Leica SL a real camera for the pro.

[svenjosh]

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The MF aid is BL button. It requires taking hands off the lens to turn MF aid on, then go back to focus the lens. It would be much better if the joystick was used for this function. There are several buttons on the back and top which will be more useful if customizable. Obviously limitations for pro work.

 

IMHO for my personal use, though there are a few negatives, there is nothing in the market that comes even close to it with respect to enjoyment of the photo taking process. It's an absolute blast. With the "kit" lens it is super responsive and produces gorgeous images. Using MF M and R lenses, take it to another level. 

[dkCambridgeshire]

Judging from the thin response on this and other SL related threads ....... and the fact that real pros are not speculative early adopters of cameras I think you can safely say this is dealer bullsh*t

If there were more than 500 in the first batch distributed worldwide I would be surprised ...... and if Leica's usual pattern if behaviour is repeated there will only be a limited steady trickle of the odd one per dealer every couple of weeks. 

I doubt if there is 'genuine pro' (ie. a photojournalist in this dealers meaning of the word)  with one in his hands as we speak ...... 

 

But I wonder if Jonathan Eastland (Ajax News and Features) has acquired an SL? He's the epitome of a successful professional photojournalist and Leica aficionado / diplomat who has extolled the virtues of Leica lenses and cameras for many years - as a well as writing Leica camera system books. I cannot imagine him not having an SL at some stage. 

 

dunk

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[thighslapper]

The MF aid is BL button. It requires taking hands off the lens to turn MF aid on, then go back to focus the lens. It would be much better if the joystick was used for this function. There are several buttons on the back and top which will be more useful if customizable. Obviously limitations for pro work.

 

IMHO for my personal use, though there are a few negatives, there is nothing in the market that comes even close to it with respect to enjoyment of the photo taking process. It's an absolute blast. With the "kit" lens it is super responsive and produces gorgeous images. Using MF M and R lenses, take it to another level. 

 I think the simplest answer is swapping image review and magnification around ....... most of the time reviewing images after taking them there is no specific need to have this function assigned to any particular button ..... but Magnification on Upper Right is a no-brainer .....

[tobey bilek]

This seems to have gotten off topic from is it a pro camera.

 

I suggest they are using the old Nikon F strategy from 1959 when they were given free to well known pros.   I can not imagine a pro buying into a system with one lens and fiddling with other lens adapters that may or may not be available.   Perhaps what is in service are demo loaners?

[Peter H]

Quite honestly the quality of most cameras nowadays is high enough that some of every make will be in regular use by professionals, including the smaller formats too of course.

 

It's been quite a while since "Professional" meant very much beyond being "Top of Our Range."

 

I suppose we each have an image in our minds of a professional, David Bailey perhaps or some damp and weary pitch-side press-passer gunning away at the centre forward hoping to catch the moment the ball strikes his head on the way to back of the net for the winning goal, or whatever stuck in your mind when you first discovered that some people actually get paid for pressing the button that you press for fun.

 

But what camera they use to do it is a very long way from defining what is the best camera for our purposes, fun though it may (or may not) be to imagine ourselves into the mental picture we've created for ourselves.

[IkarusJohn]

I can think of no quicker way to spoil a hobby I love than trying to make a living out of it.

[viramati]

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In my early days as a 'Pro' photographer working as a Stills/set photographer in Italy I used mainly 2 Nikon 801's and a Canon QL1.7 G-III and these were hardly what would even then been called 'Pro' cameras but they fitted my needs at the time and worked fine for me. 

[earleygallery]

 

I suppose we each have an image in our minds of a professional, David Bailey perhaps 

 

David Bailey? He used an Olympus Trip didn't he, with a Zuiko lens, used on the OM1, one of the best cameras in the world! 

 

[Peter H]

I can think of no quicker way to spoil a hobby I love than trying to make a living out of it.

 

 

That's because you'd be a struggling journeyman covering the local school's sports day while you wait for your big pay day when they ask you to be there for the opening of the new discount supermarket, whereas I, with my celestial talents, would lie there in my 7-star hotel penthouse suite telling my people to turn down Taylor Swift, Obama and Scarlett Johansson (again) because I'm not in the mood today darling.

