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Why no auto-magnify with SLR lens on M-240?

John Black

Active member
I am trying to understand why the M-240 does NOT auto-magnify when using a SLR lens. Is it because:

1) There is no 6-bit coding on the adapter?

2) Or, is the auto magnify tied to the focus arm moving?
 
V

Vivek

Guest
No, John. AFAIK, it s a "dumb adapter" with no RF coupling to activate the auto mag. which, IMO, is a pain.
 

John Black

Active member
I've been "experimenting" with some cheap Canon FD telephoto lenses and the image quality is promising, but without the auto-magnify function, the process of focusing and framing is slow and really not all that viable unless using a tripod for things like landscapes. If Leica implements a firmware update that gives the option to swap the front button and M button, that would help.
 

jaapv

Subscriber Member
No, John. AFAIK, it s a "dumb adapter" with no RF coupling to activate the auto mag. which, IMO, is a pain.
The positioning of the button, however. is just about perfect, making it quite a bit less of a pain.
What is a real PITA, though, is that that same button is hard to reach when working on a tripod and all but impossible to use with a pistol grip.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I've been "experimenting" with some cheap Canon FD telephoto lenses and the image quality is promising, but without the auto-magnify function, the process of focusing and framing is slow and really not all that viable unless using a tripod for things like landscapes. If Leica implements a firmware update that gives the option to swap the front button and M button, that would help.
I dunno. On my mirror less ca,eras that have had auto magnify, I usually turn it off ... I find it distracting that the field of view changes if I touch the focusing ring. On the GXR, for instance, I set up the magnify to be sticky and turn it on. I watch the scene with my open left eye while I focus on my subject with the right. A half press on the shutter release drops magnification to normal for framing with the full fov, then the magnification is right back on for the next shot. It's fast and fluid that way.
 

John Black

Active member
"Very similarly" ? The M starts out at 1X, if a magnified view is wanted, press the front button, toggle the rear dial to 5X or 10X, manipulate focus, 1/2 press the shutter release button to check composition, press front button again for a magnified view to adjust focus... repeat and rinse and needed. Nothing too automatic about that.

The user experience is further complicated by Leica's choice of button placement. While while the M with the right hand, the index finger needs to push the front button and thumb needs to rotate the rear dial. Those two finger are pretty important for the gripping business, so pulling double duty with button pushing isn't the smartest implementation - especially with the front button being difficult to access.

Inherently, holding the M with a telephoto SLR attached is not easy; the Multi-Function grip may help in that particular regard. However, how Leica implemented live view and placed buttons make the process harder than it need be. If working on a tripod and the desired focus is something like a F8 landscape, this is all do-able. Anything beyond that, this is not a realistic R solution.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Hm. I've only had the occasion to handle the M once so far, for about a half hour, and I didn't have a mount adapter to play with my Nikkors. But it didn't seem all that awkward to me to use Live View and magnification with the Olympus VF-2 and my Hektor 135/4.5.

Not enough experience with the M yet to say much more, but my "master plan" is to acquire one sometime in 2015, when they are more available and my bank account is fuller. ;-)

G
 

jaapv

Subscriber Member
"Very similarly" ? The M starts out at 1X, if a magnified view is wanted, press the front button, toggle the rear dial to 5X or 10X, manipulate focus, 1/2 press the shutter release button to check composition, press front button again for a magnified view to adjust focus... repeat and rinse and needed. Nothing too automatic about that.

The user experience is further complicated by Leica's choice of button placement. While while the M with the right hand, the index finger needs to push the front button and thumb needs to rotate the rear dial. Those two finger are pretty important for the gripping business, so pulling double duty with button pushing isn't the smartest implementation - especially with the front button being difficult to access.

Inherently, holding the M with a telephoto SLR attached is not easy; the Multi-Function grip may help in that particular regard. However, how Leica implemented live view and placed buttons make the process harder than it need be. If working on a tripod and the desired focus is something like a F8 landscape, this is all do-able. Anything beyond that, this is not a realistic R solution.
No. Set it to automatic in menu and it pops up at the last setting, be it 1x, 5x or 10x, when focussing and disappears as soon as you touch the shutter with linked lenses. Thumbwheel control of the setting. With a telephoto just touch the button once. You don't have to keep pushing it. I have no problem at all using long teles handheld wide open. Tap button, focus, halfpress, frame, release. Again, it remembers the last setting. On a tripod it is more awkward with the button on the front, but doable. A pistol grip is a PITA..

Btw, why would you "work" the wheel? It is meant to choose the setting according to your wish and the focal length (10x gets nervous on a long lens) and then you leave it there.
 
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