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Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm


Ivar B

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Hei Ivar.

 

The 280mm APO-R is an excellent performer on the SL (ex1, ex2, ex3), but today I use - and prefer - the even more excellent SL 90-280. Dimensions are fairly similar (280-APO has a weight of 1.87 kg og is 21 cm long; the 90-280 weights 1.7 kg and is 24 cm long). I keep the 280 APO primarily for use on the S006. In case you get the 280mm APO-R, make sure that you get the APO-versions of the 1.4 and 2.0 extenders.

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I have this lens for years and was thinking about selling it when the 90-280 SL was released. I also had a short time with the 90-280. To me on SL they are on the same level. I can't figure out any difference in practice. I sold it because I don't need this flexibility of 90-280 on one lens.

And since the 280 APO can be used with the two APO 1.4 and 2.0 extenders plus it can be mounted on a M with EVF I keep this old heavy lens.

On both cameras - SL and M10 - I have best experience. 

This combo gives me more flexibility instead of SL 90-280 because

1. for everything I do with shorter tele lenses I have a lot of small M-lenses up to Telyt-M 135 - so I hardly ever need the bulky 90-280 for portrait etc. 

2. in case I really need more than about 180 mm I can manage up to 560mm with the 280 APO plus extenders in best quality - and only in these cases I need to carry that heavy stuff with me. I don't want to carry a bulky lens for 90 - 180 mm needs.

So - in the end my decision is not that much driven by optical performance but by practical use for my needs. Both lenses are world's best for 280mm. 

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Hei Ivar.

 

The 280mm APO-R is an excellent performer on the SL (ex1, ex2, ex3), but today I use - and prefer - the even more excellent SL 90-280. Dimensions are fairly similar (280-APO has a weight of 1.87 kg og is 21 cm long; the 90-280 weights 1.7 kg and is 24 cm long). I keep the 280 APO primarily for use on the S006. In case you get the 280mm APO-R, make sure that you get the APO-versions of the 1.4 and 2.0 extenders.

 

Actually, the converters is important for me. 280mm is frequently too short for example for birds, and I believe that quality is to a large extend retained with the APO-extenders. The best solutuion might be an extender for the 90-280, but as far as I know there are no indication that one will be made available.

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Actually, the converters is important for me. 280mm is frequently too short for example for birds, and I believe that quality is to a large extend retained with the APO-extenders. The best solutuion might be an extender for the 90-280, but as far as I know there are no indication that one will be made available.

 

 

I agree regarding the need/usefulness of extenders. The 280+1.4 extender shows hardly any degradation of the image quality at all as far as I can tell (and based on what I have read/seen). And an aperture of f5.6 is not too bad. The 2.0x extender is also working very well. 

 

Two issues with the 280 APO compared with the 90-280 are that the former is more prone to flare, and that I prefer the colours of the 90-280.

 

It is unfortunate that Leica hasn't extenders available for the 90-280. There could be optical-technical reasons for this, like problems with af. Or it simply boils down to low priority.

 

As stated elsewhere, I would like to see a 400+mm f4 SL lens. Or, even better, a Fresnel-type of tele lens. I have the Nikon 300mm f4 PF lens; it's very small, light-weight and it focuses very, very fast. And it's quite good, optically speaking. Interestingly, Nikon appears to bring out a 600mm f5.6 Fresnel lens soon. I would be more than surprised if Leica subscribes to the Fresnel optics, but the weight and size reductions can be substantial.

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anhumm40.jpg

female Anna's Hummingbird

Leica SL, 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R

 

ambitt11.jpg

American Bittern

Leica SL, 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R

 

 

I've also used the Canon FD 500mm f/4.5 L on the SL

 

gwteal04.jpg

Green-winged Teal

Leica SL, FD 500mm f/4.5 L

 

rbsaps03.jpg

Red-breasted x Red-naped Sapsucker hybrid

Leica SL, FD 500mm f/4.5 L

 

I found that the lack of any stabilization was the biggest drawback, particularly when using viewfinder magnification for critical focus.  Other than this the performance of these lenses on the SL is nothing short of outstanding.

 

I've also used the 90-280 APO and for my uses the optical stabilization ought to be dialed back a notch or two (not possible with current firmware).  It was very difficult to keep the focus point on a slowly moving animal because of the OS system's lag.

bthare07.jpg

Black-tailed Hare ("Jackrabbit")

Leica SL, 90-280 APO

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I too have the long zoom on the Leica SL and have some great images form it, but as has been noted here, it's cumbersome to use without a tripod. I've recently acquired a 280mm Telyt R lens this past weekend for use on my SL and was very surprised at the quality achievable with the 280, hand held, on its own, and also with the APO x2 extender. I've only had time to shoot a few test shots but I can say I'm very glad I opted for this lens. It works very well on the SL using the R-M/M-L adaptors and the R-L. The R-L adaptor give as more solid feel to the combination, especially if you then add the x2 converter to get to 560mm.

