What's the best alternative to each of my old EF lenses?

[hellobrandonscott]

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Recently switched to Leica from Canon, and looking to convert my EF glass to a Leica equivalent. Need some help given that the SL options are still sort of limited...

Here's what I have in Canon L form: 24 1.4L, 85 1.4L, and 135 2L. I already got the Summicron 35 to replace my 35 1.4L. Very stoked about that.

My understanding is that Leica's coming out with a 24, so I might wait for that. 

For the 85 and 135, are Sigma offerings any good? Otherwise, I guess I could aim to convert the 85 into the Summicron 90, but the 135 is a hole I still need filled. 

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[LD_50]

I would consider the 75 or 90 Summicron to replace your 85 1.4L. 

Sigma offers direct L-mount alternatives to each of your Canon lenses. You could shoot those now and then upgrade later when/if Leica offers an alternative.

Do you need AF? If not, you can consider M lenses that align with your Canon options.

Do you need the shallow DOF or light gathering capability of the f/1.4 and f/2? If not, you can choose from a few Leica zoom options. I have all three and they're very good.

[hellobrandonscott]

I need AF, yeah. Are the Sigma options viable? I admittedly know very little about Sigma other than they make more value-brand alternatives to "name" brands.

Same with needing faster lenses. I'm in dark settings a lot. 

Edited March 13, 2021 by hellobrandonscott

[LD_50]

16 minutes ago, hellobrandonscott said:

I need AF, yeah. Are the Sigma options viable? I admittedly know very little about Sigma other than they make more value-brand alternatives to "name" brands.

Same with needing faster lenses. I'm in dark settings a lot. 

I only shoot a Sigma 105 Macro and it's good enough. Build quality is okay and haptics are poor but IQ is good. 

I think the Sigmas generally get pretty good reviews and they are said to be competitive with Canon and Nikon. I wouldn't buy into the SL system to shoot those lenses though. I prefer the Leica options.

[beewee]

The Sigma 24mm f/3.5 DG DN is exceedingly sharp. If you don’t need wide aperture, it’s a great bang for the buck at just twice the price of a Summicron APO SL lens hood. The size and weight makes the SL2/SL2-S handle more like an M then an SL which is refreshing.

I think even if you were to wait for the Summicron APO SL, it’s worth getting the Sigma to cover 24mm for the time being.

I don’t have experience with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN but it has gotten good reviews. In general, I wouldn’t hesitate to try any DG DN lenses from Sigma. But I would stay away from the DG HSM series which are SLR lenses adapted for mirrorless. The DG DN lenses are designed from the ground up to perform best with full frame mirrorless and so far they haven’t disappointed, especially those of the Art and new i-series.

[beewee]

1 hour ago, m410 said:

Hi and Welcome to the Forum,

Several years ago I too had a fairly extensive Canon F-1 System: F1 and  Ftb bodies, lenses 15mm Fisheye, 24mm wide, 35mm Wide, 50mm normal, 100mm tele, 200mm tele and 70-210mm Vivitar Ser 1 zoom.  Great setup but too big and heavy to carry around traveling.  

In 1975 I switched to Leica M's: M4, M6 then digital M240, M10 bodies, with lenses 21mm f3.4, 28 f2.8, 35mm f1.4, 35mm f2, 50mm f2, 90mm f4 Macro and 135mm f4; all Leica lenses.  

I am currently in the process of pairing down further to keeping my original M4 Body and a new M10-R, 21mm f3.4 SEM, 35mm f2 APO, 90mm f4 Macro-Elmar.  Also, because it is nearly fifty-five years old, retaining  my 135mm f4 Tele-Elmar for fun but not too much for travel as it weighs 560 grams.

Except for the Vivitar Series 1 for my Canon, I have always used Canon or Leica brand lenses and have tended to keep my equipment a long time (I still have and drive  my 1965 VW) as this has proven reliable.

The SL lens selection is a bit more limiting but there is the adapter M lens on to L mount that will allow to use of desired focal lengths only available in M lens line.

Well this is my experience from just south of you in SLO.

jDD

 

 

21mm f3.4 SEM  270grams (one of Leica's best IMO)

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35mm f2 Summicron ASPH2  240 grams (changing to APO version)

 

 

90mm f4 Macro-Elmar  240 grams (extremely sharp and easy to carry)

 

 

135mm f4 Tele-Elmar 560 grams

There’s so much image compression artifacts in these images, I think you could have shot them with a webcam and no one would have been the wiser. 

There’s gotta be a better way to show lens performance which is rather ironic for a Leica forum. 😋 

[Ray Vonn]

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Perhaps the one one your going to miss is that 135mn F2 - what a fantastic lens that is, one much envied from this Nikon + RF shooter.

[hellobrandonscott]

4 hours ago, Ray Vonn said:

Perhaps the one one your going to miss is that 135mn F2 - what a fantastic lens that is, one much envied from this Nikon + RF shooter.

For how often I use it, which is to say, not a ton, I’m hoping the adapter behaves well with it and then I can just keep it. It’s mostly just a church lens when I can’t get close enough for an 85, but need low light because #church.

