Leica CL Remote Shutter
Leica CL + Voigtlander Skopar 35mm f2.5
The light was truly awful today. But I finally had a few spare minutes to try the remote shutter on the Leica CL. It is controlled via a smartphone App, and as far as I understand it is not possible to use a physical remote. There are benefits and drawbacks to this, and at the moment I am not yet sure which outweigh which.
The benefits: The remote feature is easy to use. Once the Leica App connects to the camera, there is a large obvious button that says ‘Remote.’ Clicking on that activates a screen that shows the live-view, allowing you to confirm that you are in focus, and to adjust the composition. It also allows you to control the ISO, aperture and shutter speed from the App. This is convenient, as it means that both the composition and the settings can be tweaked without running back to the camera and altering your position. To snap the picture, you can either use the button on the screen, or the physical side-button on the phone.
The drawbacks: By virtue of being large, smartphones are not nearly as easy to hide or disguise as tiny remote triggers. Solutions include putting the phone in your pocket {second image} or covering it up with an object {third image}. In both cases, your pocket/ the object used as a cover, would need to be quite large. Their presence and use will affect the composition. And either way, at least one of your hands will be occupied by holding the phone and working the remote. Likewise, the option of keeping the remove somewhere behind you and then activating it by placing a hand behind your back, will affect the composition and make it impossible to pose with both hands visible.
I do realise that allowing for a physical remote trigger would not really solve the problem as much as reduce it, since you would still have to hide/ disguise the smaller object. So I suppose what I really want, is to use my preferred method for self-portraiture - which is a port that allows plugging in a corded bulb-shaped air release shutter {what is the official term for these things??..}, of the kind that can be hidden on the ground and stepped on. An old-fashioned method, I know - but still the best method I’ve come across for taking self-portraits. In lieu of that, I suppose I can use the timer.
