SL for better focus?

[Schittra]

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I have been using M nearly 20 years. My eyesight was getting poor and I switched to Sony A7 for a couple of year. It didn’t give me the images I wanted. I sold it to get Q and love it. Recently, I decided to get M10 with 21/3.4, 35/1.4, 50/1.4 and 90/2. I start to have fun again with good photo. But still having misfocusing from time to time, especially with 90/2 or 50/1.4 wide open.

A friend of mine uses SL and found better focusing than M. I see the price of SL coming down. Will the SL help me better focusing? Thank you so much.

[T25UFO]

Are you using a diopter on the M to help with focusing?  Have you considered the Visoflex 020?  Most people will tell you the 90mm f2.0 is difficult to focus wide open, so it's not just you.

I sometimes mis focus on the M simply because I rush the shot or align the rangefinder patch on the wrong part of the subject.  Stupid, but I still do it occasionally.  This can happen even for those with perfect eyesight using an OVF but should not happen with an EVF.  It's just photographer error and has nothing to do with eyesight.

If you have a real deteriorating eyesight issue then maybe the answer is to move away from manual focussing lenses and invest in the SL2 with dedicated autofocus lenses.  I went that route with the first SL but reverted to the M when the M10 was released - much better viewfinder than the M240.  I just enjoy the rangefinder more and put up with the occasional mis focus.

[DI1]

Yes, the EVF and focus peaking on the SL are tremendous! I can easily and quickly nail focus with my Sonnar 50/1.5

You could always rent one with an L/M adapter to see if you like it prior to purchasing. 

[Arrow]

Ask your friend, if you can try out your lenses on his SL. I migrated from M to SL and do not regret it. 

[Jeff S]

Totally different viewing experiences, but focus aids (peaking and/or magnification) based directly off the sensor (no camera or lens focus calibration issues) are key EVF features.  The SL/SL2 EVFs provide better viewing experiences than the accessory M EVF.

But, for me, RF viewing and focusing provide its own unique benefits. Trade offs.  Just be sure your eyes are fully corrected for distance (2m focus patch virtual distance) and any astigmatism.  With aging eyes, my optimal viewing includes use of a +.5 diopter in addition to my glasses.

Jeff

[BernardC]

1 hour ago, Schittra said:

Will the SL help me better focusing?

Yes, the SL has a better viewfinder than your Q or your old Sony A7. The overall image quality will be very similar to your M10.

Try to get a Leica "M-Adapter L", or the "M-Adapter T" (which is the previous name for the same part) instead of a third-party one, if your lenses are 6-bit coded.

[Schittra]

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14 minutes ago, BernardC said:

Yes, the SL has a better viewfinder than your Q or your old Sony A7. The overall image quality will be very similar to your M10.

Try to get a Leica "M-Adapter L", or the "M-Adapter T" (which is the previous name for the same part) instead of a third-party one, if your lenses are 6-bit coded.

Definitely. I always fall in love with 50/1.4 and 35/1.4 FLE. I will try it out tomorrow morning. Thank you.

[Schittra]

1 hour ago, T25UFO said:

Are you using a diopter on the M to help with focusing?  Have you considered the Visoflex 020?  Most people will tell you the 90mm f2.0 is difficult to focus wide open, so it's not just you.

I sometimes mis focus on the M simply because I rush the shot or align the rangefinder patch on the wrong part of the subject.  Stupid, but I still do it occasionally.  This can happen even for those with perfect eyesight using an OVF but should not happen with an EVF.  It's just photographer error and has nothing to do with eyesight.

If you have a real deteriorating eyesight issue then maybe the answer is to move away from manual focussing lenses and invest in the SL2 with dedicated autofocus lenses.  I went that route with the first SL but reverted to the M when the M10 was released - much better viewfinder than the M240.  I just enjoy the rangefinder more and put up with the occasional mis focus.

I tried the Visoflex but not so impressed. The quality is not matched to Leica standard (sorry to say this but that can be my feeling only). The point of rush the shot and align to the wrong part (the easy part per se) does make senses. I did that too. Focusing the nose is easier than eye and I have blur eye with sharp nose (hahahaha). Thanks!

[Schittra]

1 hour ago, Rezinator said:

Yes, the EVF and focus peaking on the SL are tremendous! I can easily and quickly nail focus with my Sonnar 50/1.5

You could always rent one with an L/M adapter to see if you like it prior to purchasing. 

There is no rental in Indonesia. However, I can trade back with minimal lost, which equivalent to rental fee. Thank you.

[Schittra]

30 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Totally different viewing experiences, but focus aids (peaking and/or magnification) based directly off the sensor (no camera or lens focus calibration issues) are key EVF features.  The SL/SL2 EVFs provide better viewing experiences than the accessory M EVF.

But, for me, RF viewing and focusing provide its own unique benefits. Trade offs.  Just be sure your eyes are fully corrected for distance (2m focus patch virtual distance) and any astigmatism.  With aging eyes, my optimal viewing includes use of a +.5 diopter in addition to my glasses.

Jeff

Is the peaking focus similar to M10? It was annoying but I start to get use to it and like it more and more Thank you. 

[Schittra]

33 minutes ago, Arrow said:

Ask your friend, if you can try out your lenses on his SL. I migrated from M to SL and do not regret it. 

