Leica SL Image Thread ...post your examples here ....

[ramarren]

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Love your photos, Tina.  :-)

 

My "travel light" kit with the SL is pretty much the same as when I would carry an SLR:  a three lens kit of my favorite primes in the range from 24 to 135mm, or a two lens kit of my favorite primes in the same range. Although lately I'm having a lot of fun with 24/60/180. For the SL, I'd normally pick R lenses, but could carry an extra lens if I am happy with M lens performance.

 

I never did get much into zooms; I have get push myself to put the 24-90 on the camera and carry it alone for a week or two. 

 

It's all good. 

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[elopezso]

Thanks, Ed.  I was already looking at the prices on that exact lens ;-)

And I'll take a look at the R zoom, Scott.  Thanks!

 

Tina

Hi Tina,

 

Got my camera today and just shot an event. Used my 35 and 50 luxes to do the shoot.  Tried my  MATE Tri-Elmar but it’s a pain in the ass to use as you need to go to the M lens menu and change the setting each time you want to change the lens from 28 to 35 to 50…..

 

The 50 lux, however, is a gem on it.  

 

One of the other folks here has the T with the T vario Elmar 18-56 lens.  He let me put the lens on my camera and it works beautifully, as Jono had told me, on the SL.  I know that the APS-C brings the resolution to 10.3 mp’s but for when you are traveling and just taking snapshots, that you need not blow up to Billboard size, that may be enough especially on the SL.  The AF on the T zoom lens is lightening fast on the SL by the way.

 

So, I think your instincts are right and you may want to get that lens for SL.  

 

Looking forward to seeing how my pix with the SL turned out.

 

Best,

Ed

[k-hawinkler]

Another option which might make sense with the SL for travelling light is the late-model R 35-70 + macro/4.0 with which a lot of the pictures in Jono's August 2015 portfolio were taken.  Unlike the R zooms which most closely parallel the two SL AF zooms, this one is much smaller, lighter and cheaper than anything in the SL lens plan.

 

scott 

 

+1 Scott.  Great lens and by Leica standards outright inexpensive.

 

From the Wiki:  

 

35mm–70mm f/4 Vario-Elmar-R   

Production era - 1997-2009, 7,680+ lenses

Manufacturer - Kyocera

[ericborgstrom]

Central Stockholm. SL with Noctilux.

 

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[ramarren]

Yesterday, this came to mind: 

 

 

After work today, I was sitting here sipping some wine, and thinking, "What do I want to do for tomorrow morning's walk?" Meaning, of course, what kind of photos would I like to make? I've been working with the normal to longer end of the FoV range lately and feeling uninspired with wide views. Hmm. 

 

I thought for a moment about pulling out the Hasselblad SWC. And then I thought, hmm, I wonder if I set up the SL with the Elmarit-R 19mm, set it to square format, and set the JPEG rendering to contrasty B&W ... I wonder how close that comes? 

 

The SWC with Biogon 38mm on 6x6 format nets 92° across the diagonal. Calculating for 24x24mm format on the SL, the 19mm nets 84° ... a 15mm would run to 97°, but I don't have one of those or a WATE (16mm would do 93°). 

 

Good enough, 19mm will have to do. So ... I created another User Profile named "SWC" and stuffed the Elmarit-R 19mm and the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm in the bag. Should be an interesting combination to work with. 

 

My faux-SWC experiment with the 19mm worked nicely this morning: 

 

Leica SL + Elmarit-R 19mm f/2.8 v1

ISO 400 @ f/8 @ 1/160

 

 

... although I think a 15-16mm lens is needed to accommodate the amount of cropping that lens corrections consume out of the original image FoV. The 19mm becomes an effective 21mm after corrections and doesn't net the SWC's full 92° utterly rectilinear diagonal FoV. 

 

(Note: corner softening and darkening is post-processing work ... the Elmarit-19 at f/5.6 is sharp right to the corners, particularly on a square crop.)

 

enjoy! 

G

Edited December 5, 2015 by ramarren

[elopezso]

Hi Everyone,

 

Took my Leica SL to Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NewYork.  It's a cemetery steeped in history.  Buried at this beautiful cemetery, replete with undulating hills and goreous ponds are Susan B Anthony and Frederick Douglass as well as Frank Ernest Gannett, the founder of Gannett Newspapers.  There are also amazing rows of the stones of soldiers buried here from various wars.

 

I love walking it and today visiting with my camera was especially enjoyable.

