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Fun with the Leica SL (digital)

Godfrey

Well-known member
Nice shots, Jono!

I'm revising my order for the SL and including the 24-90 zoom as well. After some time thinking about it, I'd like one native lens with the camera that supports *all* its features and has OIS as well, even if I actually use an adapted R prime most of the time. And for me, I'd rather put $5K into a new, dedicated SL zoom than $1.5K into an R zoom that I need to adapt.

Considering that the only other expensive thing I've been considering for some time now with respect to equipment has been a six-bit Summilux-M for the M-P, and that would cost me near as much as the SL's 24-90, and I don't really need it since the Nokton 50/1.5 is such a nice lens anyway, well, I just decided to defer the Summilux-M lens for a while. I'll buy that after I sell off enough other stuff to make up the funding. :)

G
 

algrove

Well-known member
Hi There



Sorry!


Well, there's clearly an argument for it, and of course you have the extra resolution to go with the nice new Zeiss lenses. . . . . I just don't think it's the answer for M lenses . . . but I'm not sure that's terribly relevant to very many Sony users.



I'm using the T to M adapter and the M to R adapter stacked - it's firm and absolutely without wobble, and it reads the 6 bit code on the R adapter, so you can put the Lens Profile menu on one of the buttons - I have it on the bottom right - this means that when you attach a lens menu - tap the bottom right button and choose the lens from the menu (it remembers the last one you used). It's hardly a hassle, and the lens profiles and Auto ISO are adjusted accordingly.

6 bit M lenses are just recognised and corrected for.



To be honest - if you're using R lenses on the M . . . . . the SL is a bit of a no-brainer, the EVF is so fantastically improved, and they handle really well with the larger body. Incidentally the 24-90 is a little larger than the 28-90 R (but I think it's probably a little lighter).



Worth getting a play with one with your R lenses to see (the missing adapter really is a no-issue - especially as you'll be getting an M adapter anyway). I'm in Venice at the moment with an SL, an A7ii and an M, and the A7ii feels like a rather ponderous computer in comparison. But hey - that's probably just me, and it's certainly lighter!

All the best
I must stop talking to you. I really hurts my bank account you know!
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
:) Sorry - if it's any consolation, testing this camera has ruined mine (I escaped with the Q, the X etc. but not this time :( )
LOL! I 'blame' you for the X, Jono, but not for the SL.

I've been preparing and waiting for the SL to arrive for over three years now... They're just a little ahead of the schedule I'd been hoping for.

BTW: The Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8 arrived and is in better shape that I can really believe for a used lens. It's a 1983 model lens that looks like it has maybe been put on a lens mount twice before I got it. Absolutely pristine perfect in every way, the focusing helicoid is butter-smooth, everything works as if new.

It sure makes my old Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 look and feel sad and beat-up. (Dang it. Now I'm going to have to take it out and make some beauty shots of the Nikkor ... ;-)

G
 

jonoslack

Active member
LOL! I 'blame' you for the X, Jono, but not for the SL.
I'm glad someone isn't blaming me!

BTW: The Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8 arrived and is in better shape that I can really believe for a used lens. It's a 1983 model lens that looks like it has maybe been put on a lens mount twice before I got it. Absolutely pristine perfect in every way, the focusing helicoid is butter-smooth, everything works as if new.

It sure makes my old Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 look and feel sad and beat-up. (Dang it. Now I'm going to have to take it out and make some beauty shots of the Nikkor ... ;-)

G
Really one of my favorite lenses - small and really sharp and great to use - overshadowed by the 100 APO, but I'm more comfortable with the little 60.

Enjoy!
 

scott kirkpatrick

Well-known member
It sure makes my old Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 look and feel sad and beat-up. (Dang it. Now I'm going to have to take it out and make some beauty shots of the Nikkor ... ;-)

G
My Macro-Elmarit-R 60 isn't a beauty like yours, but it reminds me very much of the old Micro-Nikkor, which I got good use out of in the 1970-85 timeframe (on a sturdy F, along with a trusty 105/2.5). So those older tools shouldn't make you feel sad -- they are just being reincarnated to serve a new digital platform.

scott
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
My Macro-Elmarit-R 60 isn't a beauty like yours, but it reminds me very much of the old Micro-Nikkor, which I got good use out of in the 1970-85 timeframe (on a sturdy F, along with a trusty 105/2.5). So those older tools shouldn't make you feel sad -- they are just being reincarnated to serve a new digital platform.
The Micro-Nikkor isn't making me feel sad; it's just looking sad from all the years of heavy use it's gotten. Still works beautifully, though, and has on F, F6, D750, A7, E-M1, and M-P since I bought it in 2010.

