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Over the past three months, I've experimented with the SL2-S to create a number of settings which help me quickly access what I need. By setting up User Profiles, customizing the function buttons and the Favorites menu, the SL2-S has become so much easier to use. This may be of some use to others who are new to the SL system, or those who are looking for new ways to use their SL2/S.
User Profiles:
The User Profiles are the fastest way to access a specific batch of settings. Changing User Profile can be done in a few ways: from an icon in the quick menu; from screen 4 of the Main Menu; placing User Profiles in the Favorites menu, and by customizing a function button or scroll wheel to bring up User Profiles. I've opted for two methods to minimize the number of button clicks: Favorites menu and clicking the rear scroll wheel.
By pressing and holding the rear scroll wheel, the SL2/S opens multiple options that can be set, including User Profiles. Once set, up to six Profiles can be accessed in a list when you click the rear scroll wheel. The SL2/S default for the rear wheel is to change shooting mode (PASM) but I much prefer to access specific Profiles that way.
My Profiles:
Once the rear wheel has been configured to access the Profiles list with one click, I set my User Profiles according to my needs scenarios. My stills profiles are:
1. General shooting. Aperture priority, Auto ISO 1600 with 1/500 minimum shutter speed, Standard picture profile, EVF Extended.
2. Action. Shutter priority, 1/800 shutter, Auto ISO 3200, Standard picture profile, EVF Extended.
EVF Extended refers to how the EVF behaves. In the mode, the EVF is off until you raise the camera to your eye. The lag between eye detection and EVF activation can sometimes be annoying, but it saves that tiny bit of power. This is how I prefer to shoot stills, but sometimes I'll turn the LCD on.
The SL2-S has a feature I've never seen on another camera called Floating ISO. It changes ISO to compensate for variable aperture zoom lenses. Leica decided this should be on by default, and it completely stuffed up ISO/shutter speed settings when using prime lenses. I turn Floating ISO off, and it doesn't even seem necessary, as I've used the Panasonic 20-60mm f3.5-5.6 with no issues. Maybe it's useful for Leica's vario-elmar zooms, who knows.
General shooting:
Because I shoot in Aperture priority with the M9, I find it useful to shoot in Av on the SL2S as well. The front wheel is set for exposure compensation, and the rear wheel sets the aperture. I chose 1600 as the upper limit for Auto ISO because I hardly go over 2500 on the M9, and I prefer the look of SL2S files at ISO1600 or lower.
General video:
I had to play with the SL2S for a while before I figured out how to have the camera instantly access a usable video profile, because the default video profile isn't workable for quickly grabbing clips. The trick is to go into a user profile, press the left top button beside the top wheel to activate video mode, then set everything for video the way you want. My preference is for P mode, Auto ISO 6400, Natural colour profile, 1080 50p MOV. After finalizing video settings, save the user profile. This enables me to switch from a general stills profile to a general video shooting profile just by clicking the top left button on the top plate when in the General user profile.
The way Leica implements user profiles means that you could configure separate video profiles for each user profile, accessible by just pressing the video button on the top.
Action:
I shoot a lot of sports, which requires freezing action. 1/800 shutter speed is the minimum, with 1/1000 occasionally being necessary. Auto ISO 3200 is usually enough, but sometimes I'll set the camera for ISO 6400 if needed. The SL2S has fantastic noise and colour performance up to ISO 12,500 in a pinch, but I prefer to keep it at 6400 or lower for sports action.
Function Buttons:
The SL2/S has five customizable function buttons: two buttons on the top plate under the top wheel, two on the front under your fingers on the grip, and one on the left between the Play and Menu buttons. The top two are Video and ISO by default. I leave them as default so I can access video and ISO easily. The front buttons are a different story. The top button is customized to shutter type, which scroll between mechanical, electronic and hybrid. I've set the lower front button to focus type, and switch between Field focus with the smallest field placed in the centre of the frame, and face detection for shooting portraits.
