Is it time to ditch the Q2/3 and fully embrace the SL2?

[Sohail]

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12 hours ago, John Smith said:

I bought a Q2M, thinking that it'd be a good companion with the SL2. It just didn't work for me. I have a 28SL and love it. But the other day I happened to look on the Leica USA site and saw that a 35APO was available. I snagged it. It doesn't replace the 35SL or the 28SL, but fills in a niche for a small, APO-quality lens for the SL. The kit isn't as light as the Q, but it is great in the hand. 

I used to carry around my Q2 in an ONA Bond Street leather bag when I just wanted to go out and shoot with one camera. My SL2 +28mm still fits in the same bag. It's small and discreet. I really don't notice the extra weight. Here's the bag. Perfect for my purposes.

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[John Smith]

3 hours ago, Sohail said:

I used to carry around my Q2 in an ONA Bond Street leather bag when I just wanted to go out and shoot with one camera. My SL2 +28mm still fits in the same bag. It's small and discreet. I really don't notice the extra weight. Here's the bag. Perfect for my purposes.

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The weight of the SL2 and Summicrons has never bothered me. But, honestly, some people freak out when using, say, the 28mm indoors at social events. I didn't give the 35APO a thought until one popped up at the Leica online store. I'm certainly not putting away the 35SL and 28SL, but the 35APO steals the show as a knock-around lens. Plus, I don't carry the SL around in a camera bag. The 35APO lets me carry it around like an M. Anyway, I thought I'd share that the 35APO actually let me ditch the Q2M and fully embrace the SL. Pretty cool.

Edited July 27, 2023 by John Smith

[Sohail]

If you're in Milan, check out Salgado's "Amazzonia" at the Fabbrica del Vapore. Beautifully presented.

Photos shot with SL2+28mm APO. No noise reduction.

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Edited July 27, 2023 by Sohail

[John Smith]

20 hours ago, hdmesa said:

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/how-to-check-how-decentered-your-lens-is/

Maybe it's better to not know, though

 

Mine looks "perfect" according to the article. Maybe Leica improved its QC?

[John Smith]

54 minutes ago, Sohail said:

If you're in Milan, check out Salgado's "Amazzonia" at the Fabbrica del Vapore. Beautifully presented.

Photos shot with SL2+28mm APO. No noise reduction.

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The 28SL is superlative, isn't it? It's gotten a bad rap because everyone is so enthralled with the 35SL, but it's right up there with it.

[Sohail]

25 minutes ago, John Smith said:

The 28SL is superlative, isn't it? It's gotten a bad rap because everyone is so enthralled with the 35SL, but it's right up there with it.

Agreed! I'm not sure it's had a bad rap though. It's not garnered much attention -- at least that's my experience. The Q of course has overshadowed it.

[hdmesa]

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On 7/27/2023 at 1:13 PM, John Smith said:

Mine looks "perfect" according to the article. Maybe Leica improved its QC?

Hard to know, but I’m glad yours is ok.

[hdmesa]

With a small M lens and a cross-body strap that has some stretch to it, the SL2 feels very light to me. Using a close focus M-to-L adapter allows most M lenses to meet or beat the Q’s non-macro MFD. Still, I don’t see this as a Q replacement. There are still situations in which the Q feels more effortless to carry to me.

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[robb]

On 7/27/2023 at 11:20 AM, Sohail said:

If you're in Milan, check out Salgado's "Amazzonia" at the Fabbrica del Vapore. Beautifully presented.

Photos shot with SL2+28mm APO. No noise reduction.

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!

Beautiful images and gallery.  I will try to visit this winter.  I have most of Salgado’s books.  Epic.

I thought I saw multiple stories that most of these Amazon images were shot with Canon 1dx.  But I’m sure there is likely a mix of different pieces of gear for this project.  Unless you were referring to your photos of the gallery with the 28…

The 28 apo is definitely a must add in the future.

Robb 

Edited July 29, 2023 by robb

[Sohail]

24 minutes ago, robb said:

Beautiful images and gallery.  I will try to visit this winter.  I have most of Salgado’s books.  Epic.

