Which manual lenses create the most interesting looks or effects on your Leica SL (Orig/2/2s/3/3s) camera?

[CaliforniTexican]

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On 9/27/2025 at 9:31 AM, PhotoCruiser said:

I bought a cheap SL to LTM adapter to use the 3 Leica lenses from about the 50's to do some tests.

Elmar 9cm
Sonnar 5,8cm
Hector 13.5 cm

Works good to get old school photos with my SL2 without doing it in post editing, but i am not that much excited about them.

The Hector 13.5 is surprisingly sharp and also the Elmar 9c would work reasonable for old school portrait photos, but i don't do portraits.
What all have in common that color shift and dof varies much more than in modern lenses and all have theeir own sweet spot where the distort less, distortion and color color, but both can be used as artistic effect. 
Chris

Great info -- thanks!

[CaliforniTexican]

On 9/27/2025 at 6:15 PM, AdjusterBrett said:

I can say, the cheap amazon adapters do "work".  They are not always aligned so well, but they do work.  My primary issue is the Exakta mount - even the 65.00 one I bought has a 2 cent hook/latch, not much different than the 15.00 ones.

As to the lens output looking different on different bodies - I'm an SL fan (601) over the SL2-S - but the difference is NOT that significant.

If you want to shoot JPEG out of camera - get the MD 50/1.7 and try it first - cheap test (you should be out the door, adapter and lens) under 40 bucks - the MD shoots pretty well (color wise) as the adjustments with the xrite (color calibration passport) is about the lowest of any of my vintage.  Then if you want to plunk down some cash for a great adapter and a great lens - you will have a benchmark and will have been down the road before.

I hate to say it - but if I had the money (to burn) and I was going to be shooting coded old M lenses - I'd pay for the Leica branded, then buy a cheap close focus adapter (if that is your thing) from a mid-tier (100-150 range).

EXIF is my PET PEEVE - but today I take a picture of the lens with my phone - then I take a picture of the phone - so it's sequenced in the camera roll.

Last note - NONE of the SL's handle (on vintage - non-leica) as well as the 601 - but it lacks low light/high iso and IBIS.

Have fun with it.

LAST NOTE - one of the most fun things to do with an OLDEN lens - go buy any of the typical brands (including Vivitar) - will be between 50-60mm, and between 3.5-4.0 - buy an older macro (too often has the name micro in it) - and shoot with it - its a blast (and I'm NO macro guy) - but then what you will find is they are pretty darn sharp (albeit slow).  They are inexpensive as well.  The TAK and the Zuiko are probably the best, I had the tak and the Zuk - have two copies of the Viv and one of the Nikon.  NOT that much difference (and nowhere near my sigma 105, but almost nothing is).  They still take great shots of stupid stuff - I found myself taking really really close pictures of all kinds of nonsense.  Warning though - gateway drug into bellows...

 

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Thank you for the additional info. Your experiences with adapters is particularly useful . . . .

[CaliforniTexican]

23 hours ago, RobertS said:

I have numerous M and R lenses that are great on my SL2-S, but my Summilux R 80 mm f1.4 on a Metabones adapter has the most creative possibilities and in many ways is the most exciting.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[CaliforniTexican]

6 hours ago, costa43 said:

The same lenses that I like on the M11-P, I like on the SL2-S. I don’t really notice a difference in performance between the two bodies. Just a different shooting experience. My favourite on the SL2-S at the moment is my 90mm f4 Minolta. 

I appreciate your suggestion!

[harbelot]

 R lenses are interesting too.

Here's the Summilux 50mm, bokeh is crazy at 1.4!

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[AdjusterBrett]

On 9/29/2025 at 5:41 AM, jaapv said:

Sorry. TAK ? ZUK? Are they East Asian combat sports? 

That made me laugh out loud.  Let me walk you into the poor man's realm of used camera shows - and the die-hard seller's lingo at a camera meet.

TAKs (tacks) - aka Takumar (Asahi).

ZUKs (zooks)- aka Zuiko (Olympus)

"Rooskies" - Zenit & Helios, industar's, and others (all Russian copies of famed Zeiss glass - and probably Leica too).

MD or MadDogs - plain jane Minolta 'MD' lens (non-rokkor) - "back when they made glass, not marketing" (quoted).