 

Feedback is always appreciated.

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[elopezso]

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Hi Everyone,

 

Took my Leica SL to Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NewYork.  It's a cemetery steeped in history.  Buried at this beautiful cemetery, replete with undulating hills and goreous ponds are Susan B Anthony and Frederick Douglass as well as Frank Ernest Gannett, the founder of Gannett Newspapers.  There are also amazing rows of the stones of soldiers buried here from various wars.

 

I love walking it and today visiting with my camera was especially enjoyable.

 

Feedback is always appreciated.

[elopezso]

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A few more from the Mt. Hope Cemetery Walk

[jgmb]

Tried my  MATE Tri-Elmar but it’s a pain in the ass to use as you need to go to the M lens menu and change the setting each time you want to change the lens from 28 to 35 to 50…..

 

Is this also true for the WATE? Can someone who owns both the SL and WATE (Jono?) confirm this?  If so, could it possibly be fixed with a firmware update or is this a lens hardware issue?

[ramarren]

Is this also true for the WATE? Can someone who owns both the SL and WATE (Jono?) confirm this?  If so, could it possibly be fixed with a firmware update or is this a lens hardware issue?

 

It's the same for the WATE. Just like a zoom, a Tri-Elmar requires different corrections based on focal length setting, and that requires changing the lens ID since there's no mechanism to inform the body of the focal length change. I don't imagine there's any "fix" possible given the fact that these are simple lens mechanisms with no electronics, just a code. 

 

(Makes me wonder what the code tells the body to do... ?)

 

EDIT

 

I looked up "Tri-Elmar" in the Leica M/M-P typ 240 manual. This is what it has to say: 

 

 

• When using the Leica Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 ASPH, the set focal length is not transferred to the camera and thus is not included in the EXIF data for pictures. If required, you can enter the relevant focal length manually.
• By contrast, the Leica Tri-Elmar-M 1:4/28-35-50mm ASPH features mechanical transfer of the set focal length to the camera, necessary to display the appropriate bright line frame in the viewfinder. It is detected by the camera electronics and used for focal length specific compensation. However, only one item number - 11 625 - is listed in the menu for reasons of space. Of course, the other two versions - 11 890 and 11 894 - can be used and the settings made in the menu also apply to them.

 

 

 

 

So, on an M/M-P typ 240, the lens code tells the camera what lens is there. For the MATE, the mechanism that engages the framelines tells the body what focal length is set, so the EXIF can be complete. With the WATE, the focal lengths are all outside the range that the RF frame line mechanism is designed to handle, so you have to set the lens id for each focal length manually. 

 

But, the M Adapter T mount adapter has no frame line sensor, so you have to do the same thing for both MATE and WATE, set the lens code manually for the focal length you're using. 

Edited December 6, 2015 by ramarren

[jgmb]

(Makes me wonder what the code tells the body to do... ?)

 

I assume it is not just for EXIF data but also for lens correction?  

 

Is it easy to set up a rear button to bring up this lens menu with a single press?  Do the WATE focal lengths appear grouped together in the menu for quick switching or does one have to scroll through the entire list each time to locate the appropriate FL? 

[John Black]

In the case of the MATE, changing the focal length changes the frame lines on the Leica M, thus the M knows which focal length is selected and can encode the focal length into the EXIF (M9, M-240, etc.) and apply any lens corrections per focal length (if it does corrections for the MATE).  If the WATE changes framelines as the focal length is switched, then that's how the M would know which focal length was used.  I haven't owned a WATE, only the MATE.

 

As for the SL, with no connection physical connection to detect framelines, I can't think of any way the SL can automatically determine the selected focal length on the WATE or MATE.

[elopezso]

Is this also true for the WATE? Can someone who owns both the SL and WATE (Jono?) confirm this?  If so, could it possibly be fixed with a firmware update or is this a lens hardware issue?

I must say, however, that today I was able to load the M- lens profile fixes on an easy to get to shortcut (press button at front) and I feel that it is no longer a pain in the ass to adjust.  The key is remembering to do it!

 

I really like the slower style of shooting with the M lenses; I feel like it makes me a better photographer as I think about the focal length carefully and about the focusing carefully. I don't just gun the shutter.  

 

There are times when AF is better and for those times, getting one of the T lenses, mainly the T 23 f2 for times when it is darker and you need quick shooting at an event, would deb well suited to the task.

 

Best, Ed

[vikasmg]

Is this also true for the WATE? Can someone who owns both the SL and WATE (Jono?) confirm this?  If so, could it possibly be fixed with a firmware update or is this a lens hardware issue?