I thought I saw multiple stories that most of these Amazon images were shot with Canon 1dx.  But I’m sure there is likely a mix of different pieces of gear for this project.  Unless you were referring to your photos of the gallery with the 28…

The 28 apo is definitely a must add in the future.

Robb 

Yes, my photos of the exhibition.

[John Smith]

10 hours ago, hdmesa said:

With a small M lens and a cross-body strap that has some stretch to it, the SL2 feels very light to me. Using a close focus M-to-L adapter allows most M lenses to meet or beat the Q’s non-macro MFD. Still, I don’t see this as a Q replacement. There are still situations in which the Q feels more effortless to carry to me.

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

It all depends on how you work. Having had the Q2M (now for sale), I like having just one camera, one way of working. The 35APO is great because it gives you a small lens for the SL2 that is on par with the SL primes. Nice kit, by the way.

Edited July 29, 2023 by John Smith

[Simone_DF]

On 7/27/2023 at 7:20 PM, Sohail said:

If you're in Milan, check out Salgado's "Amazzonia" at the Fabbrica del Vapore. Beautifully presented.

Photos shot with SL2+28mm APO. No noise reduction.

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!

I saw this exhibition in Rome one year ago, can’t recommend it enough!

[robb]

6 hours ago, John Smith said:

It all depends on how you work. Having had the Q2M (now for sale), I like having just one camera, one way of working. The 35APO is great because it gives you a small lens for the SL2 that is on par with the SL primes. Nice kit, by the way.

I don’t think the m apo lenses (even the 35) are on par with the SL apo lenses but they are getting closer.  Definitely smaller.  Trade offs so pick what’s most important and just roll with it.

Robb

[John Smith]

2 hours ago, robb said:

I don’t think the m apo lenses (even the 35) are on par with the SL apo lenses but they are getting closer.  Definitely smaller.  Trade offs so pick what’s most important and just roll with it.

Robb

I compared the two (35SL and 35APO-M) side by side at 2.0 for several handheld photographs. I didn't see any appreciable difference between the two besides the color rendition. The 35SL's color somehow looks more modern. I understand there is a small difference in the MTF charts, but I don't know how much that difference translates into real-life photography.

Edited July 29, 2023 by John Smith

[Jeff S]

1 hour ago, John Smith said:

I compared the two (35SL and 35APO-M) side by side at 2.0 for several handheld photographs. I didn't see any appreciable difference between the two besides the color rendition. The 35SL's color somehow looks more modern. I understand there is a small difference in the MTF charts, but I don't know how much that difference translates into real-life photography.

On a tripod and under more controlled conditions (without getting into sample variation), the SL 35 APO has better corner performance wide open than the 35 APO M (see below at about the 1 hour, 1 minute mark)..,

Elsewhere in the video, they compare bokeh balls, and they thought that the M lens was smoother in that regard.

Whether any of these differences matter  practically, in moderate sized prints and “normal” subject matter, is another story. 

Jeff

 

[IkarusJohn]

5 hours ago, robb said:

I don’t think the m apo lenses (even the 35) are on par with the SL apo lenses but they are getting closer.  Definitely smaller.  Trade offs so pick what’s most important and just roll with it.

Robb

I was an early adopter of the SL.  I was looking for a universal mount for my M lenses, with the option of adding AF, zooms and telephotos. I bought the three zooms first up, then added the 50 Summilux SL and APO 75 Summicron SL.  The two primes were the best lenses in those focal lengths I’d ever used.  For my money, the 50 Summilux SL is a reference 50mm lens - nothing beats it (and I have the M mount Noct, Summilux & APO Summicron to compare).

But, going on a trip (to Vermont), I packed the SL and all the lenses into a backpack, and could hardly lift it, let alone carry it for long …

I realised that I had duplicated most of the focal lengths in M and SL systems, gaining only AF (which I loathe) zooms (I prefer the discipline of primes) and telephotos (which I use rarely).  Granted, the SL APO and the 50 Summilux are superior lenses to their M equivalents, but the difference is marginal; at that time, the 28 Summicron hadn’t been released in SL mount.  I sold out of my SL lenses (keeping the 24-90 zoom as my one weather sealed AF zoom) and bought a 180/2.8 Elmarit-R telephoto.

