CL lenses on SL

[kengai]

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I have read that CL lenses can be mounted on the SL without any adapter. Do they keep all the automatisms? How's the yield? Can it be a good solution to combine the CL with an SL first type now that the used one is at a good price? 

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[michali]

1 hour ago, kengai said:

I have read that CL lenses can be mounted on the SL without any adapter. Do they keep all the automatisms? How's the yield? Can it be a good solution to combine the CL with an SL first type now that the used one is at a good price? 

The short answer is yes to all your questions. Image quality is excellent. I have several CL lenses that I use on my SL & SL2.

On the original SL you get a DNG image of about 10MP  in size, on the SL2 you get a 20MP sized DNG image. 

[John Robinson]

I have been getting excellent results on the SL with M- and R-series manual-focus lenses but sometimes auto-focus would be useful so I looked at options.  The only thing I miss about the Sony A7 system (which I traded in for the Leica) is the remarkably small AF prime lenses such as the Sony 28 f/2 and Zeiss 35 f/2.8.  Even the Zeiss 55 f/1.8 is tiny compared with the Leica SL AF lenses.  Quite apart from the matter of cost, the Summicron-SLs are large and heavy.  I decided to try a TL lens and opted for the Summicron-TL 23mm f/2 ASPH.  I recalled that I used to get excellent results from the M8 before the M9 came along and checked the resolution.  The M8 produced 3916 x 2634 files (approx 10 Mpixels).  The SL in APS-C mode produces 3936 x 2624 files (almost the same as the M8).  So, if I was happy with the M8 results, why not try an SL in APS-C mode? 

As noted in other posts, on the SL2 the APS-C mode produces around 20Mpixels, something to aspire to for an upgrade path perhaps?  Maybe, in time, Leica will produce some "economy" AF lenses for the SL system, along the lines of the excellent Summarits for the M-series.  In the meantime, the Summicron-TL on the SL makes for a nicely-balanced camera, similar to using it with an M-series lens.  Here is a recent test shot from the SL with the 23mm, taken at f/4 in bright sunlight.  Almost an auto-focus M8?

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