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jaapv

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Now that Leica has brought out an amazing Telezoom, the SL has gained a lot of interest for me as a safari camera, especially if a 1.4x extender were to appear, but at the same time it would be limited to be an "one-month-a-year" camera, as I prefer using my M system for anything else.

 

Maybe it would be a good idea for Leica to introduce a rental service?

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Now that Leica has brought out an amazing Telezoom, the SL has gained a lot of interest for me as a safari camera, especially if a 1.4x extender were to appear, but at the same time it would be limited to be an "one-month-a-year" camera, as I prefer using my M system for anything else.

 

Maybe it would be a good idea for Leica to introduce a rental service?

 

 

 

Other companies already offer Leica rentals and must know a lot more about the rentals market than Leica. Very hefty deposits required too. Renting an SL with 24-90 and an M adapter in London via one well known rental company costs £129 per day but for 15-17 days the 8 day rate applies i.e. £1032 plus VAT = £1238  … and for 30 days the 10 day rate = £1548.

 

dunk

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Yes - but those companies usually only offer a limited choice of Leica equipment. I have close contacts in Calumet, but they do not have Leica at all. I would not know where to rent an SL, or anything other than an M + Summilux 35 (and that with difficulty) here.

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I am very impressed by Leica Forum member jancap's safari images using his 180/3.4R and 2x extender giving 540mm FF equivalent on APS format. Using same bought s/h with a s/h Leica T could work out to be cheaper than hiring an SL plus two lenses. … and considerably lighter weight too. 

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Other companies already offer Leica rentals and must know a lot more about the rentals market than Leica. Very hefty deposits required too. Renting an SL with 24-90 and an M adapter in London via one well known rental company costs £129 per day but for 15-17 days the 8 day rate applies i.e. £1032 plus VAT = £1238  … and for 30 days the 10 day rate = £1548.

 

dunk

Who does this, dunk?

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Who does this, dunk?

 

 

Pro Centre but no 90-280mm yet listed … they also sell Leica 

 

Their Fri 4pm to Mon 6pm Leica Q hire is just £85 plus VAT which seems good value for 3.5 ish days shooting … but would need £3K ish deposit 

 

dunk

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I am very impressed by Leica Forum member jancap's safari images using his 180/3.4R and 2x extender giving 540mm FF equivalent on APS format. Using same bought s/h with a s/h Leica T could work out to be cheaper than hiring an SL plus two lenses. … and considerably lighter weight too. 

 

 

Yes the lens is cheap and excellent and so is the extender, but why not add it to a sony ?  This idea of yours is not really new. I know several colleagues who work this way. Maybe a switch to another forum is useful to get more "impressions". 

Some colleagues work since 2-3 years with this gear. 

 

Are we really surprised that Leica lenses are excellent ? Even if it is the old R equipment ?

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Yes the lens is cheap and excellent and so is the extender, but why not add it to a sony ?  This idea of yours is not really new. I know several colleagues who work this way. Maybe a switch to another forum is useful to get more "impressions". 

Some colleagues work since 2-3 years with this gear. 

 

Are we really surprised that Leica lenses are excellent ? Even if it is R ?

 

 

Very well aware it's not new and certainly not my idea … but this is a Leica forum.

 

dunk

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Very well aware it's not new and certainly not my idea … but this is a Leica forum.

 

dunk

 

So what ? Anybody with R lenses has had to use them on many different platforms during the last few years. So a big number of photographers has used them on all types of APS-C, fourthirds, fullframe and whatever cameras.

Nobody has thrown away a R lens, definitely not the Apo 3.4/180, a few/quite a number have maybe sold them far under value - their problem. So there must be a whole army of photographers that use these lenses on all sorts of cameras. And another large number that is using M-lenses. 

 

So why on earth should now finally the T camera be the best choice ? I'd like to follow your thoughts.

Please add a link to the safari photos, maybe they can make your choice understandable.

 

For example I used them until very shortly on a Canon 5Ds. And with the crop factor of up to 1.6 it is also a very small and handy (180mm x1.6 = 288mm) and very high quality 3.4/ "300mm" lens for birding and wildlife. That without the extender; with extender the focal length is already almost too large (360mm with full frame and up to 576mm with 1.6x crop). And the price is ridiculous compared to the extremely bumped up Apo R 4/280 . And I can switch any time between FF, 1.3 crop and 1.6 crop, whatever is the most useful in the current situation.

The colors of the Canon are also much nicer than with the alpha 7RII, but of course IBIS is missing.

 

And in my opinion the T is slippery and not really offering a good grip for long lenses. (We are talking about the Apo Telyt-R 3.4/180) The Canon 5Ds and many others are much better suited for this kind of action.

So I still wonder why the T is suddenly so attractive in your eyes.

 

Stephan

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But do they rent abroad?

You could certainly ask but I think you would need to be a UK resident, sorry. I know that is a bit pointless to the discussion for you but it's the first of it's kind here (that run the entire range not just S) in London and people here should know and hopefully support it. The other companies who have tried Leica hire here have no succeeded or lasted (including Leica direct who had an inconvenient system). I hope this one can keep going because it is very handy for bits and pieces you won't regularly use.

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Aren't you the guy who went into the bush with three cameras and came out with one barely working one? How much is it worth for me not to tell the hire company? :)

:lol: :lol: I find digital cameras far more reliable for this kind of use than mechanical ones, especially more so than the R series. Maybe I should have been using bomb-proof Nikons in the past... :ph34r:

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Yes the lens is cheap and excellent and so is the extender, but why not add it to a sony ?  This idea of yours is not really new. I know several colleagues who work this way. Maybe a switch to another forum is useful to get more "impressions". 

Some colleagues work since 2-3 years with this gear. 

 

Are we really surprised that Leica lenses are excellent ? Even if it is the old R equipment ?

I will happily use R  lenses, even the heaviest ones, on an NEX7 for instance. But that  is not the point. I don't like shelling out in excess of 10.000 Euro for a tool that I will only use occasionally, with luck three or four weeks a year...

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Now that Leica has brought out an amazing Telezoom, the SL has gained a lot of interest for me as a safari camera, especially if a 1.4x extender were to appear, but at the same time it would be limited to be an "one-month-a-year" camera, as I prefer using my M system for anything else.

 

Maybe it would be a good idea for Leica to introduce a rental service?

 

 

That is close to my dilemma, which I think I have resolved.

 

I can see some few occasions when the AF would be attractive, (still the only thing that materially differentiates it from the M in my usage: the EVF is less straightforward) but for at least half of those occasions something like a Fuji XT1 is more than adequate. So the SL, which has a certain appeal, would realistically see so little use that I'm resisting any temptation to buy it. Assisted in no small measure by its handsome price.

 

Would I rent one? Probably not, because I like to bond with a camera, if that makes sense, and find the best way to match my limitations to the camera's strengths, and a short burst of usage wouldn't work unless it was a very specific task that couldn't be accomplished any other way, which again trying to be realistic is hardly ever the case.

 

So my answer is, be realistic!

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