Recommendations for telephoto lens for SL3?

[satijntje]

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No question, the SL-Summicron APO’s are of course top of the range, both in quality and in price.
I have ordered the new Panasonic 100mm f2.8 macro that seems to be a great glass and very compact.
I will see if this lens will deliver the quality that I expect  🙂
 

[algrove]

13 hours ago, FlashGordonPhotography said:

You mean this one?

https://leica-store.com.au/products/16056

It's just that the90-280 has a fixed rear element and can't accept a TC.

Gordon

Like does provide a 1.4 converter. I bought mine last August 2023. #16056-use it on my 100-400 all the time. Of course since its an L mount it can also be used on other manufacturers lenses designed to take a 1.4x. 

Edited March 29 by algrove

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[algrove]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

That one is an expensive version of the  TC1411 Sigma one which comes with the rebranded Sigma 100-400 The only Leica lens for which it can be used. 

So far yes, but it can be used on other L mount lenses and someone who tested it against other 1.4x said it was better. Not sure if that was here.

[jaapv]

Could well be, but Leica advertises it as 100-400 only. I wonder how it can be better as the TC 1411 does not show visible deterioration on my 150-600.  I have used extenders regularly over time, but never found them really useful for short teles as cropping worked just as well with more flexibility. 1.4x does not add much for say, a 90 or 75. Nowadays only use mine at the extreme end of telezooms as I still crop for  more reach. I think that high MP counts and multishot will reduce the usefulness even more. 
In the past, with slide film,  they were essential for me. 

[Stuart Richardson]

Resolution is not the only thing you lose with cropping, which is why I really wish Leica would make some teleconverters. Their APO converters in the R system were great. While a teleconverter might give comparable resolution to a crop, and lose a stop or two of light, you retain the tonality of the full sensor and the noise characteristics. Noise and sensor artifacts are smaller. So while the lens might suffer a bit, I think the photo overall looks better.

In any case, I think it is hard to find a bad telephoto in L mount it seems. The APO Summicrons are incredible, the Sigma 105mm APO Macro is right up there with them in image quality, making it another good option, whereas there are good options for lighter lenses without the same apochromatic performance, like the 85mm Sigma and Panasonic lenses. I would choose based on your budget and your application. If you are happy with the 24-70mm I would imagine you will also be happy with the 85mm f1.4. Having that extra stop could be useful for events. If you are more interested in sharpness and lack of color aberrations, the 75mm, 90mm apo summicrons or the Sigma 105mm APO Macro are good options. For an all in one, the 90-280mm is truly excellent, but it is not a lens you are going to enjoy carrying along with you in a long shoot. That one is better for working from a car/studio. I have it and love it for my landscape work in Iceland, but I would not be bringing it to Japan.

A bit of a darkhorse lens for portraits would be the 65mm Sigma. It is supposed to have superb image quality and 65mm is a great focal length for portraits (almost identical to a 210mm lens on 4x5, which has long been a common portrait length). It is covered by your zoom, but could be a cheap, light solution as well. You could get both that and the 105mm and have a lot of flexibility and very high image quality for less than the price of a single APO Summicron.

Edited March 29 by Stuart Richardson

[FlashGordonPhotography]

8 hours ago, algrove said:

So far yes, but it can be used on other L mount lenses and someone who tested it against other 1.4x said it was better. Not sure if that was here.

That was me. But I also said I think my Sigma version is faulty. I don't think the Leica version is inherently better.

To be clear.

Leica make a 1.4x for L mount. Sigma and Panasonic make a 1.4x and 2x. The Leica is a copy of the Sigma.

The 90-280 does not accept any teleconverters.

The 100-400's do. As do most of the other tele zooms and the 500f4 Sigma. This includes the 70-200's etc. 

Most other short tele primes do not accept TC's.

A well made Leica or Sigma 1.4x has little to no IQ issues if you get a good one. There's a small loss with the 2x. (I haven't tested the Pannys).

Some lenses require a firmware upgrade to work with the other manufacturers teleconverters (mainly Panasonic).

Gordon

Edited March 29 by FlashGordonPhotography

[Mr. Impossible]

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On 3/24/2024 at 1:38 PM, charles tay said:

I am new to SL system and too exploring the various lens option. I own a Leica 50mm F1.2 M lens and plan to use with SL3. I have a Q3. For Lens, i read that SL APO are the way to go for best IQ but its heavy. For SL APO lens, i thinking of consider 75mm or 90mm focal length outside of my Q3. Sigma Prime and Panasonic Primes L mount lens are affordable also offer good optics. 

I am also looking at Leica M Lens if i wish to get 35mm or 75mm or 90mm. 

While waiting for my SL3 to arrive in late April, I will continue to explore lens in resale mkt. 

For telephoto, i feel that SL APO 90mm is the way to go with all the reviews i read. 

My SL3 may arrive in May, hopefully. I have also ordered a SL 35mm APO at the same time. I am planning to get a SL 24-90 zoom next.

[Photoworks]

6 hours ago, Mr. Impossible said:

may arrive in May

😉

[lioness731]

On 3/25/2024 at 3:24 PM, mokona said:

Leica does provide a 1.5 converter and it's called Leica CL....

LOL. Yes, that is why I kept mine. 🙂

[Dr. G]

On 3/29/2024 at 10:13 AM, Stuart Richardson said:

Resolution is not the only thing you lose with cropping, which is why I really wish Leica would make some teleconverters. Their APO converters in the R system were great. While a teleconverter might give comparable resolution to a crop, and lose a stop or two of light, you retain the tonality of the full sensor and the noise characteristics. Noise and sensor artifacts are smaller. So while the lens might suffer a bit, I think the photo overall looks better.

In any case, I think it is hard to find a bad telephoto in L mount it seems. The APO Summicrons are incredible, the Sigma 105mm APO Macro is right up there with them in image quality, making it another good option, whereas there are good options for lighter lenses without the same apochromatic performance, like the 85mm Sigma and Panasonic lenses. I would choose based on your budget and your application. If you are happy with the 24-70mm I would imagine you will also be happy with the 85mm f1.4. Having that extra stop could be useful for events. If you are more interested in sharpness and lack of color aberrations, the 75mm, 90mm apo summicrons or the Sigma 105mm APO Macro are good options. For an all in one, the 90-280mm is truly excellent, but it is not a lens you are going to enjoy carrying along with you in a long shoot. That one is better for working from a car/studio. I have it and love it for my landscape work in Iceland, but I would not be bringing it to Japan.

A bit of a darkhorse lens for portraits would be the 65mm Sigma. It is supposed to have superb image quality and 65mm is a great focal length for portraits (almost identical to a 210mm lens on 4x5, which has long been a common portrait length). It is covered by your zoom, but could be a cheap, light solution as well. You could get both that and the 105mm and have a lot of flexibility and very high image quality for less than the price of a single APO Summicron.

You mentioned the Sigma 105 Macro.  The 105 1.4 is another phenomenal lens.  It's "slightly" large and heavy, though.

[LBJ2]

On 3/29/2024 at 12:09 AM, Sohail said:

Just looking at an image I shot with my 90 APO:

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Zoomed in:

 

For me the Leica SL APO 90 is one of the must-haves in your Leica SL APO kit. This image is good example why.