Going back to the SL line

[jimleicam3]

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I have been a longtime Leica user.  I now have an M10 and Q2.  Also M 21 mm, 35 mm, and a 50 mm.  I sold my SL about 3 years ago because I could not afford the SL glass and was only using my M glass.  However, with this new promotion I have been thinking of moving back to the SL-S with either the 35 mm or 50 mm.  My question is which lens I should consider, the 35 or the 50.  Thinking of trading my M10 in because I almost never use it.  What do you think?

Cheers,

Jim

[LD_50]

Pick the focal length you’ll use the most. For me it’s 50 first, then 35. I have the 50 Summilux SL and a Summilux 50 M and Summilux 35 M.

Looking to pick up the APO 35 SL but they cancelled my order with the recent $1k off promotion because they said they were sold out. 

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[LeicaR10]

Jimieicam3,   I am certain you will get a number of well meaning photographers who will offer their sage advice to include myself.  It really gets down to your genre of photography and as LD_50 suggested, you might look at your past photographs and see which lens you used most..  You might also consider getting the Leica M to L adapter and use the M lenses that work superbly on the SL cameras.  If you shoot a lot of color, you might consider the SL APO lenses.  At the end of the day, its both your decision on what works best for you and how much pain you want to inflict on your wallet.  r/ Mark

[jaapv]

You can crop a 35 to 50 but not the other way around. 

[drjonb]

I have recently followed a similar journey to you; I am an amateur photographer.  I ended up with SL2-S, VE 24-90, Sigma 100-400 and Sigma 70 macro.  I came to the view that unless you need to make big prints, any discernible IQ benefits of SL primes over the VE 24-90, do not offset the additional cost, and inconvenience of swapping primes.  I have also come to the conclusion that the 3x, or 4x or 5x price differences between Leica and certain non-Leica L mount lenses, are simply not in balance with the improvement in IQ or reliability or longevity.

Edited March 19, 2023 by drjonb

[SrMi]

29 minutes ago, jaapv said:

You can crop a 35 to 50 but not the other way around. 

You can stitch 50 to 35 :). However, stitching is not always possible. 

[Alan Mead]

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I recently bought the SL2-s with the M to L converter which allows me to use my M 35 Summilux and M 50 Summilux lenses. I am very happy with the SL2-s as an additional camera to my M10 Monochrom. I could not be more happy with the results from the two M lenses.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Alan Mead

[larsv]

Why are you hardly using your M10? That night be a clue.

[jimleicam3]

I am having trouble with the focus.  Turning 66 years of age, having cataract surgery in my right eye that has now forced me to wear contacts, have all added to the problem.  Yes I would continue to use my M glass, but I am looking for ease.  The Q2 is great to use but I am not excited about the 28 mm , 

Cheers

 

Jim

[Chris Nebard]

You and I are about the same age, I took the same SL2-s path and never looked back, so I’m happy to share my thoughts.  I do continue to use my 2 M lenses on the SL2-s: keeping the M Lens experience was my best decision. The magnification and focus peaking assistance is outstanding.  I also kept the Leica Q.

I’ve added a couple of low priced (high performance!) Sigma i-contemporary primes to the kit to give me the additional focal lengths and, ultimately, I’ve ended up with my favourite ever camera and a versatile range of great prime lenses. The Leica SL primes (both Apo and new non Apo Summicrons) are obviously fantastic - particularly with the kit deals now on offer. The following has so far given me what I need - and great enjoyment:

Leica Q, SL2-s: Sigma 24mm f3.5, Sigma 35mm f2, Sigma 45mm f2.8, Summicron-M 50mm f2, Summarit 75 f2.4,

Good luck with what you choose, I hope you get years of enjoyment from it 👍

Edited March 20, 2023 by Chris Nebard

[davidmknoble]

@jimleicam3 I understand the eyesight issue!  I use the -3.0 diopters on all my M’s and it helps a lot.

For the SL system, it probably depends on which body you decide to get.

The SL2 has such high MP count, that the 35mm would do nicely with much room to crop to 50.  However, the SL2-S (which I use, after selling the SL2) has 24mp and about 1.5 stops of better dynamic range.  Then, you have to decide what focal length you want more.  I agree with @jaapv, the 35mm allows for cropping more narrowly than the 50mm, but you have M lenses now.  I would choose the focal length you tend to use most on the M.

The other side is that there will be more used lenses available as the 35 and 50 ‘crons are out for awhile.  I have the 35 and 50 focal lengths on my SL2-S and will likely get a 75.  Mostly because of the 24mp count, I prefer to use the focal length I want rather than crop.

You won’t go wrong on the focusing and the adapters allow all kinds of lenses.  If you want to play with some, try finding a used R-L adapter and get some used R lenses (the summicron 50, last version is a great lens and fairly inexpensive with a CLA).  You could then get the 35mm SL lens and an R lens or two to complement.

Just some thoughts…

[blessingx]

It’s heavy, but if you’re considering other heavy lens you have the option of splitting the difference and going with the Sigma one lens experiment - 40mm f/1.4 Art. Although I shoot m lenses more often due to size and weight, it’s a beautiful lens. 

[jaapv]

On 3/20/2023 at 8:14 AM, Chris Nebard said:

You and I are about the same age, I took the same SL2-s path and never looked back, so I’m happy to share my thoughts.  I do continue to use my 2 M lenses on the SL2-s: keeping the M Lens experience was my best decision. The magnification and focus peaking assistance is outstanding.  I also kept the Leica Q.

I’ve added a couple of low priced (high performance!) Sigma i-contemporary primes to the kit to give me the additional focal lengths and, ultimately, I’ve ended up with my favourite ever camera and a versatile range of great prime lenses. The Leica SL primes (both Apo and new non Apo Summicrons) are obviously fantastic - particularly with the kit deals now on offer. The following has so far given me what I need - and great enjoyment:

Leica Q, SL2-s: Sigma 24mm f3.5, Sigma 35mm f2, Sigma 45mm f2.8, Summicron-M 50mm f2, Summarit 75 f2.4,

Good luck with what you choose, I hope you get years of enjoyment from it 👍

My experience with the SL is similar. I keep the Monochrom 1 as my second most-used camera.  The interchangeability of M lenses is perfect. I also have a few Sigmas to fill out the kit and of course the 150-600 as primary lens on the SL. The CL as small carry-everywhere camera is a good companion and backup camera. Its IQ is not far behind that SL line -in quite a few cases nearly equal- and it has similar functionality 

[Wurlitzer-1015]

On 3/19/2023 at 5:35 PM, jaapv said:

You can crop a 35 to 50 but not the other way around. 

Exactly, go for the 35 in my view.