SL2 with Vario-Elmar-T 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Lens

[docdave]

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I was just curious if anyone has used this combination. I normally use my Panasonic  50mm

1.4 S-Pro on my SL2 but it is very hefty. My wife refuses to use it. The image quality cannot be beat, but that argument is useless for my wife. She wants something lighter.

I realize that I would be sacrificing a lot of megapixels, but all-in-all it is not a bad reduction.

Can anyone tell me if this is a usable combination in terms of image quality? Or, if not, would any of the aps primes suffice?

Thanks in advance for any guidance,.

DAVE

[The206]

I have this setup and it's amazing. Obviously just about any Leica branded lens you use is going to have a certain characteristic to it, this lens does not disappoint. If you are a bokeh maniac this lens isn't for you, but if you enjoy not permanently damaging your wrists and are taking pictures in relatively decent light, then this is a great combo. the 23 f2.0 is also a fantastic lens but at that price it seems almost pointless, you are better off just buying the original Leica Q

[docdave]

Thank you very much for your informed guidance. I was hoping to hear that. I guess I will order it and give it a go. My wife will be happy.

thanks again,

dave

[Jared]

I own the 18-56 and use it with my CL a fair amount.  It’s a very good lens, indeed.  The only problem with it is the laws of physics.  You won’t get much control over depth of field with it.  That, and the fact that you are “throwing away” half your camera’s imaging real estate when you use it.  Still, it works about as well on the SL2 as it does on its (intended) CL/TL2.  It dramatically lowers the system weight vs any of the full frame zooms.

All that being said, I don’t think I could bring myself to order it if I didn’t already have a CL.  I think I would lean towards the Sigma 45mm DG DN instead for an occasional light weight solution.  You would be giving up some of the flexibility of the zoom, of course, but that might “hurt” a little less than throwing away twenty-seven megapixels worth of field of view, and it’s a heck of a lot less money than the 18-56 if this is for occasional use only.  Depends on your wife’s needs, of course.  
 

Is the SL2 generally for her use or for yours?  If it’s primarily yours but she wants to take it occasionally, nothing wrong with what you are proposing.  If it is primarily for her, I’d sell it and get something that’s more in line with her weight goals.  Even if the SL2 and Leica glass is “the best”, she won’t enjoy it if she thinks it’s too heavy.  And if she doesn’t enjoy it, she won’t use it.  She’ll just depend on her phone.

[docdave]

Thanks for the input. Words of wisdom, indeed.

We solved the situation. I ordered her a Fuji xt-30 with 18-55 kit lens. Very compact and very light.

i ordered myself a Leica Q2 as a backup. I had this camera 6 months ago and sold it. What a mistake. At the time I decided to stay with a Ricoh GRiii. I was looking at my old Q2 images yesterday on my computer and was simply amazed again by their quality. BH will deliver it tomorrow. It will bring a little sunshine into these cabin fever days we are all going through.

By the way, I did order the Sigma 45 2.8 for my SL2. I was completely unimpressed by the overall image quality. Softness kept creeping in all over the images no matter what iso or f-stop. It was the most disappointing lens I have used in the past several years. I returned it immediately. I might have received a bad copy. I realize that. But it just left me with a bad taste and decided to give up on it. The internet gave it stellar reviews, but one never knows until it is on your own camera.

all the very best,

dave

[BernardC]

27 minutes ago, docdave said:

By the way, I did order the Sigma 45 2.8 for my SL2. I was completely unimpressed by the overall image quality. Softness kept creeping in all over the images no matter what iso or f-stop.

The Sigma 45 is designed to be pleasingly soft at close focus and sharp at longer distances. Sigma explain their philosophy here:

https://www.sigma-sein.com/en/ohsone/45mm-f2-8-dg-dn-contemporary/

[docdave]

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Interesting. No wonder I could not bond with it!

I will say that it is a very well-made lens and sits very nicely on a SL2 body.

My expectations were different.

Thanks for the explanation. It certainly addresses my issues with that lens.

DAVE

[Jared]

On 3/30/2020 at 5:54 AM, docdave said:

 

By the way, I did order the Sigma 45 2.8 for my SL2. I was completely unimpressed by the overall image quality. Softness kept creeping in all over the images no matter what iso or f-stop. It was the most disappointing lens I have used in the past several years. I returned it immediately. I might have received a bad copy. I realize that. But it just left me with a bad taste and decided to give up on it. The internet gave it stellar reviews, but one never knows until it is on your own camera.

all the very best,

dave

Sorry to hear you had such a poor experience with the 45mm.  I know others have complained about low contrast wide open, but supposedly the lens did well at f/4 and above. I had been thinking of this lens myself as a lot weight “walk around” for my SL2, but I will now examine existing images more carefully to see what real world results are like.  Might be better off just sticking with my 23mm Summicron TL for that use (despite the crop).

[MediaFotografie]

back to the main topic; I use this combo sometimes (before Cororna, when traveling around). T (my version is before TL) 18-56 is very handy together with SL2, the results are ok (IBIS is great) without being anything like outstanding. It's a much better combination than SL (601) with T 18-56 due to higher resolution and IBIS.

 

 

 

 

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[docdave]

Very nice shots from that lens. I certainly expected it would perform well. You proved the point.

Thank you for the input!

DAVE

[NicholasT]

On 3/30/2020 at 1:54 PM, docdave said:

Thanks for the input. Words of wisdom, indeed.

