Can a Leica SL replace an M system?

[jrp]

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I agree that the zooms are too bulky but they do deliver.  If you could focus off centre with the M240, it would make me want to go back to it more. I like its relative compactness and unobtrusiveness.  As it is, fast / wide Leica M lenses, with non-planar fields of focus work better with the SL. 

[hmathias]

Hi Benutzer, I would suggest you'd be missing out on the Vario-Elmarit 24-90 (not having tried the 90-280 myself)... It's a seriously brilliant zoom implementation. Would have been nice if Leica would have put the OIS mechanism in the camera as opposed to the lenses though. The lenses would be cheaper to manufacture AND it would have allowed the SL to stabilise any M lens which would have made it a ridiculous proposition for low light photography.

 

Stabilizing lenses requires servo-moving one or more lens elements to stabilize the image, and with Leica's precision in lens element centering and lens tolerance execution, a servo system would compromise their superb lens designs, I believe. My only complaint about the zoom designs is that I miss foot/meter focus calibrations and a manual calibrated iris on the lens.  

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[IkarusJohn]

The simplicity and compact size of the M camera and lenses are a joy to use, and the Sl is more complex, but once you're used to things like being able to move the focus and exposure point it is hard to give up ...

[thighslapper]

I have a safe full of M gear that I am ashamed to say has not been used for 7 months. 

 

I use the SL with a hand-strap and usually without a bag (it's robust, weather sealed so can't see the point), carry the 90-280 in a Safrotto padded lens case (fits exactly) with a shoulder strap and a Marumi +5 macro lens plus cards/battery/lens wipes in my pocket. Sometimes take a Trek-Tech mini tripod with magnetic head attachment which works fine and takes up minimal space/weight. I've yet to find a situation where I wished I had my M 240 and a bag full of lenses.

 

I've given up taking any M lenses as well as I just never ever needed them ...... and I do wonder whether I will use any of my M bodies again .... apart from possibly the monochrom. Despite a great attachment for the RF concept and compactness ...... the SL provides all the simplicity of use of an M plus the benefits of a mirrorless system..... and more ..... and is a pleasure to use ...... which to be honest is the critical factor. 

Edited July 6, 2016 by thighslapper

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I have a safe full of M gear that I am ashamed to say has not been used for 7 months. 

 

I use the SL with a hand-strap and usually without a bag (it's robust, weather sealed so can't see the point), carry the 90-280 in a Safrotto padded lens case (fits exactly) with a shoulder strap and a Marumi +5 macro lens plus cards/battery/lens wipes in my pocket. Sometimes take a Trek-Tech mini tripod with magnetic head attachment which works fine and takes up minimal space/weight. I've yet to find a situation where I wished I had my M 240 and a bag full of lenses.

 

I've given up taking any M lenses as well as I just never ever needed them ...... and I do wonder whether I will use any of my M bodies again .... apart from possibly the monochrom. Despite a great attachment for the RF concept and compactness ...... the SL provides all the simplicity of use of an M plus the benefits of a mirrorless system..... and more ..... and is a pleasure to use ...... which to be honest is the critical factor. 

 

Yep. I feel this way too. I have a complete M system with three bodies and many lenses collecting dust. Much of it needs to find a new home but it's very hard to actually part with.

 

Gordon

[AlanJW]

Yep. I feel this way too. I have a complete M system with three bodies and many lenses collecting dust. Much of it needs to find a new home but it's very hard to actually part with.

 

Gordon

I have used my M(240) once since getting an SL in January.  I do like the 24-90 but for walking around, I prefer M lenses, and the M lenses are now used more frequently on the SL than they are on the M.  I thought I would miss the optical rangefinder but the EVF in the SL is really very good, allowing focus equally or more accurate than the ORF.  That sort of says that the M is redundant for me.  Yet, I have no great desire to abandon the M.  Maybe that is sentimentality and not rationality, but I keep thinking someday I will go out with the nice small, compact M and a 35mm lens and have fun, even if I put the same lens on the SL now most of the time.  I will be interested in what Leica does re a new M at Photokina.  In the past I was seduced by new Ms.  Now I am not so sure.

[IkarusJohn]

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I've come to Melbourne with just the M Edition 60 and 75 Summilux. It is liberating.

[Peter H]

Since the early 80s when I bought my first M, I've always had at least one physically larger system too.

 

But the M is the only one that feels like it's not a camera but just part of me because it feels so organic and natural and instinctive. So with all the various advantages of all the other cameras, all of which have their place in the business of making photos, none can actually replace an M.