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Fun With the Leica CL

Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
No CL photo today, but an interesting observation. I spent a few days walking about with the M-D fitted with the WATE set to 21mm and the Universal Wide Angle Finder. For some reason or another, I hardly saw anything that I wanted to photograph. I put the same lens on the CL, set to 16mm, and did the same: nada again. Yesterday, I fitted the enormous (by comparison) Super-Elmer-R 15mm f/3.5 to the CL ... And the world came alive in the viewfinder!

Am I really that sensitive to the handling feel of a lens that it can switch my ability to see on and off so dramatically? I'm fairly stunned by the thought.

G
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
I'm not sure there's anything different about the images made with a Super-Elmarit or Super-Elmar R ultra-wide lens with respect to being used up close or with strong shapes, as opposed to, say, the Super-Vario-Elmar-T 11-23mm or WATE used the same way.

Of course each lens has its individual rendering signature: it's that and the handling ergonomics that affect me the most. I find it a LOT easier to focus the Super-Elmar-R 15mm with the CL even at f/5.6 or f/8 than I do the WATE at f/4 or f/5.6. I once did a test comparison of the two lenses on the SL, and the WATE has much better edge performance and overall contrast on FF, but that is outside the boundaries of the APS-C frame.

It's a bit of a mystery, but I'll go with what works for me. The SER15 is a big heavy beast of a lens: despite that, it proves to fit my hands and the CL beautifully, enabling me to hold it very steadily even at 1/10 second. And it produces lovely photos, with an effective FoV similar to a 22mm lens on FF.

Fun stuff! :)

G
 
S

scott kirkpatrick

Well-known member
Rendering with a classic R 15mm

One thing I don't think you will see with the modern 11-23 CL and 16-35 SL wideangles is goofy flare patterns like this:

C1090978 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr], on Flickr CL, R15/2.8@f/5.6

It's a look I remember from film shots with the old Angenieux zooms (e.g Easy Rider). The colors of the spots may be from the three color filters that are embedded in this lens.
 
PeterA

PeterA

Well-known member
Re: Rendering with a classic R 15mm

scott kirkpatrick said:
One thing I don't think you will see with the modern 11-23 CL and 16-35 SL wideangles is goofy flare patterns like this:

C1090978 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr], on Flickr CL, R15/2.8@f/5.6

It's a look I remember from film shots with the old Angenieux zooms (e.g Easy Rider). The colors of the spots may be from the three color filters that are embedded in this lens.
Click to expand...
Funny you bring up the flare issue - a lot of people are adapting anamorphic lenses to apc cameras and 4/3rds cameras not only for the cinematic effect but because they are able to get these lens flares in their videos and photographs...another example of one persons trash is another person's treasure. Unfortunately I can't get an 11-23 for the CL atm it is on back order- everywhere.
 
S

scott kirkpatrick

Well-known member
I think I have checked this before, but to make sure, I took out the 11-23, and checked for the line of blobs flare pattern at 11 and 15 cm focal lengths. I moved the sun from inside the frame to just outside the frame over half a dozen shots with both focal lengths and saw no flare. That's a good thing, I guess...
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
scott kirkpatrick said:
I think I have checked this before, but to make sure, I took out the 11-23, and checked for the line of blobs flare pattern at 11 and 15 cm focal lengths. I moved the sun from inside the frame to just outside the frame over half a dozen shots with both focal lengths and saw no flare. That's a good thing, I guess...
Click to expand...
It's great lens performance from the lens designer point of view.

It's almost completely meaningless to me since I have never fixated on having the sun in the or at the edge of the field of view like that. :D

I'm sure the 11-23 mm lens is a stellar piece of kit. I'm just not inclined to buy one. I like what I have.

G
 
S

scott kirkpatrick

Well-known member
Filling the skies with cranes

Godfrey, I certainly wasn't testing the 11-23 for you. I don't normally include the sun in the frame either, but yesterday there were some cases where that happened unintentionally, with colorful results. There was a nasty example of flare in the CL discussed a while back on the LUF, in which the reflection off the sensor caused an array of red spots to appear. I think that was with the 23 CL prime. I thought it was yet another reason to normally have the sun over your left shoulder, but one party to the discussion felt that the CL could be forever dismissed because of his need to shoot into backlight for the dramatic impact.

