Nikon Z6, Z7 and Leica SL ..... (merged)

[tom0511]

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75 SL Summicron is fine for me, so would be the 35 and 50 Summicrons, if one could actually buy one - one day. They are comparable in size to the Nikon S 35/50mm. They do cost however about 5 times the price.

The SL 50/1.4 is really big.

The 24-90 is really big as well, however a very useful range.

I would prefer a 50 Summicron instead of my 50/1.4 for better portability and faster AF, I would prefer to also have a more compact 80-200/4.0 over a 90-280 lens (which is optically very good but its a big lens), I would like to add a 35 Summicron but have a hard time to spend the price and also to have to wait for weeks or months after ordering one.

Have a loaner Z7 at home right now with a 50/1.8S. This lens seems surprisingly good to me.

If I compare the Z7 with the SL...

• Z7 smaller and lighter 
• Z7 clearly faster AF
• OIS doesnt hurt
• Button Layout of both cameras works fine for me, Nikon maybe even slightly better (for example the on/off switch)
• Viewfinder..SL slightly better but Nikon seems really good too
• Built: Leica feels more "industrial"
• Auto WB and WB presets in LR of the Nikon are not good (IMO), Auto WB of SL is very good
• IQ with 50 primes - I can not see much difference, except the Nikon has more resolution

The M is a unique system, but the SL has strong competition now. Also I feel the optical advantages of Leica get smaller since lenses of other brands get better.

 

 

 

 

[tom0511]

Am 2.3.2019 um 18:10 schrieb Agent M10:

The primes are small and light, considering the AF motors, glass, and aluminum. If you want smaller you could opt for M lenses. I think that is part of the brilliance of the SL. You can choose to have state-of-the-art primes or, if you want smaller, you can go with manual M lenses. There really isn't anything in between unless you want to give up a number of f-stops, like an AF Summaron or something. 

Only small and light primes available are 75 and 90 at the moment. OK, 35 follows soon in small numbers. Takes too long IMO. 

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[caissa]

It is amazing that an old (more than 3 years, that is several digital generations) SL can still be compared with a new Z7 and is not completely lost.  (In thoughts I compare with the alpha cameras (mark I to III): Whenever they came out, they were "the greatest". And a few months later the newest was much much better than the old. So a generation III is now uncomparable with gen II or even gen I. )

The real comparison is between Z and S1R and SL2 (at the end of the year hopefully)😎.

Edited March 6, 2019 by caissa

[caissa]

I have been using Nikon DSLRs since 2000, so I have still a bunch of old AF-D lenses. Is it still true that they cannot use AF on the Z6 Z7 ? Then a D800 or D850 is still more useful for me.

I have been using them on the SL with manual focusing and hoped that they would be AF-enabled again with a Nikon mirrorless .... But it seems not to be the case, yet ? Too bad ...

Anybody knows if a solution is in reach ? A special Adapter for AF-D ?   (No, the Techart is not what I'm looking for, adapting Nikon to M, and M to Techart, and Techart with special Adapter to Z. This stinks.      If there was a Techart for L-mount perhaps, but even then only a cruch.)

Edited March 6, 2019 by caissa

[rob_w]

8 hours ago, tom0511 said:

I feel the optical advantages of Leica get smaller since lenses of other brands get better

Really agree with this.  Have been using Leica for 40 years.  Now very tired of waiting for the Summicron-L 50 and the SL2 -- Leica are just too slow.  Researching the Z and the EOS R, the best lenses in both systems produce amazing results compared to what they manufactured a decade or two in the past.  My loyalty is being sorely tested.

[caissa]

For me the SL won me back (first I had Leica R, but in digital age I had to switch to Nikon) by reviving the R and M lenses. Later came the extraordinary SL lenses. Why would I ever go back to CaNikon (I never left completely) just because a few newer lenses are getting better and closing a gap. They are still not better than Leica lenses.

The Canon mirrorless is not attractive (resolution, ibis) and certainly not a pro camera. The Z7 is almost as good as the excellent D850, but still not completely there. Currently no compelling reason for me.

And the fun and haptics of SL are still great. And the native lens choice (soon) simply incredible.

 

And I have a different attitude. For me it is fun to use a Leica. More than CaNikon actually. I do not feel like doing a favour to Leica when buying their equipment. Or do you think you do a favour to RollsRoyce if you drive their cars ? Or fly in a plane equipped with their engines ?

