Andrew Gough Posted April 3, 2018 Share #1 Posted April 3, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have just added my long tern review of the SL 50mm. At the same link are my mini reviews of the SL 75mm & 90mm. Have a look! www.aphotovid.com Please feel free to add other reviews to the thread. Thanks Andrew 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 3, 2018 Posted April 3, 2018 Hi Andrew Gough, Take a look here SL Lens Reviews. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Andrew Gough Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share #2 Posted April 3, 2018 Looks like the link is not working for some reason. It worked earlier??? Lens reviews here 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Warwick Posted April 3, 2018 Share #3 Posted April 3, 2018 Nice reviews, thanks for posting. I noted you have a M 50 APO (ie, best of the best of M lenses), but concluded that the SL 50 was superior for image quality. I’ve tried both the SL 50mm and SL 75mm, and thought both (especially the SL 75mm) had higher sharpness and pixel acuity than I can achieve off my M 50mm APO for large prints. To me, it’s as though the M 50 APO is recording quite a lot of the same fine detail as the SL primes...... BUT, at the same time, what seems to be the difference is the M 50 APO doesn’t seem to produce such incredible “bite” compared to these SL primes. The latter seem to have superior pixel acuity and less “blur” in large prints. Is there a difference in design, and / or sensor design (microlenses?) that are required due to M lenses being pocket-sized that mean it’s likely that M lenses will always have lower pixel acuity and more “blur” compared to these remarkable SL primes? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ropo54 Posted April 3, 2018 Share #4 Posted April 3, 2018 Andrew: I enjoyed reading your review of the SL 50. It has become my favorite lens. Rob 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Gough Posted April 4, 2018 Author Share #5 Posted April 4, 2018 (edited) Hi Jon, I think that Leica is designing the SL lenses to have greater sharpness and more 3d than the equivalent M lens. By 3d, I mean a more pronounced falloff on the rear of the focus plane. Af will allow much more focus accuracy, consequently, this can be designed into the lenses. I think that M lenses generally are designed to have a gentler fall off which will allow for easier manual focusing. The SL 50mm is a no compromise lens, probably one of the best lenses that Leica has ever made. Andrew Edited April 4, 2018 by Andrew Gough 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Gough Posted April 4, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted April 4, 2018 Hi Rob, The 50mm is a great lens, my favourite 50mm now too. Thank you for the kind words!. Andrew 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfarkas Posted April 5, 2018 Share #7 Posted April 5, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Andrew, nice images! I'll throw my hat into the ring. Here's my 50 Lux SL review: Leica Summilux-SL 50mm f/1.4 ASPH Review: A New Standard And 90-280 SL review: Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm f/2.8-4 Lens Review: Telephoto Titan for the SL (Typ 601) I'm currently working on my full review for the 75 SL as we speak. Hope to be finishing it up in the next week and will post it here. 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkwok Posted April 6, 2018 Share #8 Posted April 6, 2018 Thanks Andrew, The images are great. The subjects just pop out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meerec Posted April 6, 2018 Share #9 Posted April 6, 2018 Looks like the link is not working for some reason. It worked earlier??? Lens reviews here Nice review and images. I think you made a typo in the second last paragraph. You probably meant to say 75 not 50. I quote it here … And by the way, the SL 75 APO is a stellar lens too. As for value for money, well until the recently announced SL 50mm APO Summicron ships, this is the only auto focus game in town for the Leica SL. Yes, you can shoot the M mount lenses, and I do, especially, when I need something small and light. But for getting “the shot” I’ll reach for this lens every time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caissa Posted May 1, 2018 Share #10 Posted May 1, 2018 (edited) Mr. Windecker has published several test reports with the newer lenses. For example with the SL 50: https://norbertwindecker.blogspot.ch/2017/06/erfahrungsbericht-review-leica-summilux.html And since the 3.1 firmware the lens is now even faster and quieter. And the new SL 16-35 : https://norbertwindecker.blogspot.ch/2018/04/erfahrungsbericht-test-review-leica.html and the SL 75: https://norbertwindecker.blogspot.ch/2018/01/erfahrungsbericht-test-review-leica-apo.html Edited May 1, 2018 by caissa Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfarkas Posted May 4, 2018 Share #11 Posted May 4, 2018 Okay, so this took a little longer to post than I expected with recent travel and other testing, but... Here's my take on the 75 SL with lots of sample images and a head-to-head comparison with the 75 APO M. Leica APO-Summicron-SL 75mm f/2 ASPH Review 7 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VVJ Posted May 4, 2018 Share #12 Posted May 4, 2018 David, I read the review yesterday. Excellent review! Thanks for that! One comment though. It is clear that Leica made an effort to make the second batch of lenses lighter... but 700g is still the weight of a Noctilux and not really light... some truly light lenses to complement the bigger lenses (especially for travel) would still very much be appreciated... Thanks, Joris. