Stuart Richardson Posted March 17, 2023 Share #1 Posted March 17, 2023 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have not really seen any direct comparisons of these two lenses, but I am curious to see. The Panasonic is one of their S Pro Leica certified lenses, so it should be good, and from what I understand, Panasonic holds the patent on the optical design of the Leica 16-35mm. Looking at the only available MTFs, they don't seem to give a clear advantage to one or the other (at least from what I can tell...the Panasonic only has 16 and 35mm at f4 with 10 and 30lpm, whereas Leica does 5,10,20 and 40lpm for more apertures and focal lengths). I am just curious if any members have had both or tried both and came to some sort of conclusion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 17, 2023 Posted March 17, 2023 Hi Stuart Richardson, Take a look here Any comparisons between the Leica 16-35mm and the Panasonic 16-35mm?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Mak67 Posted March 17, 2023 Share #2 Posted March 17, 2023 I bought the Panasonic 16-35 when it was released to see how it compare to my Leica , kept the Leica and return the Panasonic. The SL 16-35 IS a strong performer at all focal, good overall sharpness @5.6-8, almost no CA, very good flare performances. It's a very predictive Lens, i mean: no surprise, it Always give good result even in interior with strong backlight. My copy is even sharper than my 24-90 from 24 to 35mm. and very good at 16-19mm, corner are a bit behind but still very good for a zoom. Fast AF if needed. internal zooming !! the Lenshood doesn't fit very well, i have two copy and both are falling from time to time ... it's big and weight a bit ! From memory (been a long Time now) the Panasonic was ok, but not on part with the Leica. 6 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Richardson Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share #3 Posted March 17, 2023 Thanks for your impressions! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediaFotografie Posted March 17, 2023 Share #4 Posted March 17, 2023 vor 31 Minuten schrieb Mak67: I bought the Panasonic 16-35 when it was released to see how it compare to my Leica , kept the Leica and return the Panasonic. I bought the SL 16-35 on it's first day, simply because it was the first UW-Zoom for L-Mount (even before the L-Mount alliance); in professional use it's one of my most important lenses (events), a wonderful lens. sorry, don't know the Pana, there was no need to look at it for me 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Richardson Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share #5 Posted March 17, 2023 Thank you. I am just interested because I do not use this focal length range all that much, and I think it would likely be overkill for me to buy the Leica version. The Panasonic is appealing because of the price, size and weight, but I have not really seen that much information on it. It may well be that for my uses, primes like the Sigma 20mm are just a better option, but I was curious to hear if anyone had any side by side comparisons or evaluations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernd-B Posted March 17, 2023 Share #6 Posted March 17, 2023 I had the same opinion and started with the Panasonic as I did not use that focal very often. In the meantime, I switched to the Leica which is much better and use that focal range more often. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj3209 Posted March 17, 2023 Share #7 Posted March 17, 2023 Advertisement (gone after registration) A smaller and faster wide angle prime from Sigma might be an option as well. Even a nice MF Voigt could be another option. I actually got an SL2 to use my M-glass with it's awesome EVF. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightPix Posted March 17, 2023 Share #8 Posted March 17, 2023 (edited) I bought the pano to try it out for use during travel where keeping my SL2 kit light is a priority. I haven’t used the pano a whole lot but so far it’s been very sharp and the colors are great. I did do a bunch of comparison shots at 24, 28, and 35 with my 24-70 2.8 VE, all on tripod at f5.6. The pano was every bit as sharp as the Leica VE at every focal length with comparable colors. I also compared it to my (m to l adapted) Voigtlander 28 Ultron f2.8 V2 and the pano was actually a bit better. I decided not to buy the Leica 16-35 because the pano was so good and much lighter - which is exactly what I wanted for my travel kit. Edited March 17, 2023 by NightPix 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2023 Share #9 Posted March 17, 2023 I picked the Panasonic over the Leica as between the two I didn't see an image quality advantage. The true winner IMHO is the Sigma 14-24 f/2.8 (on image quality and max. aperture) ... if the reduced zoom range and need to use back-filters works for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mak67 Posted March 17, 2023 Share #10 Posted March 17, 2023 (edited) . Edited March 17, 2023 by Mak67 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mak67 Posted March 17, 2023 Share #11 Posted March 17, 2023 (edited) Regarding the Panasonic here is a review : https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_lumix_s_pro_16_35mm_f4_review/sharpness_1 And the Leica here : https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/leica_super-vario-elmar_sl_16_35mm_f3_5_4_5_asph_review Edited March 17, 2023 by Mak67 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwm Posted March 18, 2023 Share #12 Posted March 18, 2023 Maybe even the Sigma 16-28mm f2.8? I chose it over the much bigger Sigma 14-24mm f2.8 and the Pana 16-35 f4 based on a couple of reviews and wanting something compact and with internal zoom. