Ordered the SL today

[Brian C in Az]

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I've been reading through the various forums and subforums for weeks, as well as looking at other sites. Comparing sensor sizes, trying to determine what bodies will work well with my large assortment of R lenses, wondering what to do with my R bodies (two R-4 and an R-7) that have been idle for 7 or 8 years since almost all the film shops within 100 miles closed up (except for one)...... The process literally gave me headaches on a couple occasions.

I had finally decided that I want a full frame sensor, ruling out MF due to the likelihood/ probability of some of my lenses not filling/ covering the sensor completely (probably the wrong term) and suffering unwanted vignetting on shots (yes I know that I can crop in processing). I was very hesitant to order the SL as it is already a couple of years old and typically when I buy 2 or 3 year old technology, the  manufacturer promptly offers something new and better making my new purchase obsolete within a few months. I'm hoping, and I feel more confident this time, that Leica won't do that to me. I considered the Hasselblad, but found a few dissatisfied customers and it is a more specialized camera than the SL. The SL seems to be  closer to an R in function and designed purpose than the other models.

I flip flopped on the R to L adapter so many times that I lost count. It was in my shopping cart on 4 different occasions....

Today, I call Adorama. Told them I am buying a new iMac, had it in my shopping cart, and was seriously interested in the SL. It was cheaper on Amazon, but I prefer to buy from Adorama or B&H since they are brick and mortar stores with a long history and authorized dealers. He quickly matched the Amazon price. I asked for a better deal if I bought the 24-90 zoom. He was willing to do so, but then mentioned that they just took in a brand new 24-90 and offered it to me for almost a thousand less than new with a money back guarantee and a 6 month P&L warranty. That made the decision easy. I get the lens that was designed for the camera. Fully functioning AF, Exposure, etc etc.... As good as the R lens were when new, I believe that the SL lens must be better in some regard. 20 years is a long time. Plus there are significant differences between what is optimal light for a sensor and what is optimal light and lens coatings for film. I found several references to the light having to be bent slightly to strike the outer pixels vertically in order to them to be exposed optimally; film doesn't require that bending and the R lenses don't have that designed into them. The R lenses are undoubtably fantastic for film. They probably aren't the best for digital; a lens designed specifically for digital should be better. The lens coatings for digital are also most likely different then the best coatings for film. If I was buying an M4/3, I would just use the R lenses, buy I'm not, so....

The decision has been made to inventory the R lenses and offer them up for sale in the near future. 

The camera and lens will be here Tuesday. I'm sure that I'll have a few questions after using them that I haven't found answers to be reading the pages and pages in this forum.

I would like to see more threads from users that have both the native lenses and the R lenses. I am curious as to what limitations, hindrances, or negative results have been experienced using the R lenses. I may keep a couple of my longer lenses for wildlife unless or until Leica decides to offer us something longer than 280 or a multiplier for the 280.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Brian C in Az

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[meerec]

@Brian C in Az you’ll have lots of fun with the SL and R lenses, and the 24-90. Just trawl through all old posts, there has been hundreds, folks love using R lenses on the SL. I don’t but I’ve had the SL for almost three years now, brilliant. Expect a barrage of replies to confirm how lucky you will feel. 

Edited November 2, 2018 by meerec

[howiebrou]

1 hour ago, meerec said:

@Brian C in Az  Expect a barrage of replies to confirm how lucky you will feel. 

How lucky you are indeed. I am using the SL with m lenses and have yet to buy a native SL lens. Gotta put one in my letter to St. Nikolaus.

[tpf1952]

Keep your R lenses! They work spectacularly in the SL. Use them with your new SL for those occasions when you want to travel light but don’t wish to compromise on quality. 

[Bill W]

You will love the image stabilization in the 24-90. Its a heavy lens but really superb. 

[johnbuckley]

Brian - congratulations.  You will love the SL, which is an incredibly well-thought through camera with a great sensor and good firmware.  But I think you may well be stunned by the 24-90, which is so sharp, for my usage, I don't really feel compelled to get the SL primes.  I also have an R Vario Elmarit 80-200.  The newer SL lenses with autofocus have a lot of advantages, but the R telephoto is a great lens and both R and M lenses work incredibly well with the SL.  I think you're right that these new SL lenses were optimized for the SL sensor, whereas the R lenses, which mostly predate Leica's move into digital, are optimized for the slightly more forgiving sensor Fuji or Kodak offer on a 36-shot spool.  But part of the brilliance of the SL concept is how well they work with one's existing R or M lenses. I'm guessing it will be really difficult for you to use something other than the 24-90 SL, once you see the results. But you may be surprised at how much the SL enables you to enjoy your assortment of R lenses.  Again, congratulations on a smart purchase you won't regret.

[Jeff S]

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Another consideration, that may or may not be relevant for you, is the more robust weather sealing that native SL lenses provide.

Jeff

[Chuck Albertson]

Brian, I think you'll like the SL. As I posted elsewhere a few weeks ago, keep in mind that the instruction manual that ships with the SL is stuck on FW version 2.0 (check the "Notes" on p. 147 to see if that has changed), and I think the download version from the Leica Owners website is the same. The current firmware version is 3.3. Firmware versions since 2.0 have added/changed several features, especially FW 3.0. Check this post and video at the Red Dot Forum site https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2017/05/leica-sl-firmware-3-0-released-major-updates/#comment-112687 for a thorough discussion of the changes made by 3.0.

[Brian C in Az]

Thank you Chuck, I hadn't considered the manual is out of date due to firmware updates. I saw that there are 2 youtube videos out (one for each update) so I'll be sure to view them and bookmark them for future reference.

 

A technical issue was brought to light in a youtube video, the SL uses full frame sensor when using native lenses, but when using TL lenses, it reverts to an ASP-C sensor via software. So, the question is, Does it also revert to ASP-C when using an adapter and non native lenses? I'm going to post a thread for that to get more attention to the question and hopefully some definite answers from people who are aware of the potential switch.

[Chuck Albertson]

3 hours ago, Brian C in Az said:

A technical issue was brought to light in a youtube video, the SL uses full frame sensor when using native lenses, but when using TL lenses, it reverts to an ASP-C sensor via software. So, the question is, Does it also revert to ASP-C when using an adapter and non native lenses? I'm going to post a thread for that to get more attention to the question and hopefully some definite answers from people who are aware of the potential switch.

I use my M lenses on the SL via an adapter, and they shoot full-frame.

[LocalHero1953]

4 hours ago, Brian C in Az said:

Thank you Chuck, I hadn't considered the manual is out of date due to firmware updates. I saw that there are 2 youtube videos out (one for each update) so I'll be sure to view them and bookmark them for future reference.

 

A technical issue was brought to light in a youtube video, the SL uses full frame sensor when using native lenses, but when using TL lenses, it reverts to an ASP-C sensor via software. So, the question is, Does it also revert to ASP-C when using an adapter and non native lenses? I'm going to post a thread for that to get more attention to the question and hopefully some definite answers from people who are aware of the potential switch.

It's not so much the SL "reverting" to APS-C, but rather the TL lenses having a smaller image circle that doesn't cover a full frame sensor. I guess the SL could offer you a circular or highly vignetted image, but sensibly it offers you the same size image that you would get on the T/TL/TL2/CL i.e. APS-C. Any lens designed for a full frame sensor (M, R etc) yields a full frame image.