We will have wait for honest reviews that have a little more depth vs hype to see how the cameras functionality will preform. Very skimpy or general comments about AF except for a few who say it’s just wont cut it. All the marketing fuzz with most reviews showing similar images and some even using the exact same video footage is suspect. There is a lot to like about this new version and if you already own some glass it’s a no brainer...however to re invest AF needs to be an 8-9 on a scale of 1=10!
Hello, I don’t want to suggest that any of the reviewers aren’t being “honest” about their impressions though I can understand the reluctance to take everything at face value given that many of the people invited to the event have specific usage needs that may not overlap with a traditional photographer. There’s also the reality that Leica paid for accommodations for people to visit their HQ at Wetzler. I believe as a professional, a person can remain objective and critical without harshness (as I feel the DPReview crew, Petapixel, Hugh Brownstone, The Snapchick, and some others were being) and to the point I also feel Jonoslack always is though perhaps even less harsh than many want from him. I believe that’s called professional courtesy and it’s why people receive invitations to work. People have personal/professional relationships with the people behind the company and it’s a little harder to want to tear into a company when you understand how hard they work on products... and I don’t know that it’s necessary in a time where many opinions come across as hit pieces for clickbait whether it’s people comparing card slots numbers, mount sizes, death of Micro 4/3, menu system organization, death of Medium Format, etc. I do believe that a person can be critical without harshness and I think a more telling thing is that many are looking at the SL2 and trying to figure out how to buy one. The reality is that there hasn’t been a bad camera produced by a major manufacturer in the last 5+ years. Surely some are better at some things than others but that may just suggest the need for a workaround workflow.
I did find it interesting to see Leica reach out to so many of the most popular content creators in the Youtube community which I do believe is a smart thing for them to do for a number of reasons but primarily to get a younger demographic more interested in Leica cameras. Many of the people review tech in general and not just cameras so they had perhaps a different take on the camera in that pretty much any camera from a smartphone/action cam to a RED cinema camera will “do” for them.
I think by most accounts AF performance is very dependent on the type of photography that one does. Most reviewers will objectively state that for sports and birds in flight - it’s best to pick a different camera right now that employs PDAF for a higher keeper rate. A number I kept hearing thrown around is 80-90% accuracy hit rates. This doesn’t sound bad in theory until you think about the expectation of having to cull 200-500 shots off the top due to missed focus before you even get to figure out which are keepers if one was shooting a wedding or event where you took
2000-2500 shots throughout the day... assuming one is depending on the AF system being pushed to the edge of its potential. In any case perhaps this is only in extreme usage and perhaps the keeper rate is higher for less demanding and slower shooters.
I‘m a person that believes that eventually CDAF/DFD will eventually get to a point to where the difference between it and PDAF will become a negligible one once the processing power to perform the necessary calculations and the mathematical functions/computer code improves much further. This may take another generation or two IMO. For many uses (such as portraits, weddings, travel, landscape, commercial, etc.) I understand that it’s already there. Most tend to voice opinions that where speed and accuracy is concerned, in erratically moving photo subjects, that it’s not to be fully trusted yet with the caveat of depending on WHAT you shoot. I think for most it’ll be fine but that’s a lot of money to pay for uncertainty without personal hands-on time.
Leica seems to be doing the usual touch and try events throughout their network of Leica stores soon. Got an email about it yesterday but I’m not living close to a Leica store anymore. I used to visit the one in the Bay Area when I lived in California and DC when I had meetings (often) in that area. Now I’d have to wait and see if the local dealer gets a body. They don’t move many Leica’s (though they are a dealer) and they stopped carrying Panasonic (for what I personally feel is a bit of an “elitist” argument on their end) which I personally asked about if that will ever change again. I mean they carry Olympus and I’m sure there are more GH bodies being sold than OM-D’s in USA but that’s a topic for another board.