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Best Mechanical Leica Lenses for the SL


zeleny

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I do wish that when the time comes for your son to inherit your lenses,  the SL will be a faded memory.

I bought the SL on the strength of Leica’s promise to accommodate S, R, and M lenses as well as its native designs. I am counting on something of this sort to be available in the long run.

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I am specifically concerned with SL compatibility and performance.

 All the best (ie. summilux/summicron current M) Leica lenses perform as well if not better on the SL than the M or R Leica bodies. The older design M w/a lenses are the only poor performers and then only in the periphery. 

 

If you want lenses which are going to have some optical longevity and value  I would include: WATE, Noctilux, 50/2 apo, 75/1.4m or 80/1.4r, 90/2m, 60 &100/2.8r macro apo, 135/3.4m, 280/4r apo, any of the w/a current summiluxes, (+/-SE 21/3.4), apo R extenders. Many of the R equivalents are similar design and performance to their M counterparts and differ only in size. 

 

There are other older Leica lenses that have some ongoing value due to rarity/oddity ..... but optical performance is not that wonderful and are really collectors pieces. Leica are sure to include backwards compatibility with manual lenses in future digital bodies. 

 

If you are more interested in lens collecting then I would read Puts' Leica Pocket book at the least....  and preferably his larger Leica Compendium which goes into far more detail. A quick look at eBay will show you where the money is ....

 

If cash is no object you are in for a fun time ......  :)

Edited by thighslapper
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  • 2 years later...

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The Summilux M ASPH did not do so great for me on the S1...I would test it on the SL first to see how well you like it. The R summicron is a great option, as would be an M summicron, particularly one a bit older, as it will be cheaper but optically the same (from 79 on I believe). The 50mm Zeiss Planar M would be good too. If you do not mind a slower lens, the the 45mm Sigma DC lens has good build quality and a nice optical character for a good price. I was not too happy with the sharpness until f5.6, but at those apertures it is very good. (These suggestions are to Glasto, not the OP...)

Edited by Stuart Richardson
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The R lenses being a little larger definitely balance better on the SL than the M ones, optically excellent though they can be - and of course the R glass is (generally) considerably cheaper. The E55 Summicron-R 50mm may have a slight edge over the earlier version, but I have that first one and find it excellent on my SL. It was €199 from the Munich branch of Meister a few months ago, in pristine condition, and for that sort of money it's a real bargain. I suppose the separate hood is marginally less convenient than the E55's built-in one, but it does reverse on to the lens body when not in use.

It depends I suppose on how important it is to you to save €300-400. 

(I also got the Elmarit-R 90 from them at the same time, at the same price - another bargain.)

Edited by Musotographer
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16 hours ago, Glasto said:

I have recently acquired an SL and I would like a sharp 50 lens with good colour rendition that wil not cost the earth. Any suggestions

If you are prepared to move outside of the Leica universe there are of course many lenses to choose from. 

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Current M 21/3.4, 35/1.4, 50/1.4 and 75/2 or 90/4. The SL by all accounts is designed to work well with these and since you want the 'best', these fit the bill as well as anything can do. That said, I prefer a few other, older lenses myself but that is because to me other are the lenses I like the 'best' so its not a simple question.

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