Stuart Richardson
Active member
10,000 euro? That's all? I would have thought 15-20,000 euro for that lens...the big APO modul system was 15-20000 dollars for one lens back during the R system, wasn't it? Not saying I would buy one, but 10K Euros for 4kg of Leica glass seems like they would be pricing it pretty aggressively...
Given how good the Leica lenses and designs are, I think they would be better off designing a very good tele-converter to go with the 180mm (in fact, my guess is that they are already working on it...it seems like a no-brainer). I used the 2x APO converter with the 180mm on the R system, and while it made the lens a little dark, it was still incredibly sharp wide open. You did lose a bit of quality, but when it is so high to start it is barely noticeable, and certainly preferable to spending tens of thousands of euros on a lens that you might use only occasionally. If you are a nature photographer and always use a 350, it's a shame, but for everyone else it would probably be a better option.
P.S. A few years ago I found a great deal on a 350mm f/4 FE lens, which I purchased. It has an interesting look, especially when used on medium distance subjects, but I have not found it to be all that useful on the S2. Sure, it covers the focal length, but the performance on 40mp is not that good until you stop it down to f/8 or higher, and at that point the shutter speeds are usually quite low which makes it more useful for landscape and static objects than for fast moving ones like wildlife. I think if you want a truly bang-on lens for this focal length for the S2, your best bet is probably the pricey Superachromat, 300 f/2.8 FE monster, or the H series version.
Given how good the Leica lenses and designs are, I think they would be better off designing a very good tele-converter to go with the 180mm (in fact, my guess is that they are already working on it...it seems like a no-brainer). I used the 2x APO converter with the 180mm on the R system, and while it made the lens a little dark, it was still incredibly sharp wide open. You did lose a bit of quality, but when it is so high to start it is barely noticeable, and certainly preferable to spending tens of thousands of euros on a lens that you might use only occasionally. If you are a nature photographer and always use a 350, it's a shame, but for everyone else it would probably be a better option.
P.S. A few years ago I found a great deal on a 350mm f/4 FE lens, which I purchased. It has an interesting look, especially when used on medium distance subjects, but I have not found it to be all that useful on the S2. Sure, it covers the focal length, but the performance on 40mp is not that good until you stop it down to f/8 or higher, and at that point the shutter speeds are usually quite low which makes it more useful for landscape and static objects than for fast moving ones like wildlife. I think if you want a truly bang-on lens for this focal length for the S2, your best bet is probably the pricey Superachromat, 300 f/2.8 FE monster, or the H series version.