SL3 - Autofocus Configuration - What am I doing wrong?

[stbeyer]

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Quick question regarding the SL3 autofocus setup:

I struggle to find a setup that allows me to change the autofocus setting quickly. This leads me to think that I am either doing something wrong. or the SL3 user experience is not as good as I expected. Is it correct that I cannot:

- Limit subject detection to a certain display area, for example, in the selected zone in zone focus metering.

- Use subject detection in conjunction with tracking mode. I.e. use the tracking box to pre-select my subject.

- Set a button to toggle subject detection on/off with a single push.

The above is possible on any other autofocus system I have used, so I would not be surprised if it was user error. What am I missing here? Any setup tips?

Edited April 5 by stbeyer

[LocalHero1953]

Yes, yes, yes - all correct. 

[stbeyer]

Thanks!

So there are no workarounds? How do people use subject recognition in a sensible way then? 

Here is a typical scenario for me: I photograph someone doing something, like a bartender preparing a Cocktail. On some shots I want face recognition to focus on his eyes, on others I want the focus to be on whatever he is preparing (the cocktail in my example). This can be done in a number of ways on other systems just by moving a box or a single button press. How would I do this on the SL3? Press a button, scroll through the list of focus modes, and then place the focus point every time? 

[jaapv]

How about setting the camera to field using the joystick to control the point of focus yourself? It is you composing the photograph, not the camera, after all. Or, if you are in a hurry, use half-press focus - recompose ?

[stbeyer]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

How about setting the camera to field using the joystick to control the point of focus yourself? It is you composing the photograph, not the camera, after all. Or, if you are in a hurry, use half-press focus - recompose ?

Yes, that's my current workaround.

However, that's how I worked 10 years ago on a DSLR. I kind of feel that if a modern camera has subject detection functionalities, like eye autofocus, it should be useful. I don't think my use cases are that strange.

Edited April 5 by stbeyer

[jaapv]

Personally I don’t see why I would want to hand over control to my camera that way. I find subject/eye recognition quite useful sometimes but not for the situation you describe. If  want to switch from background to foreground I prefer to work in the manner described in order to keep control YMMV. 

[jiggyb21]

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I would certainly love to see them implement your first point; limiting the subject detection to a zone. It is such a simple way to limit a camera's wandering eye during autofocus. I had the same issue with my Canon R5. You could not combine zone and animal detection. In zone, the camera would often focus on the perch. In animal detection, since you could not specify a zone, it would often focus on the background, other birds etc.  At the time it seemed like whoever designed the system had never actually used the camera. It was such an obvious omission.  Here we are 4 years later... With the Lumix autofocusing system, for example, you can simply toggle human or animal detection on or off in any other focusing mode. So easy and intuitive. 

Having said that,  I bought into Leica because of all the limitations. My brain simply can not handle all the options, settings and choices other manufactures offer. I mean that quite literally. I've lived in my house for 15 years and I still hit the wrong lightswitches all the time. A bit of dyslexia perhaps, but having a camera that is so limiting has simplified and improved my photography so for me the positives outway the negatives. And Leica has definitely not strayed from this philosophy since the introduction of the SL line, so it should come as no surprise. I'm always baffled when people spend this kind of money in a camera without understanding first what it can and can't do.

Edited April 5 by jiggyb21

[stbeyer]

14 minutes ago, jiggyb21 said:

I'm always baffled when people spend this kind of money in a camera without understanding first what it can and can't so. 

I mean I get your point, but this type of setup fine-tuning limitation is something you only come across in real-world usage, not in review scenario. 

Good point about intentional limitations. 

Edited April 5 by stbeyer

[stbeyer]

 

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

Personally I don’t see why I would want to hand over control to my camera that way. I find subject/eye recognition quite useful sometimes but not for the situation you describe. If  want to switch from background to foreground I prefer to work in the manner described in order to keep control YMMV. 

Yes, also a fair point. I suppose it depends on shooting style. Personally, I feel being able to quickly focus on the eye with a single push of a button and disabling this feature again with another button makes me feel more in control.  

[LocalHero1953]

I switch between Body/Face/Eye and Field frequently, and I would love to have a toggle button for that purpose (and for quite a few other functions, but Leica doesn't do one press toggles).

On the SL2-S I have the lower button on the front of the camera set to AF Mode: press it with my 4th finger and change mode with my thumb on the joystick. I've been doing this long enough that it's automatic - I'd still rather just toggle though. The upper button on the front of the camera is for Focus Mode: switching in the same way between AF and MF. When in MF, I use the joystick for BBF.

The Q series permits constraining the area for AF and for metering to the selected crop. You can't move the crop frame around, but it is part way towards what you were asking.

[jiggyb21]

2 minutes ago, stbeyer said:

I mean I get your point, but this type of setup fine-tuning limitation is something you only come across in real-world usage, not in review scenario. 

Good point about intentional limitations. 

And I agree with you in this case. Everything you mentioned seems like a minimum standard at this point. To me auto modes only work in conjunction with user input. Full auto doesn't work, but A and S modes do quite well.  Offering subject/animal detection without any way to limit where it looks just seems silly to me. And you are right, I have made purchases in the past where I made assumptions based on past experience and what I saw to be industry standard at that point, only to find out things were missing. 

[LocalHero1953]

7 minutes ago, stbeyer said:

 

Yes, also a fair point. I suppose it depends on shooting style. Personally, I feel being able to quickly focus on the eye with a single push of a button and disabling this feature again with another button makes me feel more in control.  

I agree. 

But you have to remember when asking questions on this forum that most of the replies tell you you've asked the wrong question, or you shouldn't try to do what you've asked about.🤷‍♂️

Edited April 5 by LocalHero1953

[jaapv]

Just trying to be helpful…

[jaapv]

So, conclusion: you are doing nothing wrong 😉

[Elliot Harper]

And further concluding: you want a Sony 

[stbeyer]

45 minutes ago, Elliot Harper said:

And further concluding: you want a Sony 

No. I would prefer to have one of the features a Sony camera probably has to be available on my SL3. If it is not available I can perfectly work around that issue. Not the same thing.  

[Pedrocolonia]

The SLxx are not perfect. For me it is a joy to look for an solution. I always find one. Sometimes I use the CR5. 2! buttons can be configured for AF: One for Eye AF the other for „general“ AF. 

[jaapv]

5 minutes ago, Pedrocolonia said:

The SLxx are not perfect. For me it is a joy to look for an solution. I always find one. Sometimes I use the CR5. 2! buttons can be configured for AF: One for Eye AF the other for „general“ AF. 

The cameras are certainly designed to an idiosyncratic philosophy. One that happens to mesh with  my mind. But it is understandable that users coming in from outside need to adjust. If they can they are “caught” forever. 🙃

[Elliot Harper]

4 hours ago, jaapv said:

The cameras are certainly designed to an idiosyncratic philosophy. One that happens to mesh with  my mind. But it is understandable that users coming in from outside need to adjust. If they can they are “caught” forever. 🙃

I always found your comments give me sort of philosophical epiphany 

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[JonathanArrow]

I understand your frustration. My current solution- I mapped the "AF Mode" to the FN button next to the display and mapped the "MF Mode" to FN #4 (top button to the left of the right dial). This doesn't solve all my problems, but it gets me to the AF Menu quickly, where I can make changes as quickly as possible. In the worst-case scenario, I go into Manual Mode with Focus Peaking, using the two top function buttons to override the camera's focus. I'm hoping Leica releases a firmware update soon for the SL3. Would love to see what more the SL3 is capable of. Good luck!

Edited April 5 by JonathanArrow
Add a "good luck"