Long L Mount telephoto

[Jeff S]

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42 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Well, I expect that the price is based on high sales expectations. The lens is not only interesting for CL/TL owners, it is an affordable and compact alternative to Leica’ s 90-280 for SL2 owners and they offer it in different mounts. I still cannot imagine what Leica was thinking, leaving this gap in the system. They could have sold plenty at double the price or more. 

Or even a high quality extender for use with the 90-280.

Jeff

[jaapv]

Sigma offers one as well...   I don't  know whether it will work on Leica lenses, though. They also got around the lens firmware update song-and-dance. Instead of forcing clients to find a SL body to update a lens, they have an affordable USB adapter.

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[tritentrue]

First outing with the Sigma 100-400mm + SL, under clouds and with intermittent drizzle.

Image shot at ISO 800, cropped at 50%, with no sharpening . . . 

The original is much more detailed.   I'll probably have a couple more to post a bit later in the SL picture thread.

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[jaapv]

Good enough for me.

[Boojay]

5 hours ago, tritentrue said:

First outing with the Sigma 100-400mm + SL, under clouds and with intermittent drizzle.

Image shot at ISO 800, cropped at 50%, with no sharpening . . . 

The original is much more detailed.   I'll probably have a couple more to post a bit later in the SL picture thread.

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Looking good, be interesting to hear how you think AF behaves (if you used it) and general handling, OS etc.  Mine supposedly arrives tomorrow.

[tritentrue]

6 hours ago, Boojay said:

Looking good, be interesting to hear how you think AF behaves (if you used it) and general handling, OS etc.  Mine supposedly arrives tomorrow.

First impression is that AF is very fast and accurate at near and middle distances.   An anomaly I noticed was focus jitters when using AFc at 400mm at longer and infinity distances.  That could be just a matter of air pollution/heat shimmer; or it could be a firmware or camera issue.  Either way, I will try some other targets later this morning to see if it persists.

I especially like the "slide to zoom" feature, which I first got acquainted with on the DSLR versions of the lens.  Trying OS out of curiosity (it wasn't so great on the DSLR version), I got sharp shots at 400mm and 1/15s.

Overall, it made a very good first impression, especially on bird feather details of various colors, which is what I look for in a lens of this type.

[bags27]

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40 minutes ago, tritentrue said:

First impression is that AF is very fast and accurate at near and middle distances.   An anomaly I noticed was focus jitters when using AFc at 400mm at longer and infinity distances.  That could be just a matter of air pollution/heat shimmer; or it could be a firmware or camera issue.  Either way, I will try some other targets later this morning to see if it persists.

I especially like the "slide to zoom" feature, which I first got acquainted with on the DSLR versions of the lens.  Trying OS out of curiosity (it wasn't so great on the DSLR version), I got sharp shots at 400mm and 1/15s.

Overall, it made a very good first impression, especially on bird feather details of various colors, which is what I look for in a lens of this type.

No matter how well you shoot with it, Rob, I have no illusions that it will work that well for me (or for many of us)

Edited July 14, 2020 by bags27

[jaapv]

44 minutes ago, tritentrue said:

First impression is that AF is very fast and accurate at near and middle distances.   An anomaly I noticed was focus jitters when using AFc at 400mm at longer and infinity distances.  That could be just a matter of air pollution/heat shimmer; or it could be a firmware or camera issue.  Either way, I will try some other targets later this morning to see if it persists.

I especially like the "slide to zoom" feature, which I first got acquainted with on the DSLR versions of the lens.  Trying OS out of curiosity (it wasn't so great on the DSLR version), I got sharp shots at 400mm and 1/15s.

Overall, it made a very good first impression, especially on bird feather details of various colors, which is what I look for in a lens of this type.

Fast AF, eh? Should be good for tracking BIF.

[tritentrue]

6 minutes ago, bags27 said:

No matter how well you shoot with it, Rob, I have no illusions that it will work that well for me (or for many of us)

Your Osprey friends will like what this lens does for them, Ken!  And I'm curious to hear how it performs on the CL.  The compactness and light weight of this lens suddenly makes Leica's APS-C options look interesting again.