Rookies - the rokkor models from Minolta

FL/FD - olden canon glass from yesteryear - seemingly the only models they call by their actual names...

Zippies - older Zeiss - western bloc factory.  They actually have coined names for several of the variants - but they talked so fast, I wasn't sure which one was which.

Jennies - older Zeiss - Jena - eastern bloc factory

Spirits - older Spiratone (seemingly they made a whole bunch of unique ones).

Niks - Nikons (older)

Voigts - self-explanatory (was disappointed they don't have some floozy name for them).

Hexies (hex-ees) aka Konica

Mamy (ma'am - ee) Mamiya Sekor

Tommies - Tomioka

Whites - this one I'm not sure of why, unless it refers to white-labeled, as it is their code for a Sears (auto), which they have a pile of 55mm 1.4 - which they sell off to all those wanting a Tomioka 1.4 or  1.2 (but who clearly are not spending that kind of money).  "You get 95% of the lens for 10% of the money" a quote I've heard them use at least a dozen times.

There are many more - these are the ones I actually traded for or bought and committed to memory or heard the sales pitch a dozen times...

I'm NO expert - I have the same blank dumb stare when I go to a camera meet and the guy in front of me is talking some foreign language to the booth next to him "Hey Earl, you got any jennies" - but I always ask. 

I've seen the same guys at meets in several different states - likely a traveling dog & pony show - they always have tables/space next to one another, and they seem to have their own devised language (and PILES UPON PILES of old glass).  They each have signs "if you don't see it, I probably have it". 

Funnier yet is when you attempt to negotiate with them - they have some code back and forth between them - no idea - but it's always an adventure...  They ALL say the same thing - they didn't have time to mark prices on each lens - HA - same excuse every show I've been too (and I've seen them at a half dozen shows).  "Hey Earl, what's a fair price for a hexie 1.2" - and what you get is a raft of BS as long as the event hall - "I don't know, that one was special, arguably the finest of the vintage one point twos," and they lay it on thick.  They play off each other constantly.  The real fun starts when they come up with a price (HIGH) and you ask about others you want - then you pull a 'hexie 1.2' in a case for trade, knowing that they have way overvalued it.  Then the real prices come out.  The one thing I will say - those four guys have had absolutely every single lens I've ever asked for.  These days they recognize me, so we cut to the chase pretty quick - but it's still fun to watch.  I think the four are traveling together in a box truck and simply setup four different booths and act independently but are really all for one.  They tend to be the hotspot at every show I've been too - and they have thousands of lenses.  They also drive someone looking for "X" to buy "Y" through asking what it is they like about it.  They could sell paint to a blind man.  They are very quick to buy as well - unloaded a mamy medium two shows ago - gave me more than what I saw on Facebook for similar, and with no push to buy anything.  He said he would unload it and several lenses he had to fit it inside a day or two and was more than happy to pay me a premium for it (aka - I'll flip this in an hour).  Worked for me.

If you ever get the chance to go to a low budget show (usually at a larger hotel), do it - its entertainment if nothing else.  

[AdjusterBrett]

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On 9/27/2025 at 3:20 PM, jaapv said:

My point was that there won’t be a real difference in lens performance between an SL or any other camera other than the general differences between the cameras themselves 

Having had and shot on all the Fujis, several Sony, an older Nikon and currently swapping lenses on the SL, S1, and TL2 - I can say - without reservation - there is a DIFFERENCE.

In a static test chart, you may not find much - but swinging it around the neck and shooting manual focus lenses for an afternoon - the mass majority would suggest the hit rate is BETTER with Leica (even though the focus peaking is pathetic in comparison).

I'm of the disappointed crowd - as a 601 owner (who returned - albeit a full price SL2S), rather jaded Leica opted for the new three button left only layout on all the series (M, Q, SL) - I would have preferred they undergo the extensive redesign and bring my beloved four buttons to the M & Q.  Why so much love of the block four button design - I raise to my eye - focus and then I can adjust literally anything with one hand while never taking my eye off the target.  Long live the long press.  This is a HUGE deal.