Depending on your needs, you could configure the buttons for other settings like white balance, exposure compensation, or just about anything else. Many of the most used settings like Drive, Focus type, Focus mode, Metering type, White Balance etc are accessible through the quick menu which is activated by pressing the Menu button on the lower left corner of the body.
As mentioned previously, the rear scroll wheel can also be customized by pressing and holding the wheel until it displays a huge list of options as above. By default, the rear scroll wheel changes PASM after one click.
Another pleasant surprise was Leica's decision to put Format into the quick menu. I format my cards after every download, and accessing Format through Panasonic's menus requires a lot of clicking and scrolling. Not so with the SL2/S, it's just a matter of clicking the menu button, then touching the screen on the Format icon.
Favorites:
I've alluded to this a couple of times, and this is another fantastic part of the Leica menu system. You can put your most used settings into a menu which is accessible with only two clicks of the Menu button. My Favorites list includes Photo Aspect Ratio, User Profile and and Lens Profiles.
Leica's User Profile list not only shows up to six profiles, but has the option to save user profiles. So if I make changes to a profile for a given situation, I can quickly save the profile by entering the Favorites menu, selecting User Profile, then scroll to the Save option.
Photo Aspect Ratio includes a useful list of ratios including 3:2, 7:5, 4:3, 1:1, 16:9 and even 3:1, which is close to X-Pan. It would be nice if it had 2:1, but I'll take what I'm given here.
Lens Profiles are the jackpot for legacy lens users. The SL2/S cameras contain correction profiles for every M and R lens, as well as a list of generic focal lengths for setting the camera's IBIS. What's even better is that the M and R lists can be edited to only display the lenses you use, which makes selecting the desired lens much easier than scrolling through Leica's extensive back catalogue. Shooting the M9 has shown me which M lens profiles are appropriate for Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses, so I've included the lenses I use in my lens profiles lists.
Conclusion
The SL2-S menu system was honestly daunting and frustrating at first, as I have been so used to Panasonic's menus and the stripped down menus of the M9. Once I was able to understand the SL menus and configure the User Profiles, everything became so much easier. With user profiles, function buttons and Favorites menu set the way you want, there is little need to go into the larger menu system. I hope this helps some people with figuring out the SL2 generation.
User Profiles:
The User Profiles are the fastest way to access a specific batch of settings. Changing User Profile can be done in a few ways: from an icon in the quick menu; from screen 4 of the Main Menu; placing User Profiles in the Favorites menu, and by customizing a function button or scroll wheel to bring up User Profiles. I've opted for two methods to minimize the number of button clicks: Favorites menu and clicking the rear scroll wheel.
By pressing and holding the rear scroll wheel, the SL2/S opens multiple options that can be set, including User Profiles. Once set, up to six Profiles can be accessed in a list when you click the rear scroll wheel. The SL2/S default for the rear wheel is to change shooting mode (PASM) but I much prefer to access specific Profiles that way.
My Profiles:
Once the rear wheel has been configured to access the Profiles list with one click, I set my User Profiles according to my needs scenarios. My stills profiles are:
1. General shooting. Aperture priority, Auto ISO 1600 with 1/500 minimum shutter speed, Standard picture profile, EVF Extended.
2. Action. Shutter priority, 1/800 shutter, Auto ISO 3200, Standard picture profile, EVF Extended.
EVF Extended refers to how the EVF behaves. In the mode, the EVF is off until you raise the camera to your eye. The lag between eye detection and EVF activation can sometimes be annoying, but it saves that tiny bit of power. This is how I prefer to shoot stills, but sometimes I'll turn the LCD on.
The SL2-S has a feature I've never seen on another camera called Floating ISO. It changes ISO to compensate for variable aperture zoom lenses. Leica decided this should be on by default, and it completely stuffed up ISO/shutter speed settings when using prime lenses. I turn Floating ISO off, and it doesn't even seem necessary, as I've used the Panasonic 20-60mm f3.5-5.6 with no issues. Maybe it's useful for Leica's vario-elmar zooms, who knows.
