Leica has released a new firmware update for the Leica SL2-S and SL-System at large. Features for still photo and video recording in this update include the following: the ISO sensitivity of the sensor can now be controlled directly via the thumbwheel or the front settings wheel, users can now set a timer for automatic network disconnection (Wi-Fi sleep mode) and are now able to rate photos and videos using the joystick.Â
Also included is the ability for photographers to quickly shift the AF area back and forth between its most recent position and the centre of the image as well as SL2/SL2-S users now having an exposure and depth-of-field preview function.
The focus point toggle is likely to be welcomed by those photographers who prefer to work with a fixed centre focus point. When assigned to an FN button, the new feature returns the focus point to the centre of the screen. While this doesn’t offer the ability to fix the focus point, as many users have requested (not just on the SL but also on CL and Q cameras) it is a step in the right direction for SL users.
Updates for Leica SL lenses are automatic when mounting the lens. There is also additional support for lenses made by other members of the L-Mount Alliance, Sigma and Panasonic.
Download the firmware update here
Read full details of the updates in Leica’s press release:
And here are the full release notes
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If you have APO-lenses, please do not update to firmware 4.0. APO lenses work fine wide open, however suffers from severe delay after stopping down. Leica should have not released the firmware 4.0 ridden with bugs.
Supposedly this will be fixed in the next days… at least that is what Leica apparently has communicated…
Don’t know how the word schedule got in there!
Auto correct text is our worst enema.
😆
If Sheridan had written The Rivals in the 21st Century, Mrs Malaprop would surely have been Mrs Autocorrect. Or, more likely, Mx Predictivetext.
The M10 with the new schedule visoflex is significantly reduced in resolution and size of view to that of the M11 – doesn’t have the power to drive the new visoflex. On the Red Dot Forum (Leica Miami) the discussion was distinctly against the worth of upgrading from the older visoflex given the cost of the new one unless one was eventually going for the M11.
I read that also. I tend to agree that if the M10 is a sole camera and it has a Mk1 Visoflex, then there is little point in buying the new evf. However, some friends have both M11 and M10 bodies, so makes some kind of sense for them.
Typical Leica, great improvements they say for the SL system, though it seems the ‘SL System’ to them only mean the latest SL2 and SL2S whereas such as my now old fashioned SL much as my Leica CL has long been forgotten and in very real terms been consigned like we earlier buyers to the Wetzlar companies dustbin.
I agree, Don. Leica seems to forget the legion of owners of older, yet fully capable Leica cameras, such as the M-240 series, the CL and TL systems, even the pioneering Leica Q. Taken as a body of working older Leica cameras, there are many more out there, working away, and deserving of updating. They are not museum pieces. They are still working, day in and day out. Come on, Leica, look after your large family of owners, who you quickly forget.
Simply adding new lens coding to older cameras would give them a longer life, greater value and greater customer loyalty. They launch silly watches that have no credibility in the watch world, but can’t afford to invest in customer retention through software updates.
Whoever decides the company’s priorities should look carefully and critically at their decision-making process.
I agree and to be honest, there is nothing I feel will benefit me in these so called updates so I likely won’t even bother. Able to rate photos with the joystick? Seriously???What’s next, being able to add emojis? Sorry to be cynical but when they prioritize things like this over centre focus lock I have to wonder if Leica is losing the plot. What happened to essentials? Apple frequently provides software updates for their phones and computers and I have the same issue, hardly any of them are useful for me.I really prefer the camera to be fully capable out of the box rather than ‘fixed’ later. I know that many will disagree seeing the possibility of upgrades as an advantage but if they had designed these things correctly in the first place they wouldn’t need to keep ‘updating’. And Leica.. if you must play this game… centre focus point lock..before the other fripperies.. please!
They are very stubborn on this centre focus lock business and, as I understand, think it should not be encouraged. But Leica, with the M, has encouraged focus and recompose techniques, so they should be offering a lock. Beats me.
I guess most of what Leica changes has a rather subliminal reason. They place Leica Wetzlar on the top plate or remove the red dot for some particular reason, and so on. Perhaps if they lock focus a huge stone would then drop in the factory backyard where they store the very few fresh ideas they still keep after wasting the two or thee they had in the last two decades
+1. Very true. Leica could have made the new Visoflex compatible with the TL2. Leica could have implemented the “Additional function support for L-Mount-Alliance lenses” for the SL2/SL2-S also on the SL and the APS-C L-mount cameras (T, TL2, CL). But Leica didn’t… although to justify a price increase Leica loves talking talking about the longevity and the very long life-cycle of their products…
I share the same feeling. I am still using the good old X-Vario and TL even though they are slow by modern standard. I am also using M10 and SL2-s with some modern Leica lenses, but I will be going somewhere else from now on. You see what I mean.
