Can APO 35 Cron SL substitute for the SL VE 24-90?

[biswasg]

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I know it may be comparing apples and oranges, but having heard of the APO's IQ and so for the VE, my questions are:

1. IQ between the APO Cron and VE at 35mm f3.3

2. IQ between image taken at 90mm in VE and cropped image from 35 Cron.

[Stuart Richardson]

1. The APO Summicron will be crisper across the whole frame and notably sharper in the edges. 
2. The VE at 90mm will be much better at anything other than web size. 35mm cropped to 90mm is a pretty extreme crop. I can’t do the math in my head but it is likely to take 47mp down to around 5-10mp or so. Much less for an SL1 or SL2 S. 
 

TLDR, the 35mm prime will be significantly better at 35mm, the VE 24-90 better at more or less any other focal length other than 35-40mm. 

[robb]

I find the 24-90 very sharp from 24-50. Above that it is good but not great.  

apo summicrons are on another level but I would not likely crop.  I’d carry one shorter apo summicron and one longer.  

Robb

[biswasg]

9 minutes ago, robb said:

I find the 24-90 very sharp from 24-50. Above that it is good but not great.  

apo summicrons are on another level but I would not likely crop.  I’d carry one shorter apo summicron and one longer.  

Robb

If I understand you correctly, your suggestion is to carry a 35mm APO and a 90mm APO instead of the VE 24-90, to get the best quality more or less across the 35-90mm range. Hmm then we miss the 24-35mm range. Or maybe wait till a 21mm Sl lens appears in the horizon. 

[robb]

Right.  There is no free lunch.  Only you know the trade offs to put up with on how large you wish to enlarge and how many lenses you can carry.  

24-90 is a great lens on wider side.

apo’s are next level.  

Robb

[jplomley]

The APO SC's are the reason to buy into the SL system IMHO. Which makes it all the more painful that Leica continue to drag their heels on getting the 21/24 out the door and that there are no recent announcements for additional APO prime lenses, such as a macro, 135 or 180 mm. I'd buy the macro and 180 in a heart-beat. 

Edited September 8, 2023 by jplomley

[Camaro5]

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I have the SL 35 APO and it's my favorite lens.  I would love to see a 24 APO but I'm not holding my breath.  

[jplomley]

54 minutes ago, Camaro5 said:

I have the SL 35 APO and it's my favorite lens.  I would love to see a 24 APO but I'm not holding my breath.  

Indeed, would like to see more love from Leica on the SL system. Other than the imminent arrival of the SL3, nothing new in glass. Would rather they stick with the SL2 for a few more years and get the promised glass out the door!

Edited September 8, 2023 by jplomley

[helged]

3 hours ago, jplomley said:

Indeed, would like to see more love from Leica on the SL system. Other than the imminent arrival of the SL3, nothing new in glass. Would rather they stick with the SL2 for a few more years and get the promised glass out the door!

Lets hope that SL3 and SL21mm will be released in tandem sometime in 2024. SL24mm... not so sure that it will make it to the shelves.