Auto/Manual Focus on SL2 with Leica Vario-Elmarit 24-70 f2.8

[NightPix]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Using my SL2 with m-lenses has been a joy. Lately I've been shooting some wildlife with the Leica Vario-Elmarit 24-70 mounted for a bit of extra flexibility. Shooting in an area where branches etc. sometimes makes using AF impractical, I find I need to switch between AF and MF quickly to keep the subject in focus. Before I bought the 24-70 I read several reviews that mentioned something like

"...the lens can simply override the autofocus by touching the manual focus ring. This is a nice feature while mounted on the SL2." 

Apparently I have somehow disabled this feature on my SL2/24-70 because moving the focus ring on the lens has no effect when the SL2 is set to AFs. I can't find anything in the SL2 manual, so I'd appreciate any help from the group to get this feature working again. 

Thanks!

Mike

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by NightPix

[Jean-Michel]

Hi.

 

Half-press the shutter button, the camera will do it's' zoom' and you can adjust the focus manually.  You can change the amount of rotation of the focus ring, but I forget which menu lets set that. 

[NightPix]

19 minutes ago, Jean-Michel said:

Hi.

 

Half-press the shutter button, the camera will do it's' zoom' and you can adjust the focus manually.  You can change the amount of rotation of the focus ring, but I forget which menu lets set that. 

Wow, that was easy and boy do I feel stupid. At least I know I didn't break something. Thanks for the help! - Mike

[Jean-Michel]

To NightPix,

Just a further note: you can change the amount of rotation of the focus ring by going to the Focusing menu, MF Setup and change the setup fromStandard to your preferred amount of focusing ring rotation, I find that 90º is best for me, that is similar to that of most M lenses.

[NickT]

Another alternative is to use Lieca's version of "back button focus" - that is turn the camera to MF and press the joystick when you want autofocus.

[NightPix]

Thanks to both Jean-Michel and NickT for the helpful suggestions! I find that I enjoy using the SL2 as a kind of hybrid - sort of an M10 but with IBIS and EVF.