Survey of Interest: Faster Adjustments for ISO, EV and WB

[carstenw]

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ISO and EV yes. WB not important. M8 owner since 11/06.

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

[sean_reid]

Is Leica not interested at all or was there a reasonable chance that they would be prepared to implement firmware changes? If the latter - it would be nice to know what reason they had not to implement these changes, considering the time and energy we all put into this.

 

Is it that they are unwilling to make modifications that are contrary to the manual? This makes sense to some extent. BUT, you could consider a menu option (fast EV etc. control ON/OFF) and warn the owner that selecting ON means non-standard control features.

 

Just my 0.03 $ (the rate of exchange is changing as we speak)

 

Was there ever a reasonable chance? yes Is there now? I highly doubt it.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

Sean-

this started with a request for a name and e-mail address to send our wishes to....could you provide that as a way to step off the hot seat between us and Leica? It seems that as much as they respect your input, it may be that volume would have an effect where quality didn't...

 

Thanks.

 

Hi Steve,

 

I'm afraid that I don't because the e-mail addresses I have are not something I can share. That's why Bill (whose last name I keep forgetting) suggested the survey. I guess one can contact the general customer support e-mails.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[farnz]

1. Brick wall.

2. Head.

 

Beat 2 against 1 until numb.

 

Thanks for your efforts anyway, Sean. <sigh>

 

Pete.

[Michael M.]

Owner since 02/07

Would like to see all 3 proposals working on my camera

Still expecting manual selction of focal length to get benefit of (auto-)compensation without coding.

 

Also think it is good idea to get it as a selectable sub-routine somewhere in FW - entering the "prof." mode by password ...

 

Michael

[sean_reid]

1. Brick wall.

2. Head.

 

Beat 2 against 1 until numb.

 

Thanks for your efforts anyway, Sean. <sigh>

 

Pete.

 

You're welcome and thank you.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

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Still expecting manual selction of focal length to get benefit of (auto-)compensation without coding.

Michael

 

Don't hold your breath on that, unfortunately. Among other things, some people here have lobbied hard to see that the selection menu is not adopted.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[charlesphoto99]

I seriously doubted that Leica would implement any changes in firmware that directly affect the functionality of existing hardware. Just not their style. Cautious and old school. But I think neither would Canon or Nikon.

 

Difference is that Leica really didn't think it all the way through to begin with which is a shame. Yes, the custom function menus of C and N are way over the top, but they can serve a purpose and one can also choose to ignore them. But it's nice when you do decide that this switch/button/wheel would work better for you in this or that mode and actually have the option to do it. That should have all been thought out and implemented before this camera ever left the gates of the company.

 

Leica's adherence to simplicity is both a blessing and a curse, imo.

[sean_reid]

I seriously doubted that Leica would implement any changes in firmware that directly affect the functionality of existing hardware. Just not their style. Cautious and old school. But I think neither would Canon or Nikon.

 

Again, it indeed could have changed at one point but it isn't going to now.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[giordano]

Sorry, but thats not true. You have to press at least two different buttons in order to delete a picture.

 

Once you're in "delete single" mode, each successive press of SET deletes an image, with no confirmation required.

[jaapv]

Once you're in "delete single" mode, each successive press of SET deletes an image, with no confirmation required.

 

That is true. Which is why I ALWAYS use the protect button on shots I don't want to lose.

[brucek]

Owner since November of '06.

 

EV choice is crucial.

ISO is second on my want list

WB is not nearly as important.

[regbell]

The changes you propose would be excellent improvements based on existing controls. Current M8 owner.

[clayh]

Yes. EV compensation and ISO quick access are definitely needed. I have an M8. Love to hate it or hate to love it. Not sure yet.

[hankg]

Don't hold your breath on that, unfortunately. Among other things, some people here have lobbied hard to see that the selection menu is not adopted.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Well that's a shame on both the EV ISO and the lens menu. Of course if all you do with the camera is take pictures of your camera and rulers it won't impact you but if you are a photographer it really blows. I guess it's manual exposure mode for the M8.