When you change focal length settings on a WATE there is no way that it can communicate the change to the camera on it's own as there is no mechanical coupling that can do this.  I found it expedient to set it to the middle focal length of 18mm and leave it at that.  I did not see any meaningful real-world difference.  Some shots on http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/56805982 

 

- Vikas

Edited December 6, 2015 by vikasmg

[elopezso]

My fave photo from Mt. Hope Cemetery.  The sun was emerging at 2:45 when I took this photo.

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[ramarren]

I assume it is not just for EXIF data but also for lens correction?  

 

Is it easy to set up a rear button to bring up this lens menu with a single press?  Do the WATE focal lengths appear grouped together in the menu for quick switching or does one have to scroll through the entire list each time to locate the appropriate FL? 

 

Yes : Lens Profiles is one of the assignable functions. I have it assigned to the LV button. 

Yes: the MATE and WATE focal lengths are grouped, and the Lens Profile menu wakes up on the current setting. 

Edited December 6, 2015 by ramarren

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Playing with 11fps. 80-200R @f4

 

Not quite a second.jpg by Gordon Cahill, on Flickr

 

Noctilux wide open

 

L1020153.jpg by Gordon Cahill, on Flickr

 

80-200R @f4

 

L1020223.jpg by Gordon Cahill, on Flickr

 

Bokek test Noctilux @ 0.95

 

L1020150.jpg by Gordon Cahill, on Flickr

 

Noct close test. Noctilux @f8

 

L1020159.jpg by Gordon Cahill, on Flickr

 

Gordon

 

p.s. none of these tests have any added sharpening. Lightroom default.

Edited December 6, 2015 by FlashGordonPhotography

[scott kirkpatrick]

Godfrey explained clearly how the SL using the T-M adapter handles the WATE and MATE, in each case transferring the 6-bit code of the lens.  On the M, all lenses actually have an eight-bit code, with two extra bits derived from the "frame lug" on the mount that mechanically selects the frame lines shown.  On the M8 (the last time these details were visible) there were separate lookup tables (LUTs) for the corrections of each of the three WATE settings.  I suspect the reason that the list of identifiable R lenses on the Ms is rather short has to do with the limited number of possible places available in this LUT name space.  In the SL, this may have been fixed.  But the fact that the T-M adapter doesn't pay attention to mechanical linkages on the M lenses is not encouraging to those of us who would like to see aperture awareness or auto aperture stop down for R lenses, which requires mechanically activating one of the cams in the R mounts.

 

scott

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[ramarren]

Godfrey explained clearly how the SL using the T-M adapter handles the WATE and MATE, in each case transferring the 6-bit code of the lens.  On the M, all lenses actually have an eight-bit code, with two extra bits derived from the "frame lug" on the mount that mechanically selects the frame lines shown.  On the M8 (the last time these details were visible) there were separate lookup tables (LUTs) for the corrections of each of the three WATE settings.  I suspect the reason that the list of identifiable R lenses on the Ms is rather short has to do with the limited number of possible places available in this LUT name space.  In the SL, this may have been fixed.  But the fact that the T-M adapter doesn't pay attention to mechanical linkages on the M lenses is not encouraging to those of us who would like to see aperture awareness or auto aperture stop down for R lenses, which requires mechanically activating one of the cams in the R mounts.

 

In R lenses, lens maximum aperture awareness and current aperture setting requires reading the position of two of the cams in the camera. AASD requires controlling the position of the mechanical diaphragm stop-down lever.

 

The M obtains the additional information from the frame line coupling cam, a part of the lens bayonet flange, which there might not be enough room to implement in the thin M Adapter T unit. And the WATE and MATE are the only two lenses for which this information is needed; that seems a lot of trouble (and cost) to go through for two lenses in the entire M line up. 

 

The dedicated R Adapter SL unit will have quite a bit more space to work with since it is both larger diameter and nearly 28mm long to provide correct mount registration. And this information is applicable to every 3-cam, R-only, and ROM R lens there is ... that justifies a lot more development effort as the benefits apply to all users of these lenses rather than just users who happen to own one of two particular lenses. 

 

I remain hopeful. 

[ramarren]

Another from my "SWC emulation" shoot yesterday morning ... 

 

Leica SL + Elmarit-R 19mm f/2.8 v1

ISO 50 @ f/2.8 @ 1/40

 

 

enjoy!