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Leica SL and Wide Angle lenses


BCMielke

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The greyed out version on the GXR was what I used as well.  Just brilliantly implemented.  To my knowledge there really isn't focus peaking on the T.  There is magnification, but that was all I saw when I quickly handled it.  I liked the T camera overall alot more than I thought I would.  

 

I still shoot with the GXR, I sold it awhile back and then re-acquired it.  It's an ugly thing and slow.  It's endearing though.  One of the few cameras I ever sold and then went out to purchase again because I missed it.

 

 

 

 

I used a GXR for a couple of years. Amazing camera for its price. 

 

Focus peaking on the GXR is unique, particularly the mode that grayed the whole scene and let you see just the edges. I didn't use the other GXR focus peaking modes very often. The SL's focus peaking is precise like that that but less obvious, and more dependent upon specific lenses' behavior. I've not played with either T or Q focus peaking. 

 

The good news is that the SL's viewfinder quality is so good that you rarely really need focus peaking. Between the excellent resolution of the viewfinder and the one-touch magnification button (firmware 1.2), it's very rare I find myself turning on focus peaking for that extra little bit of focus indication. 

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I tried a Zeiss Distagon 18/4 with the SL and wasn't happy due to field curvature.  Probably wouldn't have been an issue outside of 2m, but if you had a foreground subject to aid in composition it didn't work well for me.  I instead purchased a WATE 16/18/21 for use with the SL and am very pleased.  It's a tele-centric design meaning light rays coming off the back element are comparatively parallel, so it has fewer issues with corner softness than many rangefinder lenses.  It's got a ton of distortion, though, so you do need to apply the Lightroom profile if you are doing architecture shots or anything with straight lines.  Once you do apply the profile, though, it's great.  Oh, one other fine point with this lens when used on the SL... Unlike with the M, the camera has no idea what focal length was selected.  Everything gets coded as 16mm.  As a result, when you apply the profile in Lightroom if you DIDN'T take your shot at 16mm you need to override the default profile.  Not a big deal, but if you leave the 16mm setting it will slightly overcorrect the pincushion distortion at 18mm and 21mm.

 

If you don't need ultrawides and are happy with 24mm, the Vario Elmarit is absolutely fantastic at the 24mm end.  It's big and heavy, of course, but you won't find anything to complain about in terms of the results.

 

I am also pleased with corner results using my 35mm Summilux FLE, my 50mm APO Summicron, and my 75mm APO Summicron.  You won't find anything to complain about.  The corner performance of the 24-90 Vario at longer focal lengths is extremely good if not quite at the level of the better primes.

 

Honestly, I am sure there are lenses with which the SL does poorly, but as long as you are careful about choosing combinations that others have validated first the edge performance with rangefinder lenses is a total non-issue.  That should NOT be a reason to avoid the SL or to choose a different camera such as the M240 over it.  

 

- Jared

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Oh, here's a sample of the distortion with the WATE at 16mm and what one click of the "Profile" button in Lightroom will do to fix it.

 

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- Jared

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Wow...that's impressive!

 

I had thought of the WATE at some point.  I don't do much VERY wide angle work though.  21 is typically wide enough for me.  

 

The 24-90 is impressive.  Depending on he decision I make on the SL I may need to add that at some point, but it won't come at the same time.  I like AF, but I have a Contax 35-70 that I'm sure will work great on the SL.  Now I just need to find one to handle and see if the ergonomics work for me before I pay.

 

This thread has been very helpful so thanks everyone.  

 

Oh, here's a sample of the distortion with the WATE at 16mm and what one click of the "Profile" button in Lightroom will do to fix it.

 

Before:

attachicon.gifDistortion_16-2.jpg

 

After:

attachicon.gifProfile_16.jpg

 

- Jared

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Wow...that's impressive!

 

I had thought of the WATE at some point.  I don't do much VERY wide angle work though.  21 is typically wide enough for me.  

 

 

 The 21/3.4 works exceptionally well and is a terrific lens.

 

Generally all the modern Leica w/a designs work well .... and the more recent the better

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Yes, I almost got the 21 SEM rather than the WATE since I'm more comfortable at 21mm than wider, but decided the extra flexibility was worth the 100g penalty in weight. Distortion is definitely better controlled in the 21SEM, and it has been a much more popular lens than the WATE recently because it works better on the M--no Frankenfinder required. For the SL either works well to get an ultra wide.

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Here's an extreme shot with the 18SEM from my SL review. There was a fair amount of keystoning as I was angling up to get the entire church in the frame, but I was able to correct most of it in Lightroom. Because of the huge amount of correction, the very top of the steeple suffers in sharpness, but I still think the overall effect is nice.

 

L1030785.jpg

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For reference, here's another SL wide angle image that is somewhat similar to the one I posed above with the 18SEM, except here I used the 24-90 SL @ 24mm. This one doesn't have nearly as much perspective correction (I left some of the keystoning in) and it was hand-held at 1/30th, ISO 3200.

 

L1030483.jpg

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