No-one with hands on experience with new Pana lenses?

[Joeri]

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I just noticed that the 50/1.4 and 24-105/4 are already available here. No-one here yet with hands-on experience? It seems there aren't many reviews around neither.

[hillavoider]

The zoom looks interesting as the SL 24-90 is a tank to carry around 

[Chaemono]

The Panasonic zoom makes for a nice compact combo but it’s f/4 and I doubt the corner performance is as good as with the SL 24-90. See some Leica corners here 😁: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-x8Mwmw/

[bags27]

3 hours ago, Chaemono said:

The Panasonic zoom makes for a nice compact combo but it’s f/4 and I doubt the corner performance is as good as with the SL 24-90. See some Leica corners here 😁: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-x8Mwmw/

But interesting to see how they fare against the TL lenses on the CL (where the corner performance is eliminated). The 24-105/4 would be a 36-157 all rounder and no slower than the TL zooms.

[Joeri]

Yes, the 24-105 might be interesting. For some jobs, I don't really care about perfect optics and the smaller and lighter Pana might just do the job. The 50/1.4 is also interesting. I just wished it were a little less heavy. The difference between the Leica SL 50/1.4 and the Panasonic is not that big (but still). 

[Jeff S]

FWIW, the 50 1.4 and the 70-200 zoom are deignated as ‘Pro’ lenses; the 24-105 is not.  It will be interesting to see how this translates to performance.

Jeff

[hillavoider]

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14 hours ago, Chaemono said:

The Panasonic zoom makes for a nice compact combo but it’s f/4 and I doubt the corner performance is as good as with the SL 24-90. See some Leica corners here 😁: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-x8Mwmw/

Which are the SL, first one?

[hillavoider]

Also 24-90 has become like a anchor around my neck I avoid it now, which is a shame, I would give up some corner sharpness for a lighter load 

[caissa]

11 hours ago, Jeff S said:

FWIW, the 50 1.4 and the 70-200 zoom are deignated as ‘Pro’ lenses; the 24-105 is not.  It will be interesting to see how this translates to performance.

Jeff

This has nothing to do with performance, but partly with build quality and mainly with certification by Leica (according to Leica guidelines). Simply read the Panasonic announcements.

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, caissa said:

This has nothing to do with performance, but partly with build quality and mainly with certification by Leica (according to Leica guidelines). Simply read the Panasonic announcements.

I don’t make judgments about performance by what I read, especially not by the manufacturer.  There’s plenty of time to test for myself if I have any interest. You’ve apparently done enough reading for all of us combined.

And by the way, I consider weather sealing effectiveness, smoothness of operation, etc. as performance characteristics, among many others.

Jeff

Edited March 28, 2019 by Jeff S

[Chaemono]

Hopefully, by this weekend I’ll have access to the Lumix S Pro 50/1.4. I’m sure IQ will be nice as far as subject separation and background blur are concerned. So is the Sigma Art 50/1.4 IQ BTW. But I’ll try to look for optical performance with regards to distortion, PF/CA, flare, handling of Highlights and Shadows in high contrast scenes, depth rendering. It’ll take me a few weeks. The control lens in the comparisons will be a reference 50/1.4, of course. 😀

[Chaemono]

Unpacked the Lumix S Pro 50/1.4. It’s slightly longer than the 50 Summilux-SL. 😁 I can see why people like the aperture ring which feels great. I don’t see me using it though. 

[jrp]

The only differences I could tell between the Panasonic and the Leica 50mm f1.4 are

* Panasonic is narrower, longer and has a couple of additional elements.

* The Panasonic AF seems a tiny bit faster

* The sharpness differences are hard to distinguish, although the microcontrast on the Leica is higher,  (However, atmospheric conditions, and technique are probably bigger picture quality determinants than intrinsic lens sharpness.)

[Chaemono]

The biggest and most significant difference that I can see so far without having checked yet for distortion, PF/CA, flare, etc. is how the lenses capture and deal with light. ISO is set to 100, aperture to f/1.4, and the scene is equally lighted. The camera is in A mode and meters, comes up with the exact same shutter speed. One lens leads to a better overall exposed image. The 50 Summilux-SL somehow 'bundles' the light where it's important while it protects the Highlights. This will matter in high contrast scenes because it basically means one can shoot the Leica lens at a faster shutter speed and still get Shadow detail while Highlights aren't blown. It's called dynamic range and it's the lens that contributes to it this time. The Lumix S 50/1.4 is no match for the 50 Summilux-SL in this regard, but hardly any 50 is. I will post more in high contrast situations.