 

I think the most dangerous thing Leica's new management has inherited is not the companies precarious financial condition -it's the core user base made up of non-photographer well to do brand snobs and collectors who are hostile to the idea of the M as a working tool for working photographers (or amateurs and artists who actually use the camera to take pictures). If they are influencing the companies product decisions that is a scary thought.

 

Thanks anyway for your efforts Sean.

[lct]

...I think the most dangerous thing Leica's new management has inherited is... the core user base made up of non-photographer well to do brand snobs and collectors who are hostile to the idea of the M as a working tool for working photographers...

Are those snobs and collectors responsible for the noise of the cam, lack of manual controls, mandatory chimping, IR and moiré issues and so on? In my capacity of modest collector and incorrigible snob (but i cure myself) i can assure you that i am for nothing in all that.

[hankg]

Are those snobs and collectors responsible for the noise of the cam, lack of manual controls, mandatory chimping, IR and moiré issues and so on? In my capacity of modest collector and incorrigible snob (but i cure myself) i can assure you that i am for nothing in all that.

 

Actually I think those issues are secondary for them. Most important is preserving Leica in the manner of a tiny exclusive Swiss watch company - rare, expensive, hand made products - brass, black paint and leather would take priority over mundane concerns like EV controls that work fluidly in real time when photographing.

 

Taking the antique Ferrari out for a weekend spin is very different then relying on it everyday to get you where your going. Different priorities.

[Jim Whitham]

I would like these changes- current M8 owner

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[Guest Walt]

Well that's a shame on both the EV ISO and the lens menu. Of course if all you do with the camera is take pictures of your camera and rulers it won't impact you but if you are a photographer it really blows. I guess it's manual exposure mode for the M8.

 

I think the most dangerous thing Leica's new management has inherited is not the companies precarious financial condition -it's the core user base made up of non-photographer well to do brand snobs and collectors who are hostile to the idea of the M as a working tool for working photographers (or amateurs and artists who actually use the camera to take pictures). If they are influencing the companies product decisions that is a scary thought.

 

Thanks anyway for your efforts Sean.

Hank-

 

Amen to all of the above. I decided our concerns were sunk with that last software release, with which Leica showed no interest in anything but selling the new Elmarits. Their failure on this issue, the EV/ISO adjustments, is simply confirmation. It's still a pretty good camera to use, but much less than it could have been, and Leica's message to M8 users is clear: Take a hike.

 

I had a dream last night, no doubt inspired by Sean's mysterious but apparently unambiguous defeat yesterday. My FedEx man, Steve, was at the door and handed me the new GR-D from Tony Rose, no box, just the camera, and he was holding it up in the air by the neckstrap. (What Steve usually delivers, in real life, is allegedly repaired Leica stuff.) And then I realized that the Ricoh looked exactly like a GR-D but was the size of the M8 and it had my 28/2.0 mounted on it. I asked him where he got the lens and he was confused and said it just came that way. I had a joyous feeling in the dream. Odd, how the unconscious puts disparate things together and solves problems. Odd, and kind of horrible, that I'm dreaming about cameras now, a first I think.

 

Walt

[hankg]

Hank-

 

Amen to all of the above. I decided our concerns were sunk with that last software release, with which Leica showed no interest in anything but selling the new Elmarits. Their failure on this issue, the EV/ISO adjustments, is simply confirmation. It's still a pretty good camera to use, but much less than it could have been, and Leica's message to M8 users is clear: Take a hike.

 

I had a dream last night, no doubt inspired by Sean's mysterious but apparently unambiguous defeat yesterday. My FedEx man, Steve, was at the door and handed me the new GR-D from Tony Rose, no box, just the camera, and he was holding it up in the air by the neckstrap. (What Steve usually delivers, in real life, is allegedly repaired Leica stuff.) And then I realized that the Ricoh looked exactly like a GR-D but was the size of the M8 and it had my 28/2.0 mounted on it. I asked him where he got the lens and he was confused and said it just came that way. I had a joyous feeling in the dream. Odd, how the unconscious puts disparate things together and solves problems. Odd, and kind of horrible, that I'm dreaming about cameras now, a first I think.

 

Walt

 

Wow, your FedEx man as John the Baptist (I 'm not sure what that makes Tony). This transition to digital is really getting to you, maybe you better break out the TriX!