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Why is the upcoming Summilux-SL lens so large?


satijntje

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Leica M lenses are small and of outstanding quality.

I cannot understand why adding IS and AF explodes the size and weight to what we can expect now for this 50 Summilux for the SL.

Other brands that have AF and (partially) IS in their 1.4 50mm lenses can also manage two put this in a compact and light weight housing.

Fail to understand why Leica cannot do this! 

 

IMO, this has nothing to do with physics!!!

 

John

I would settle for just AF if that kept the size down. For the wider diameter lens mount, I do expect a larger diameter for the lens.

 

The standard FF AF 50/1.4 from most manufacturers are small so when the Otus and Sigma 50 Art appeared, I was also surprised why they were so long and so wide in diameter. Yes I know they push the boundaries of optical quality. The 50 Apo shows that a compact FF 50/1.4 with superb optics can be made ... use the extra diameter of the mount to make the lens larger in diameter and add the AF components there. I do have a little background in physics and optics (and I also find it hard to believe that it is the laws of physics causing this and the Otus and the Art lenses to be so large), but not in camera lens design so would appreciate someone who knows the parameters of multiple lens elements for diverging and re-converging light to explain.

 

PS John - I expect Leica to continue to use metals in their lenses and not plastics like the Japanese lens manufacturers.

 

 

...

 

Hopefully Leica will make a Submicron eventually. But something like the Submicron M is an anomaly, not the norm.

 

Gordon

That would be the Nanocron then :)

Edited by Sandokan
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AF lenses differ from MF in more than just a motor. Fast FF requires the focussing elements to be as light as possible. Mass doesn't matter much for MF. l guess this has knock on impacts on the whole design. So it's not just adding a motor to the Apo-Summicron-M 50 Asph.

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If you read Leica's comments about this lens they say "thanks to internal focusing, the overall length of the lens remains unchanged when focusing". So this lens is of completely different design to most, conventionally designed 50mm lenses, and presumably the internal focus involves moving a lightweight, low inertia lens group which enables fast AF. IF systems are employed in a number of lenses such as AF macro lenses and in my experience they deliver very high quality results within the working parameters of the lenses they are used in. In the case of macro lenses the downside is shifting focal length at close focus distances and the inability of such lenses to use accessories like extension tubes (unlike non-IF macro lenses which work well at greater magnifications using extension tubes or bellows).

 

So it would appear that building an IF 50mm lens may well deliver superb results within its focus range and high speed AF too, but it looks as though such a design has a downside - size. If its like IF macro lenses there is likely to be a shift in focal length whilst focussing too, but this is of less import than in macro lenses which if I remember correctly tend to reduce their focal length as they work at closer foes distances.

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The design of the new lens is probably quite similar to a zoom, and very different from a conventional construction.

Or it could be resembling a macro lens design - since many years macros are built with internal focus. As far as I know no other Leica 50/60mm lens has this sort of construction until now.

So I am actually very keen to know its shortest focus distance and its performance close up. (This could be the big difference to the M lenses.)

 

As a prime it should be even better than a zoom. And the Apo 90-280 has proven to be outstanding. So if it beats that ...    :D

Edited by steppenw0lf
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If this lens is/will be so exceptional, it would be very interesting to get a 1.4x extender for both the 50mm and the 90-280. The performance even with extender would still be spectacular.

 

A extraordinary lens can be abused in many ways without penalty: Like the Apo 50 that can be used as a great macro (with Novoflex extension tubes) although it was never intended for that.

Edited by steppenw0lf
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The upcoming Leica 50f1.4 for the SL follows the same approach like the Zeiss Otus or Sigma Art lenses: As sharp and as bright as possible already at f1.4 all across the frame. This makes the lenses large. The M 50f1.4 FLE asph. (and other small lenses) show significant degration of sharpness and strong vignetting towards the edges and corners at open aperture.

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The M 50f1.4 FLE asph. (and other small lenses) show significant degration of sharpness and strong vignetting towards the edges and corners at open aperture.

 

Not so sure that I'd be quite so categorical as this. I'd be hard pushed to criticise my copy and can't really see any practical optical advantage in replacing it with anything 'better'. Its a fabulous lens and as good as any 50/1.4 really needs to be in practice.

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The zoom, with OIS is good enough for me, combined with faster M lenses when needed. If I want to stop action and AF at a low ISO, I doubt that I would be doing it at 50mm.

 

 

 

That is why Leica started with the zooms and not with primes :-)

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