S1R + SL 35mm Summicron - Help with Observed Behavior

[georgecp]

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Hello,

I am a happy S1R user with three Leica SL lenses.  I just added a fourth, the SL-35mm Summicron.  The lens is exhibiting some different behavior on my body and I want to know if anyone else with this combination could offer their perspective.

Simply put, the lens focus motor seems to "activate" making a small amount of noise when the camera is turned on and in ether single focus or continuous focus mode.  The focus/shutter button is not pressed (and eye activated focus is turned off).  I can hear the activation noise change as the camera is moved around and pointed at different subjects.  This does not happen when the S1R is set to MF.  When the shutter button is pressed or focus button is pressed, the lens focuses correctly and the results are fabulous.  

My other three lenses, SL-75mm, 24-90, and 90-280 do not behave this way; they stay silent until the focus button/shutter release is pressed and they start to focus.  that is why this seems unusual to me.  My camera is on firmware 1.5 and the SL-35mm is firmware 1.0.

I am taking this up with my dealer who is being supportive (I don't want there to be a subtle problem here - the lens is brand new).  However, I would appreciate hearing from someone who has the same combination if they observe the same behavior from this camera/lens combination.

Thank you!

George Pappas

 

[Jeff S]

Sorry to hear.  There is a thread in the SL section on focusing and zooming noises related to the 24-90. But some have also reported issues with selected SL Summicrons, even on the S1R.
 

See posts from ‘thighslapper’ and others.  Out of curiosity, do you have your camera set to the equivalent of ‘pre-focus’ on the SL2 (I think called custom focus/shutter 2 on the S1R)?  If so, try turning off.

Jeff

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[Ingo]

vor 6 Stunden schrieb georgecp:

Simply put, the lens focus motor seems to "activate" making a small amount of noise when the camera is turned on and in ether single focus or continuous focus mode. The focus/shutter button is not pressed (and eye activated focus is turned off).  I can hear the activation noise change as the camera is moved around and pointed at different subjects.  This does not happen when the S1R is set to MF.  When the shutter button is pressed or focus button is pressed, the lens focuses correctly and the results are fabulous.  

My other three lenses, SL-75mm, 24-90, and 90-280 do not behave this way; they stay silent until the focus button/shutter release is pressed and they start to focus.  that is why this seems unusual to me.  My camera is on firmware 1.5 and the SL-35mm is firmware 1.0.

I am taking this up with my dealer who is being supportive (I don't want there to be a subtle problem here - the lens is brand new).  However, I would appreciate hearing from someone who has the same combination if they observe the same behavior from this camera/lens combination.

Thank you!

George Pappas

 

I hear that noise with all SL-Summicrons (35, 50, 75, 90) on the S1R but most loudly with the the SL-35. During the beta test of the SL2 it could also be heard. (Not sure if it is fixed now on the SL2 because I don't own a copy). The 24-90 and 90-280 are 'silent' as you already mentioned. 
I reported this to Leica in September last year and got the following response from the support team (unfortunately in German):

Zitat

Hallo Herr Cordes,

 vielen Dank für die Information.

Ich habe ihre Mail intern weitergeleitet. Bisher habe ich noch keine konkrete Rückmeldung erhalten. Das Phänomen wird weiter untersucht.

Ich kann Ihnen zumindest eine Erklärung geben, warum die Geräusche auftreten. Die Panasonic S1 und S1R arbeiten mit einem anderen Autofocus System als die Leica SL. Bei diesen Kameras wird kontinuierlich fokussiert, um die Tiefeninformationen zu berechnen. Warum allerdings nur ein Teil der Objektive diese Geräusche verursacht, kann ich Ihnen noch nicht beantworten.

Unfortunately there is no fix yet. I think it would help if you open an incident for this behavior and send an e-mail to Leica support. 

There is also another (older) thread: 

 

 

[georgecp]

Thank you Ingo and Jeff.

Jeff, the nearest function the S1r has to pre-focus is "quick focus" and I have it turned off.  However, Ingo's referenced post seems to indicate that the situation may be improved if turned on..I will test later today;

Ingo, is is possible to translate the reply from Leica?  My high-school German is over 40 years old and I have not had the occasion to use it since then in any meaningful way.  I appreciate your assistance.

It seems from the referenced posts that this occurs with both Panasonic and Leica SL/SL2...very curious..and with multiple lenses (if these reported symptoms are the same thing).

Thanks again for your assistance.  I will let the group know how I resolve this issue with my dealer (Miami Leica Store - a very solid organization).

Regards,

George Pappas

 

[Ingo]

This is the translation with deepl.com:

Zitat

Hello, Mr. Cordes,

 Thank you for the information.

I have forwarded your mail internally. So far I have not received any concrete feedback. The phenomenon is being investigated further.

I can at least give you an explanation as to why the noises are occurring. The Panasonic S1 and S1R work with a different autofocus system than the Leica SL. These cameras focus continuously to calculate the depth information. But why only some of the lenses cause these noises, I can't answer you yet.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[Jeff S]

This was just posted in the SL(2) section....

 

Jeff

[georgecp]

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Hello Everyone,

It has been a couple of weeks since I raised this question; I wanted to provide the group with an update.

Net/Net: the lens is excellent and works fine (great optical and AF performance). The behavior is a side-effect of the nuances between SL Lens execution and different manufacturer execution of their AF systems.  As a 35+ year technology person, this is an old story.  Over time, I would expect the L-Alliance to fill more of these small "gaps" as their support matures to the limit of their "coopetition" with each other.  Another example of this immaturity are firmware update issues across camera/lens brands.

I was able to get Panasonic's Senior Technical Specialist on the phone.  He informed me that the S1R's DFD system is "scoping" in the background and explained that Panasonic engineers a DOF table into its firmware support for each L-Mount lens.  He is verifying that the SL-35mm is on that list (feedback from Japan - a week or so is my guess. will update the group when I hear).

I spoke with my Leica Dealer and then sent a message to Leica in Germany per Ingo's suggestion.  Here is the response they sent me:

"Dear Mr. Pappas,

Thank you for your mail.
The noise behavior of your SL lens is normal and varies depending on the model, focal length, camera used and exposure conditions. This can not be improved. The functional reliability and image quality of all our lenses always meet the usual high Leica standards.


Mit freundlichen Grüßen / kind regards

Liberty Seria
Customer Care Represantative"

My interpretation: they have gotten getter at answering the question that Ingo asked a while ago - but the substance of the answer is the same.

The lens is terrific so I am keeping and a happy camper (I hope I don't need the warranty down the road)...

To all in the US; Happy Labor Day. To all others, have a wonderful weekend (and make a few images!).

Regards,

George

 

[Archiver]

This is a promising result. If/when I go with L mount, I'll know I can get the 35 Summicron with confidence.

[georgecp]

Happy New Year Everyone!  Let's hope this year is better for all and the pandemic subsides.

I wanted to provide a brief update on this issue as I rented an SL2 over the holiday (Lensrentals annual special rate) to determine several issues vs. the S1R that I own.  (S1R is FW 1.6)

First, I updated all SL Lens firmware, including the 35mm (now on V2.0)

The subtle focus noise that I reported last summer/fall still exists on my S1R.  Interestingly, the same focus noise behavior occurs when the lens in on the SL2 (which also has FW 2.0 installed).  Focus and optical performance is still stellar; the noise/focus motor movement is subtle.  I am ok with that.