We solved the situation. I ordered her a Fuji xt-30 with 18-55 kit lens. Very compact and very light.

i ordered myself a Leica Q2 as a backup. I had this camera 6 months ago and sold it. What a mistake. At the time I decided to stay with a Ricoh GRiii. I was looking at my old Q2 images yesterday on my computer and was simply amazed again by their quality. BH will deliver it tomorrow. It will bring a little sunshine into these cabin fever days we are all going through.

By the way, I did order the Sigma 45 2.8 for my SL2. I was completely unimpressed by the overall image quality. Softness kept creeping in all over the images no matter what iso or f-stop. It was the most disappointing lens I have used in the past several years. I returned it immediately. I might have received a bad copy. I realize that. But it just left me with a bad taste and decided to give up on it. The internet gave it stellar reviews, but one never knows until it is on your own camera.

all the very best,

dave

I just ordered a used 18-56 for use with my SL2.

After extensively testing TL glass on my new SL2 ( 11-23 / 55-135, 35 F 1.4) I've concluded that the entire TL lineup performance is outstanding on SL2 and ideal for daytime shooting, travel, street or most shooting scenarios other than large print landscape, low light and where shallow depth of field is needed.

IQ is outstanding and resolution is more than sufficient for most applications. In a relatively small camera bag one can accommodate from 18mm to 200mm (full frame equivalent) or combine either a long zoom or wide zoom with a SL SUMMICRON prime balancing full resolution with crop sensor shooting.

Let's keep in mind that up until a few months ago this "reduced" resolution seemed to meet "all" requirements of SL owners and to this day continues to do so for M10 shooters. I seriously doubt that our collective needs have changed so dramatically in a few short months. SL2 owners could benefit by seriously considering TL lens lineup even if not currently owned. Most would be very pleasantly surprised.

Re Q2 its ironic you should mention. I also sold my Q2 immediately following its purchase, in order to help fund SL2 and SL prime lens purchase. I've also been regretting that decision ever since. I absolutely loved the Q and the Q2 is a genuine step up from what was already a great travel or "don't leave home without it" camera. I plan to do just as you are doing i.e. order a Q2 as a backup to my SL2. Also my wife really liked using the original Q so hopefully she will also put the Q2 to good use.

Re your experience with Sigma 45 2.8 have to confess I'm a little surprised. While the lens does soften "slightly" wide open in the corners, as well at close focusing range, in almost all other scenarios it punches well above its weight. I don't think there is a better value for SL2 shooters in a very attractive lightweight full frame lens with very good IQ. The aperture ring is an added bonus and a real pleasure to use. I believe there is at least a chance that you may have had a bad copy. At some point you may want to test out another copy of the lens (demo at your local camera store?) so you can validate your initial impressions.

[NicholasT]

16 hours ago, NicholasT said:

I just ordered a used 18-56 for use with my SL2.

After extensively testing TL glass on my new SL2 ( 11-23 / 55-135, 35 F 1.4) I've concluded that the entire TL lineup performance is outstanding on SL2 and ideal for daytime shooting, travel, street or most shooting scenarios other than large print landscape, low light and where shallow depth of field is needed.

IQ is outstanding and resolution is more than sufficient for most applications. In a relatively small camera bag one can accommodate from 18mm to 200mm (full frame equivalent) or combine either a long zoom or wide zoom with a SL SUMMICRON prime balancing full resolution with crop sensor shooting.

Let's keep in mind that up until a few months ago this "reduced" resolution seemed to meet "all" requirements of SL owners and to this day continues to do so for M10 shooters. I seriously doubt that our collective needs have changed so dramatically in a few short months. SL2 owners could benefit by seriously considering TL lens lineup even if not currently owned. Most would be very pleasantly surprised.

Re Q2 its ironic you should mention. I also sold my Q2 immediately following its purchase, in order to help fund SL2 and SL prime lens purchase. I've also been regretting that decision ever since. I absolutely loved the Q and the Q2 is a genuine step up from what was already a great travel or "don't leave home without it" camera. I plan to do just as you are doing i.e. order a Q2 as a backup to my SL2. Also my wife really liked using the original Q so hopefully she will also put the Q2 to good use.

Re your experience with Sigma 45 2.8 have to confess I'm a little surprised. While the lens does soften "slightly" wide open in the corners, as well at close focusing range, in almost all other scenarios it punches well above its weight. I don't think there is a better value for SL2 shooters in a very attractive lightweight full frame lens with very good IQ. The aperture ring is an added bonus and a real pleasure to use. I believe there is at least a chance that you may have had a bad copy. At some point you may want to test out another copy of the lens (demo at your local camera store?) so you can validate your initial impressions.

Re Sigma 45 F2.8 comments. Prior to posting I hadn't read the excellent Sigma story posted by Bernard C.

It makes perfect sense and provides an excellent explanation for the performance of this lens. Reading this story enhanced my appreciation of this lens.

Your copy of the lens may not have been defective after all and it simply was not well suited to your use case.

For anyone considering the Sigma 45mm F 2.8 I would reiterate that the overall performance of this lens is excellent. At widest aperture and close focusing distance it is marginally "softer" but produces wonderful bokeh i.e. a narrower use case with lens selection becoming an artistic choice. Minimally stopped down and this lens is very sharp and will not disappoint.

 

[michali]

39 minutes ago, NicholasT said:

............For anyone considering the Sigma 45mm F 2.8 I would reiterate that the overall performance of this lens is excellent. At widest aperture and close focusing distance it is marginally "softer" but produces wonderful bokeh i.e. a narrower use case with lens selection becoming an artistic choice. Minimally stopped down and this lens is very sharp and will not disappoint.

 

+1 my experience with this lens is the same.