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Summilux-SL 50 MM F/1,4 ASPH


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...Leica's website is updated, so now we can see some more informations about the new Summilux-SL: 11 lenses, 2 x asph:

 

http://en.leica-camera.com/layout/set/simplified/Photography/Leica-SL/Lenses/LEICA-SUMMILUX-SL

 

"Available from the end of 2016"

 

 

From what we can see on this page, the three SL Summicron (35, 75 and 90) will share the same lens body. The only difference should be the lens hoods.

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I handled the SL with the Summilux-SL 50mm attached to it today at Photokina. I came to try the SL with the zooms in person as that's impossible to do in Finland and they had the Summilux for show to the public for the first time.

 

The really professional staff assured me that the lens is the best they have ever produced and I have no reasons to doubt that. I didn't put my memory card in it, so I didn't get any samples to post, although when I asked they would have allowed me to do it. I'm waiting for professional samples and reviews as I wouldn't trust my evaluation done quickly under stress and would probably cause more damage than good by doing so.

 

Leica had the designer of the Q and the designer of the SL at their Professional booth and it was an incredible opportunity to be able to meet those people in real life! As an owner of Q and soon the be owner of SL this meant a lot to me. Thanks again Leica!

 

Two points I'd like to make about the Summilux are that it had noticeably slower AF than the zooms and it has no OIS, which would have sealed the deal for me as it would have allowed better performance in low light. Now I'm still contemplating how to do low light photography! Noctilux or Summilux-SL?

 

I'm happy that I came as it sealed the decision to buy the SL and both zooms. I'll wait for the reviews before purchasing the primes.

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I'm surprised by the noticeably slower AF. I can think of no reason why this should be the case, unless the f/w is still in development. We'll have to await later reviews (of which I'm sure there'll be many).

 

I wonder if the absence of IS is because Leica consider that, at the extreme limit, it degrades IQ.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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There's a drawing of the 11 elements in the Summilux-50 SL on the Leica website, so I dug into my files and compared it with the existing SX-50 and APO SC-50.  Those are 8 element designs, each with a floating element that, in effect, zooms the lens slightly for close focusing.  In the SX, the last two pieces of glass are identified as the FLE, while in the A-SC, the last 5 pieces of glass move independently of the first three pieces.  The two pictures look structurally similar except for these details.  The SX-SL 50 is radically different.  There is a different sequence of positive and negative elements, with three pieces of glass in the middle moving as the internal focusing element (IFE), no FLE.  In the drawing it appears that there is quite a wide range of movement for the IFE. and as I recall the closest distance to which the SX-SL will focus is something like 0.5 m, not the usual 0.7 m.  The wider range may be part of the reported slower AF (and firmware can improve that).

 

Looking at the zooms, the 24-90 focuses by moving only one piece of glass (it's almost at the back of the lens).  The 90-280 moves two light-looking elements, in opposite directions, hence it has two motors to do focusing.  The IFE for the SX-SL is much larger than either of the focusing elements used in the zooms.

 

With such a different design, I'll be interested to see what opinions develop on its imaging characteristics.

 

scott

Edited by scott kirkpatrick
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The larger size of the SL Summilux (isn't it an 82mm filter thread?) must have been liberating for Karbe's engineers when compared to the daunting restraints placed on them by a 39mm filter thread of the 50 APO.

 

The complexity suggests previously unheard of levels of correction. Should be something exceptional.

Edited by james.liam
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I'm happy that I came as it sealed the decision to buy the SL and both zooms. I'll wait for the reviews before purchasing the primes.

 

I'll give you a hint....the reviews will be great, like every other Leica lens.  You're sunk.

 

The only image quality reviews I trust are my own....my pics and files incorporated into my own print workflow.  No two people produce the same results, pictures or prints, regardless of gear. There are loads of cameras and lenses these days...from many manufacturers... sufficient for stellar work. And for folks whose goal is screen viewing rather than prints, the choices increase significantly.

 

The only part of third party lens reviews I might consider are things like weather sealing tests and reports on reliability issues. The rest comes down to personal preferences.....not just IQ, but ergonomics, handling and shooting preferences (focal length, zooms vs primes, etc).

 

YMMV.

 

Jeff

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I handled the SL with the Summilux-SL 50mm attached to it today at Photokina. I came to try the SL with the zooms in person as that's impossible to do in Finland and they had the Summilux for show to the public for the first time.

