Survey: Camera Connectivity – We need your opinion!

[LUF Admin]

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We are currently conducting a large customer survey on the topic of connectivity!

All camera manufacturers (including Leica) seem to agree that these functions are one of the most important future topics for cameras.

We now want to know…

• If you agree
• How intensively you already use these functions
• and what exactly is important to you

Your answers will help giving camera manufacturers clear guidance on what is important to you and what features should be implemented in new cameras.

The survey has only 10 questions, your answers should take no more than 5 minutes.

» Take the survey

Many thanks for your support!

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[LocalHero1953]

I have completed the survey. My answers may be misleading because I have not touched the FOTOS app in several years - I found it too unreliable and slow with my then cameras and phone. With a new Q2 and phone, I have just set it up again - it appears to be faster and more stable, so I could find myself using it more, and for different purposes than I described in the survey. 

[scott kirkpatrick]

The survey, while valuable, is ambiguous on just what  you mean by "the app"?  There are several apps, and even Fotos connects to PTP interfaces provided by Adobe and others to continue processing.  Older apps for tethering are in use, and Capture One offers new tethering features in its latest releases.  Possible ways to clarify this are 

  --at the outset state that by "the app" you mean FOTOS

 --at the outset ask what app we use (I'm not sure Survey Monkey will be able to correlate this in its analysis).

 -or at the end of the survey ask what apps we use.

 

Can you in future surveys ask whether people are more concerned about 

 -  managing shooting or editing their pictures on devices other than a desk/laptop cpomputer, or

 -  sharing pictures from Leica cameras with others on social media

It seems to me that these are two different sets of issues.

Edited May 5, 2022 by scott kirkpatrick

[beewee]

As nice as it is for Leica to seek feedback on new features and functionality, Leica needs to ensure existing functionality on the FOTOS app work reliably and in a stable manner.

For example, geotagging has been an absolute joke since the feature was first introduced on the SL2. Whenever the camera goes on standby or shuts off for a few minutes, more the half the time, the camera cannot reconnect to the app and geotagging stops working. When the SL2-S was first introduced, geotagging didn’t work at all even though it looked like the camera was getting location data but location information wasn’t being written to the photo’s metadata. This issue has been addressed since, but it should never have shipped in this state.

Credit where credit is due, the FOTOS app has improved greatly over the past year and I’m thankful that Leica is committed to improving the user experience.

If I can have only one ask, it would be that the reliability and stability of the FOTOS app, and the quality of existing features that are already on the FOTOS app should not be compromised at the expense of new features being added. I didn’t buy my camera with expectations that new features would be added but I did buy my camera with the expectation that features advertised at the time of purchase does actually work well and doesn’t require months of updates to be remotely useable. And existing advertised features should never get degraded because new features have been added.

[TomB_tx]

I took the survey, but probably shouldn't have, as I have no interest in such apps and features. Just let me pull an SD card and copy it to a PC.

[ellegant]

I started but quit the survey. I found it ponderous, the questions confusing and have nothing to do with how I use my m8.2. As TomB suggests above, just let me pop the SD card into my MacBook Pro. As with too much technology, adding features 'cause you can don't add value for the user. 

[beewee]

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50 minutes ago, ellegant said:

I started but quit the survey. I found it ponderous, the questions confusing and have nothing to do with how I use my m8.2. As TomB suggests above, just let me pop the SD card into my MacBook Pro. As with too much technology, adding features 'cause you can don't add value for the user. 

The survey is related to the FOTOS app which does not support anything older than the M10.

[willeica]

I don't use FOTOS as it would not connect with my M10, the first time I tried it. I never went back. One question missing from the survey is whether there should be an app in the camera itself. One reason why smartphones have killed most conventional cameras is that they have connectivity as well as a photography functions which allow immediate connection with the rest of the world via social media. I am sure there will be some here who will say 'not for me', but that is way the market is marching these days. It may well be too late for conventional cameras. Think about this. If you see something worth recording and your phone's image quality is good enough, which would you use, a camera that connects with the phone via an app or the phone itself?

William 

Edited May 10, 2022 by willeica

[pop]

36 minutes ago, willeica said:

If you see something worth recording and your phone's image quality is good enough, which would you use, a camera that connects with the phone via an app or the phone itself?

For me, it's not mainly about image quality. Good enough is good enough. It's about ergonomy. Does the device assist me in recording what I need recorded and how I need it? This is where (some) cameras beat any phone.

[willeica]

53 minutes ago, pop said:

For me, it's not mainly about image quality. Good enough is good enough. It's about ergonomy. Does the device assist me in recording what I need recorded and how I need it? This is where (some) cameras beat any phone.

Of course you are right about this and we all know that. The issue that I raised was more by way of a conundrum for camera manufacturers, which they probably should have addressed long before this. With its market segment Leica is better placed than most to survive. Visit any tourist destination in any part of the world and the evidence of what I am saying will be before your eyes. 
 

William

[beewee]

I spent 1 year with my M10 in a drawer and shooting only with an iPhone 12 Pro. I thought it was ‘good enough’ until I started taking photos again with the M10 and SL2-S along side the iPhone 12 Pro. It’s very very apparent which photos were shot on the iPhone and as good as it is, it’s safe to say that it did not produce the better looking photos. The colours and dynamic range from the M10 and SL2-S is apparent enough that I’m willing to carry an extra 2.5kg of camera gear while hiking/climbing/skiing which is saying a lot coming from someone that normally would be happy to pay more money for lighter gear.

[jdlaing]

12 months you’ll never get back. 😃