pmendelson Posted September 27, 2019 Share #1 Posted September 27, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello. I am using SL and other lenses on my Panasonic S1. I recently bought a used Leica 16-35mm SL lens but returned it when I noticed it was blurry on the sides, even when shot at f/10 (my subject was quite far away and the center was sharp). I thought it might just be my copy, but then saw that Lloyd at Diglloyd found the exact same thing (I wonder if I bought the same copy he may have returned to B&H?). Anyway, for those of you with the 16-35mm, can you let me know whether you are finding it truly sharp to the edges when shooting at a distance, and what camera you are shooting it on? There could be severe field curvature in the design of the lens - I’m not sure. Thanks very much, peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 27, 2019 Posted September 27, 2019 Hi pmendelson, Take a look here 16-35mm not sharp on the edges - copy variation?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
caissa Posted September 27, 2019 Share #2 Posted September 27, 2019 Yes, very sharp. My best wide angle lens. Have you had a look at Vieri Bottazzinis test ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlashGordonPhotography Posted September 27, 2019 Share #3 Posted September 27, 2019 My 16-35 is also very sharp. The best wide zoom I’ve used. I had a 50SL with edges that didn’t hold up. Turned out the sensor was slightly out of alignment. Gordon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 27, 2019 Share #4 Posted September 27, 2019 Well, maybe it would be a good idea to try this lens on an SL. It might be the camera... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bags27 Posted September 27, 2019 Share #5 Posted September 27, 2019 I don't own one, but I follow the SL threads, and IMHO it produces the finest photos of any FF zoom I've ever seen. In fact, to my eye at least, it's nearly impossible to distinguish photos at any of its focal lengths from MF prime photos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeicaR10 Posted September 27, 2019 Share #6 Posted September 27, 2019 (edited) Pmendelson, My SL 16-35 is very sharp and like FlashGordon said in Post #3 it is the best wide zoom I ever owned. I did own a SL 24-90 when they first came out with the SL and it was not sharp as you described. I sent it back to Leica for calibration and instead they sent me a new one. It might also be a good idea to try your SL lens on a SL as Jaapv recommended. Last, you might read Veri's test in Post #2. I found the lens works best from wide open to f/8 edge to edge. After f/8, lens resolution starts to diminish. r/ Mark Edited September 27, 2019 by LeicaR10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplomley Posted September 27, 2019 Share #7 Posted September 27, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) At the edges, or in the extreme corners? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 27, 2019 Share #8 Posted September 27, 2019 The L mount alliance assures compatibility of the mount, not that sensors and lenses work optimally together. It may well be that the S1 is not the best body to use an SL wideangle zoom on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Q Posted September 28, 2019 Share #9 Posted September 28, 2019 Hmm perhaps another reason to avoid the Lumix bodies (in addition to compatibility with M wides) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 28, 2019 Share #10 Posted September 28, 2019 That might be a reason that Panasonic is introducing precisely a 16-35 Lumix lens soon. It may be more suited to the S1. Possibly overall not quite up to SL level, but better than using the Leica lens on one of their bodies.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albireo_double Posted September 28, 2019 Share #11 Posted September 28, 2019 My 16-35 is fantastic at all apertures, on the SL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron777 Posted September 28, 2019 Share #12 Posted September 28, 2019 19 hours ago, pmendelson said: Hello. I am using SL and other lenses on my Panasonic S1. I recently bought a used Leica 16-35mm SL lens but returned it when I noticed it was blurry on the sides, even when shot at f/10 (my subject was quite far away and the center was sharp). I thought it might just be my copy, but then saw that Lloyd at Diglloyd found the exact same thing (I wonder if I bought the same copy he may have returned to B&H?). Anyway, for those of you with the 16-35mm, can you let me know whether you are finding it truly sharp to the edges when shooting at a distance, and what camera you are shooting it on? There could be severe field curvature in the design of the lens - I’m not sure. Thanks very much, peter I own and use the SL 16-35mm on my S1R and find that edge to edge sharpness, as well as overall sharpness, is excellent. If your S1 is in good working condition, and all other lenses produces sharp results, I would exchange your 16-35mm for another copy. BTW, I own and use several other SL lenses on my S1R (SL 24-90 and SL 75mm) and they all work as well, if not better, than they had on my previous SL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmendelson Posted September 28, 2019 Author Share #13 Posted September 28, 2019 Thanks everyone. I just saw the issue at the wide end - if you have the lens are you really finding it very sharp on the edges at 16mm (at any aperture)? Two other people who had the lens saw some smearing at 16mm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 28, 2019 Share #14 Posted September 28, 2019 A good reason to trade your S1 up to an SL. Prices are low, with the expected SL2 (which will be total overkill for 95% of photographers ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donzo98 Posted September 28, 2019 Share #15 Posted September 28, 2019 12 minutes ago, jaapv said: A good reason to trade your S1 up to an SL. Prices are low, with the expected SL2 (which will be total overkill for 95% of photographers ) You mean downgrade to the SL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaemono Posted September 28, 2019 Share #16 Posted September 28, 2019 It was lost in translation, Don. Think ‚trade in.‘ ‘Trade up’ is what you will do when you sell the S1R and get the SL2. 😁 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 28, 2019 Share #17 Posted September 28, 2019 49 minutes ago, Donzo98 said: You mean downgrade to the SL I don't think so. I think (even) the SL is superior to the Panasonic offerings. Disclosure- I am quite a fan of Panasonic, but a realist as well. And I am convinced the Panasonics are incapable of getting the most out of the SL lenses. If I were an owner, I would use them with the native lenses. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted September 28, 2019 Share #18 Posted September 28, 2019 is there anybody who has compared or experienced that the 16-35 works better on the SL vs the S1(r)? Or is this just guessing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlashGordonPhotography Posted September 28, 2019 Share #19 Posted September 28, 2019 On 9/28/2019 at 8:25 AM, jaapv said: Well, maybe it would be a good idea to try this lens on an SL. It might be the camera... I use the 16 to 35 almost exclusively on the S1R and it's fabulous. I almost never used it on the SL as I would always use the smaller and lighter 12 to 23 on the CL if I'm looking for 24MP. So, no compatibility issues with the Panasonic bodies. Gordon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Q Posted September 29, 2019 Share #20 Posted September 29, 2019 Unfortunately there seems to be no technical comparisons. But I'm with jaapv and think the SL lenses would perform slightly better on a SL given the difference in sensor structure. (ie thickness of sensor filter, microlens array, etc) It's doubtful that Leica anticipated these variances in sensor design prior to releasing the SL lenses, which are, of course, taylormade for the SL sensor. I sure as hell would want every pixel's worth of performance given the price of these lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now