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Is the 24-90 a companion an M shooter can fall in love with?

tennessee jones

By tennessee jones
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BernardC

BernardC

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On 6/1/2021 at 8:57 PM, beewee said:

The front optical group of the Leica 24-90 bears striking resemblance to the Sigma 24-70.

It also looks a lot like the front group of the Panasonic 24-70 (the Leica has more "special glass"), and probably of most other recent mid-range zoom designs. I'm not sure that I read anything into this. Most "planar-type", "tessar-type", "distagon-type" lenses also have similar-looking designs, but they aren't the same in real life.

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Slender
Slender

Coming from exclusive M "only" background, yes, I can totally say I fell deeply in love with the 24-90 and how it renders. It's lovely all the time. Perhaps you can detect a hint of nervousness in som

Tailwagger
Tailwagger

I don't think it was an accident that the initial set of lenses Leica provided for the SL consisted of a single prime with a full set of zooms.  With M these days, I typically carry the WATE, 28mm and

Stuart Richardson
Stuart Richardson

I will go against the grain here and say that I was not all that taken with the 24-90mm. I did not really like the results in the landscape work I did. It is not that it is unsharp, just that you clea

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J12

J12

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The 24-90mm is an outstanding lens. I’ve shot with it day in day out over many months. I find it very hard to fault and the images it produces consistently beyond my typical expectations for a zoom. It’s also been utterly reliable. Even when subjected to adverse conditions and heavy rain. Allowing me to continue shooting in combination with the SL when I might have otherwise stopped.

The variable aperture and being F4 on the long end is not too much of an issue on digital. I think they made the right choice given the usefulness provided by the extended focal range of 24-90mm and the stunning IQ. After using this lens, I certainly wouldn’t bother looking at another 24-70mm F2.8 constant aperture zoom again. The extra reach of the 24-90mm is just too useful and the IQ spectacular throughout that range. (I am not a lens tester measuring performance on charts, just very satisfied with what I’ve seen.)  

I’m not sure it’s a lens to fall in love with the same way some small and fast M primes might be. It’s size and weight may prevent you from wanting to casually pick it up and go out to shoot on a whim. However, if you intentionally go out to shoot with an objective in mind (whether professionally or otherwise) it’s something you may well want to bring with you. As you can have full confidence it will get the job done. And do it incredibly well. Bringing a quality to the images you might not expect from a zoom.

With all that said, nothing will really replace the experience of a fast aperture prime lens on the M system. Especially when it comes to consciously placing focus using the rangefinder, being selective with dof at wider apertures and working within the confines of a fixed focal length.

If you enjoy the rangefinder and fixed focal length experience, I wouldn’t consider the SL system and this lens a replacement. Instead something different that’s complimentary and practical.

Using a rangefinder and manual focus prime lenses is my favorite way to shoot. But I have no regrets buying the SL and this lens. Both camera and lens have proven incredibly rugged, reliable and excellent performers in actual use.

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tennessee jones

tennessee jones

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Thank you so much, very useful and interesting points.

I would be using the SL system as something complimentary and practical, just as you say.

I've sold off all my DSLR gear but not my M. I love that camera and way of shooting more than anything (even more than the Pentax 67 which still makes me smile whenever I pick it up, the great leviathan)

And I've just been offered a used 24-90 for what seems a stupidly good price so am tempted to get it, use it and if in 6 months/year it falls out of usefulness I'll sell it on with any small loss as 'rental'.... 

12 minutes ago, J12 said:

The 24-90mm is an outstanding lens. I’ve shot with it day in day out over many months. I find it very hard to fault and the images it produces consistently beyond my typical expectations for a zoom. It’s also been utterly reliable. Even when subjected to adverse conditions and heavy rain. Allowing me to continue shooting in combination with the SL when I might have otherwise stopped.

The variable aperture and being F4 on the long end is not too much of an issue on digital. I think they made the right choice given the usefulness provided by the extended focal range of 24-90mm and the stunning IQ. After using this lens, I certainly wouldn’t bother looking at another 24-70mm F2.8 constant aperture zoom again. The extra reach of the 24-90mm is just too useful and the IQ spectacular throughout that range. (I am not a lens tester measuring performance on charts, just very satisfied with what I’ve seen.)  

I’m not sure it’s a lens to fall in love with the same way some small and fast M primes might be. It’s size and weight may prevent you from wanting to casually pick it up and go out to shoot on a whim. However, if you intentionally go out to shoot with an objective in mind (whether professionally or otherwise) it’s something you may well want to bring with you. As you can have full confidence it will get the job done. And do it incredibly well. Bringing a quality to the images you might not expect from a zoom.

With all that said, nothing will really replace the experience of a fast aperture prime lens on the M system. Especially when it comes to consciously placing focus using the rangefinder, being selective with dof at wider apertures and working within the confines of a fixed focal length.

