Jeffry Abt Posted October 23, 2015 Share #1 Posted October 23, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) If the Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL f/2.8–4 90–280 mm had decent focus tracking...then I could see the SL having some value to "Sports" photographers. Especially to those who love the M system and would like to get away from Nikon big rig D4 cameras etc. A 280mm is not too shabby. I've got on quite well with a 300mm Nikon lens on the sidelines. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 23, 2015 Posted October 23, 2015 Hi Jeffry Abt, Take a look here The SL as a Sports Camera. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
LUF Admin Posted October 23, 2015 Share #2 Posted October 23, 2015 Leica Akademie's Oliver Richter has posted some handball photos made with the 90-280 (prototype?): https://www.facebook.com/oliver.richter.509/posts/895510983863749 Doesn't look too bad... Andreas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffry Abt Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted October 23, 2015 And... In the old days f2:8 was a requirement. But now with high ISOs and better lit stadiums and coliseums f4 will often suffice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 23, 2015 Share #4 Posted October 23, 2015 Jono's review mentioned AF focus tracking and his thoughts were that it wasn't quite up to the job for serious sports photographers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffry Abt Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted October 23, 2015 In that case Leica needs fix the focus tracking before the 80-280 actually comes on the market. If they are serious about competing at the pro level. Just my view. Sports photographers are a tough bunch they have to get a shot and they won't put up with a camera that gets in the way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo63 Posted October 23, 2015 Share #6 Posted October 23, 2015 24-90 and 90-280 combo would be perfect for basketball and netball but a bit short for most field sports. Most games i cover i reach for the 400f2.8, 500f4 for AFL and 600 for cricket, and keep a second body with a 70-200 nearby for close in shots (which rarely happens) I think the camera is better suited for the "5d market" - portraits, weddings, concerts, fashion shows etc. I do hope Leica build out the system and prove me wrong though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 23, 2015 Share #7 Posted October 23, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Indeed the biggest drawback for a sports photographer is lack of suitable lenses. I've no idea how fast or not so fast the AF tracking is but it's apparently not up to Canon/Nikon standards. With even the 50mm and 90-280mm lenses not going to be available for up to a year from now, it's hard to see who - other than interested amateurs or existing users of M and R lenses - will buy into the SL at this stage. I do think it's a mistake for Leica not to have had at least a couple of more specialist 'pro' lenses available from day one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffry Abt Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share #8 Posted October 23, 2015 it's apparently not up to Canon/Nikon standards.... "Apparently" is the operative word. Time will tell! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leicatraveller Posted October 23, 2015 Share #9 Posted October 23, 2015 If the Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL f/2.8–4 90–280 mm had decent focus tracking...then I could see the SL having some value to "Sports" photographers. Especially to those who love the M system and would like to get away from Nikon big rig D4 cameras etc. A 280mm is not too shabby. I've got on quite well with a 300mm Nikon lens on the sidelines. for me is too slow (lens especially) in past i did professional basketball in europe league and i remember even with cameras like nikon D3 were used F2.8 lens and many photographer even a full set of elinchrome flash up to the roof (and some was also using lens like 400mm f2.8.........) also also a camera without phase detect??? sorry but all the camera i tried with only contrast AF were incredible slow... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bencoyote Posted October 23, 2015 Share #10 Posted October 23, 2015 for me is too slow (lens especially) in past i did professional basketball in europe league and i remember even with cameras like nikon D3 were used F2.8 lens and many photographer even a full set of elinchrome flash up to the roof (and some was also using lens like 400mm f2.8.........) also also a camera without phase detect??? sorry but all the camera i tried with only contrast AF were incredible slow... And high ISO wouldn't help with the lens speed? Obviously none of us have seen the final production firmware but before you pass judgement on Contrast AF I would like to point out that there have been a lot of image processing advances in just the last few years that may not have been built into the cameras that you tried. For example: http://eng.faq.panasonic.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/26478/~/what-is-dfd-(depth-from-defocus)-technology%3F---dmc-gh4 I'm not saying that this is built into the SL (I have no idea) but just that it is potentially licensable IP that could be used to improve contrast only AF. High speed sensor read out of a liveview CMOS sensor allows a whole new range of image processing based algorithms to be employed that were not on the table before the last couple of generations of sensors and processors. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted October 23, 2015 Share #11 Posted October 23, 2015 "Apparently" is the operative word. Time will tell! Well, apparently based on the reviewers findings. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffry Abt Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share #12 Posted October 23, 2015 Well, apparently based on the reviewers findings.Of course you are right! We have no idea how the lens will work when it comes into full production. Would it not be great if the lens was a real killer when it came to sports. ... My hope! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted October 23, 2015 Share #13 Posted October 23, 2015 Well, apparently based on the reviewers findings. Like the use of "professional" I guess it depends on the sport. If you're on the sidelines of a cricket oval or tennis court and you want to capture the ball compressed against bat or coming off strings, there will be better options. From the the comments on this forum, I'd better put in my order, as there won't be an SL2 or Leica for that matter. Not it worrying too much about paparazzo or jobbing sport photographers on the sidelines with their huge white Canon lenses, my issue is this - my son kite surfs (he's national junior champion 3 years running), we all paraglide and do the other normal things outdoors (tramping, cycling, skiing etc). If I want to take air to air pictures, I need to be able to take pictures AF, with reasonably high level of automation, but good colour and resolution. Video is actually useful for this as well. But, size is an issue - quality and usability don't come small. For kitesurfing, the blackout on the T was hopeless. The A7 just hopeless all round. So, I'm wading waist deep into the tide with my M Edition 60 and 75 Summilux or 90 Summicron, and sometimes 21 Summilux. When the kites see me coming they are very good at putting themselves into the best shot, including jumping over me. Great potential, and actually the M does well as you can see around the image and there's no blackout. Focusing is a challenge, but it improves with practice. But to be honest, this is AF and weather sealing territory. The thought of explaining to my insurer how I dropped a $20,000 camera in the tide does bring me out in a cold sweat. The truth is, for wandering round, camera in hand doing stuff, the M is absolutely perfect, and it will always be first choice when I head out the door. After watching the skate boarding video, I can see a lot of fun to be had with a tripod at the beach, and kite surfers. A lot of fun. Focus tracking? Maybe, but not really critical for what I plan. Like any photography, the goal is to present things in a way which is surprising or which captures the activity in a controlled and interesting way. We'll see. It's still a lot of money, but this has more appeal to me than the A7 and D800E I tried last year. Cheers John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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