Edited March 6, 2019 by caissa

[tom0511]

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If I buy Leica I buy it because I enjoy using it and enjoy the results.

I am not a fan of manual focus due to the subjects I photograph, so I am somewhat dissappointed that it takes Leica soo long to bring the midsized Summicrons for the SL to market. Its 3 years now and the 35 and 50 can not yet be bought. I even bought the more expensive, and slower to focus, and somewhat big for my taste 50 Summilux because I felt I wouldnt want to wait forever for  50 AF prime. And yes, its an excellent lens for sure.

I really think 28/35/50/90 Summicrons should have been available in the first 15 months after the SL appeared on the market. And I think that today the competition for Leica (SL and S, not M) has increased and I would appreciate a lot if Leica would include this situation in their pricing strategy. I also would love to have options for the SL comparable to the M:

-competitive priced Summarits which are still very good lenses

-higher (than Summarits) priced Summicrons

-exotic priced exotic lenses like the 50 Apo, Noctiluxes, 28 Summilux etc.

Edited March 6, 2019 by tom0511

[rob_w]

19 hours ago, caissa said:

And the native lens choice (soon) simply incredible.

Indeed.  "Soon" is the operative word.

I last used Canon when it looked like Leica would not have a digital future - so before the M8.  There was no comparison in those days.  My R and M lenses were in a different league and, like many of us, I contemplated staying with film.  Today, if you look at say the Canon RF 50/1.2 or the RF 28-70/2.0 zoom, the results are stunning.  Canon have lifted their game and closed the gap.

Don't get me wrong.  I'd love to stay with Leica.  But it's taken 4 years for the SL range to include 2 summicron primes.  I don't want to wait another 4 years or use the clunky alternatives from Panasonic.

 

[Henry Taylor]

I just pick up a new Nikon Z6 and  now looking for the best adapter to  mount my my Leica R lenses . Any suggestions would be appreciated .

I already had been using my Leica  R 350  f4.5  on a Nikon D600  for  air shows. The Leica 350mm  not only worked great for capturing these planes in flight but also  turned out to  be be a wonderful lens for shooting portraits. I decided to  get more R lenses to  use with my new Nikon Z6. I was unpleasantly surprised how the prices for  good used R lenses has sky rocketed . Fortunately I was able to  find these at reasonable prices based on today's market. 

APO 180 F3.4

Summilux 80 F1.4

Summicron 50  F2

 Summicron 35 Rom

Thanks for sharing

Hank

[Jeff S]

On 3/6/2019 at 12:01 AM, tom0511 said:

 

• OIS doesnt hurt

 

 

 

 

I think you mean IBIS (body) vs OIS (lens), which some lenses additionally have.

Jeff

[mmradman]

On 6/28/2019 at 2:47 PM, Henry Taylor said:

I just pick up a new Nikon Z6 and  now looking for the best adapter to  mount my my Leica R lenses . Any suggestions would be appreciated .

I already had been using my Leica  R 350  f4.5  on a Nikon D600  for  air shows. The Leica 350mm  not only worked great for capturing these planes in flight but also  turned out to  be be a wonderful lens for shooting portraits. I decided to  get more R lenses to  use with my new Nikon Z6. I was unpleasantly surprised how the prices for  good used R lenses has sky rocketed . Fortunately I was able to  find these at reasonable prices based on today's market. 

APO 180 F3.4

Summilux 80 F1.4

Summicron 50  F2

 Summicron 35 Rom

Thanks for sharing

Hank

For adapter try Novoflex.

[willeica]

1 hour ago, mmradman said:

For adapter try Novoflex.

+ 1. Can be ordered from the factory, just a bit further south than Wetzlar.

William

[mmradman]

7 minutes ago, willeica said:

+ 1. Can be ordered from the factory, just a bit further south than Wetzlar.

William

For those in USA order from B&H may be easier.

[willeica]

1 hour ago, mmradman said:

For those in USA order from B&H may be easier.

Check the price and add the tax and see how it affects you. For me the B&H price would have been twice the price of getting the item from the factory.

William

[Henry Taylor]

Thanks I just put in my order, I already tried out another unit made by Fotasy which works however it dosn't seem to  fit as sung as I think it should, there is a little play in it.  Looking forward in trying my new Novoflex

[250swb]

Just a 'heads up' but Sean Reid has just published the start of his in-depth investigation of the Nikon Z7, beginning with it's native lenses but he'll be moving on to how rangefinder lenses perform in due course.