Sean Reid has just published an extensive review of SL 50

[steppenw0lf]

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Suggested strategy:

 

I you are lucky enough to have the money and get an early lens, enjoy buying it and enjoy using it.

If not, use another lens.

Avoid the following stupid strategy: Buy the lens and then start collecting examples how bad it actually is and what a terrible mistake you made buying it (and spending time in the most frustrating way (for you and others) possible).

[zlatkob]

Sean Reid updated his review today.  He talks about the advantages and disadvantages of forced correction and mentions upcoming software from Sandy McGuffog that removes the optical correction codes.  

[steppenw0lf]

AFAIK there are 3 "outstanding" 50/55 mm lenses. I mean modern constructions (f/1.4) for optimal resolution. (So I leave the M lenses aside).

The Otus 55mm . Optically excellent, but slow (manual focus) and extremely heavy. close focus at 50cm, 77mm, 1040g

The Sigma Art 50 mm, also highly praised for optical performance (?!), AF but not compatible to SL (?!), close focus 40cm, 77mm, 820g

The Summilux-SL 50mm, with AF (fast enough ?!), close focus 60cm, 82mm, 1065g

Of these 3 the SL 50 is "clearly" the most desirable. (The Sigma would be interesting if it was compatible with the Novo AF adapter)

 

Just the same all 3 seem a bit out of place in a "normal" camera bag. Too big , too expensive for many users (for me). And the discussions about (automatic) correction in software are probably important for specialists - but for a "normal" 50mm user just another burden. (but quite acceptible in a studio).

So I hope that sooner or later there comes another (less prestigious) 50/60mm lens, causing less trouble. With macro capability hopefully - and not a reference lens, but still the same very well usable. (and maybe less expensive, maybe even with faster AF) 

In the meantime I happily live with an R 50 and R 60 (and some M 50s from time to time). Glad to avoid the technical challenges of such a reference lens. (Use instead the far inferior EF 50 f/1.8 to get AF in a small package - I know it's a shame  ).

[Jared]

Try as I might, I cannot find a single 'real world' photo I have taken with the SL 50 that could be made available as a DNG that would show the differences between uncorrected and uncorrected images ....... I just do not take pictures of flat things that cover the whole frame at f1.4 - 2.8  ...... or other subjects with small enough aperture to make sure most of the frame is in focus ........ and even then most of it would be sky in the corners and entirely featureless.  

 

 

Since you just went through your pictures with the SL 50... Do you have any images that would let us know whether the performance off-center is significantly softer than in the middle of the field?  Any aperture would do, but it would probably be most obvious wide open.  I'm not talking about corners--I agree that sharpness in the extreme corners is almost irreleveant in a 50mm.  I'm wondering about if, for example, you were to compose an image using the rule of thirds, is there a noticeable falloff in performance where your main subject would lie, say, 8mm off axis?  That's about where the rule of thirds would put one's main subject.  From looking at the MTF charts, the differences look slight enough that I wouldn't expect there to be any problem or detectable softening, but I'm curious.  I'm still on the wait list for the lens so can't check for myself.  If the performance is as solid when subjects are placed using the rule of thirds, I think I'd be happy to say corner performance is a non-issue for a lens of this sort.  It's not likely to be used as a landscape lens, after all.

 

- Jared

[thighslapper]

This is all I have ......... at night, 400 iso at f1.4 handheld at 1/80 sec ......sharpened in LR and a little bit of NR. Make of it what you will .....

 

Conversion to jpg and uploading has knocked off the sharpness and added a few jaggies, but you get the general idea. Bear in mind a lot of the 'detail' in this image is generated by shadow, and off centre this becomes more oblique and less crisp. I have no comparable daytime shots.  The original was exposed so as not to blow the lamps, so a fair bit of shadow recovery was applied, highlights reduced and overall exposure increased ..... so it is hardly an optimum image for critical examination. 

 

main photo:

 

 

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[thighslapper]

Mid image 100% crop

 

 

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[thighslapper]

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[Chaemono]

The most frustrating thing about this lens are not the software corrections, it's the long wait to get one.

[steppenw0lf]

Mid image 100% crop

 

Stop showing these ....     I have to save money for other stuff.

Your crops are amazing for f/1.4 . I said I do not need 1.4, I hope I can keep my word.    

Glad that the AF is slow, hope Leica brings no improved firmware ...   Glad that the lens is too big ....    (I have to go on repeating it to me.)

Will you also make test images of your "little church" ? When the weather gets warmer again ?

 

I wonder if Jono will also show images with the lens. Would like to hear from him. (Though even tougher to resist.)

[jrp]

Optically, this lens will delight.  The contrast, even wide open, is always something of a pleasant surprise.

 

Ergonomically, you feel that you are paying the tax.  And the AF is useful, but slow.   In a lot of (daylight) situations, the more recent 50mm M lenses would be more than sufficient, albeit with different bokeh characteristics.  

[Chaemono]

Stop showing these ....     I have to save money for other stuff.

Your crops are amazing for f/1.4 . I said I do not need 1.4, I hope I can keep my word.    

Glad that the AF is slow, hope Leica brings no improved firmware ...   Glad that the lens is too big ....    (I have to go on repeating it to me.)

Will you also make test images of your "little church" ? When the weather gets warmer again ?

 

I wonder if Jono will also show images with the lens. Would like to hear from him. (Though even tougher to resist.)

 

Don't worry. The waiting period for this lens is so long that even if you succumb to temptation now, you'll have plenty of time to reconsider.

[sandymc]

Sean Reid updated his review today.  He talks about the advantages and disadvantages of forced correction and mentions upcoming software from Sandy McGuffog that removes the optical correction codes.  

 

 

For those interested, the software in question, "DNG Cleaner", is now available on the Mac App store. Sorry, no Windows version (yet).

 

It will optionally remove all of the opcodes that do lens correction, as well as compress your files, etc.

 

Sandy

[scott kirkpatrick]

I'm a long term subscriber to Sean Reid's site.  I guess my tolerance for strange website software and a certain cranky insistence on lecturing his readers about his methodologies is high enough that I can benefit from his consistent testing over the years of lenses and cameras that interest me and that I would like to see carefully compared.  I find his explanations of technical subjects often obscure and sometimes wrong, so I certainly would not cite him as an absolute authority on how cameras should work or should be designed.  But he makes a clear connection between how he wants to work, and how each camera or lens makes that easier or harder, so his articles are consistently useful.  He belongs to what you might think of as the NY School of street photographers, with Garry Winogrand and Helen Levitt as deities, Tod Papageorge, the late Ben Lifson, Lee Friedlander, and maybe Joel Meyerowitz as contemporary models.  His turf is northern New England, and motorcycle festivals in New Hampshire and Florida (at one time he ran motorcycle tours and perhaps still does).  I share some of his photographic interests and find some of his pictures enjoyable or intriguing.  If your aspirations are more towards western landscapes or colorful travel photography, you might not.

 

He has a nice way of summarizing the issue in software distortion correction (although oversimplifying it) -- paraphrasing -- which bothers you more, straight lines at the edges that are not straight or circles in the corners that aren't circular?

 

scott