Heart says buy an SL, Head says not ???

[fielden]

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So I have a bit of spare cash to spend at the Leica Shop 

 

I currently own a cl with the 11-23, 18-56 and R adapter with 80-200 vario-elmar.

 

My heart is telling me I want an SL which is quite attractive with the current trade in offer and I have an Olympus OMD5 to trade in.

 

But my head is saying, "What are you doing?" Are my photos going to be any better than the cl? Is there really any benefit in full frame? etc. and for that money I could I could buy a second cl body and a 35mm summilux??

 

But I know if i went to the store tomorrow I would come away with the SL.

 

Anyone else been through this dilemma? Love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

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[Chaemono]

See here:

 

[pico]

"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of... We know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart." -- Blaise Pascal

 

But that was then before dominant, rampant consumerism and immense cross-cultural semi-communication, a challenging posit.

 

A focus - what do you think the new camera will offer in terms of what you will present today? If you are considering a future when greater resolution/fidelity is common consider critical aesthetics whch have not to date cared much for accutance.

Edited October 7, 2018 by pico

[fielden]

I am sure this is what the Leica dealer would say haha

Edited October 7, 2018 by fielden

[Sandokan]

I went into the shop determined just to look at the SL. I walked out with it. My heart told me to buy it as soon as my eyes looked through the viewfinder. that was 18 months ago. 

 

No regrets. It is now the first camera I pick up when going out and the only digital camera I have used for about a year. 

[darylgo]

Great title!

 

The SL is somewhat ignored in mirrorless camera discussions on many forums (elsewhere).  When it is discussed anyone who has handled the camera wants to own one.  (Heart)

 

The lenses are large. (Head)   The lenses are unsurpassed.  (Head)

 

I didn't want to like the camera. (Heart)  

 

Best camera I've ever owned.  (Head wins, heart is happy also) 

Edited October 7, 2018 by darylgo

[thighslapper]

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I have an SL and a CL.

 

Unless I have some desperate need to save weight or space I will take the SL every time.

 

Images ARE better and have greater processing potential...... plus the whole photographic experience is simpler and more satisfying. 

[Bill W]

I have both SL and CL. Love them both and use them both. With the trade in offer, I would just DO IT and they say. Keep in mind that if you use your TL lens on the SL they effective area on the sensor is about 10 megapixels. I would get a native SL lens and especially the 24-90. Heavy yes but just superb IQ. FWIW

[Herr Barnack]

 

...Is there really any benefit in full frame?...

 

If you want to make exhibit quality prints, yes - go with full frame.  If all your images will only ever be viewed on a 'pooter screen, not so much.

 

 

...Are my photos going to be any better than the cl?...

 

It is the photographer that makes photos better or worse, not the camera.  The camera only does what it is told to do.

 

Considering the prices of the gear, buying Leica cameras and lenses should be done not on the impulse or to satisfy the gnawing of GAS that we all are subjected to.  Considerable reflection and due diligence are both highly recommended in order to avoid costly mistakes.  I look at buying Leica gear as a chess match, not a game of checkers.

 

Last but not least, don't fixate on the SL; take a long, hard look at the M10-P and the M lens lineup.

 

JMHO/YMMV/IANAL/offer not good in American Samoa on Tuesdays. 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Herr Barnack

[mich]

Listen to your heart when it comes to a person you like, but keep emotions out of business transactions.

[hteasley]

I just picked up a used SL, and have traded my CL and some lenses for the Summilux-SL 50mm.

 

The CL is great. Its lenses are amazing. For image quality, to want more is to be dissatisfied with life itself.

 

The SL is weather-sealed, its lenses are weather-sealed, and I live in Seattle. There have been many days where I was constraining myself as to which camera to take out because it was raining, and the CL fell into the "nope" camp. I'm a slight bit more careful about my gear than I used to be, so the weather sealing is sort of important to me now, especially when it's this expensive.

Edited October 8, 2018 by hteasley

[Einst_Stein]

You are lucky, at least S3 is not the question. Dont tell your heart anything about the S2 or S3.

[Mr.Q]

As much as I love the SL, I would not buy one new this far into it's production cycle. I'd look to buy used.

[CharlesL]

As much as I love the SL, I would not buy one new this far into it's production cycle. I'd look to buy used.

 

A related dilemma: go from M240 to SL, or add SL to M240, or forget SL? The argument for a used SL if any is a good one. My problem is that I feel I should try the SL, something I've never done. Am I comfortable with the size in the hand, even using adapted M lenses? Is manual focus with the magnified viewfinder an improvement for me over the rangefinder method? It feels sleazy to go into a camera shop and try out the SL knowing that if I decide to get one, it would be used from a private party, not from the store. (Some stores have used cameras, but not quite as cheap - and the sales tax is large here.) And the price of a rental is a steep increment to the cost.

 

[andrewteee]

The SL is the camera I most hemmed and hawed more than any other. For months and months. Now it's perhaps my favorite camera (along with the Ricoh GR cameras). My head wanted it to "make sense." Now my heart is fulfilled (in terms of photography ). Sure, the camera is great, but the images are what draw me in every time. It's big, it's heavy (With the 24-90) but I love what it can do in almost any situation. I can't explain it, but I know it's there. 

[Sandokan]

I have said these things many times:-

Buy Cheap, Buy Twice. 

Buy with the Heart not the Head (For Personal purchases). 

Edited October 8, 2018 by Sandokan

[howiebrou]

My head said no. I ummed and ahhhhed. I ignored my head. My heart is now happy and so is my head. Go figure.

[Mr.Q]

A related dilemma: go from M240 to SL, or add SL to M240, or forget SL? The argument for a used SL if any is a good one. My problem is that I feel I should try the SL, something I've never done. Am I comfortable with the size in the hand, even using adapted M lenses? Is manual focus with the magnified viewfinder an improvement for me over the rangefinder method? It feels sleazy to go into a camera shop and try out the SL knowing that if I decide to get one, it would be used from a private party, not from the store. (Some stores have used cameras, but not quite as cheap - and the sales tax is large here.) And the price of a rental is a steep increment to the cost.

 

Buy used and sell for a small loss if it doesn't work. It's cheaper than renting. And keep your M240 to fall back on.

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[howiebrou]

A related dilemma: go from M240 to SL, or add SL to M240, or forget SL? The argument for a used SL if any is a good one. My problem is that I feel I should try the SL, something I've never done. Am I comfortable with the size in the hand, even using adapted M lenses? Is manual focus with the magnified viewfinder an improvement for me over the rangefinder method? It feels sleazy to go into a camera shop and try out the SL knowing that if I decide to get one, it would be used from a private party, not from the store. (Some stores have used cameras, but not quite as cheap - and the sales tax is large here.) And the price of a rental is a steep increment to the cost.

 

It's not sleazy. If they provide you with a good service, reward them later with your business, whether it be a strap, thumbs-up or filter.

[darylgo]

 It feels sleazy....

 

 

So many times I have gone into a shop with no intention of a purchase, only to purchase.  If you don't go in they don't have any chance of possibly making a sale.  

 

One store would charge me tax when I could mail order and purchase non taxed, when I mentioned this to the sales person they were happy to give me a credit equivalent to the tax for goods in the store. 

 

I am not heavy handed in my approach, many times I purchase at the local store despite higher cost, I want the store to stay in business otherwise there won't be any local camera stores.