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Summilux TL available


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That's cruel SirP. Cruel.

I had made my mind up, I wasn't going to get one, no way, too long, too big, you've heard me griping about the size.

Still thinking that, at 70x77mm (long).

Nice to see them bringing new lenses out though, just wish they'd follow the smaller sizing.

Gary

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Nowadays one can't take the words "made in Germany" at face value. It may mean finished in Germany. It doesn't bother me one way or the other as long as it's well designed, well made and works well. This will be my third T lens and my first T prime. If it's as good as the others I'll be well pleased, wherever it's made.

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Thanks for pointing out that the intended message in my post was unclear.  In general I totally agree with your comment about country of production, but the greater implication is that the production of T lenses has probably now been brought in-house.

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It's still very early days, but here are some initial impressions.  Please take these comments with a pinch of salt, as so far I haven't been able to download any files to a computer and thus examine them in detail or process in any way. 

 

50mm (or equivalent) has always been a favourite focal length of mine and so I was very much looking forward to the 35 Lux on the T.  From my initial observations I am impressed.  It is very similar in size to the 2 wider zooms and has a similar feel on the camera. Build quality I would say is a little better; for example, the lens hood  is all metal on the outside, rather than half and half.  Whilst clearly a question of personal taste, I much prefer the look of the black lens, even on a silver body.

 

The ability to (touch) autofocus on the T allows it to be used effectively without the Visoflex if you wish, something that I struggle with when using M lenses.  Focus speed is responsive and appears accurate, but so far I have only been using it in daylight.

 

Most importantly, picture quality is good and bokeh is very smooth.  Like most fast primes there is purple fringing where you would expect it, even stopped down, and shooting at the sun creates flare rather than sun stars.  It is still far too early to draw conclusions, other than that the lens is here to stay!

 

I'll post a few photographs as soon as I can.

 

 

Andrew

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Overall impressions are favourable, especially usability in daylight and quality of bokeh.  Its size is not prohibitive on the T and is ideal on the SL.  On the way home from the office last night I took several photographs in very dark conditions and was pleased with the results.  In the dark there was some focus hunting on the T, but in a measured way - typically checking all focus distances once but then quickly and accurately settling on the end result.

 

I haven't done any technical testing with tripod and controlled conditions, so things like corner sharpness, field curvature, accuracy of focus plane will be better assessed by those with more experience.  I am always impressed by the analysis of people like Tim Ashley, and the current discussion on the 24-90 shows I would be out of my depth commenting on such things with any authority.

 

There was more purple fringing than I had hoped, but then yesterday was a beautiful, bright sunny day with very high contrast - terrific, inspiring light, but always a challenge for fast lenses. Today is overcast here in London so a great day for technically perfect, boring photos!

 

Andrew

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And to be seen here.

http://leicarumors.com/2016/03/07/the-new-leica-summilux-tl-%E2%80%8935mm-f1-4-asph-lens-is-now-shipping.aspx/leica-summilux-tl-%E2%80%8935mm-f1-4-asph-lens/

This really just reinforces what I have felt for ages, too big. I look at my Fuji XF35/1.4 and then at the pictures of the new Summilux and shake my head.

Gary

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