Yep … My good old reliable SL 601 appears not to be part of the ‘SL SYSTEM AT LARGE’ … as per: “Leica has released a new firmware update for the Leica SL2-S and SL-System at large”. But never mind … it’s still a very worthy workhorse. Unlikely I’ll buy an SL2 … I have a Panasonic S1R … also a reliable workhorse and in APS-C mode a 20.68mp platform for the TL 11-23mm.
The camera to be sold fast to get the following new model seems their marketing strategy. The problem is that it works!
Leica CL launched and discontinued in just bit more than four years
Hi Don, if the CL system has ended, I would hope that Leica would have the class to hold a funeral service so that people can properly grieve.
I hope they at least put out a new camera body.
You can try holding your breath but I wouldn’t recommend it. I spent my career in marketing and communication with everything from Fortune 100 companies to cars to detergents and luxury goods. And unless you really don’t care about keeping your customer, Leica’s approach is a textbook on what NOT to do.
I honestly think that rather than improve the CL, Leica prefers to discontinue it. here’s me STILL using the original film one.
Has anyone managed to get geotagging to work with the new Q2 update and the Fotos app in iOS? I follow the procedure of setting up a wifi connection in order to establish the bluetooth link (there surely must be a simpler process). When I close the wifi connection in the camera I see the bluetooth icon in the viewfinder but there is nothing in the app to show a continuing bluetooth connection with the app. The satellite icon fails to appear in the camera viewfinder and none of the photos are geotagged.
Update done – DOF preview works well but it’s not full time, you need to assign it to a FN button. Also, don’t forget to cycle all your SL/L-Mount lenses after the update, as Lens firmware needs also to be updated for them to work with the Camera body update.
Thanks for the heads up on cycling my glass through for update in the comfort of my home and not while hiking while being stalked by a black bear.
I was thinking exactly that Brian, you don’t want to be out in the wilds stalked by a bear only to find that you need to update your glass before you can take a shot. 🙂
In that case the bear definitely has the advantage, it doesn’t need batteries or updates, is always ready to go and can lock onto a target fast! be careful out there!
It did update Leica lenses but it did nothing when I mount the Panasonic L mount 50mm 1.8. Am Imissing something ?
Film cameras? sorry, couldn’t resist. :).
If update doesn’t happen automatically for non-Leica glass (e.g. Sigma, Panasonic) etc, you’ll need to download the latest version from the respective website, copy it to the SD card and update the lens via the ‘Camera Settings’ menu. I have a Sigma 85 f1.4 DG DN, and updated it this way after I’d done the Leica glass.
Thank you so much for the advice. Cheers.
hi there. have you written anywhere about your Sigma 85 by any chance? I am sorely tempted…
Hi Des,
I haven’t written anything yet, but I could do a short blog on my website. I’ll let you know if I do. It’s a brilliant lens for the money. Sharp as you like and wonderful render. I don’t use the focal length very much and was looking at the superb 90 APO SL when this came up mint/used. For the substantial price difference and time spent in this FL, I decided to give it a try on the basis I could flip it for the Leica. I’m so glad I did and it’s rendered some really lovely photos when I’ve needed the reach of 85mm. I won’t be flipping this lens. This new ‘Art’ series from Sigma has done wonders for Sigma, they are really very good and well worth a look in my opinion.
Centring the focus point is overdue but I want a lock.
I second the lock thing!
And a for what it’s worth- this update does save the user settings (I have 5 presets). Of course, it’s up to you to reload the settings when done. I think in the past the updates would prompt you, but not this one.
Anyway, unlike previous updates, for each LENS that’s updated, it wipes settings, time and date. I have a number of lenses- 7 Leica and 1 Sigma. I had to do time and date after each one. I waited until the end for restoring user settings. I took me 3 or so lens updates (slow learner) before I realized what was happening. Not the end of the world, just a nuisance.
Looks like Leica have had a busy month with updates! I’ve been asking and waiting for a long time for the DoF preview feature on the SL2-S which they told me was coming, the best part of a year ago. I haven’t downloaded the update yet, but I will now. 🙂
Additionally the M10-series of cameras is now compatible with the new Visoflex.
Leica also released updates for the Q2 and Q2M.
Yes I saw that on Leica Rumors and thought to combine the two stories. There are also updates for the M10 series, including Visoflex compatibility. I though I’d do a separate item but haven’t got round to it.