S lens on an SL with the s to l adapter

[Dsauro]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi all,

 

Has anyone experimented with an S lens on the SL using the Leica S to L adapter. I’m curious as to the image quality using this S Lens on the Sl body. Additionally, has anyone compared the results of using the s lens between an Sl and the S007 body. I checked out the 120 mm macro s on my SL recently. However, my initial impression was that my R100 2.8 APO macro was sharper !

 

Would love to hear your thoughts

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[darylgo]

Could the R lens weight advantage or balance contribute to the image sharpness?  Tripod or handheld?

 

The lens I love shooting on my SL is the 70mm S.  Compact and easy to handhold, I find the images superb despite the lens having a mediocre mtf chart.

The same results when shooting it on the S2 and S006, it is an optic that rises above what the numbers would indicate.   For this reason I wouldn't buy the 

new 75mm SL lens, although it likely would be smaller, slightly sharper and have faster AF.  

[Dsauro]

Thanks.... I did do the shoot on a tripod. This Friday, I will bring the R and do a comparison with thenS120. The S is priced right as it is used and in the 9+ range for quality. My thought is that eventually I would like to jump to MF, maybe with the next iteration of the S camera. Leica tends to optimize their lenses within the ecosystem they are used in...meaning M lenses perform best on m bodies, etc. even though they are “interchangeable” between systems I currently use the 24-90 and 90-28 SL lenses. They are great!. But I’ve read so much about the optic superiority of the s lenses, I wanted to throw it out to the audience for everyone’s personal experience and input.

[darylgo]

The S lenses are reasonably priced currently, I wouldn't hesitate to buy them.  Here's what I found in my purchase of S lens:   

24mm lens, 4 samples tested, one stood out above the rest.  30mm lens, 2 samples, one worked and was optically superior to the non working model.

70mm lens, 2 samples tested, the sample with broken aperture blades was sharper, repaired and later required focus motor repair.  120mm lens, 

2 samples, least variation of any 2 lenses.  180mm lens, 2 samples, one slightly better than the other.  Neither the 120mm or 180mm lens focus accurately 

on the S cameras, both requiring a slight adjustment that clearly makes the images pop.  The SL focus is more accurate than my S cameras, however the 

same slight adjustment is required of the 120mm and 180mm.  There is clearly sample variation of S lenses, I would check that you have a good sample.  

Focus by eye with the 120mm lens, rather than AF.   The additional tripod mount supplied with the L adapter is not stable, Leica only provides a D ring to

hand tighten it, they should have provided a hex and hex wrench which gives a tighter coupling.  It is more stable to attach a plate to the adapter directly rather

than the supplied supplemental tripod mount.   The R-M adapter appears to me to be more secure with it's two hex-tightened screws, a very solid setup, despite

two adapters, R-M and M-SL.   

Edited January 25, 2018 by darylgo

[Dsauro]

Wonderful and thoughtful analysis. Thank you for your time

[ZHNL]

120 S should be sharper than 100 AEM based on MTF. You need watch out samples variation. The first one I bought was off infinity focus and AF also have problem, however, at close range it was OK. I exchanged another one which perform very consistently over condition and range.

 

120 and 180 are two optically flawless lenses I have seen, however, both 70 and 35 also super sharp but do have CA under challenge condition.

 

The whole set of S glass have very consistent rendering, top class for sure. This is the best set of matched glasses in term of resolution and bokeh out of any system I would say. Highly recommended!

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

My S120 is SPECTACULAR on the SL. Absolutely epic. I have the 35 and 70 as well and they're great. But not 120 great.

 

G1010390.jpg by Gordon Cahill, on Flickr

 

G1010411.jpg by Gordon Cahill, on Flickr

 

Gordon

[tom0511]

I shot some images with the 100/2.0 S on the SL and liked the results a lot.

I still think why use them on the SL and not on a S? They seem to focus faster and balance better on a S body.

If I used just the SL I would rather buy Sl native lenses for faster AF and smaller size.

[Ingo]

I really love the S120 on the SL. This picture is not retouched.

[Ingo]

crop.

[scott kirkpatrick]

Here's another example:

 

S1010480 by scott kirkpatrick, on Flickr

 

scott

[Kiwihenk]

I use the S 70mm and the S 30mm on my SL and both blow me away. I carry and use the 24-90 a lot but for portraits it's the Summarit 70  and for max detail the 30mm. Very pleased with all lenses but waiting desperately for a real wide angle..

 

30mm: https://flic.kr/p/WfBLx3

70mmhttps://flic.kr/p/NnFR89

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I use the S 70mm and the S 30mm on my SL and both blow me away. I carry and use the 24-90 a lot but for portraits it's the Summarit 70  and for max detail the 30mm. Very pleased with all lenses but waiting desperately for a real wide angle..

 

30mm: https://flic.kr/p/WfBLx3

70mmhttps://flic.kr/p/NnFR89

 

Don't wait. Buy a CL body and 11-23. Lens is epic and the combo is probably cheaper than the 16-35 will be.

 

Plus you get a nice boost for your SL lenses.

 

Gordon