[hillavoider]

Do you do any video at weddings as well? As the Leica lenses will stop working at 25% battery and 3rd party don’t work at all for 4K 

something to keep in mind as Leica don’t seem able to fix it 

 

[michali]

I have several Sigma L mount lenses including the 135mm f1.8 & the 85mm f1.4 I recently also purchased the Sigma 65mm f2. In my experience they're  exceptionally good lenses, well built, IQ is very good. A big plus for me is that they have aperture rings.

I've never owned Sigma lenses before & am really impressed with their quality at every level, including not having to break the bank for the quality that you get.

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by michali

[hansvons]

5 hours ago, hillavoider said:

Do you do any video at weddings as well? As the Leica lenses will stop working at 25% battery and 3rd party don’t work at all for 4K 

something to keep in mind as Leica don’t seem able to fix it 

 

I've tried to drain my Leica SL2-S' battery with a 256GB card and UHD 422 Quicktime video. Still, I couldn't accomplish that because the battery outlasted the 86min video recording. Not too bad for such a small battery. That might be different with mp4 video. I figure that 4 batteries will be sufficient for a regular shooting day - at least for SL2-S.

[Photoworks]

On 3/14/2021 at 7:36 AM, hansvons said:

I've tried to drain my Leica SL2-S' battery with a 256GB card and UHD 422 Quicktime video. Still, I couldn't accomplish that because the battery outlasted the 86min video recording. Not too bad for such a small battery. That might be different with mp4 video. I figure that 4 batteries will be sufficient for a regular shooting day - at least for SL2-S.

I think the issue reflects  on 4k video with non Leica lenses and sigma adapter. Leica said that those lenses drain more power and it will display an error  on the screen, sometime even if battery is 75%.
It is possible that you get it more often on little clips then one long take. I was doing C4K LOG and getting it at 25% with Leica lens, But I only have the SL2, SL2s maybe better.
Leica suggest using the battery grip to overcome the issue.

[BernardC]

On 3/13/2021 at 3:59 PM, hellobrandonscott said:

I admittedly know very little about Sigma other than they make more value-brand alternatives to "name" brands.

That's not the case any more, but it is how they started-out. Their newer lenses are among the best you can get. Their cinema line is just as well-regarded as Canon's cinema line. I don't think you need to worry if you stick to their "Art" and "DN" lines.

In Sigma-talk, DN designates mirrorless lenses. These are smaller and optically better than the equivalent SLR designs. "Art" designates their no-holds-barred lenses. The Art lenses tend to be quite large (the ones that are SLR designs), but they hold their own against all competition. Their 135/1.8 is very well-regarded, if you don't mind a 1.1KG lens.

[Boojay]

On 3/14/2021 at 3:02 AM, hellobrandonscott said:

For how often I use it, which is to say, not a ton, I’m hoping the adapter behaves well with it and then I can just keep it. It’s mostly just a church lens when I can’t get close enough for an 85, but need low light because #church.

If you are thinking of the MC-21 adaptor it's pretty much useless for the 135 f/2... just constant hunting... I still use it with the SL2 because I have always enjoyed results from the lens, but, manual focus is the only way really.

 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

A brief history of Sigma. They used to make cheap, uninspiring and occasionally unreliable alternatives to Canon and Nikon lenses. The they took a radical change in direction with the introduction of the *Art* lenses and now they make glass that's  extremely competitive with the best from Canon, Sony  and Nikon. They have three levels. Contemporary, Sport and Art although all seem to be very good to excellent optically, now. Build quality improves as you go up. Art is their version of *L* Canon glass and mostly it's just as good.

In native you can choose from Leica, Panasonic and Sigma L mount glass. NONE of it is bad. The SIgma 45mm is a bit different in application but the rest are all very sharp and more than suitable. Actually I'd use the 45mm happily when I wanted the character it has.

The 85 is easy. You have many options. If you can live with F2 the best is the Summicron. I'd probably go for the 75 as it's a natural, match to the 35 you have and the 135 you want (double focal length system kit). I chose the 90 because my base lens is a 50. If you want 1.4 the Sigma will merely be as good as your Canon 85L. And that 'aint so bad.

For the 24, you can wait, shoot with the excellent Sigma prime, or use one of the three zooms available, all of which are really really good. I'd probably pick the SIgma zoom over the Leica or Panasonic. The Leica *is* a tiny tiny bit better but the Sigma is 98% as good, wider, smaller, lighter and faster. If your Canon 24 focuses Ok then you can wait for the Leica but expect at least 2022 for it. Leicas release schedule is slow.

The 135 is harder. There are excellent lenses available but SIgma has two series of Leica L mount lenses. The current DG DN series and the older ones adapted from existing DSLR designs. The older ones are excellent optically (like fabulous) but they're big and the AF is a bit slower (with NO AFC at all). However they will be faster than adapting your Canon glass with the MC21. See if you can test either the SIgma 135 in L mount or the incredible 105 f1.4. The 105 might be a bit short for you but it's so very very good. It's a beast though. If not the the Panasonic 70-200 f2.8 is a large but fabulous zoom that'll get you through until a 135 prime arrives.

Gordon