[bags27]

3 minutes ago, tritentrue said:

Your Osprey friends will like what this lens does for them, Ken!  And I'm curious to hear how it performs on the CL.  The compactness and light weight of this lens suddenly makes Leica's APS-C options look interesting again.

Thanks, Rob. Can't wait for it to get to the States! Is either of the extenders available yet?

[tritentrue]

1 minute ago, bags27 said:

Thanks, Rob. Can't wait for it to get to the States! Is either of the extenders available yet?

No extender yet, Ken.  After the disappointment with the Lumix 2X, I'm hoping for better results with the Sigma 1.4X.

12 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Fast AF, eh? Should be good for tracking BIF.

On the SL, I'm not so sure.  I'll feed it a few moving vehicles first to see, but I'm prepared not to be disappointed if it can't do BIF with critical accuracy.  There's still plenty to like about this combo.

[jaapv]

The CL is no champion in this discipline either. It does more or less OK for tracking on AFC and electronic shutter, though (don't know why) but no more than that. Any other setting is hopeless. Still, one can hope with a fast AF lens.

[tritentrue]

In the shade, but with bright overcast residual light, ISO 400, cropped at 100%, no sharpening, focus point is left side of eye . . . 

Click for a bit more detail . . . 

Looks like a winner for birds.  But I will be very interested to hear what other users say about their experiences with this lens. 

Oh, @jaapv , it passed the "moving car test" with vehicles approaching at about 45 mph.  Now if only I can find a BIF to try it on.

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[tritentrue]

Looks like Mr. Yamaki wasn't exaggerating about the MFD capability.  Hope it holds up with the 1.4X . . . 

Cropped at 100%, shot near MFD . . . 

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[tritentrue]

One more from the Sigma, which appears to do a good job with backgrounds . . . 

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[helged]

Much to like, @tritentrue/Rob! Let we see/know more!

[tritentrue]

One more, then let's see what others are shooting and experiencing with this lens.

 @helged, I think you asked about background and flare previously.  The shot below is the worst I could do with background texture, with willow trees providing some frequency.  As for flare, I have seen none, but neither have I pointed the lens in the general direction of the sun.  Mr. Yamaki, in his introduction of the lens, went on at some length about Sigma's flare reduction technology.

Apart from a couple of minor anomalies (which I'm waiting to see if anyone else experiences), it's all positive so far. Next step for me will be to see if the 1.4X TC lives up to Sigma's marketing claim, whenever it becomes available. If that combo approaches the quality I get from my 100-400mm GM + 1.4X, then those are history; as I much prefer the SL's single-point AF for birding over the a7r IV's complex array of contrivances. 

A shy White-Throated Kingfisher . . . 

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[Boojay]

Mine arrived late yesterday, grey skies and drizzle so I waited until today - weather not much better and only around our garden but thought these may be of interest.  My feelings so far are that I am happy this lens has arrived, build quality is fine, weight and size are manageable on the CL, of course better on the SL2 but I have the Lim's case with grip and a thumbie on the CL and it helps though the lens feels front heavy of course.  AF is good enough on the CL, noticeably faster on the SL2.  Haven't tried tracking or anything else yet, just continuous AF with single spot.  A little bird was good enough to stay still while I quickly change lens from SL2 to CL, just minimal processing in Lightroom.

Rob, I had the 1.4 extender on order and have been told should be here in two days... so will see what that's like.  Anyway it feels like the system is filling out, without the need to look to R mount and manual older lenses.

CL 

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and same obliging little bird with SL2

 

Larger files on my flickr stream if anyone is interested.

 

[Boojay]

Couple more from the garden with the SL2 - both at MFD or close to, butterfly cropped.

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[Boojay]

@tritentrue

Rob, the 1.4 extender arrived to me this morning, was not expecting (or needing) it so soon, but seems they are being sent out direct from Sigma.  Have a feeling you will not be disappointed.  I really need to get to know the lens itself more first, and TBH just spent the most time looking through the viewfinder at just how long it is on the CL, I think probably the longest FL ever for me.

Other than drop to f/7.1 - f/9 I can really see no difference in AF speed and no loss of sharpness to the image though atmospherics are affecting that to a certain degree today, bit warm and hazy, anyway just to let you know they seem to be very much available now.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2020 by Boojay