 

Here are some examples from my brief testing - these are only 1200 x 800, 300Kb JPGs which lose quite a bit of their sparkle and bite when compressed to this degree. They were taken in and just outside the Dealer's shop in London on a pretty grey day:

 

gallery_21411_5856_154198.jpg

 

 

Leica 280mm f4 R Telyt Lens on a Leica SL body, handheld - cropped

 

 

gallery_21411_5856_254293.jpg

 

 

Leica 280mm f4 R Telyt Lens with 2x APO Extender on a Leica SL body, handheld - cropped

 

gallery_21411_5856_240405.jpg

 

 

Leica 280mm f4 R Telyt Lens on a Leica SL body, handheld - cropped

 

The focussing aids available on the SL make it so much easier to use these lenses, particularly if your eyesight struggles with just the EVF image alone, but if you have a steady hand you can get some great images in the street with this lens and it isn't so difficult to handle as the big 90-280 zoom. I can recommend the Telyt - it's a cracker.

 

Mike

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I too have the long zoom on the Leica SL and have some great images form it, but as has been noted here, it's cumbersome to use without a tripod.

I’m not sure who wrote that. If ‘helged’ Is correct, the zoom is a bit lighter and only marginally longer. And since only the zoom has OIS, one would think that would give the zoom the advantage for handholding.

 

It seems that the bulk of the zoom is more of a concern for those who would prefer smaller options for focal lengths at the shorter end of the 90-280 range. And there’s the concern over the max 280 due to lack of extender. But the handhold-ability of the zoom has been cited in other threads as a nice bonus..... although a tripod might improve IQ with any lens.

 

Jeff

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 years later...

After the release of the SL 100-400 f/5.6-6 sparked a real hype about L-mount telephoto lenses, I would like to reactivate this somewhat older discussion.

I bought a used Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm with a 1.4x TC last week to use it on my SL2-S. I usually use my Canon gear for wildlife photography due to the lack of large aperture telephoto lenses for L-mount. I would be more than happy if one day Leica introduced a new telephoto lens with a fixed focal length of at least 400 mm plus a converter...

My first impression of the Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm with 1.4x TC is absolutely positive! Crazy sharp, nice bokeh and very handy. Focusing on the SL2-S is quite easy. With a little practice, the number of blurred images is small.

OIS also seems to work reasonably well. At least I can get sharp pictures with 1/125 handheld.

A question for all users of this combination: Which lens profile do you choose to make the best use of the OIS? The Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm in combination with converters is not available in the camera menu. Only the Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm alone can be selected.

I look forward to your answers and your experience with the SL2-(S).

I will post some sample images from this morning, maybe some of you can also share some images 😉 

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Some roe deer in front of Nymphenburg Castle in Munich. It was the first time in 8 years that I caught a male roe deer with the castle in the background.

Leica SL2-S with Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm with Apo-TC-R 1.4x, 1/200 sec, f 5.6 ISO 400 handheld.

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Edited by mschuette
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Leica SL2-S with Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm with Apo-TC-R 1.4x, 1/160 sec, f 5.6, ISO 800 handheld.

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6 hours ago, mschuette said:

After the release of the SL 100-400 f/5.6-6 sparked a real hype about L-mount telephoto lenses, I would like to reactivate this somewhat older discussion.

I bought a used Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm with a 1.4x TC last week to use it on my SL2-S. I usually use my Canon gear for wildlife photography due to the lack of large aperture telephoto lenses for L-mount. I would be more than happy if one day Leica introduced a new telephoto lens with a fixed focal length of at least 400 mm plus a converter...

My first impression of the Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm with 1.4x TC is absolutely positive! Crazy sharp, nice bokeh and very handy. Focusing on the SL2-S is quite easy. With a little practice, the number of blurred images is small.

OIS also seems to work reasonably well. At least I can get sharp pictures with 1/125 handheld.

A question for all users of this combination: Which lens profile do you choose to make the best use of the OIS? The Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm in combination with converters is not available in the camera menu. Only the Apo-Telyt-R 4.0/280mm alone can be selected.

I look forward to your answers and your experience with the SL2-(S).

I will post some sample images from this morning, maybe some of you can also share some images 😉 

Yes, the 280APO-R is excellent! In order to get best/correct image stabilisation with the 280+1.4x extender, you need to use the correct focal length. In this case a 400 mm lens. I use 400APO-R f2.8 for the mentioned combo. 

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vor 2 Stunden schrieb helged:

Yes, the 280APO-R is excellent! In order to get best/correct image stabilisation with the 280+1.4x extender, you need to use the correct focal length. In this case a 400 mm lens. I use 400APO-R f2.8 for the mentioned combo. 

Thank you for the advice. It's exactly what I did. And it seems to work 😉

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