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Tom Berger: Leica’s New Milestone – My first experiences with the SL2


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Finally, here is a "focus stacked" version of the SL2 file made up of three images stacked together.  One image was focused on the snout, one halfway up the face, and one on the near point of the eye.  This is what I would have done if I were actually trying to make a nice image.  OK, I probably would have tried for the near tip of the ears as well, and maybe covered back past the cheek.  You get the idea, though.  Lots of fine detail in this to evaluate how the different lenses draw and just how much resolution the cameras capture as well as how much the image stabilization can help if you don't want to push up the ISO and aren't using a tripod.  The X1D is my landscape camera, so normally I would have been using it on a tripod.

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Jared, thank You for these pictures! Unfortunately, I still have no response from the store where I wanted to rent the X1D. Interestingly the color rendition is very similar in appearance and character. Do You have some cropped maximum aperture - images without blurring? Thank You so much!

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6 hours ago, Shlomo said:

Jared, thank You for these pictures! Unfortunately, I still have no response from the store where I wanted to rent the X1D. Interestingly the color rendition is very similar in appearance and character. Do You have some cropped maximum aperture - images without blurring? Thank You so much!

Like brick wall pictures?  So you can see edge-to-edge sharpness?  I’d be happy to produce a couple, but I don’t have any.  I have two concerns over your drawing any conclusions from those that you should be aware of (though I’m still happy to make a couple pictures):

1) It will tell you much more about the lenses than about the cameras, so I’d like to know which lenses you are most interested in for either system.  I‘lens post the options at the end of this.

2) I can’t think when one would ever actually shoot wide open and want or expect edge-to-edge sharpness.  Maybe a church interior with a wide angle lens?  In general, photographic subjects are not flat, and subjects that require edge sharpness also require stopping down.  Otherwise there isn’t enough depth of field to cover the subject.

I just want to make sure you see something that gives you some useful insight.  Are you actually looking for a brick wall photograph?  Wide open?  What lens for each system were you considering?I have the following to choose from for a couple shots:

35mm Summicron SL, 75mm Summicron SL, 16-21mm Tri-Elmar M, 16-35mm Super Vario Elmar, 24-90 Vario Elmarit, 90-280 Vario Elmarit (all for Leica SL2);

21mm XCD, 30mm XCD, 45mm XCD, 45mm XCD-P, 65mm XCD, 80mm XCD, 90mm XCD, 135mm XCD with 1.7x TC (all for X1DII—basically, everything but the 120mm Macro).

Here are my quick thoughts on the lenses, by the way:

The 21mm XCD, the 80mm XCD, and the 135mm XCD are the absolute prizes of the Hasselblad lineup with the 45p also being a surprise favorite.  From an image quality perspective, all of these are impeccable and are easily good enough when below the diffraction limit to outresolve the sensor at almost any subject distance (though the 45p is better outside 1m than inside).  I would use any of them without concerns at any aperture that suited the subject and conditions. The 30mm is also superb, but the focal length is a bit less dramatic than the 21mm so I use it quite a bit less. The original 45mm is the only lens in the lineup is the only one that has ever disappointed me in terms of real world results. Wide open, it’s not up to the standards of the rest.  It’s certainly not bad, and stopped down to f/5.6 it is excellent, but merely being “good” is not good enough when you are talking about medium format.  I’m not going to put up with this camera’s foibles in situations where a “good” technical result is sufficient.  It’s the only lens in the lineup I think missed the mark—at least based on my sample of one.  The 65mm is optically excellent, but is quite heavy for its focal length and so tends not to get used by me all that much.  If you love shooting normal lenses, the results are extremely good.  For me, it would get used a lot more if it had less glass in it and so were more fun to “carry around”, a la the 45p.  I tend to just bring the 45p and crop.  The 90mm is absolutely fantastic and is small and light.  If I didn’t also own the 80mm it would make my top three.  It’s best is at f/4.  It’s small and light—much easier on a day hike than the 80mm.  Great for portraits if you don’t need razor thin depth of field.  In my own tests, the 135mm is optically the best of the bunch.  I use it quite a bit as a short tele for landscapes (yes, I like that focal length for landscapes).  If I could have only three, I’d choose the 21mm, the 45p, and the 135mm.  The 80mm is great, but quite specialized, big, slow, and heavy.

