Super review Jono! As always.
But what this shows me is a trend contra the fact that we started seeing all these BIG mirrorless FF lenses. This lens seems to be not small, but it at least is much smaller than the 1.4 counterparts (comparing mostly to the 1.4/50 lenses from Leica and Panasonic). This makes me hope that one can build a FF mirrorless system also with reasonable size.
The M APO 2/90 2/75 and 2/35 were already a killer combination for me, so I assume that this new 2.0 APO lens line for the L-mount will be pretty similar, while a bit bigger but with AF. This makes me hope that one day I will be mature to get back to the SL (or at least a L-mount camera) with such lenses.
Did you see the reporting on the newer Nikon lenses being shown at CP+? They look to be comparable in size to the Panasonic, Leica, and Sigma lenses.
They look to be pretty large too. I think it's a matter of "future proofing" so that "no one gets caught with their pants down" like when the D800 was released but few of the lenses were up to the challenge optically. This has also been the trend even in Micro 4/3 in that the best lenses are significantly larger than the early lenses but are still relatively small compared to cameras with larger sensors.
https://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/th...-f-1-8-14-24mm-f-2-8-70-200mm-f-2-8-z-lenses/
That being said, I think this is going to be the way things are early on as it's usually enthusiasts and pros that adopt new systems early. They're likely building products for that demographic first to offset development costs I'd assume. The more consumer-friendly lines will likely come in time but I imagine we are going to see everyone introduce their best designs for now.
I assume the APO-Summicron line will be better than the M versions similar to how the R versions were. Theoretically, it should be easier to design a lens for the L-mount that surpasses the M-mount versions. In any case, I'll keep my eye on the 35 APO-Summicron should I invest into the Panasonic bodies... the 5th generation M version is my all-time favorite 35mm of all time. Still, haven't found anything that surpasses it for me but the Sony Zeiss 35/1.4 Distagon gets me close enough to being satisfied with the optical performance.
