SL2-S first impression

[paul.bridges.3388]

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24 minutes ago, la1402 said:

Interesting experiences, thanks. I am a bit torn. My intention was to use the SL2S with my 35&50 M Summicrons for family pictures, but that does not work so well with my lively women (yes, lack of practice too).... So leaning back to AF.  My only AF lens is the Sigma 24-70/2.8. That is great but the amount of keepers is super low compared to my Z6 with its kit lens both indoors and outdoor. I wonder wether a Summicron SL would be much faster, or I just wait until summer and then see what the FW update brings. And if I add an SL lens - which one to start with? For Family, a 50mm sounds nice as a one-lens solution, and then adding a 90 later. Somehow I am more tempted by a 35/75 combo, but will not be able to afford both for some time and would be back at only a 35 being too wide and only a 75 too long.

Lively women you say?🤔

My Q2 and SL before that spent half time in Manual focus. This was okay when the M-lenses gave such beautiful rendering but was particularly frustrating with the Q2, which I consider an expensive automatic camera.

The SL2-S has me viewing AF completely differently. A revelation.

Edited December 28, 2020 by paul.bridges.3388

[jaapv]

Well , being somebody who is loath to have the camera replace the photographer, I would say that AF in general can never be more than an aid. But try setting the camera to AFs and Face Detection - it might help.

[paul.bridges.3388]

9 minutes ago, la1402 said:

There are simply a lot out of focus. Having shot with DFD cameras before, I did not expect Canon/Nikon/Sigma AF performance, but in comparison to the Z6s AF, the SL2S's AF feels more like a focusing aid. I know from past experiences that some lenses focus faster than others. Given Pauls positive experience with the 75 Sl indoors, I wonder wether I can expect more AF speed from native lenses than from Sigma/Panasonic.

The SL 75/2 had the latest lens update (v2.0?), if that helps? The iAF face detection is light years from the Q2’s, for whatever reason. Note, the Q2 lacks iAF. This seems odd to me.

Edited December 28, 2020 by paul.bridges.3388

[la1402]

24 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Well , being somebody who is loath to have the camera replace the photographer, I would say that AF in general can never be more than an aid. But try setting the camera to AFs and Face Detection - it might help.

Yeah I know.... some aides need more checking than others 😉 I used face detection and it seems that it needs a lot of light to recognize faces well. And on short distances it is not much help as the face is not precise enough a target and AFAIK the SL2s cannot do Eye AF. I hope that comes with the promised FW update somewhere next year.  But I have to admit I am new to this system and will have to test further.

Edited December 28, 2020 by la1402

[Daedalus2000]

30 minutes ago, la1402 said:

Yeah I know.... some aides need more checking than others 😉 I used face detection and it seems that it needs a lot of light to recognize faces well. And on short distances it is not much help as the face is not precise enough a target and AFAIK the SL2s cannot do Eye AF. I hope that comes with the promised FW update somewhere next year.  But I have to admit I am new to this system and will have to test further.

Is your experience with unsatisfactory AF only in low light situations, or also when you have plenty of light?

[paul.bridges.3388]

33 minutes ago, la1402 said:

Yeah I know.... some aides need more checking than others 😉 I used face detection and it seems that it needs a lot of light to recognize faces well. And on short distances it is not much help as the face is not precise enough a target and AFAIK the SL2s cannot do Eye AF. I hope that comes with the promised FW update somewhere next year.  But I have to admit I am new to this system and will have to test further.

The SLS-S iAF with 75/2 works well in low light. Multiple faces show individual boxes and it’s simple to choose which one with the joystick in the large right AF. The photos suggest that eye AFis at critical focus. Superb. It’s the snapping on of the Face AF in low light wide open that impresses me so much.

[la1402]

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6 minutes ago, Daedalus2000 said:

Is your experience with unsatisfactory AF only in low light situations, or also when you have plenty of light?

It is mostly in low light. AFS is ok in good light. 

[LocalHero1953]

I photographed my lively women with a Leica M. Now that they have lively men and women of their own, I have recorded them with Leica M9/M240, CL and SL (I haven't seen them since I got the SL2 and then SL2-S😔). I do not burst shoot, and always use AF-S. Yes, I have a lot of duds - it goes with the subject matter: getting a good expression is far harder than getting them in focus. I also get plenty of keepers, which my daughters periodically demand for their own family archives. I long ago decided that the best approach is to stop thinking about the technology and think about what the kids are doing - understanding their behaviour, anticipating it, and encouraging/tricking them into getting into photographable pose (and in the best light) seems to work for me far better than tweaking AF settings. I also found that a small camera works best - kids notice it less - so I use the CL mostly. FWIW the SL focuses faster, and the SL2/SL2-S is faster again. iAF is a big step up. I've never understood the gripe about the SL not having Eye AF: given a chance, Face AF always seemed to focus on the eye anyway, whatever it was called. 

Edited December 28, 2020 by LocalHero1953

[jaapv]

1 hour ago, la1402 said:

Yeah I know.... some aides need more checking than others 😉 I used face detection and it seems that it needs a lot of light to recognize faces well. And on short distances it is not much help as the face is not precise enough a target and AFAIK the SL2s cannot do Eye AF. I hope that comes with the promised FW update somewhere next year.  But I have to admit I am new to this system and will have to test further.

If it can’t find a face it will revert to miltifoejd, which is quite adequate for general photography.