Continuing my 'New /Old' Leica life.

[Jacob the Photographer]

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Yesterday I introduced myself and my 'new' Leica SL ending with :
"...Is it perfect ? No ! Not one camera is ever perfect. But man oh woman ... it is great. I fitted it with a Novoflex L/R adapter , got some more R lenses ( I do not need AF ) and ... a Nikon adapter for some of my old Nikon glass. And I am almost happy. ..."


Today I write . . . . . :

But there are a few issues with the camera I hope to get fixed. Better late as  sorry !!
They are firmware issues that most likely have been addressed before but never solved.
So I got the idea to convince Leica to issue a final Firmware update for the old SL. Just like Fuji once did for their original X-pro and XH-1 .
To keep their loyal users ... super-loyal !

What I would ask Leica to do in such a historic final SL Typ 601 firmware upgrade is this:
-- Pull the self timer function out of the drive menu and make it an option to add the self-timer as  standalone function to the FAVORITES menu.  
-- Make it possible to add the selection of mechanical shutter / electronic shutter to the FAVORITES
-- Create a custom set of lens profiles , many of us will have several non SL lenses , it would be handy to have those as a quick choice in a custom set, easy to access when mounting an other lens. Add to that the option to a few assign non-Leica lenses (like Fuji does). I know Leica is a temple for just one religion but hey ... every now and then we need ask forgiveness , life would be boring without.
-- Allow real custom filename settings , not just one charater .. the 'L' is a bit short , SL1_ would be easier to help remember which camera.
Those first 4 options are very easy to implement dear Leica - I have been a part time computer coder !

And then a final hot item:
-- I noticed that there are hundreds if not thousands SL users very unhappy with the fact that the noise reduction can not be turned off like with EVERY other brand camera.
Leica just as well does not allow us to shoot RAW with long shutter speeds but only Wetzlar pre-cooked JPG, and to emphasise that create a new file extension: LTZ.
Sorry Leica but enforced noise cancellation is an abusing joke to all your faithful users ! 
I read all sorts of arguments - the sensor temperature / dark frame immediately after exposure etc. All true , but there are situations where one needs maximum speed over highest quality out of camera. Even during long night exposures.

My personal example of how the option to turn off noise cancellation saved a very important photographic assignment:
In 2018 I had a assignment to make an as large as possible panorama of the Southern Hemisphere to be used in the visitor center of our local Warrumbungle National park / dark Sky park. It had to be printed at 4 meter diameter , mounted in a lightbox , suspended off the ceiling. All I had was my Fuji X-Pro2  with the 23mm 2.0 on it , it would do the job.
The Fuji sensors allow a bit of infrared, so it also showed the red Hydrogen a little. I had calculated that if I worked fast I could shoot 80 'tiles' each bracketed 3x just before the Milkyway was getting to low near the horizon. It nearly worked - I missed the last 30 minutes which I captured the next night. Fingers crossed the weather would be in my fovor. In July it can be erratic. 
But it ONLY worked because I had turned off noise cancellation. With active noise cancellation I never would have had enough time and would have needed 3 or 4 nights , and that would have posed a problem  with the unstable weather and I would have not been able to complete the assignment before the deadline : Printed and hanging by half August.

So there you go brilliant makers of great Leicas: your decision to enforce noise cancellation can pose way bigger implications as you might have realised !

As you may have guessed I woul love to add that to my small list of the final Firmware upgrade to all those loyal Leica users. 
Dear Leica : DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE HUGE PR VALUE OF A LATE HISTORIC FIRMWARE UPGARDE !
It establishes a huge trust in the Leica brand !

How can we SL Typ 601 users get this noisey message to Leica : With a petition !!

How to do that ? I don't know - I hope someone smarter as I am can start that .
Thanks for reading !
Jacob the Photographer in the Australian Bush 

[Attached that 360 º panorama of the Milky Way - the one I only could make without noise cancellation active on an alien camera - the graphic overlay is a copy of an Aboriginal rock engraving near Sydney. It shows our largest walking bird: 'the Emu', a very important bird in Aboriginal Dream - time  - stories  ('legends' for us ordinary mortals) .

 

 

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