Anybody else happy with the new FW?

[Artorius]

I know I sure am. The HW upgrades don't thrill me yet, but I think that this new Leica FW update is the best improvement ever(until and ISO update appears).
I am a past and present Nikon SLR/DSLR owner-user. I updated my D1h, and did the hardware(buffer) and FW on a D1x, and software on another D1x. I even updated my D2h/D2x. But, I have never had this much improvement in a single FW update.
I don't know about your M8, but mine has been flawless since purchase, no problems with anything, EXCEPT high ISO and AWB issues. Now, I can can shoot without WB issues. I have tried to fool the camera in AWB and only came close once, using compact fluorescents, large screen plasma, and tungsten as the sources. Made a quick change to Tungsten in camera, and nailed the shot. I am very happy, and will have to think about the upgrade, as I use high shutter speeds a lot.
Now, if there is a way to fix the High and Low ISO(give me a 25-60), I might be into trying that.
For now, I applaud Leica for this fix.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I have tried the AW, and I think I can trust it more.

After wrestling with Tungsten-lit shots (for which I'd set the WB manually -- it really just saves time in the end) I understood why somebody would implement the algorithm a la Canon, where perhaps it's better to keep the "mood" of Tungsten, than to mess up the darkest shadows with the blue-cast compensation that is required to "balance" Tungsten-lit scenes.

But that's not what our brains want most of the time.

ISO 1250 became much much less noisy a few firware upgrades ago; it's very usable, at least in my case. ISO 2500 still bothers me when shooting in color, but converted to B&W you can have a nice film-like image.

I *really* wish they could make ISO 2500 more like ISO 640. ISO 1250 is a few steps shy of it.

They have German image engineering at their fingertips; some of the best noise-reduction implementations I've seen are German-bred. Their anal-retentiveness with minute detail is really the way it should be...in the world of engineering.

 

[nitrox1]

I am. Shot at a baskeball game last night on AWB. Didn't need to make any wb adjustments to the dng's. I'm using Capture one 4 now also for editing.

John

 

[ClayH]

This is the only firmware upgrade that they have released since the first one (just after the disastrous roll-out of the M8).

Finally, the auto white balance is approaching what I get on my wife's point and shoot. It is really a noticeable difference. Not up to what Nikon and Canon are able to do, but moving rapidly in the right direction.

 

[Artichoke]

I like the upgrade

I like the upgrade

AWB and the preset WB seem to work quite well ...indeed I may abandon using Manual WB which had been my practice with the M8 ...most important to me is that the WB is now very consistent & usually quite near to spot on accurate
I think ISO 640 and 1250 may be improved as well, but this may be wishful thinking on my part
I rarely shoot above ISO 640 with my M8 so I may not have enough experience to comment on this, but it does seem better from my early experience with the new firmware