Live Interactive Discussion on S System

[Jeff S]

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Tonight (May 16, 8pm EDT) in another series episode conducted by the folks from Leica Miami.  Audience Q&A is part of the process.

These are recorded for playback for anyone who misses the live discussion. Prior discussions include various other Leica systems... M10, SL, CL, Q and Monochrom platforms.

Jeff

[Stuart Richardson]

I see why they do it at 8pm for the US audience, but I wish it were a bit earlier. 8pm means it starts at midnight for me (well, an hour after sundown anyway) and 2 am for Western Europe. Look forward to the recorded version anyway!

[albertknappmd]

you can play it over again at your convenience.

The discourse was all encompassing and quite illuminating.

Albert

[mgrayson3]

I love my Super-Elmar-S 24. It's my favorite lens. But it is NOT sharp corner to corner. Almost, but not quite:

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The Fuji 23/4, on the other hand, is

Here's the whole frame:

Either David Farkas & Co are exaggerating, or I have a defective lens. As you can see, it is very sharp just a bit in from the corner. The blur doesn't change much at f/8. Perhaps I should send it back to Wetzlar? Will it help?

Matt

Edited May 17, 2020 by mgrayson3

[Stuart Richardson]

I did listen and enjoy it!

Matt, looking at the MTF on the data sheet, it seems like there is a somewhat precipitous falloff in the edges, and that makes sense compared to what is shown in your photo. Even at f8, contrast is around 25% at the extreme edges at 40lpm. This might be field curvature though...have you noticed it being sharper closer to the camera at all as you get from center to edge? This is really common in wide angle lenses. It might still be very sharp somewhere, just not exactly where you focused. This can help with some close in compositions, and hurt for ones where there is a lot of detail at infinity.

[Jeff S]

The marketing aspect of these live discussions (and Josh's videos featuring certain used items....this week the S007) seems to be effective.  The S007 that was on their site last week (after lingering for some time) now seems to be gone.  I wonder if the M6 on their site now will be gone after this Saturday's discussion.  Even better if new gear is moving. Good for them.

Jeff

[Jeff S]

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10 hours ago, albertknappmd said:

you can play it over again at your convenience.

 

Along with other Leica product discussions, as noted in original post.

Jeff

[LeicaR10]

MGrayson3,   My current S24 is tack sharp to the corners at f/9.5 to f/11.  I owned one in 2017 that had a similar problem as yours and my assistant bought it.  He sent it to Wetzlar and it came back perfect.  I bought a second copy in 2019 for a job in Alaska and it is my current one (bought used from a dealer).  The motor died on day one while testing it.  The dealer sent it to Wetzlar, it came back good as new. The S24 is one of my most favorite lenses and it performs brilliantly.  You might try shooting at f/9.5 up.  If you get the same results, your S24 might need a trip to Wetzlar.  If you do, be sure to send photos illustrating the issue.  I am certain it will come back like new.  Hope this helps.  r/ Mark

[Sarnian]

3 hours ago, LeicaR10 said:

MGrayson3,   My current S24 is tack sharp to the corners at f/9.5 to f/11.  I owned one in 2017 that had a similar problem as yours and my assistant bought it.  He sent it to Wetzlar and it came back perfect.  I bought a second copy in 2019 for a job in Alaska and it is my current one (bought used from a dealer).  The motor died on day one while testing it.  The dealer sent it to Wetzlar, it came back good as new. The S24 is one of my most favorite lenses and it performs brilliantly.  You might try shooting at f/9.5 up.  If you get the same results, your S24 might need a trip to Wetzlar.  If you do, be sure to send photos illustrating the issue.  I am certain it will come back like new.  Hope this helps.  r/ Mark

My 30-90mm has similarly bad corners (worse, even!) and I intend to send it to Wetzlar when things return to normal. When I had the AF motor replaced I asked them to check the optics for decentering, etc. but it's no better. So, second time lucky!

It's frustrating as sending a lens of this value by courier to Germany costs me around £100. However, I don't want to give up on the 30-90mm as I got it for a great price and the focal lengths are perfect for my shooting style. The only comparably close zoom lens (in size and weight) is the Contax 45-90mm but that's not wide enough. The Hasselblad HCD 35-90mm is just too long! The 30-90mm is heavy but it's amazing what focal lengths Leica have squeezed out of such a relatively small lens. 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Sarnian

[albertknappmd]

2 hours ago, Sarnian said:

My 30-90mm has similarly bad corners (worse, even!) and I intend to send it to Wetzlar when things return to normal. When I had the AF motor replaced I asked them to check the optics for decentering, etc. but it's no better. So, second time lucky!

It's frustrating as sending a lens of this value by courier to Germany costs me around £100. However, I don't want to give up on the 30-90mm as I got it for a great price and the focal lengths are perfect for my shooting style. The only comparably close zoom lens (in size and weight) is the Contax 45-90mm but that's not wide enough. The Hasselblad HCD 35-90mm is just too long! The 30-90mm is heavy but it's amazing what focal lengths Leica have squeezed out of such a relatively small lens. 

The 30-90 is notorious for peripheral softness above a focal length of 65 mm or so.. It is due to the underlying compromises required of a zoom...

Take same picture say at 30 mm and 70 mm and you will see the difference.

Albert

[Sarnian]

8 minutes ago, albertknappmd said:

The 30-90 is notorious for peripheral softness above a focal length of 65 mm or so.. It is due to the underlying compromises required of a zoom...

Take same picture say at 30 mm and 70 mm and you will see the difference.

Albert

My copy is at its worst at 30mm (ironically, my most used focal length!). At a pinch it's not too bad at 40mm, when stopped down to f11, but it's definitely not as it should be - and certainly doesn't merit the Leica badge as it currently stands - or the price tag!

As it's going back for a second time I do hope that Leica won't have the nerve to charge me for the adjustment. 

[albertknappmd]

if it is not corrected, ask for another one. 

I did this many years ago and found a "perfect" copy (ie with the expected peripheral softening at higher focal length)

Something is truly awry with your copy..

[Sarnian]

21 minutes ago, albertknappmd said:

if it is not corrected, ask for another one. 

I did this many years ago and found a "perfect" copy (ie with the expected peripheral softening at higher focal length)

Something is truly awry with your copy..

It sometimes takes ages to lock focus, too. So, yes, something's awry somewhere - and to think that's it's worse since coming back from Leica! 🤬 It's never been dropped or banged.

As I got my 30-90mm second-hand (for 'only' £2,500) I guess they won't swap it for a new copy that retails for £8,700. 

I've attached a strip from the left-hand side of an image (about 80% of the height of the image - the bottom left-hand corner is as bad) and a strip from the middle. Look at the difference! This is at 30mm. It's perfect at 90mm. If they can only adjust it for one focal length then I'd pick: stellar at 30mm and lessening in quality the closer it gets to 90mm, but that's only because I prefer wide angle lenses to telephoto lenses. 

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Edited May 18, 2020 by Sarnian

[albertknappmd]

definitely needs adjustment..