hours ago, jrp said:

The problem used to be that either phone or camera went to sleep and couldn't reconnect without a lot of faff.

I’m glad this seems to be resolved in the ability to turn off display/AF after 30s but keep the camera powered on to maintain a connection with the phone and a nice byproduct is that the top display stays on so you can see the settings for the camera. This was a feature I had requested after trying to understand the root cause of the problem discussed below.

Before the most recent firmware update, after much tinkering, I found that the problem is more on the phone side, at least on iPhones, where after the camera goes to sleep and wakes up again it has trouble reconnecting with the phone because the phone scans for devices at a lower rate which may not coincide with the rate at which the camera is trying to reconnect with the phone. For example, the camera may try to reconnect every 5s (I’m making up numbers here to illustrate the issue) but the phone only checks every 30s or 60s and happens to do it in between the 5s intervals that the camera is using. My work around was to unlock my phone and put the FOTOs app in the foreground so that the iPhone scan rate goes up and then it’s able to quickly re-establish the connection with the camera. This workaround was pretty reliable but it was also annoying and got old pretty quick.

21 hours ago, jrp said:

You were also stuffed if you only wanted GPS as the app would insist on downloading photo previews before allowing you to start shooting.

This has never been an issue for me on the SL2-S, at least ever since geotagging finally worked in some flaky manner on the SL2-S around the mid-2021. I’ve always just used bluetooth-only for geotagging. In fact, over the past year, the only time I ever use the Wi-Fi connection is when I want to pair with camera with the FOTOs app after a firmware update. After that, the WiFi stays off to save power.