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted May 5, 2018 Share #13 Posted May 5, 2018 David, thanks for another interesting review. The improvements (not just autofocus) over the excellent 75 Summicron-M seem to be real, but I have one question -- why do the bokeh balls become lemon-shaped away from the center of the frame in several pictures? Is that a consequence of the design tricks that are played to give a quicker drop-off in sharpness away from the plane of focus? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Warwick Posted May 5, 2018 Share #14 Posted May 5, 2018 Thanks David for the great review, as your's always are. Your test clearly shows the SL 75mm pulls noticeably ahead versus the M lens at f2 -- curious if you also see a clear difference when both are stopped down to (say) f 5.6, or if the difference then is very subtle? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardC Posted May 5, 2018 Share #15 Posted May 5, 2018 why do the bokeh balls become lemon-shaped away from the center of the frame in several pictures? That is because the apparent shape of the aperture, as seen from the rear of the the lens, becomes oval away from the center of the image when the lens is not stopped-down. Out-of-focus highlights have the same shape as this aperture. You can observe this by holding-up a lens (or even a paper tube) against a bright surface. When viewed straight-on, the lens opening looks circular. When the lens is tilted, it starts to look like a Venn diagram made of two circles: the front of the lens is one, and the back of the lens is the other. All lenses have this behaviour to a certain extent, but some optical designs are more prone to it. It also contributes to mechanical vignetting at wide apertures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted May 5, 2018 Share #16 Posted May 5, 2018 David, I read the review yesterday. Excellent review! Thanks for that! One comment though. It is clear that Leica made an effort to make the second batch of lenses lighter... but 700g is still the weight of a Noctilux and not really light... some truly light lenses to complement the bigger lenses (especially for travel) would still very much be appreciated... Thanks, Joris. It ballances very well on the SL. I find it noticably smaller and lighter than the 50 or the Zoom. More than I expected from the images. If you look at portrait lenses from Canon, Nikon etc. they are mostly f1.4 and even bigger, or the 1.8 version lighter but not on the same optical level. For my taste the f2.0 is a very good compromise. Its not a compact system but then it is also full frame sensor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VVJ Posted May 5, 2018 Share #17 Posted May 5, 2018 (edited) It ballances very well on the SL. I find it noticably smaller and lighter than the 50 or the Zoom. More than I expected from the images. If you look at portrait lenses from Canon, Nikon etc. they are mostly f1.4 and even bigger, or the 1.8 version lighter but not on the same optical level. For my taste the f2.0 is a very good compromise. Its not a compact system but then it is also full frame sensor. If Leica can make a Elmarit 28mm/f2.8 for M and TL why would they not be able to do the same for the SL? It should not weigh 700g... The Sony GM lenses are only a little bit lighter than the Leica SL lenses but Sony does also have lenses like the 55mm (281g), the 35mm/f2.8 (120g) and the 28mm (200g) which can make the A9 more compact and especially much lighter whenever you want that without losing AF, close focusing distance and/or resolution. Edited May 5, 2018 by JorisV Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted May 5, 2018 Share #18 Posted May 5, 2018 That is because the apparent shape of the aperture, as seen from the rear of the the lens, becomes oval away from the center of the image when the lens is not stopped-down. Out-of-focus highlights have the same shape as this aperture. You're right. I just confirmed it with an R SX 80 on my SL. Wide open, and focused close, it is quite apparent with distant light sources. Since the new lenses are fairly long and complex, it will be something to look out for if you don't want it to be distracting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Gough Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share #19 Posted May 7, 2018 My Initial Preview of the 16-35mm is up, with sample images. Please feel free to share! http://www.aphotovid.com/super-vario-elmar-sl-16-35-f-3-5-4-5-asph-preview/ 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Gough Posted June 20, 2018 Author Share #20 Posted June 20, 2018 Just published my SL 16-35mm Full review http://www.aphotovid.com/leica-super-vario-elmar-sl-16-35-f-3-5-4-5-asph-full-review/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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