3rd party lens performance on SL

[scott kirkpatrick]

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Has anyone used the 21/2.8 ZM Biogon or 24/2.8 Elmarit M Asph on the SL? If so, please post your comments.

 

I used the 24 Elmarit M asph this morning at the Jerusalem Marathon, shooting at the start and at a water station about 2 KM along down the course.  Some samples:

 

L1040168 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr

 

L1040025 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr

 

scott

 

processed with Capture One 9.1

Edited March 18, 2016 by scott kirkpatrick

[ail]

Thanks for the reply Scott. How much processing did you have to do?  Any colour artifacts in the edges or corners? 

 

I have owned the 21 Biogon and 24 Elmarit since film days and now use them on the M9. I am hoping that these lenses will work on the SL   just as well as they do on my M9. If so, I'm going to trade in my M9 for an SL(*). That will enable me to not only use my M lenses, but also my remaining R lenses.

 

(*) Although I started out with RF cameras, at this point in my life I do prefer the SLR way of photography.

Edited March 18, 2016 by ail

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[wildlightphoto]

(*) Although I started out with RF cameras, at this point in my life I do prefer the SLR way of photography.

 

 

In several respects the SL isn't the SLR way of photography.  In many ways (IMHO as a 45-year SLR user) better.

[scott kirkpatrick]

Thanks for the reply Scott. How much processing did you have to do?  Any colour artifacts in the edges or corners? 

 

I have owned the 21 Biogon and 24 Elmarit since film days and now use them on the M9. I am hoping that these lenses will work on the SL   just as well as they do on my M9. If so, I'm going to trade in my M9 for an SL(*). That will enable me to not only use my M lenses, but also my remaining R lenses.

 

I like the clarity in the two pictures above, which is a notable characteristic of the 24 Elmarit.  But it was an overcast day with the light always in the wrong place, as well as hectic, so these shots are not good candidates for corner pixel peeping.  I shot many frames at ISO 50 and 1/50 (AUTO ISO) and the rest at ISO 800 and higher shutter speeds.  I generally had to use COne's shadow slider to bring up detail from the lower values. 

 

Both the 24 APO Elmarit-M and the Zeiss Biogon are fairly telecentric lenses.  I wouldn't expect color problems at the edges and didn't see any.

 

scott

Edited March 18, 2016 by scott kirkpatrick

[scott kirkpatrick]

Again the 24 Elmarit-asph M on my SL, this time in good light at f/5.6 to look at sharpness across the field.

 

We don't have brick walls here in Jerusalem, but there are plenty of stones.

 

L1040185 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr

 

There's a little softness in the corners, but I think it is due to field curvature, because in a scene shot all at large distances, the corners are nice and crisp.

 

L1040194 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr

 

scott

Edited March 19, 2016 by scott kirkpatrick

[ail]

In several respects the SL isn't the SLR way of photography.  In many ways (IMHO as a 45-year SLR user) better.

 

Through the lens viewing and focussing is what I am talking about. Mirrorless or DSLR, it doesn't matter, I can live with either.

 

Not to hijack this thread, but as you use a Sony A7, can you tell us the SL fares in comparison?

[ail]

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Again the 24 Elmarit-asph M on my SL, this time in good light at f/5.6 to look at sharpness across the field.

 

We don't have brick walls here in Jerusalem, but there are plenty of stones.

 

1040185 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr

 

There's a little softness in the corners, but I think it is due to field curvature, because in a scene shot all at large distances, the corners are nice and crisp.

 

L1040194 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr

 

scott

 

Thanks again Scott. Your replies have been very helpful.

[wildlightphoto]

Through the lens viewing and focussing is what I am talking about. Mirrorless or DSLR, it doesn't matter, I can live with either.

 

Not to hijack this thread, but as you use a Sony A7, can you tell us the SL fares in comparison?

 

 

http://leica-users.org/v58/msg05233.html

[edwardkaraa]

Has anyone used the 21/2.8 ZM Biogon or 24/2.8 Elmarit M Asph on the SL? If so, please post your comments.

I don't have the ZM 21 but it has almost exactly the same exit pupil location as the ZM 25 so I would expect a very similar behavior on the SL. This said, now that I used the 25 more, I am starting to see a very narrow red shading band at the extreme borders. It doesn't show in every shot, probably only at infinity and it is very faint so I wouldn't bother correcting it. There is definitely more softness in the image periphery than on an M body. It can be much improved by slightly front focusing.

[new2rf]

And the result today:

 

Great shot! That is one sharp lens! May I ask how do you mount it on the SL?  Thanks!

[ail]

http://leica-users.org/v58/msg05233.html

Thanks wildlightphoto.

 

Read your report. The massive cost differential is a major hurdle for me too.

[ail]

I don't have the ZM 21 but it has almost exactly the same exit pupil location as the ZM 25 so I would expect a very similar behavior on the SL. This said, now that I used the 25 more, I am starting to see a very narrow red shading band at the extreme borders. It doesn't show in every shot, probably only at infinity and it is very faint so I wouldn't bother correcting it. There is definitely more softness in the image periphery than on an M body. It can be much improved by slightly front focusing.

 

Thanks Edwardkaraa.

 

All else being equal, I would expect the 21 to be slightly worse than the 25 because of the greater angle at which edge  rays will strike the sensor. Still, based on your comments, it should be more than adequate.

[kaisernchen]

a simple portrait of Daria S. shot with SL mounted with modified Apochromat Kinoptik F2 Focale 50mm

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[ynp]

a simple portrait of Daria S. shot with SL mounted with modified Apochromat Kinoptik F2 Focale 50mm

Wonderful and tasteful portrait!

Nothing's simple about this image.

[kaisernchen]

Wonderful and tasteful portrait!

Nothing's simple about this image.

 

it is indeed a simple portrait, ISO 500, the Apochromat Kinoptik almost opened all up, 1/100s 

[erudolph]

Vario-Elmarit-R 28-90, cropped

 

[ynp]

it is indeed a simple portrait, ISO 500, the Apochromat Kinoptik almost opened all up, 1/100s

Thanks. The lighting is beautiful.

[349A]

Here is a quick shot outside my front door. SL W/Hasselblad 150CF ISO 50@1/200 handheld. Its actually pretty windy here in NY today, I'm surprised I was able to get such a sharp image.

 

Oddly, when I preview this image its loses all its sparkle and luster as well as its picking up some of noise and losing most of its vitality... What am I doing wrong? Jpeg looks pretty good on my desktop until I upload it...

 

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

[cpclee]

Looks quite good to me.  But if you are seeing a big difference before and after uploading, I'd think it's either due to additional compression applied by the uploader interface, or something to do with the embedded profile or your monitor's color calibration.

 

Here is a quick shot outside my front door. SL W/Hasselblad 150CF ISO 50@1/200 handheld. Its actually pretty windy here in NY today, I'm surprised I was able to get such a sharp image.

 

Oddly, when I preview this image its loses all its sparkle and luster as well as its picking up some of noise and losing most of its vitality... What am I doing wrong? Jpeg looks pretty good on my desktop until I upload it...

 

L1010157.jpg

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[349A]

Thanks. Monitor is calibrated. Comparing the jpeg side by side on my Mac 27" monitor shows quite a large difference. I suppose it could be the uploader.

 

The Hassy lens has quite a long focus throw. Not a quick lens to use but I like the results. The FF sensor is probably right in the sweet spot of the image circle.