Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2016/02/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I belive his eyes are placed so he (or she) can see directly behind him. Perhaps at all times a 360?! No sneaking up on this wrabbit! On 2/6/16 8:39 AM, "Doug Herr" <wildlightphoto at earthlink.net> wrote: > The last two days I've only had a couple of hours to play with the SL. I'd > say 99.5% of it is very impressive and extremely capable; I'll get to the > other 0.5% shortly. > > It's a very solid tool with clear, purposeful controls. The viewfinder is > quite good, the joystick is delightful (user-programmability of its > acceleration function would improve it) and the other buttons, dials and > such > are readily at hand when needed and they stay out of the way when not > needed > Very impressive. > > My test photos are not intended to demonstrate the camera's artistic > sensibilities. I'm just testing technical performance. > > One of the DMR's strengths is the robustness of the raw files, their > ability > to be manipulated, stomped on and tortured and not whimper. Pulling detail > out of shadows is one of my tests and to this end I enlisted the > hummingbirds > in my yard & made some backlit photos exposed for highlights, then used > ACR's > 'fill light' function to bring up the color and detail of the bird's gorget > (the red feathers). This robustness of the DMR files saved my butt on more > than one occasion, for example: > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/mammals/leporidae/lepus/bthare06.html > > so here's how the SL did (cropped, about 1/3 of the original file): > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/SL/L1050752.jpg > > I'm impressed. > > > Responsiveness is another test. My Sony a7II is quite responsive when I > enable the electronic first curtain feature, but this feature's practical > utility is limited to shutter speeds no faster than 1/1000 sec. To test > the > SL I used the Ruby-crowned Kinglet that has taken a liking to my > hummingbird > feeder. Kinglets are hyperactive bits of fluff and this particular kinglet > was jumping from a twig, fluttering up to the feeder for a sip then back to > the twig. The entire process takes less than a second. I wanted to see > how > much total lag there was between the viewfinder, my reaction timing, and > the > shutter lag. I pre-focussed on the feeder tube and watched the viewfinder, > pressing the shutter release when the bird entered the picture. The > camera is > in single-shot drive mode, no crop: > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/SL/L1050888.jpg > > I'm impressed. > > > I also learned that my FD adapter is a cheap POS and I'll need to use tape > or > jam some shims into the adapter's aperture stop-down ring in order to use > my > 500 L at any aperture other than f/4.5. > > So now I get to the 0.5% I'm not thrilled with. The camera's viewfinder > defaults to automatic brightness mode with 'exposure simulation' mode > enabled > with a half-press of the shutter release or by pressing the exposure > simulation mode button on the front of the camera. The viewfinder reverts > to > the default automatic brightness mode after each exposure. > > WTF were they thinking? One of the really huge advantages of the EVF is > the > real-time exposure feedback. Automatic viewfinder brightness in these > scenarios makes the bird go so dark I can't see any detail for focussing or > for catching the desired posture: > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/tyrannidae/pyrocephalus/veflyc00.html > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/accipitridae/buteo/rshawk04.html > > and makes the bird go alternately too bright or too dark when I shift the > camera's field of view left or right: > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/sphyrapicus/rbsaps02.html > > Very distracting, breaks my concentration, makes focussing and seeing what > the > bird is doing very difficult. In polite company I'd call the automatic > viewfinder brightness feature an 'epic fail', and it's can't be turned off. > It can be turned off in the M240, why not the SL? Re-enabling the exposure > preview mode after every exposure reminds me of the days before SLRs had > instant-return mirrors. This one feature is a deal-breaker for me. > > Needless to say I've e-mailed Leica about this stupid f***ed-up feature, > and > I've filtered my language for this post. More SL playtime this weekend. > > > Doug Herr > Birdman of Sacramento > http://www.wildlightphoto.com > http://doug-herr.fineartamerica.com > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information -- Mark William Rabiner Photographer http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/