The SL3 stills firmware update and feature requests thread.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

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So I've shot around 4000 frames on my SL3 now and it's settled what I'd like to see. Feel free to add or comment about how I'm wrong (again).

Maybe someone more qualified wants to do the same with video.

1. Make all the camera options available for the soft buttons on the menu home screen. Same as the buttons. 11 options only, currently.

2. Make the ISO/auto ISO switching behaviour the same when using the left dial as with the other fn buttons. The new version is awful. Why is it different anyway?

3. Make the rear dial click a custom button (like the SL2). Currently locked to mode select.

4. Add more functions to the new left dial (mode, drive mode, Leica looks etc).

5. A monochrom DNG. Or at least have the instructions that Fotos can read made readable by Lightroom.

6. Punch in focus to where the face/eye is in face detect mode for manual focus lenses.

7. The focal length set for IBIS of uncoded lenses to appear in exif.

8. A visual indicator when the camera is sleeping (currently can't tell if it's asleep or off.). Maybe the battery icon on the top LCD?

9. A faster turn off time (currently 4-5 seconds when 2-3 would be enough) plus make the Leica logo show faster when turning off as it sometimes takes many seconds to appear.

10. Add re-centre focus point as an option when pressing the joystick.

11. Allow removal or customisation of the *Leicons* in shooting mode. There's a few I'll never need and they're just in the way.

12. Enable *swipe down* on the screen to be programmed as a custom function. Currently does nothing.

13. Add 1/2f, 1f and 2f to the options in auto ISO.

14. Show the battery charge percentage on the top LCD when inserting a battery (for a few seconds).

15. Add AFS as a button function. For example the button next to the joystick could be programed to activate AF instead of the joystick (or one of the front buttons).

16. Make the play button programable and add playback to the list of fn options. (Some might use play button for BBF.)

Note I'm not mentioning general speed optimisation as I think that's coming anyway.

Gordon

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[Mikko Kankainen]

Good points!

- Quick menu back
- Top LCD change F something back to A/M/P... Now F is in big letter but the important mode is small and hard to see. Why there need to be letter F. SL2 was more clear.
- AFC available with Sigma MC adapter like in Lumix. Then we could use Canon lenses with video and they would also work 600% better because phase af.
 

Other things that I would like
- Better folder management (create and move between folders), now have to use reset numbering
- Voice memo like in Canons etc
- Compressed raw, ability to put that to SD and regular to CF.
- Make AF better

[la1402]

I’d like to see an option to close the shutter when switching lenses.

[SrMi]

2 hours ago, Mikko Kankainen said:

- Compressed raw, ability to put that to SD and regular to CF.

Do you mean lossless or lossy compressed raw? Adobe's lossless compressed is about 64MB, while SL3's output is about 80 MB (probably also lossless compressed).

[SrMi]

7 hours ago, FlashGordonPhotography said:

5. A monochrom DNG. Or at least have the instructions that Fotos can read made readable by Lightroom.

I believe the necessary information is provided, but Adobe needs to implement Camera Matching Profiles. Leica could push Adobe to do that, though.

7 hours ago, FlashGordonPhotography said:

9. A faster turn off time (currently 4-5 seconds when 2-3 would be enough) plus make the Leica logo show faster when turning off as it sometimes takes many seconds to appear.

You only need to press the button for 1.5 sec or less, but the camera needs longer to complete the process.

7 hours ago, FlashGordonPhotography said:

13. Add 1/2f, 1f and 2f to the options in auto ISO.

I like the idea of slower, slow, fast, and faster settings like Sony and others use for Auto-ISO's shutter speed.

[davidmknoble]

8 hours ago, FlashGordonPhotography said:

monochrom DNG. Or at least have the instructions that Fotos can read made readable by Lightroom.

This does not work on a color sensor.  The bayer filter causes the DNG to have color data, to ‘bake’ in the DNG the black and white values would require translation from colors to grey tones.  Then you would have zero flexibility in post edit.  You could no longer raise the yellow values in brightness, for example.

The best way to do this is to set the JPEG to black and white (and set the contrast characteristics, etc.) and you can see what the black and white might look like, and then convert it in LR, PS or C1.

The monochrom has no bayer filter, so cannot save any color data, thus the DNG is black and white as it was read when the shutter was pressed.

[SrMi]

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41 minutes ago, davidmknoble said:

This does not work on a color sensor.  The bayer filter causes the DNG to have color data, to ‘bake’ in the DNG the black and white values would require translation from colors to grey tones.  Then you would have zero flexibility in post edit.  You could no longer raise the yellow values in brightness, for example.

