Leica SL (Type 601) Auto Focus Tracking Capability Review

[sillbeers15]

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I've been having and using my SL (type 601) for more than 24mths and have been using both the native zooms most of the time. It has been often though by many that Leica AF capability is poor. Especially when it comes to auto focus tracking capability. I for one who have been using my APO 90-280 VE on my SL most of the time among all the lenses I paired with my SL. 

So I did a trial earlier today on setting my SL to S mode, auto ISO, 1/2000 shutter speed and set the focusing to AFC/ single point / Dynamic tracking / spot metering to take some 1000 shots of the flight display of the 2018 Singapore Airshow. Below are some of the shots to share with all.

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[sillbeers15]

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[sillbeers15]

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[dancook]

Any by comparison, today, I tried C-AF on my wife walking towards me and 50% were OOF Worked better with face detection - will try tracking next time.

[robgo2]

With regards to the airshow photos, how many were at infinity, and what was your hit rate for accurate focus?

[david strachan]

Some very nice action pictures.

 

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[gbealnz]

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WOW, these are spectacular, really impressive. Even got a two finger salute in the third one.

Gary

[sillbeers15]

With regards to the airshow photos, how many were at infinity, and what was your hit rate for accurate focus?

 

Firstly if you do not deliberately shoot towards strong back light and at low light, AF capability of camera improves. When shooting against subjects in the sky, it is sometimes risky to be in the first. If one simpily judges the focusing by looking into EVF on review based on limited screen size & by turning on focus peaking mode, you get a high hit rate of more than 85%. By when the shots get screened on computer ecreen later, I would say 50% if you are very critical. Some unclear pics are contributed by movement blur while the others I noticed a pattern of one soft shot will normally be followed after a sharply focused shot. It is when the AF tracking continues to refocus on each frame.

[LD_50]

Every high quality camera and lens, including manual focus combinations can show good results. The SL lags well behind the best AF systems.