If you enjoy the rangefinder and fixed focal length experience, I wouldn’t consider the SL system and this lens a replacement. Instead something different that’s complimentary and practical.

Using a rangefinder and manual focus prime lenses is my favorite way to shoot. But I have no regrets buying the SL and this lens. Both camera and lens have proven incredibly rugged, reliable and excellent performers in actual use.

 

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Jeff S

Jeff S

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1 hour ago, tennessee jones said:

I would be using the SL system as something complimentary...

 

I doubt you’ll find it for free.  But others may well compliment you on the choice.

(Sorry for pedantic mode.)

Jeff

 

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J12

J12

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3 hours ago, Jeff S said:

I doubt you’ll find it for free.  But others may well compliment you on the choice.

(Sorry for pedantic mode.)

Jeff

 

It wouldn't be the internet without someone pointing out spelling mistakes! 😃 For which I take full responsibility in being the cause. Too late to edit my post.

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otto.f

otto.f

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If I were you I would see it coming that this 24-90 on your sl2s will attract your attention away from your M. Prime M lenses can be used on the SL, but the 24-90 can’t be used on your M. So nice offer or not for the 24-90, M lenses always have a double usability. 

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chris_tribble

chris_tribble

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I do have to say that the more I use the SL2 and the 24-90 the more persuaded I am by the system.  I've decided to only keep one M10 for personal work and am getting a second SL2 body.  My only question is do I really need the APO 35 and 75 when the 24-90 is so frustratingly good.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Some examples of why I feel this way here:

https://www.ctribble.co.uk/galleries/PERSONAL/Lakes_2021_Crook_a_flowering/

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chris_tribble

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3 hours ago, i-Leica said:

Why a second SL2 body when you use a zoom lens?

If I’m working a performance or an event I need to be able to move between wide and long quickly. When I shot Canon zooms it was usually a pair of 5D series cameras with 24-70 & 70-200. When I shot mostly Leica I used 3 bodies - 2 Ms with 28 + 50 and one DSLR with 70-200. In the new regime it will be 2 SL2 bodies with 24-90 / 90-280. Assuming travel assignments happen again I’d have at least the APO 75 in the bag for portraiture and an M with 35 for street / personal work. I’m sure others have different ways of working, but if I’m needing to be quick and very responsive I don’t want to be changing lenses. 
Good question though 🙂

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i-Leica

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vor 28 Minuten schrieb chris_tribble:

 2 SL2 bodies with 24-90 / 90-280.

now its clear why :) I thought the range 24 - 90 is OK so thats why I asked

Edited by i-Leica
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tennessee jones

tennessee jones

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On 6/6/2021 at 3:50 PM, chris_tribble said:

I do have to say that the more I use the SL2 and the 24-90 the more persuaded I am by the system.  I've decided to only keep one M10 for personal work and am getting a second SL2 body.  My only question is do I really need the APO 35 and 75 when the 24-90 is so frustratingly good.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Some examples of why I feel this way here:

https://www.ctribble.co.uk/galleries/PERSONAL/Lakes_2021_Crook_a_flowering/

Great stuff. 

And as you say, it's a really great camera. 

As soon as I work out how to post pictures properly I'll share some tests with 24-90 and 75. 

 

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helged

helged

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On 6/6/2021 at 4:50 PM, chris_tribble said:

I do have to say that the more I use the SL2 and the 24-90 the more persuaded I am by the system.  I've decided to only keep one M10 for personal work and am getting a second SL2 body.  My only question is do I really need the APO 35 and 75 when the 24-90 is so frustratingly good.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Some examples of why I feel this way here:

https://www.ctribble.co.uk/galleries/PERSONAL/Lakes_2021_Crook_a_flowering/

Having 24-90 and 75, there are images/look that the 75@f2 gives that 24-90 cannot deliver. That being said, the last L-lens I would let go is the 24-90. And yes, 24-90 covers pretty much 90+ percent of my photography. 

With two bodies, 24-90 + 35 or 24-90 + 75 make sense. 

Edited by helged
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Jeff S

Jeff S

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4 hours ago, tennessee jones said:

I've gone for a used 24-90, which came out as cheaper than a new 24-70 (the Leica version anyway!) 

 

 

The consensus choice….


I won’t be selling (or adding to) my 24-90.  But options are nice to have.

Jeff

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tennessee jones

tennessee jones

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2 hours ago, Jeff S said:

The consensus choice….


I won’t be selling (or adding to) my 24-90.  But options are nice to have.

Jeff

Vox populi, vox Dei..... 

Oddly the other lens I think I might pick up is the Sigma 65mm. 

A documentary bag with M + 35 and SL2 24-90 or 65mm could be quite flexible. 

Anyway: time to use them!

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