On the Leica side... The 35mm Summicron SL is probably the best lens I have ever owned in terms of optical quality.  From f/2 up to the diffraction limit it is superb almost all the way to the extreme corners.  Really, no flaws that can’t be addressed via firmware (meaning, focus-by-wire; can’t wait for a firmware update that will make the system linear over a fixed angle of rotation).  The 75mm Summicron has a touch less contrast wide open, but, again, no qualms about using it at f/2, and many subjects that are appropriate for this lens at f/2 actually benefit from slightly less blighting contrast on fine structure, anyway.  It responds well to good processing if you want that extra edge on the finest details.  The 16-35mm is my newest lens, and I don’t have enough experience with it to give you useful feedback.  The 24-120 is absolutely superb from the wide end up to, say, 75mm.  Above that, it’s merely excellent.  It’s my least favorite of the SL lenses, though.  It is heavy, bulky, and awkward for it’s focal lengths and aperture.  It is also the slowest focusing of the zooms (though certainly fast enough for most subjects).  I hate the fact that it isn’t an internal zoom. Messes with the handling.  Overall, an optically excellent lens that I generally avoid using.  The 90-280 is big, heavy, and excellent.  Personally, I would have preferred a 70-200mm f/2.8 with a dedicated 1.4x extender, but such is life.  When I need speed and reach, it is a fantastic choice.  AF is probably the fastest in the Leica SL lineup (as you would hope in a lens that will be used for action shots).  

Overall, all of these lenses are dramatically better than anything that was available fifteen years ago.  They are all clearly designed with a 100 megapixel future in mind.  OK, maybe the XCD 45mm isn’t, but the rest are. None of them have significant optical limitations that you will encounter in real world situations.  I’d pay attention to what focal lengths you use most, size, weight, and handling choices, then make your decisions.  You won’t need to worry about any of them not being up to a very high standard.

What it comes down to is speed and stabilization.  The SL2 is a fast camera.  The AF-C performance may not be to the level of a Sony Alpha (though it isn’t that far off), but you can use successfully in low light handheld, with fast moving subjects, with kids running around, for portraits, landscapes, product shots, street photography, almost anything.  Limitations?  It’s not a true sports camera, there is no tilt-shift lens for architectural shots, and the support for strobes is poor (though I get by using Profoto strobes in manual mode).  The X1D does great when your subject is stationary and when you have the luxury of either plenty of light or a tripod.  The dynamic range is superb, the resolution adequate for anything I can imagine short of silly cropping, and the colors are sublime.  But it’s really, really slow.  Shutter lag prevents if from being effective for “decisive moment” type photography, AF speed is too slow to be a good choice for moving subjects.  For landscapes?  Product shots? Even portraits?  Superb.  I’d say even better than the SL2 (though that will depend a bit on your comfort with its atypical controls).  Keep the different aspect ratio in mind—you might have a clear preference for either. If you want a weather proof landscape camera in as small and light a package as possible with a huge, bright viewfinder and exceptional lenses I’d say go for it.  It’s not a general use camera, though.  It’s just not.

Sorry this was such a long post, but you seem to be trying to decide between the two cameras.  It might actually be simpler than you think.  If you want a camera for all your needs or if you don’t like tripods the SL2 is clearly a better choice.  Much better.  If you just shoot landscapes or maybe landscapes and studio, I would choose the Hasselblad.  Any differences in image quality between the two are completely dwarfed by the operational differences.  They are very close in resolution, lens quality, dynamic range, signal-to-noise ratios, high ISO performance, etc.  But they are very different in AF speed, frames per second, viewfinder blackout, shutter lag, and use with strobes.  That’s where I’d look to make a decision on these two.  Dedicated landscape and studio camera?  Or general purpose photographic tool?

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21 hours ago, Jared said:

 

Wow, Jared, you really should publish this on a blog - it's such useful information!  😍 👍 👍 👍

Look, I own a 50mm and a 28mm, wanted to add a decent 35mm to be perfectly equipped for the rest of my life. My first thought was the 35mm Noctilux, but its marketability will probably take years, so I turned to the SL 2 or rather its supposedly equal or better alternative, the X1D2. But if the 45mm really is the least good lens in the Hasselblad line and on the other hand the 35mm Summicron is such an exceptionally good lens, the battle is obviously decided. The only option that remains: I take the 35mm pictures with the normal Summilux and buy the X1D2 with the 65mm, which seems to be a good lens.

Jared, I'd still like you to do me a big favour, a really big favour, if you could post another comparison between the 35mm and the 45mm - anything, books, landscapes, anything, any comparison. Thank you very much for your so very helpful answer and best regards 

 

Greetings from Berlin, Germany.

Shlomo

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On 3/8/2020 at 6:32 AM, Shlomo said:

Wow, Jared, you really should publish this on a blog - it's such useful information!  😍 👍 👍 👍

Look, I own a 50mm and a 28mm, wanted to add a decent 35mm to be perfectly equipped for the rest of my life. My first thought was the 35mm Noctilux, but its marketability will probably take years, so I turned to the SL 2 or rather its supposedly equal or better alternative, the X1D2. But if the 45mm really is the least good lens in the Hasselblad line and on the other hand the 35mm Summicron is such an exceptionally good lens, the battle is obviously decided. The only option that remains: I take the 35mm pictures with the normal Summilux and buy the X1D2 with the 65mm, which seems to be a good lens.

Jared, I'd still like you to do me a big favour, a really big favour, if you could post another comparison between the 35mm and the 45mm - anything, books, landscapes, anything, any comparison. Thank you very much for your so very helpful answer and best regards 

 

Greetings from Berlin, Germany.