The best way to do this is to set the JPEG to black and white (and set the contrast characteristics, etc.) and you can see what the black and white might look like, and then convert it in LR, PS or C1.

The monochrom has no bayer filter, so cannot save any color data, thus the DNG is black and white as it was read when the shutter was pressed.

I believe the request is to apply B&W mode in post processor automatically if the settings in SL3 was B&W for that image.

[elmars]

It's actually quite simple: SL3 only has to write the same data to the DNG that Lightroom writes to the metadata of a DNG as a development setting for black and white. You could also add colour styles to a DNG in a similar way. 

[SrMi]

2 minutes ago, elmars said:

It's actually quite simple: SL3 only has to write the same data to the DNG that Lightroom writes to the metadata of a DNG as a development setting for black and white. You could also add colour styles to a DNG in a similar way. 

Normally, Adobe reads the style provided in metadata of the raw file (provided by SL3) and then applies the appropriate profile in the post processor. The metadata stored by Adobe that describe the editing operations applied in Adobe software are proprietary, AFAIK, and not part of the standard.

[jaapv]

49 minutes ago, SrMi said:

I believe the request is to apply B&W mode in post processor automatically if the settings in SL3 was B&W for that image.

It is possible AFAIK as Pixii appears to apply this method. However the results are no better than a simple desaturate and can be achieved by setting the output of ACR to grayscale as well. Unfortunately you lose the option of colour filter simulations and toning in the further postprocessing this way unless you reconvert to an RGB colour space. 

[elmars]

vor 33 Minuten schrieb SrMi:

editing operations applied in Adobe software are proprietary, AFAIK, and not part of the standard.

This is at best a legal obstacle, not an actual one.

[jaapv]

As far as I know the DNG standard is open source. 

[SrMi]

25 minutes ago, jaapv said:

As far as I know the DNG standard is open source. 

Yes, but the metadata stored in the file may not all be part of the standard, AFAIK. Nobody but Adobe can read and apply the editing information stored by Adobe in the DNG.

[SrMi]

30 minutes ago, elmars said:

This is at best a legal obstacle, not an actual one.

If it is not part of a standard, Leica would have to reverse-engineer it, which is a hack with all kind of issues.

[elmars]

Leica has a close relationship with Adobe. They work together in many areas. Leica is one of the few manufacturers that use the DNG format. That's why I think it only takes the will of Leica to write the development data into the DNG. If Leica wants to do that, Adobe will not stand in the way.

[Mikko Kankainen]

3 hours ago, SrMi said:

Do you mean lossless or lossy compressed raw? Adobe's lossless compressed is about 64MB, while SL3's output is about 80 MB (probably also lossless compressed).

I dont know, something smaller so that SD would not be "bottleneck". L-DNG to CF M-DNG to SD would be great but I dont know if it's possible. I remember that in Canon 5Ds, there was RAW and mRAW, I loved that.

[davidmknoble]

8 hours ago, SrMi said:

I believe the request is to apply B&W mode in post processor automatically if the settings in SL3 was B&W for that image.

I read the request as a "monochrome DNG" which is different from applying settings at import.  If it truly is the DNG and can only be shown as monochrome, the color data "might" be there but could also be unreadable.

The easier thing to do here is to create a preset to convert to black and white, either through desaturation or the black and white modules.  Then, you can apply it as you import, or select a group of them and apply it as a starting point.

However, it is different from having a crop or perspective adjustment made, because the data is still visible, even in the editing software.  It would depend on how the command is delivered, and how it works in different software.

[davidmknoble]

8 hours ago, elmars said:

It's actually quite simple: SL3 only has to write the same data to the DNG that Lightroom writes to the metadata of a DNG as a development setting for black and white. You could also add colour styles to a DNG in a similar way. 

Except then it would only work in LR.  To be more compatible for more people, I think they are moving away from that type of integration.  I'd go back to my previous post and say create a setting you can apply on import.

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[SrMi]

2 minutes ago, davidmknoble said:

Except then it would only work in LR.  To be more compatible for more people, I think they are moving away from that type of integration.  I'd go back to my previous post and say create a setting you can apply on import.

But how do you know which image you intended to be B&W, unless you always shoot with JPEG as well?

[davidmknoble]

55 minutes ago, SrMi said:

But how do you know which image you intended to be B&W, unless you always shoot with JPEG as well?

You won't.  That is what the Jpeg or the monochrom camera is for.  Changing the DNG from color to include a black and white tag is bad idea because too many software programs implement black and white too differently.  

It is easy to look at the screen when post editing and make a decision, or simply apply a preset and delete it back to color if you don't like the black and white.

IMHO.