I had one (on loan from my uncle) way back in '69-73 too, used with my first Nikon F then. It's been one of my favorite lenses for the past forty years and some.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the Macro-Elmarit can do, but the old faithful isn't going away. :)

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Jono,

What storage cards have you been using in the SL?

I've allocated a pair of Sandisk Extreme Pro 64G SDXC rated at 95Mbps out of my stash for it. Should I be considering anything higher-end?

Thx,
G
 

Tim

Active member
Jono,

Trucking and Venice highlight to me that it can produce a fineness to the detail.
Look at the birds eye in trucking. Even though the image is small you can make out detail.

I am going to assume Talk Talk you either missed focus or had camera shake, its not good on my monitor.

The nuanced rendition of these images reminds me of my Sigma Merrills more than anything but I think the colours are closer to real than what the Merrills produce.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I was a little concerned as to how well this old Telyt-R 250mm f/4 v1 would image on the digital sensor, based on a discussion on another forum, so I pulled it out and fitted it to the M-P with the R Adapter M. I sampled four targets, two in the near-field focus range and two at distance, through all lens openings.



My fears were ungrounded. Sharpness has a minor improvement from f/4 to f/5.6, it plateaus there edge to edge, and there's very little diffraction degradation even at f/22. A small amount of lateral CA is completely cleaned up by the standard LR Lens Correction tools.

The handling is a bit clumsy when fitted to the M-P as the body has insufficient purchase and the electronic viewfinder is a little weak. It feels tight and balanced on the R8 and Leicaflex SL. I suspect it will work beautifully on the SL.

G
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Godfrey, can I ask what shutter release you're using?
If you mean in the photo above with the M-P, it's a simple taper-threaded Leica shutter release cable that I've had for thirty years. I have three of them, one as old as 1957 from my Grandfather's M3 kit. They all fit the M-P perfectly.

G
 

jonoslack

Active member
Hi There - here are some shots from Venice with the SL and the 24-90 Vario Elmar.
it seems to work!

L1000822.jpg
The Old Fools

L1000810.jpg
Love in Venice

L1000647-Edit-Edit-2.jpg
Companionship

L1000808.jpg
Venice Reflection
 

jonoslack

Active member
Jono,

I am going to assume Talk Talk you either missed focus or had camera shake, its not good on my monitor.
Hi Tim
It was a fraction of a second - the camera was in my hand, and I swung it up and took the shot - I don't think I'd finished swinging! (added to which it ws on Aperture priority at too small an aperture) but as they say, sharpness is a bourgeois concept, and I think the shot at least demonstrates that the SL can focus for those moments (even if the photographer is a fool!).
 
Hi Jono, I am enjoying your photos. Looks like you had some nice weather in Venice. I was there for 6 days in October and only saw blue skies and sunshine for one afternoon. Normally, I prefer dramatic weather for photography, but sunshine makes the reflections so much better in Venice. If you are still in the area you should take a water bus ride out to Burano. It is even more colorful than Venice.

Mark
 
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jonoslack

Active member
Hi Jono, I am enjoying your photos. Looks like you had some nice weather in Venice. I was there for 6 days in October and only saw blue skies and sunshine for one afternoon. Normally, I prefer dramatic weather for photography, but sunshine makes the reflections so much better in Venice. If you are still in the area you should take a water bus ride out to Burano. It is even more colorful than Venice.

Mark
Ah! Mark
Funny you should mention that. We leave for Burano after breakfast (lunch at Romano and then a trip to Torchello)
No trip to Venice is complete without a trip to Burano (and the sun is shining again!)
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
Ah! Mark
Funny you should mention that. We leave for Burano after breakfast (lunch at Romano and then a trip to Torchello)
No trip to Venice is complete without a trip to Burano (and the sun is shining again!)
....and afterwards you should try the worlds best piazza slices at the westside of Campo san Margherita, just the little store where you stand up, in front of the southerne benches
...but do not forget to go to Cantinone giá Schiavi and ask for a glass of white Fraggolino, its just across the gondola boatyard Squero di San Trovaso....
best
thorkil
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I hear first SLs are delivered in Germany. So anybody else here got one (I don't have one) and wants to share some more images and impressions?
 

scott kirkpatrick

Well-known member
I hear first SLs are delivered in Germany. So anybody else here got one (I don't have one) and wants to share some more images and impressions?
There's at least one SL box opened in the UK, results seen on the LUF. But in the US, still no promises earlier than very late November.

scott
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
There's at least one SL box opened in the UK, results seen on the LUF. But in the US, still no promises earlier than very late November.
My friend at the local dealer was muttering something about November 16 when I spoke with him yesterday. I'll be chatting with the Leica tech rep later today when I go see the demo SL. (I'm bringing along a card, the R8, a couple of lenses, and the M Adapter T — R Adapter M pair to see if I can get a few moments to snap some test exposures with my lenses.)

G
 
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