[Joshua Lowe]

Does the SL have the equivalent of an AF-ON button?  Can you separate servo focus from the shutter?  

[ramarren]

When last Tina Manley posted, she was experimenting both with the 24-90 and with some of her M and R lenses. I think she likes the ease of shooting with the zoom so far, but I'm looking forward to seeing where she goes with it. 

 

Tina posted some photos today taken with the M240 and SL, but for some odd reason got complaints about them. So she's pulled them down.

Pretty ridiculous that people would complain about her photos! 

Edited December 1, 2015 by ramarren

[ramarren]

Does the SL have the equivalent of an AF-ON button?  Can you separate servo focus from the shutter?  

 

The AF/AE button can be configured in several different ways, depending upon how you want to organize your shooting workflow. The way that makes most sense for me is to set it to do AF only and set the camera to MF. That way you force AF when you want it and then use MF to do the fine adjustment afterwards. 

[jonoslack]

The MF aid is BL button. It requires taking hands off the lens to turn MF aid on, then go back to focus the lens. It would be much better if the joystick was used for this function. There are several buttons on the back and top which will be more useful if customizable. Obviously limitations for pro work.

 

I'm still trying to imagine a 'pro' zooming in on a handheld camera which has a perfectly good screen to focus with!

on a tripod maybe (but then there's no problem with the location.

Dont get me wrong, I'd like a choice of where to put it, but I still can't imagine using it very much. Once upon a time when we had low res tiny EVF s, it was vital, now? I just don't think so (handheld that is)

[Paulus]

That's because you'd be a struggling journeyman covering the local school's sports day while you wait for your big pay day when they ask you to be there for the opening of the new discount supermarket, whereas I, with my celestial talents, would lie there in my 7-star hotel penthouse suite telling my people to turn down Taylor Swift, Obama and Scarlett Johansson (again) because I'm not in the mood today darling.

Yes, I think I was thinking somewhere in between, when I thought of the word " Pro ", but Anton Corbijn would be a good exemple.

[svenjosh]

I'm still trying to imagine a 'pro' zooming in on a handheld camera which has a perfectly good screen to focus with!

on a tripod maybe (but then there's no problem with the location.

Dont get me wrong, I'd like a choice of where to put it, but I still can't imagine using it very much. Once upon a time when we had low res tiny EVF s, it was vital, now? I just don't think so (handheld that is)

 

Sorry, Jono, I am not sure I understand what you mean. For both handheld and Tripod mounted work, critical focus with MF lenses requires Magnification. That's I have always seen it done, not only in my studio but  in any pro environment, it does not matter whether it is a Sony or Leica or medium format.

 

This is  not the only limitation, availability of AF primes as well as telephoto, at least in the 70-200mm range,  is the other major drawback. Even though the available zoom is spectacular, its still just one lens. Obviously this will change in future but I am just talking about current situation.

[colonel]

A pro is simply someone who makes money from photography

 

I have seen pros use Canon 760Ds for portraits and a 50D for events. I've seen a person who sells terrific art photographs, often with 5-6 photos stitched into one picture, use a D300

Most don't care about service, etc. as cameras these days are mostly reliable and pros generally have a backup

 

Top pro photographers with cash to spend tend to play around with expensive equipment but it doesn't mean they are actually using brand X for their money shots.

 

If Leica can convince people who make their living from photography to use the SL that's great. Not sure that's enough to sustain it these days, well heeled amateurs are where the money is, even the D4 and 1DX, I hear anecdotally (FWIW), are bought extensively by amateurs.

 

Its also not true that pros have mountains of equipment. I know of some who just have a 5Diii and a 24-70mm f2.8 ii, and use that for everything. And why not ? if it works.

I read about a couple who do studio work for families and couples. The husband uses a Nikon something with a 24-70mm and his wife swears by the 70-200mm.

 

I am sure many pros would be happy to just use the SL and the 24-90mm, period. Leica needs to make the case for that over the myriad of other alternatives.