My friend is also long-time M user. Now he left his M10 in dry cabinet and keep shooting with SL2 and A9. He also uses the M9 with autofocus adapter for M (I don't know if this equipment exists) and quite happy about it. But the rendering quality is not equivalent to SL2, from his experience. I will try the SL first to see how it works before investing to SL2. The price of used SL in Indonesia is 35% vs. brand new SL2. If I like the SL platform, I can trade in SL for SL2 when the used SL2 available. If I don't like the SL, I can sell back with slightly damage to my pocket. 

[Jeff S]

7 minutes ago, Schittra said:

Is the peaking focus similar to M10? It was annoying but I start to get use to it and like it more and more Thank you. 

I only use my Ms with RF, with lenses 28 to 50mm. The SL2 is used for wider, longer and zoom lenses, but I prefer using focus magnification in lieu of peaking, which I find too busy and not as accurate in some situations.  It’s easy to turn on and off focus aids (and other aids like histogram).

Jeff

[Arrow]

7 minutes ago, Schittra said:

My friend is also long-time M user. Now he left his M10 in dry cabinet and keep shooting with SL2 and A9. He also uses the M9 with autofocus adapter for M (I don't know if this equipment exists) and quite happy about it. But the rendering quality is not equivalent to SL2, from his experience. I will try the SL first to see how it works before investing to SL2. The price of used SL in Indonesia is 35% vs. brand new SL2. If I like the SL platform, I can trade in SL for SL2 when the used SL2 available. If I don't like the SL, I can sell back with slightly damage to my pocket. 

The SL is perfectly fine to buy. I have booth cameras, SL and SL2. I actually use them interchangeably. There are some photographic situations where I need the extra resolution of the SL2 and I am waiting for the high res mode. Since you are used to using the M system, you will not miss IBIS. 

[Schittra]

19 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

I only use my Ms with RF, with lenses 28 to 50mm. The SL2 is used for wider, longer and zoom lenses, but I prefer using focus magnification in lieu of peaking, which I find too busy and not as accurate in some situations.  It’s easy to turn on and off focus aids (and other aids like histogram).

Jeff

I use peaking LV with M10 when I mount SEL 21/3.4. It's quite useful though For tele, I rarely try LV and prefer my eye.. which is getting worse every day.

[Schittra]

17 minutes ago, Arrow said:

The SL is perfectly fine to buy. I have booth cameras, SL and SL2. I actually use them interchangeably. There are some photographic situations where I need the extra resolution of the SL2 and I am waiting for the high res mode. Since you are used to using the M system, you will not miss IBIS. 

Thank you for the input. My friend said the same thing about IBIS. Did you use native or M on your SL2? My friend also told me the SL2 is more optimized for M lens than SL?

[Photoworks]

26 minutes ago, Schittra said:

My friend is also long-time M user. Now he left his M10 in dry cabinet and keep shooting with SL2 and A9. He also uses the M9 with autofocus adapter for M (I don't know if this equipment exists) and quite happy about it. But the rendering quality is not equivalent to SL2, from his experience. I will try the SL first to see how it works before investing to SL2. The price of used SL in Indonesia is 35% vs. brand new SL2. If I like the SL platform, I can trade in SL for SL2 when the used SL2 available. If I don't like the SL, I can sell back with slightly damage to my pocket. 

the concept of peeking is similar on M10 and on SL2. what nobody is mentioning is the fact that with SL2 and EVF is it recommended opening the lens all the way to focus and then go back to you desired F-stop.

If you shoot most of the time wide open that is less of an issue.

There is still the fact that M10 and SL2 are totally different cameras. I like shooting with M10 , but when I do portraits I will use the SL2 with M lenses or the Sony a7R4 with Techart LM-EA7 AF adapter.

the 90mm is difficult to focus on SL2 too

my suggestion is get the right diopter for your M10, it makes a big difference for me even with Noctilux , I didn't have to use the EVF so much .

PS. I have fixed the m10 diaper with Loctite 22221 Purple on the camera. I was traveling and lost one, I took me another week to find another one .

[Jeff S]

These issues are quite personal, and require actual use to sort out preferences and comfort level. Surveys won’t provide your answer, especially given that changing systems involves many other differences and variables. Whatever works best for you.

Jeff

[Arrow]

11 minutes ago, Schittra said:

Thank you for the input. My friend said the same thing about IBIS. Did you use native or M on your SL2? My friend also told me the SL2 is more optimized for M lens than SL?

I use booth types of lenses on booth cameras. Having said that, I tend to prefer the the SL2 together with L primes because of the combination of IBIS and face/body detection. The L autofocus  lenses do profit in use from the extra software gimmicks  

[BernardC]

5 hours ago, Photoworks said:

what nobody is mentioning is the fact that with SL2 and EVF is it recommended opening the lens all the way to focus and then go back to you desired F-stop.

Is it recommended? I only open-up when shooting past F:8, and even then I don't open-up all the way. Most of the time I don't magnify either, but I sometimes do just to confirm, or if I am focusing on a small detail.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[tom0511]

I am also a long time M-user. IMO there is no doubt that with lenses longer than 50mm focusing with AF of SL/SL2 is more accurate and reliable (and faster) than rangefinder focusing.