 

S1 + Lumix S 50/1.4 DNG file here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g17788397-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=E6-TlQMwM71Iz-jTB_14klVb3qoXnXdVAuPzcvYg_sw=

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ISO 100 f/1.4 @1/6400 sec. opened in Preview and exported as untouched JPEG

S1 + 50 Summilux-SL DNG file here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g179726984-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=narQOMxDfDsYAGx0-yyvltYDQh5kWk6Ric4XVIXdabs=

ISO 100 f/1.4 @1/6400 sec. opened in Preview and exported as untouched JPEG

[AlanYWM]

Looking at both images, I would not be too worried if I had the Lumix lens 😊

[howiebrou]

I played with the 24-105 F4 for about 15 minutes and it's a nice lens but i did notice that the AF was not particularly quick and could not focus on objects behind a glass display. I will reserve judgement until i can play with it more. My 90mm F2 SL is not much better, if at all in the AF department.

[Chaemono]

Comparing the Lumix S 50/1.4 to the 50 Summilux-SL in high dynamic range scenes now. The Leica lens will give us a better starting point effortlessly, meaning out of the box. The RAWs taken with the SL 50 in high contrast situations look as if the sensor all of a sudden is not uniformly sensitive to light but that it appears to have a higher sensitivity to the darker areas, sort of like the human eye. With the Lumix 50 one has to shoot at a faster shutter speed to prevent the background from looking too bright but then the subject in focus will also be darker. The SL 50 will create a picture with a good overall exposure and a better lighted subject in high dynamic range scenes. This way the background is not competing for attention. To get to that point with the Panasonic file one usually has to work in post more (assuming no bracketing) and even then it won't always look the same. I'm just starting these and want to compare high contrast scenes in low light Let's look at a couple of examples to warm up.

To get an equally exposed picture with both lenses in the first pair here, it required faster shutter speed on the Lumix 50. Histogram shows same exposure.

S1 + Lumix S 50/1.4 opened in LR and exported as JPEG with default settings. DNG here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g222341074-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=CxSMVdRWJALdsangx7BPqLYpJwkGUhGL11AWGgL1b38=

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ISO 100 f/1.4 @1/5000 sec.

 

S1 + 50 Summilux-SL opened in LR and exported as JPEG with default settings. DNG here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g36271721-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=vQ5P8Qb6hRawMjyY8ZQSjOp9z7nZ_PhbwIW9rMWjaHw=

ISO 100 f/1.4 @1/4000 sec.

[Chaemono]

Let's do two more. Go ahead and lift the Shadows and pull back the Highlights. The focus point is on the candle on the table in front and somehow the light converges better in that area with the 50 Summilux-SL. Equal shutter speed now to give us equal exposure according to the histogram.

 

S1 + Lumix S 50/1.4 opened in LR and exported as JPEG with default settings. DNG here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g167697262-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=22Pvx48_3iN-uqjYLM49sfv6p9Qyipf5WuEGFCbJ27s=

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ISO 100 f/1.4 @1/320 sec.

 

S1 + 50 Summilux-SL opened in LR and exported as JPEG with default settings. DNG here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g510011909-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=c7oeApygqKJfLj3radNgJH5tdUNoDG6_FOetZ3cqR7Q=

ISO 100 f/1.4 @1/320 sec.

[Chaemono]

When the light isn't good. Go ahead and lift the Shadows by 100. The object in focus is separated better from the blurred background with the 50 Summilux-SL IMO. This has also to do with how the subtleties in the torches' tones are better captured at the point of focus. The pictures are equally exposed according to the histogram.

 

S1 + Lumix S 50/1.4 opened in LR and exported as JPEG with default settings. DNG here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g222125718-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=YmyrUz27aI11A5xZBflpm6RSv7oHZt_IeA0azOSRb80=

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ISO 800 f/1.4 @1/60 sec.

 

S1 + 50 Summilux-SL opened in LR and exported as JPEG with default settings. DNG here: https://cc2032.zenfolio.com/img/g445976575-o750076470.dat?dl=2&tk=anDhYLApmEB4rNw7lbMV3lebgAb9xEQhL8iwNw-44uA=

ISO 800 f/1.4 @1/60 sec.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[ron777]

On 4/7/2019 at 3:23 AM, AlanYWM said:

Looking at both images, I would not be too worried if I had the Lumix lens 😊

Considering the USA cost differential (Leica $5295, S Pro $2297) the optical difference, IMO, is inconsequential.  And considering the high ISO performance of today's best sensors, I wonder if fast glass is still to be considered the holy grail.