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2660 Posted March 18, 2023 Share #13 Posted March 18, 2023 The Leica 16-35 does have flare issues at least in my experience. Any image where the sun or light source is crossing the frame, from the side, creates a totally destructive flare in the opposite corner of the light source but also terrible smaller flare up closer to the light source which manifests itself in a rainbow curve to magenta smudge which is very hard to remove in post. Lens is very sharp on the SL2 but also has retrofocus distortion towards the edge of the frame at 16mm which creates elongated subject matter. This is common with most wides however. The Sigma 20mm 1.4 (new style mirrorless lens) is a sleeper. Very sharp across the frame and exhibits also most coma at the corners. Very impressive for the cost. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBB Posted March 18, 2023 Share #14 Posted March 18, 2023 23 hours ago, mzbe said: The true winner IMHO is the Sigma 14-24 f/2.8 yes I agree 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mak67 Posted March 18, 2023 Share #15 Posted March 18, 2023 (edited) @Paul, did you used filter on it ? Strange, Never had any flare issue on my copy, and working in a lot of different conditions and often with strong backlight, including sun or ligth from all direction (i'm doing a lot of interior design shot) ... from my experience this Lens is a very strong performer regarding flare and ghost ... But as always it might be some good and some bad copy on the market. Edited March 18, 2023 by Mak67 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmknoble Posted March 19, 2023 Share #16 Posted March 19, 2023 @Stuart Richardson, I agree with your original post, there is not much in the way of comparisons out there. I have not had the Panasonic, but I can tell you I have the 16-35 and I have used it, knee deep, in the ocean and I do not worry a bit about the system. I’m even known to rinse it off lightly with the hose (very lightly) after being out on the coast. I do have the 14-24 f/2.8 sigma and the lens is very nice. I worry, however, about the weather sealing because they are so specific to say, light rain is ok. I have had the S and SL system out in torrential rain, so unless the sigma or panasonic lenses are willing to say they can handle those things with no problem, I’ll stick with the Leica lenses. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2660 Posted March 19, 2023 Share #17 Posted March 19, 2023 Quick upload to show the issues I found. Sun is coming in from the right side flare is by far the worst inside the rays of the sun, where you see a round magenta blob, which due to it's location is destructive to the entire shot. It totally changes the color of the subjects and has a hard edge. Then to the upper left you see a classic reverse flare, which also has a huge round blob behind it which again changes the color of the subjects. Then to the lower left, you can see a rainbow streak, running from the bottom left corner up towards the outer left center of the image. This was easy to remove. The reverse flare I could remove due to its location in the image, the color blob behind it I could also fix. The flare in the sun star was extremely hard to remove but eventually I was able to get move of it out. These types of flares I often get with other wide zooms, the Nikon 14-24 had one, always in the lower corner of the shot opposite the light source, easy to either crop out or work on. However rarely did it have issues in a sun star. I thought at first that the flare in the sunstar was due to something on the outside of the lens, but during the shoot, I checked and found nothing. It might from a piece of dirt or some other object inside the lens, but looking at it very closely with a flashlight, really can't see anything. Lens was a used purchase, so can't say it came from Leica new. Sharpness is excellent however. 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/373102-any-comparisons-between-the-leica-16-35mm-and-the-panasonic-16-35mm/?do=findComment&comment=4729570'>More sharing options...
Paul2660 Posted March 19, 2023 Share #18 Posted March 19, 2023 Quick example of what I call retro focus distortion, common with most wide angle lenses. Looking at the left side of the frame, you can see the bubbles have elongated and the bluff line has stretched out. Neither is that harsh to the shot. However this issue became much more noticeable when I did a Multishot of the same scene. Here the bubbles created trails, similar to star trails, and the further out to the edge of the frame, the longer they became. Again is is the same thing that a wide lens does to star trails, the trails towards the edge of the frame will elongate where in reality they should all be the same length. This shot was taken with the 16-35 @ 16mm. where the worse of the effect is noticeable. 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/373102-any-comparisons-between-the-leica-16-35mm-and-the-panasonic-16-35mm/?do=findComment&comment=4729576'>More sharing options...
Mak67 Posted March 19, 2023 Share #19 Posted March 19, 2023 @paul Never seen something like this with mine ... Did you used filter on this shot ? Never seen any ultrawide which doesn't elongate at the edge, this is the Price of ultrawide . For landscape, removing the distorsion correction might help a bit . 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2660 Posted March 19, 2023 Share #20 Posted March 19, 2023 On the shot with flare no filter. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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