Anyway, here is a more reasonable use of the 11-23, with the sun over my left shoulder at one of several construction sites within a few blocks of our campus:

C1120024 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr CL, 11-23@14 ISO 320.

The gentleman that you see cutting across traffic on the right is a guard from the Prime Minister's office, which is out of the frame to the right. He was equipped with a truly scary latest generation automatic rifle, not the US surplus M-14 that they give to recruits in training. He is coming to inquire just what I was doing taking pictures of important government buildings. I didn't get away until they had photographed my ID and I had flipped through a dozen or so pictures to show that they were only about the cranes. We'll see if this comes back to haunt me the next time I go through security at the airport.
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
Scott,

Since we're the only two people talking about these two lenses at the moment in this thread, I presumed that you were talking to me when I commented. :)

I had the Super-Elmar-R 15mm lens on my CL last night and snatched a photo of my partner in our home office when he was reviewing a book that was misplaced. Just a grab shot: quick focus, ISO 3200 @ f/5.6 @ 1/30 second. The torchlamp didn't produce any flare (like it has with some other lenses) and, as usual, the CL's sensor showed its excellent ability to hold detail even at this elevated ISO setting in contrasty light.


There's something about this lens that just inspires me. I don't pretend to understand it, or try to explain it in terms of flare, contrast, whatever. I just want to make more photos with it, and prefer it over the WATE and other potential lenses I might purchase. It's a big heavy beast of a thing that, curiously, fits my hands and eye just perfectly.


Leica CL + Super-Elmar-R 15mm f/3.5
1,557 grams
A little over 15 cm back to front .. 150mm ruler provided for scale.​

Love it. :D

G
 
Robert Campbell

Robert Campbell

Well-known member
Godfrey said:

Leica CL + Super-Elmar-R 15mm f/3.5
1,557 grams
A little over 15 cm back to front .. 150mm ruler provided for scale.​

Love it. :D

G
Click to expand...
Godfrey, that combination looks a bit unwieldy; the lens looks far too big and heavy for the body. Perhaps it's the double adaptors, but still...
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
Robert Campbell said:
Godfrey, that combination looks a bit unwieldy; the lens looks far too big and heavy for the body. Perhaps it's the double adaptors, but still...
Click to expand...
It not only looks big and heavy, it is big and heavy: 1.5Kg (3.3 lbs) is a substantial lump. The fact that it feels so good in the hand, balances so perfectly, and works so well is surprising even to me, but I'll take it! The WATE is far smaller and lighter but just doesn't give me the same delight. Odd, I know. :D

I've been snapping around the house and in the neighborhood with it and getting some lovely imaging, although nothing that meets my personal criteria for posting yet. (I've been concentrating much more effort on my Polaroid photos just at the moment, so the CL is being used more for technical stuff like copying the Polaroids and doing some negative capture... which are not the métier of this lens. :))

Gd
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
Went for a short walk downtown today and carried the CL + Super-Elmar-R 15mm combination to do some street sighting. It was a rather dull, gray day, unfortunately, and the photo opportunities were limited. I think I made one shot worth posting, I'll look at it later or tomorrow morning.

There weren't many people out and about today due to the weather, but a couple of folks saw the lens and commented that the camera looked pretty cool. Young folks, probably taking photography*or journalism over at San Jose State University. At least it pleases "the crowds"... :D

The CL with this big lens actually feels great to walk around with. Despite its bulk, it's very handy and easy to work with. Focus with it pops in and out rapidly and clearly, and it focuses very close (about 10" or so). You can set f/5.6 and ride a huge range of DoF, or be as precise as you want. And the CL fitted with this lens and the adapter fits snugly but easily into the Peak Design Everyday Sling 5L, with room for one more lens on the side (plus spare batteries, etc).

It's a pleasure to use. A two lens kit of this and the 43 or the 28 mm is a great kit.

G
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
These scooters stood waiting pensively for their next riders outside the cafe I visited in downtown.


Leica CL + Super-Elmar-R 15mm f/3.5
ISO 125 @ f/5.6 @ 1/30​

enjoy! G
 
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