Let me take it a step further - the SL2s and the S1 are pretty close cousins (I still think the s1 beats it for high ISO, meets or exceeds the ibis, and certainly outweighs it).  Same exact EVF - quote/unquote 'better than the SL's meager EVF' - yet I get a better hit rate on critical focus on the SL - but even setting that aside and say its equal.  On the S1 - there are 3,104 buttons and 104,688 menu options - assuming I've spent an hour to set the camera up - only the WB is easier on the S1 onsite - and all the rest just get in the way.  On the SL - I spin the wheel to zoom and shoot.  On the S1, press the joystick - OOPS nose hit the screen - now I have to move with the joystick, and zoom in again.  then time to shoot - the shutter button on the S1 sucks, period.  The shutter on the X-T5 sucks too.  On the Sony - dammit, I forgot to turn off the "please fill my entire card at 500 frames per press"...  Sometimes simple is defined as the least resistance between getting the shot and fiddling with the camera and missing the shot.

OK, light changed and I want a different ISO to match up shutter speed - long press lower right - spin the top and choose.  On the Panasonic - if you happen to have the three control buttons on the top memorized, you might get lucky.  On the Fuji - bump the lock and spin the dial - DAMMIT, that was shutter speed.  Sony - fuhgeddaboudit, you are not doing it while focusing (on my S1, I think I can reassign some twenty buttons - ARE YOU KIDDING ME, and the Sony's are similar - I believe they are in a race to see who can put the MOST buttons and dials on a camera - soon we will have the spine the wheel once all the way around and then back 1/2 and open the super-secret decoder menu).  In the end the PERFORMANCE of the cameras might be similar but...

OK, want to change the (FILL IN THE BLANK) - its either a long press or just one of a very few buttons/dials.  Fuji - unless its ISO/SS/EV it's in the menu or on a plethora of buttons - Sony - enter password, enter two factor authentication, give blood sample - then go through the menu and review which button you assigned it too.  

OK, take off the nifty fifty and put on the chunk of glass known as an FD 125/2.5.  Now we need to reset the IBIS in all those with it, then we need to do the white balance (or should), then we need to scope and focus - ugh exposure is off - which button again.  Not at all the experience on the Leica - whose simplistic approach SHINES when it's around your neck.

I'd agree - performance wise of the sensor/camera body - not all that much difference - but you interject the other part of the equation - the USER - and now performance is a measurement of how easily and repeatably the combination can get the shot - and in that scenario - the Leica shines.  I shot on a friends A7R5 - thew my nemesis (an old 58/1.2) - and WOW what an EVF - ready, focus, adjust the exposure, recompose, press the shutter to an error.  Do you have any idea how long it took me to find the 'release w/o lens' followed by the IBIS and all the settings (and apparently, I can turn the ibis off, or I can set it manually - neither easy to find nor adjust).  Great camera - even feels a bit better in hand than the A73 I had, but still sterile.  OH, and shot missed, period.

I'd argue that shooting vintage (manual) is half about the experience and 1/2 about the output - and in that ranking - it's pretty tough to set aside the benefits of the Leica SL line.

[jaapv]

4 hours ago, AdjusterBrett said:

That made me laugh out loud.  Let me walk you into the poor man's realm of used camera shows - and the die-hard seller's lingo at a camera meet.

TAKs (tacks) - aka Takumar (Asahi).

ZUKs (zooks)- aka Zuiko (Olympus)

"Rooskies" - Zenit & Helios, industar's, and others (all Russian copies of famed Zeiss glass - and probably Leica too).

MD or MadDogs - plain jane Minolta 'MD' lens (non-rokkor) - "back when they made glass, not marketing" (quoted).

Rookies - the rokkor models from Minolta

FL/FD - olden canon glass from yesteryear - seemingly the only models they call by their actual names...

Zippies - older Zeiss - western bloc factory.  They actually have coined names for several of the variants - but they talked so fast, I wasn't sure which one was which.

Jennies - older Zeiss - Jena - eastern bloc factory

Spirits - older Spiratone (seemingly they made a whole bunch of unique ones).

Niks - Nikons (older)

Voigts - self-explanatory (was disappointed they don't have some floozy name for them).

Hexies (hex-ees) aka Konica

Mamy (ma'am - ee) Mamiya Sekor

Tommies - Tomioka

Whites - this one I'm not sure of why, unless it refers to white-labeled, as it is their code for a Sears (auto), which they have a pile of 55mm 1.4 - which they sell off to all those wanting a Tomioka 1.4 or  1.2 (but who clearly are not spending that kind of money).  "You get 95% of the lens for 10% of the money" a quote I've heard them use at least a dozen times.