I like the SL system, and mount my M lenses on my SL, but the M system is the best compromise between size, lens quality and usability.  I still have a TL2, with the 11-23 zoom and 35 Summilux-TL for when I want compact, but the M system is what I’m sticking with for the moment, anyway (the M11 is a discouraging development).  If I need another digital camera and size isn’t an issue, it will be the X2D - the benefits of increased real estate are irresistible.

[robb]

3 hours ago, IkarusJohn said:

I was an early adopter of the SL.  I was looking for a universal mount for my M lenses, with the option of adding AF, zooms and telephotos. I bought the three zooms first up, then added the 50 Summilux SL and APO 75 Summicron SL.  The two primes were the best lenses in those focal lengths I’d ever used.  For my money, the 50 Summilux SL is a reference 50mm lens - nothing beats it (and I have the M mount Noct, Summilux & APO Summicron to compare).

But, going on a trip (to Vermont), I packed the SL and all the lenses into a backpack, and could hardly lift it, let alone carry it for long …

I realised that I had duplicated most of the focal lengths in M and SL systems, gaining only AF (which I loathe) zooms (I prefer the discipline of primes) and telephotos (which I use rarely).  Granted, the SL APO and the 50 Summilux are superior lenses to their M equivalents, but the difference is marginal; at that time, the 28 Summicron hadn’t been released in SL mount.  I sold out of my SL lenses (keeping the 24-90 zoom as my one weather sealed AF zoom) and bought a 180/2.8 Elmarit-R telephoto.

I like the SL system, and mount my M lenses on my SL, but the M system is the best compromise between size, lens quality and usability.  I still have a TL2, with the 11-23 zoom and 35 Summilux-TL for when I want compact, but the M system is what I’m sticking with for the moment, anyway (the M11 is a discouraging development).  If I need another digital camera and size isn’t an issue, it will be the X2D - the benefits of increased real estate are irresistible.

I won’t be back to the M lineup until they add ibis an$ redesign some of the older apo m lenses.  I definitely think before packing so the kitchen sink no longer comes with me.
x2d is phenomenal.  So it is pulling my m duty currently.  And I love the leaf shutters and ibis.  I highly recommend it.

Robb

[IkarusJohn]

Assuming the treatment for my foot doesn't get in the way, we're off to HK, Paris then Rome and Florence in October/November.  I doubt either my Monochrom or my M10-D will be back from their holiday n Wetzlar by then, so I will take my M-A with 50 Summitar and 28 Summaron.  On the way through HK, I'll try to pick up an X2D and 38V (and 55V or 90V if I can find one), giving me a modern digital and vintage film.

I don't se another digital M in my future.  Once my Monochrom and M10-D have died and can't be repaired, I'll look at what Leica has to offer - it would have to be very different from the current offering.

[John Smith]

11 hours ago, Jeff S said:

On a tripod and under more controlled conditions (without getting into sample variation), the SL 35 APO has better corner performance wide open than the 35 APO M (see below at about the 1 hour, 1 minute mark)..,

Elsewhere in the video, they compare bokeh balls, and they thought that the M lens was smoother in that regard.

Whether any of these differences matter  practically, in moderate sized prints and “normal” subject matter, is another story. 

Jeff

 

Jeff, thanks for looking that up. What Josh says squares with what I was trying to say. No appreciable difference in the center in the real world. I didn’t photograph any flat surfaces, just ordinary photos, and the color rendition is about the only observable difference. That said, the 35APO-M is a great addition to the SL2 if you want a smaller lens than an SL prime, which sometimes I do in social situations. 

Edited July 30, 2023 by John Smith

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[cj3209]

On 7/29/2023 at 5:07 AM, John Smith said:

It all depends on how you work. Having had the Q2M (now for sale), I like having just one camera, one way of working. The 35APO is great because it gives you a small lens for the SL2 that is on par with the SL primes. Nice kit, by the way.

I would love the 35 m-APO but I already have the 35 SL-APO and it performs as good as the M version.  I just wish the 35 m-APO was a little less expensive...