Shlomo

Just for clarification, Hasselblad has two different 45’s available for the X1DII.  The first is the 45XCD and the second is the 45XCD-P.  The former is the one I found a little underwhelming.  The newer 45-P (which is an additional lens, not a replacement) is optically excellent, inexpensive, compact, and light.  

I’ll get you a comparison shot or two of the 45-P wide open (f/4) vs. the Summicron 35 wide open (f/2) and at equivalent aperture (f/2.8).  Give me a day or two.

Thanks - Jared

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On 3/8/2020 at 6:32 AM, Shlomo said:

Wow, Jared, you really should publish this on a blog - it's such useful information!  😍 👍 👍 👍

Look, I own a 50mm and a 28mm, wanted to add a decent 35mm to be perfectly equipped for the rest of my life. My first thought was the 35mm Noctilux, but its marketability will probably take years, so I turned to the SL 2 or rather its supposedly equal or better alternative, the X1D2. But if the 45mm really is the least good lens in the Hasselblad line and on the other hand the 35mm Summicron is such an exceptionally good lens, the battle is obviously decided. The only option that remains: I take the 35mm pictures with the normal Summilux and buy the X1D2 with the 65mm, which seems to be a good lens.

Jared, I'd still like you to do me a big favour, a really big favour, if you could post another comparison between the 35mm and the 45mm - anything, books, landscapes, anything, any comparison. Thank you very much for your so very helpful answer and best regards 

 

Greetings from Berlin, Germany.

Shlomo

OK, here you go!

I took three images with both the X1DII and with the SL2.  The X1D was with the 45mm XCD-P.  The SL2 was with the 35mm Summicron SL.  

In all cases I used a tripod.  In all cases image stabilization was turned off.  In all cases the camera was at base ISO.  I tried to match actual exposures using histograms in camera.  In all cases white balance was set manually using a gray card.  In all cases a shutter delay was used to ensure vibrations died out.  On the SL2, electronic shutter was used to eliminate the chance of shutter shock.  The X1D has a leaf shutter so that wasn’t necessary.  For the X1D, all exposures were made at maximum aperture, f/4.  For the SL2, brick wall exposures were made at f/2 and at f/2.8 so you can compare at either maximum aperture or “equivalent” aperture.  

The first image is a “brick wall” image which should show center and corner sharpness.  Point of focus was the middle of the frame.  The second image is of a garden waterfall and should give an idea how the two cameras and lenses draw, how they handle global contrast in a backlight scene, any differences in hues (not the Leica greens are significantly cooler than the Hasselblad greens, which is a trend for these two cameras), and how they manage falloff in depth of field.  Point of focus was the back of the waterfall.  The last image is again of the waterfall, but includes the Sun and some sky in the frame.  This should show how both cameras handle blown highlights as well as flare and purple fringing in high contrast tree branches.  No attempt was made to avoid or to recover blown highlights.  Crops are included of the Sun as well as backlit branches. 

Processing was minimal.  Raw files were imported into Lightroom.  Exposure was equalized (no more than 0.2EV for any image).  Sharpening was slightly reduced to an amount of 30 with a radius of 0.5 and a detail of 100 which are the settings for light deconvolution sharpening.  No adjustments of any kind were made to black point, shadows, contrast, highlights, etc. No local adjustments.  Noise reduction was zeroed out.  Lens profiles were applied (default for Adobe software) to correct for distortion and vignetting.  That’s it.  Crops are all 100% with no resizing or interpolation.  Because the cameras have different aspect ratios, the crops may not show the exact same sections of the frame.  Corner crops, for example, are from the extreme corners of the frame, not necessarily the same point of the stone wall.

I would caution anyone about drawing conclusions about other lenses in either system.  While the 45P is an extremely good lens, it is also the least expensive lens in Hasselblad’s XCD lineup by a wide margin.  In contrast, the 35mm Summicron is, according to Leica, the best lens they have ever made from an optical correction perspective.  

Now, onto the images!

Edited by Jared
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X1D, Stone Wall, f/4:

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X1D, Stone Wall Crops, f/4, Top Left and Top Right:

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X1D, Stone Wall, f/4, Center Crop:

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X1D, Stone Wall, f/4, Bottom Left and Bottom Right:

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SL2, Stone Wall, f/2 (Maximum Aperture):

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SL2, Stone Wall, f/2, Top Left Crop and Top Right Crop:

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SL2, Stone Wall, f/2, Center Crop:

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SL2, Stone Wall. F/2, Bottom Left and Bottom Right Crops:

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SL2, Stone Wall, f/2.8 (equivalent to f/4 on the X1DII), Top Left and Top Right Crops:

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SL2, Stone Wall, f/2.8 (equivalent to f/4 on the XCD), center crop: Edited by Jared
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SL2, Stone Wall, f/2.8 (equivalent to f/4 on the XCD), lower left and lower right crops:

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Garden Waterfall, X1DII, f/4:

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