Lens Firmware Update on SL3 - this didn't seem normal

[Dr. G]

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I've always said that my 50mm APO SL was slightly less sharp than my 35 and 75.   

When I first put the 50 APO on the SL3 it started the firmware update and the focus motor was making a lot of noise.  It was like a whirring noise the whole time the firmware update was loading.  It didn't happen with my 35 or 75 APO, or my 50 Lux.  The lens seemed to work fine but when I shut the camera down and it started up again I also heard the same noise for a second or two. 

I need to take the camera outside for some more testing, but taking photos of my cat (I know), the eyes seem sharper with my 50 Lux-SL at f/1.4 than they do with my 50 apo at f/2.  I'm pretty sure this shouldn't be the case.

I'm starting to think the focus may be off on my 50 APO.  As far as the firmware update noises, has anyone else experienced this?

[Carrot]

I always update camera firmware without a lens attached, just to keep things simple and reduce the chances of something untoward happening.  After updating my firmware to v1.1 I didn't notice any firmware updates for SL APO lenses that I attached, including the SL APO 50mm.

I'm not quite clear what you did ... are you saying you started updating the camera firmware with the lens attached, or that after updating the camera firmware you attached the lens and the lens firmware also started updating?

 

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[mboerma]

You can check the version of the firmware of the lens attached in the Camera Information submenu. My 90mm APO has 4.0 on it. It updated the last time when I updated my SL2 to firmware v6.0.

[erudolph]

3 hours ago, Dr. G said:

I've always said that my 50mm APO SL was slightly less sharp than my 35 and 75.   

When I first put the 50 APO on the SL3 it started the firmware update and the focus motor was making a lot of noise.  It was like a whirring noise the whole time the firmware update was loading.  It didn't happen with my 35 or 75 APO, or my 50 Lux.  The lens seemed to work fine but when I shut the camera down and it started up again I also heard the same noise for a second or two. 

I need to take the camera outside for some more testing, but taking photos of my cat (I know), the eyes seem sharper with my 50 Lux-SL at f/1.4 than they do with my 50 apo at f/2.  I'm pretty sure this shouldn't be the case.

I'm starting to think the focus may be off on my 50 APO.  As far as the firmware update noises, has anyone else experienced this?

FWIW, here's an anecdotal report:  I was demoing the SL3 with APO 28mm-Summicron-SL in a Leica Store.  I asked if we could switch to a 50mm lens.  The salesperson mounted the 50mm, then held it up to his ear, then held it up to the ear of another salesperson.  "It's updating the firmware," he said.