There are many more - these are the ones I actually traded for or bought and committed to memory or heard the sales pitch a dozen times...

I'm NO expert - I have the same blank dumb stare when I go to a camera meet and the guy in front of me is talking some foreign language to the booth next to him "Hey Earl, you got any jennies" - but I always ask. 

I've seen the same guys at meets in several different states - likely a traveling dog & pony show - they always have tables/space next to one another, and they seem to have their own devised language (and PILES UPON PILES of old glass).  They each have signs "if you don't see it, I probably have it". 

Funnier yet is when you attempt to negotiate with them - they have some code back and forth between them - no idea - but it's always an adventure...  They ALL say the same thing - they didn't have time to mark prices on each lens - HA - same excuse every show I've been too (and I've seen them at a half dozen shows).  "Hey Earl, what's a fair price for a hexie 1.2" - and what you get is a raft of BS as long as the event hall - "I don't know, that one was special, arguably the finest of the vintage one point twos," and they lay it on thick.  They play off each other constantly.  The real fun starts when they come up with a price (HIGH) and you ask about others you want - then you pull a 'hexie 1.2' in a case for trade, knowing that they have way overvalued it.  Then the real prices come out.  The one thing I will say - those four guys have had absolutely every single lens I've ever asked for.  These days they recognize me, so we cut to the chase pretty quick - but it's still fun to watch.  I think the four are traveling together in a box truck and simply setup four different booths and act independently but are really all for one.  They tend to be the hotspot at every show I've been too - and they have thousands of lenses.  They also drive someone looking for "X" to buy "Y" through asking what it is they like about it.  They could sell paint to a blind man.  They are very quick to buy as well - unloaded a mamy medium two shows ago - gave me more than what I saw on Facebook for similar, and with no push to buy anything.  He said he would unload it and several lenses he had to fit it inside a day or two and was more than happy to pay me a premium for it (aka - I'll flip this in an hour).  Worked for me.

If you ever get the chance to go to a low budget show (usually at a larger hotel), do it - its entertainment if nothing else.  

Maybe a bit too USA for a simple European like me. 

[Doc_P]

The SL2-S rocks, no doubt. Enjoyed it for some time...

Just to go the other direction: there are the ApoCrons, imho the raison d'être for the SL-bodies: technically the benchmark for the time being (Zeiss Otus has no AF). If you want a different consistent cinematic look: use Leica S-lenses (near price minimum here in Europe) with the S-to-L-adapter. Worth a try - I especially like the S Apo Macro 120, the S Apo 180 rocked on my SL2-S, too. The S 24 is a little bit heavy on an SL-body, but interesting, too...

[Jon Warwick]

For the SL system, I thought these lenses sounded intriguing. After a multitude of modern and “clinical” lenses available for SL cameras, here is a native L mount series that offers an alternative look …..

 https://www.leitz-cine.com/product/hektor

In some ways, to me, whilst this is a new design, it’s a little reminiscent of the “reissue” lenses in M mount that offer a brand new production lens, but with a classical rendering?

 

[Tpau17]

Am 25.9.2025 um 21:58 schrieb CaliforniTexican:

which lenses do you find produce the most interesting, unusual, or imperfect looks, renderings, or effects?

A good and valid question – and here's the honest answer: perfection has become boring. At least for me (but this is not for Leica-APO, siehe below).

While the industry has spent decades eliminating optical flaws, creative photography has moved in the opposite direction. The really interesting images emerge where the optics bring something of their own – where they refuse to be neutral and instead assert their character.

My small MeyerOptik collection embodies exactly this philosophy: lenses that refuse invisibility. The Trioplan / Telemegor with its characteristic aberrations, the Lydith with its optical peculiarities – they speak about the image rather than merely document it. They are the antithesis of objectivity; they are subjective, idiosyncratic, sometimes even wilful. They are artistic. They demand that I work with them, not simply look through them. Leica's APO lenses occupy a certain middle ground – the R-APOs and SL-APOs alike – balancing character with clinical precision. I genuinely love these APO glasses. But the vintage lenses? They're an entirely different proposition.

Here lies the fundamental divide: modern high-end lenses aspire to invisibility. These old glasses insist on presence. And that, precisely, is where their power resides.