 

The really professional staff assured me that the lens is the best they have ever produced and I have no reasons to doubt that. I didn't put my memory card in it, so I didn't get any samples to post, although when I asked they would have allowed me to do it. I'm waiting for professional samples and reviews as I wouldn't trust my evaluation done quickly under stress and would probably cause more damage than good by doing so.

 

Leica had the designer of the Q and the designer of the SL at their Professional booth and it was an incredible opportunity to be able to meet those people in real life! As an owner of Q and soon the be owner of SL this meant a lot to me. Thanks again Leica!

 

Two points I'd like to make about the Summilux are that it had noticeably slower AF than the zooms and it has no OIS, which would have sealed the deal for me as it would have allowed better performance in low light. Now I'm still contemplating how to do low light photography! Noctilux or Summilux-SL?

 

I'm happy that I came as it sealed the decision to buy the SL and both zooms. I'll wait for the reviews before purchasing the primes.

 

Thanks for the brief overview. You should really trust yourself more to put a card in the camera and shoot some images with the new lens. Even if you never show them here or elsewhere, it will help you better understand whether or not the lens will work for your needs. 

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For anyone that's interested, I handled the lens today at Photokina and took a small series of sample images using my SL. You can see pictures of the lens and from the lens here:

 

Photokina 2016 – Day 1: Checking Out the 50mm Summilux-SL ASPH and Multifunction Handgrip

 

Here's one of Steffen Skopp, the product manager for the SL System, who was kind enough to pose for me.

 

 

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To my eye, bokeh bears greater resemblance to the 50 APO than the Noctilux or M 50 Summilux. Seemingly sharper @ ƒ/1.4 than I recall of my dearly departed 50 Summilux. Great skin tones but less forgiving on the details than the M.

Edited by james.liam
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50mm lens without OIS is acceptable IMO. If it had OIS, one could get 2-3 stops advantage, and technically get steady handheld shots at 1/10s - 1/5s which is practically impossible for me. However, as the lens looks quite heavy, I wonder whether one can get sharp handheld shots at 1/50s??

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Thanks for posting some real images, which look as good as you could hope for, unless you like only round bokeh (in which case buy a Sony 50mm f1.4 and a body of your choice).

 

The portraits illustrate for me the limitations of using v fast glass for portraits.  A non-photographer would probably want both eyes (and a bit more to be in focus), which needs at least f2.8.  If you are going to go to that aperture, then why not go with the zoom, which also has OIS.

 

So what the Americans would call the use cases for such a lens are more limited than they would have been at a time when film went to ASA 400.

 

I expect that the reason that they chose to make this the first of their primes is that the M Summilux is their most popular seller in that range.  But that is probably because it is a great lens (better than CaNikons' versions, but now being caught by the Sigma and Sony lenses) and compact and (relatively) affordable.  This lens, which is clearly intended to be a signature, is only, potentially, the first of these.

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Look at that beasty! Otusoid size. Hope it is lug-worthy.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited by james.liam
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For anyone that's interested, I handled the lens today at Photokina and took a small series of sample images using my SL. You can see pictures of the lens and from the lens here:

 

Photokina 2016 – Day 1: Checking Out the 50mm Summilux-SL ASPH and Multifunction Handgrip

 

Here's one of Steffen Skopp, the product manager for the SL System, who was kind enough to pose for me.

 

Thanks. The sharpness, especially the tonality is rivaling medium format digital that I used to have.  Its rendering is more like Leica S lens than M lens. The lens is too large for my taste otherwise I would buy it in a heartbeat for its topnotch IQ.

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Today a could test the Summilux at Photokina too; first impressions are very good, I will need a little time to look for my DNGs.

 

But another new point: The Summilux-SL will focus from infinity to 60 cm, not closer 

(simply try it in manual focus mode); that's better than M lenses (70 cm) but not really close (btw, Otus 55mm goes to 50 cm).

 

When talking to Leica there it looks like shipping will start soon (in small numbers), still before 2017.

 

 

:)

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Look at that beasty! Otusoid size. Hope it is lug-worthy.

Frankly, I am from a generation that would expect something like this to be a 500 mm mirror lens. With the Summilux R in memory -which was larger than the competition even back then- a combo like this is a deal-breaker for me..

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