Should Leica make a 24-240 travel lens, even if image quality is compromised?

[wlaidlaw]

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I am currently doing a classic car rally in Myanmar and mainly using my SL (appropriate as I am driving a Mercedes 280SL - Pagoda) and 24-90. I have also a CL plus 35 ASPH Summicron for film. My brother is using a Sony A7-II full frame mirrorless, with their fairly new 24-240mm lens. There were a number of times I would have liked a lens longer than 90 but for weight plus to avoid changing lenses in very dusty conditions, I did not bring my 90-280SL. Now reviews of the 24-240 have mentioned its slow speed at the longer lengths and that inevitably there are some optical and image compromises. My question is: Should Leica make such a lens for the SL?

 

If you don't have the right lens on your camera, it does not matter how good the image would have been if you had had it mounted, as you have not taken the image. Also I am sure Leica could do better than Sony, as economics/price would play a smaller role in the lens design. I do quite a lot of travelling and I certainly would be a customer for such a lens. FYI, the Sony lens weighs 780gr against the Leica 24-90 at 1150gr.

 

Wilson

[LocalHero1953]

I don't think I would be a customer. I use the 24-90 more than the 90-280, and I can get the SL plus both lenses in one bag. I've just spent a day carrying this combination around at the Blackpool Dance Festival; although heavy, it was manageable, and I would not wish to sacrifice aperture for the sake of having a single lens.

 

I suspect if I really wanted such a FL package, I'd look to see if there was a µ4/3 combination, which would be cheaper and lighter, for the limited use it would get.

 

What is the aperture of the Sony at the longest end?

[wlaidlaw]

Paul,

 

The Sony 24-240 is f3.5 to f6.3

 

Wilson

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I have the Sony 24-240. For exactly the reasons you describe. But I almost never use it. I just know if I were to carry a bit more weight I would have something so much better.

 

However it is possible to make a good one. The Olympus 24-200 equivalent (12-100) looks fantastic. I'll probably get one and sell my Sony lens. I have a Pen F.

 

So, I would buy one but not if it's optically compromised. And it has to have IS. Make me a 24-200 f4-5.6 IS that's great optically and I'm all over it. Even a 24-160 would be nice.

 

Gordon

[steppenw0lf]

I have a Nikon 28-200, a tiny lens. It's sharp and weighs less than a pound. It is ideal for travel. I can attach it to the SL. But I never use it.

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[wattsy]

I agree with the basic proposition that a half decent lens of the required focal length on the camera is always worth more than a fantastic "benchmark setting" lens in the bag but I doubt that Leica would make a 24-200mm lens, even with a modest maximum aperture, without it being roughly the size of a small beer barrel. Small lenses just don't seem to be their style in recent years (the 28 Summaron reissue being a very rare outlier).

[thighslapper]

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Not a chance, Wilson.

 

The Leica brand is built on image quality first .... and everything else takes a second place. 

 

I don't think they would ever contemplate the compromises needed to produce a compact 24-240 ...... 

 

They do however make SL quality lighter and smaller lenses for the T ....... which is the SL's forgotten smaller brother. A T body is small, compact and light and also provides a useful back-up for the SL 

[Guest VVJ]

Not a chance, Wilson.

 

The Leica brand is built on image quality first .... and everything else takes a second place. 

 

I don't think they would ever contemplate the compromises needed to produce a compact 24-240 ...... 

 

They do however make SL quality lighter and smaller lenses for the T ....... which is the SL's forgotten smaller brother. A T body is small, compact and light and also provides a useful back-up for the SL 

 

As I don't use long lenses very often I went for the T 55-135mm (80-200mm eq) instead.  The SL 90-280 is too heavy and too expensive for my limited usage...

 

Unfortunately the 55-135mm does not have OIS which would have been really useful.

 

About the T being forgotten, sadly mainly by Leica itself it seems...

[dkCambridgeshire]

Wilson, I have a Panasonic 'Leica D Vario-Elmar' 14-150mm f3.5-5.6 ASPH which weighs 583g. Being a 4/3 lens it can be used via a 4/3 to M4/3 adapter on any M4/3 camera and with the latest Olympus EM-1 Mk II would be fast focusing - and offer a greater zoom range (28-300mm FF equivalent) than the Sony 24-240mm. Performance is excellent; weight is very manageable; length with caps and reversed hood 11.5cm; length fully extended 16cm (19cm with hood attached). Sure it's a Pana-Leica but horses for courses and it would likely be a superb car rally tool. And there's a certain d-d dealer with two in stock at bargain prices i.e. less than half the original new price. A very scarce and little known lens and a real gem. 

 

Likely not a case of 'should Leica make a 24-240mm SL?' but more a case of 'would they?' Unlikely - given their current road map, potential demand, and the design effort required. 

 

Do you still use your M4/3 camera? As the 14-150 lens is a D Vario-Elmar its images could be posted on the forum. 

 

Good luck with the rally.

 

dunk 

 

EDIT: the OIS lens is also compatible with the Olympus EC14 and EC20  (1.4x and 2x extenders) and gives good results with same 

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4049795  … but those users have likely never tried to hold an SL with a 24-90 or 90-280!

[LD_50]

I wouldn't buy any low quality lens for the SL system. It makes no sense to me to buy into this system and settle for low quality.

 

If Leica did make a super zoom I wouldn't expect it to be small or low cost. They need to fill out the system before adding lenses like this. I don't expect it to ever happen.

 

As for the TL system being left behind I don't see it. There are several small primes, a macro, a couple nice zooms covering 16-200mm. If they included an integrated EVF I might buy one to be able to have the small size and built in crop factor with the SL lenses.