General shooting:
Because I shoot in Aperture priority with the M9, I find it useful to shoot in Av on the SL2S as well. The front wheel is set for exposure compensation, and the rear wheel sets the aperture. I chose 1600 as the upper limit for Auto ISO because I hardly go over 2500 on the M9, and I prefer the look of SL2S files at ISO1600 or lower.
General video:
I had to play with the SL2S for a while before I figured out how to have the camera instantly access a usable video profile, because the default video profile isn't workable for quickly grabbing clips. The trick is to go into a user profile, press the left top button beside the top wheel to activate video mode, then set everything for video the way you want. My preference is for P mode, Auto ISO 6400, Natural colour profile, 1080 50p MOV. After finalizing video settings, save the user profile. This enables me to switch from a general stills profile to a general video shooting profile just by clicking the top left button on the top plate when in the General user profile.
The way Leica implements user profiles means that you could configure separate video profiles for each user profile, accessible by just pressing the video button on the top.
Action:
I shoot a lot of sports, which requires freezing action. 1/800 shutter speed is the minimum, with 1/1000 occasionally being necessary. Auto ISO 3200 is usually enough, but sometimes I'll set the camera for ISO 6400 if needed. The SL2S has fantastic noise and colour performance up to ISO 12,500 in a pinch, but I prefer to keep it at 6400 or lower for sports action.
Function Buttons:
The SL2/S has five customizable function buttons: two buttons on the top plate under the top wheel, two on the front under your fingers on the grip, and one on the left between the Play and Menu buttons. The top two are Video and ISO by default. I leave them as default so I can access video and ISO easily. The front buttons are a different story. The top button is customized to shutter type, which scroll between mechanical, electronic and hybrid. I've set the lower front button to focus type, and switch between Field focus with the smallest field placed in the centre of the frame, and face detection for shooting portraits.
Depending on your needs, you could configure the buttons for other settings like white balance, exposure compensation, or just about anything else. Many of the most used settings like Drive, Focus type, Focus mode, Metering type, White Balance etc are accessible through the quick menu which is activated by pressing the Menu button on the lower left corner of the body.
As mentioned previously, the rear scroll wheel can also be customized by pressing and holding the wheel until it displays a huge list of options as above. By default, the rear scroll wheel changes PASM after one click.
Another pleasant surprise was Leica's decision to put Format into the quick menu. I format my cards after every download, and accessing Format through Panasonic's menus requires a lot of clicking and scrolling. Not so with the SL2/S, it's just a matter of clicking the menu button, then touching the screen on the Format icon.
Favorites:
I've alluded to this a couple of times, and this is another fantastic part of the Leica menu system. You can put your most used settings into a menu which is accessible with only two clicks of the Menu button. My Favorites list includes Photo Aspect Ratio, User Profile and and Lens Profiles.
Leica's User Profile list not only shows up to six profiles, but has the option to save user profiles. So if I make changes to a profile for a given situation, I can quickly save the profile by entering the Favorites menu, selecting User Profile, then scroll to the Save option.
Photo Aspect Ratio includes a useful list of ratios including 3:2, 7:5, 4:3, 1:1, 16:9 and even 3:1, which is close to X-Pan. It would be nice if it had 2:1, but I'll take what I'm given here.
Lens Profiles are the jackpot for legacy lens users. The SL2/S cameras contain correction profiles for every M and R lens, as well as a list of generic focal lengths for setting the camera's IBIS. What's even better is that the M and R lists can be edited to only display the lenses you use, which makes selecting the desired lens much easier than scrolling through Leica's extensive back catalogue. Shooting the M9 has shown me which M lens profiles are appropriate for Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses, so I've included the lenses I use in my lens profiles lists.
Conclusion
The SL2-S menu system was honestly daunting and frustrating at first, as I have been so used to Panasonic's menus and the stripped down menus of the M9. Once I was able to understand the SL menus and configure the User Profiles, everything became so much easier. With user profiles, function buttons and Favorites menu set the way you want, there is little need to go into the larger menu system. I hope this helps some people with figuring out the SL2 generation.
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