Of course the key one is being to post your photos in this forum

Edited December 1, 2015 by colonel

[jonoslack]

Sorry, Jono, I am not sure I understand what you mean. For both handheld and Tripod mounted work, critical focus with MF lenses requires Magnification. That's I have always seen it done, not only in my studio but  in any pro environment, it does not matter whether it is a Sony or Leica or medium format.

 

 

HI There

The point is that when hand holding - if you zoom in (of course, at open aperture where focusing is more accurate) . . . . then whilst zoomed in on your particular subject you achieve critical focus, you will not, however have any idea about composition, and in zooming out to get the composition right you will move (actually, you'll move even if you don't zoom out) . . . thus making the critical focus wrong

 

. . . . . . . . and it was never possible with optical viewfinders, whether Canon, Nikon or medium format. So I don't see how it can be that's how you've always seen it done?

 

. .  . and I'm sure my acquaintance is limited, but I don't know a single professional photographer who uses a camera with an EVF (except Red cameras for Video). 

 

The EVF of the SL is excellent - even with my slightly sub-standard eyes (not just a fool, but an old fool )I find it really easy to get good focus with manual focus lenses without zooming in . . . and without using focus peaking either. 

Edited December 1, 2015 by jonoslack

[jonoslack]

Its also not true that pros have mountains of equipment. I know of some who just have a 5Diii and a 24-70mm f2.8 ii, and use that for everything. And why not ? if it works.

I read about a couple who do studio work for families and couples. The husband uses a Nikon something with a 24-70mm and his wife swears by the 70-200mm.

 

I am sure many pros would be happy to just use the SL and the 24-90mm, period. Leica needs to make the case for that over the myriad of other alternatives.

Of course the key one is being to post your photos in this forum

I think you've hit the nail on the head here - and I think it's something Leica have done right - of course, it would have been great if there had been more lenses at the launch, but at least they've released a camera with a lens which will do most PJ / Wedding jobs, and by giving it a slightly larger range than normal, and a slightly closer focus, it really is a 'jack of all trades'  Just like the camera in fact!

 

. . .  I'm thinking of a well known and well thought of newspaper portrait photographer who has two M240 bodies and 2 lenses . . . and a wedding photographer who does everything with two Canon bodies with 24-105 f4 zooms. 

[wildlightphoto]

Sorry, Jono, I am not sure I understand what you mean. For both handheld and Tripod mounted work, critical focus with MF lenses requires Magnification. That's I have always seen it done, not only in my studio but  in any pro environment, it does not matter whether it is a Sony or Leica or medium format.

 

I'm currently using the Sony a7II with a viewfinder that is not as good as the SL viewfinder and I agree with Jono, with practice precise manual focus without peaking or magnification is possible with many subjects, however there are times when magnification helps whether the camera is on a tripod or not.

 

Yesterday I was using the camera braced on the truck's window while jammed into the passenger side of the front seat (where all my gear is stowed) where removing my left hand from the lens would have altered my composition (or even lost my view of the hawk entirely).  When I want to use magnification (as I did with this photo) conditions are usually far from ideal and having the button assigned to magnification within reach of the right hand is a big deal to me.

 

Edited December 1, 2015 by wildlightphoto

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[jonoslack]

I'm currently using the Sony a7II with a viewfinder that is not as good as the SL viewfinder and I agree with Jono, with practice precise manual focus without peaking or magnification is possible with many subjects, however there are times when magnification helps whether the camera is on a tripod or not.

 

Yesterday I was using the camera braced on the truck's window while jammed into the passenger side of the front seat (where all my gear is stowed) where removing my left hand from the lens would have altered my composition (or even lost my view of the hawk entirely).  When I want to use magnification (as I did with this photo) conditions are usually far from ideal and having the button assigned to magnification within reach of the right hand is a big deal to me.

 

That's lovely Doug

and I completely agree that the magnification (must, should, will) be moved - to where you want it (and not the left hand). I also think that it's sometimes really useful . . . .sometimes!