Setting up the SL

[Guest VVJ]

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I'm a Sony shooter?  Perhaps you have no clue that I've been using Leica R equipment, almost exclusively, since 1979.  The Sony is a digital back for my Leica-R lenses intended as a stop-gap between the DMR (sold in 2015) and the SL.  I have no E-mount lenses nor do I expect to purchase any E-mount lenses.  You really ought to know what you're talking about before you type.

 

PS clueless jackasses are why I've nearly disappeared from most discussion forums.  Adios.

 

 

I am perfectly aware that you have been shooting Leica since a long time...

 

Remember that I said that I read your review, you point it out there as well, as in pretty much every post you make...

 

That however does not take away that you are shooting Sony now and that you tried the SL coming from Sony and that was the point of my post...

 

And BTW, being a long time Leica shooter does not give you any special privileges and certainly does not give you the right to insult people...

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[steppenw0lf]

I am quite happy how the SL is currently working in manual mode.

I rather have a complaint for the use of AF lenses. But it is not important, because I bought the SL mainly for R and M lenses.

I actually miss a separate "back button" for "back button AF action". Of course the joystick is acceptable, but I always am a bit afraid to damage it because of using it too much. A simple (undestroyable) additional button would give me a safer feeling.

 

I did not succeed in setting one of the four programmable buttons (LL. UL, LR, UR) as substitute.

 

Again I am happy with the current status - a little adaptation is probably sane for the brain.

[Leicaiste]

Panasonic patent make some believe Panasonic designed the Leica SL 90-280mm :

 

http://www.43rumors.com/panasonic-patent-proves-designed-leica-sl-90-280mm-full-frame-lens/


 

[ramarren]

Many of the Leica R lenses, mostly zooms, were designed by Minolta, Tamron, and other lens makers as well. Panasonic has a huge amount of experience designing wide-zoom-ratio telephoto lenses for digital capture sensors, much more than Leica does. And Panasonic has been collaborating with Leica on camera and lens design for 25 or more years.

 

So it shouldn't surprise you in the least that Panasonic's design team might have had a big hand in designing the SL90-280mm lens. What else is new? From all reports, the lens is a stunning performer of exceptional specification and build quality. What else is important? 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Many of the Leica R lenses, mostly zooms, were designed by Minolta, Tamron, and other lens makers as well. Panasonic has a huge amount of experience designing wide-zoom-ratio telephoto lenses for digital capture sensors, much more than Leica does. And Panasonic has been collaborating with Leica on camera and lens design for 25 or more years.

 

So it shouldn't surprise you in the least that Panasonic's design team might have had a big hand in designing the SL90-280mm lens. What else is new? From all reports, the lens is a stunning performer of exceptional specification and build quality. What else is important? 

 

I thought Leica already said that Panasonic weren't involved in the SL??

 

Gordon

[jrp]

Seems par for the course, if true.  The Zeiss Batis 85mm f1.8 seems to be a Tamron design, eg.

[ramarren]

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The design of the SL body is quite separate from the design of a zoom lens.

 

As jrp said, par for the course. Panasonic has a huge amount of experience with pro-grade, long zoom lenses from their video work. Leica and Panasonic have been collaborating on camera and lens design for twenty-five years. Leica used lens designs by Minolta, Soligor, Tamron, and others in the R system lens lineup. So what does it matter if the lens proves to be as good a performer as it seems to be?

[Paul-B]

I quite frankly have never understood this problem, so can all this bitching about the EVF be reduced to an unwillingness to half-press the shutter?  

 

Can somebody please explain to me why half-pressing the shutter is such a problem?

For me, shooting with my Canon f/0.95 50mm, when I shoot a portrait against a window I want to zoom in to gain eye focus - in a backlit situation I need exposure preview to be on (so that I can actually see the eye), if I half press the shutter the frame zooms out and I can no longer benefit from the zoom to aid focus. I wouldn't mind pushing the (uncomfortable to use) front button so much if I didn't have to it for every single frame... Doing a model set in a window is a pain - and I shoot in that scenario a lot.

[ramarren]

For me, shooting with my Canon f/0.95 50mm, when I shoot a portrait against a window I want to zoom in to gain eye focus - in a backlit situation I need exposure preview to be on (so that I can actually see the eye), if I half press the shutter the frame zooms out and I can no longer benefit from the zoom to aid focus. I wouldn't mind pushing the (uncomfortable to use) front button so much if I didn't have to it for every single frame... Doing a model set in a window is a pain - and I shoot in that scenario a lot.

 

 

Use spot metering mode for backlit subjects.

[Leicaiste]

Leica used lens designs by Minolta, Soligor, Tamron, and others in the R system lens lineup. 

 

 

This is new for me.

 

As far as I know, Leica used only Angénieux, Minolta and Sigma designs.

[scott kirkpatrick]

This is new for me.

 

As far as I know, Leica used only Angénieux, Minolta and Sigma designs.

If you look at the Overgaard lens compendium, he lists R designs by Zeiss and Schneider, plus Kyocera (several zooms).

[Leicaiste]

If you look at the Overgaard lens compendium, he lists R designs by Zeiss and Schneider, plus Kyocera (several zooms).

 

 

True.

 

My surprise was about the Soligor and Tamron.

[tpf1952]

The SL does not work like the Sony A7 does. 

 

• You can preview what the exposure is going to be by half-pressing the shutter release or by tapping the FN button twice for exposure simulation mode with adapted lenses. (One tap on the FN does aperture simulation with dedicated lenses.) This mode resets after you make the exposure. 
• There are no focus points in Manual Focus mode. With adapted lenses, I target what I want to focus on in the center of the frame and then magnify because magnification resets to the center default each time. If working with a tripod or other fixed support and manual lenses, I magnify then target my focus point with the joystick so that I don't have to change the camera's position. 

 

That's how the SL works. Personally, I like it a lot more than the way the A7 worked: I always have a bright, clear viewfinder to focus with, and I always know exactly where magnification is going to be enabled. I can always see the preview with a shutter half press or use exposure simulation for more studied appraisals of exposure behavior. 

 

 

Thanks so much for referencing the double tap of the FN button. I missed that; extremely helpful.

 

Tom