What makes SL Lenses so big?

[businessasusual]

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3 hours ago, helged said:

I am glad coming from (and using) the S-system 😉; I even find the SL50Lux sort of agreeable wrt size and weight... Not to mention it's rendering, simply beautiful... But clearly, most of the lenses are large-to-huge compared to what's avilable for the M-system. Different systems, different priorities, (somewhat) different use, (somewhat) different prices, etc.

I cannot bring myself to part with the SL 50 Lux. (despite it’s weigh and speed limitations) Every time I use it, it reminds me why I do not want to part with it. To date all my 50mm’s have been Noctilux (in the day f1.0 - I was fond of that one and really regretted parting with it) and M 50 Summilux’s (on my second one) and the SL, which is something else. I simply love the rendering. I come away feeling like I have painted with my camera. I see the image on a large screen and it is unlike all the others I’ve had.  I think in time, it could be a sought after lens, given it has been discontinued.   (Weather proofing is a huge plus but I find myself planning my shoots ahead when using it - walking around for 6 hours with this in hand is a challenge at this age - ha ha - perhaps weight training might help)

[LocalHero1953]

Totally agree about the Summilux-SL 50. Yet it was greeted with bafflement when it was launched, as the first prime for the new SL: its size, weight and slow focusing speed were astonishing when everything else in digital-photo-land was going in the other direction. I couldn't imagine myself every wanting one, and now I have one and use it more and more.

Edited November 19 by LocalHero1953

[Stuart Richardson]

Certainly the 50mm 1.4 Summilux SL is the biggest outlier in the system in that sense. It does have incredible image quality and character, but I think Leica perhaps pushed the size a bit far for most audiences with that lens. I think if they had introduced the 50mm APO Summicron first, and then later Summilux and pitched it as a special purpose lens, there would have been a warmer reception. I think the biggest pushback to it was that when the SL came out there were no native options that were even close to normal size and weight. Your choice was the Summilux or the 24-90mm, both of which are similarly hefty. In this case as well, the closest analogous lenses were the 50mm Summilux R E60, which is sharp but has a beautiful character of its own, and even the 70mm 2.5 Summarit S, which was the standard lens for its system. Both of those were far more compact than the 50mm Summilux SL, particularly the Summilux R, which is less than half the weight and about a third of the length. Unfortunately, I think the muted reception is what has prevented us from getting any other Summiluxes in the SL system. 

[LocalHero1953]

I'm sure you're right about launching the Apo Summicrons first. The SL was launched with the 24-90 zoom, and there was one notorious third party review with a shot of that combo held by someone with small hands, photographed close-up with a wide angle lens. It made it look enormous, and people were particularly sensitive to the size of the system (as they still are, of course - vide this thread).

[Jeff S]

21 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I'm sure you're right about launching the Apo Summicrons first. The SL was launched with the 24-90 zoom, and there was one notorious third party review with a shot of that combo held by someone with small hands, photographed close-up with a wide angle lens. It made it look enormous, and people were particularly sensitive to the size of the system (as they still are, of course - vide this thread).

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[Jeff S]

But photo did provide guidance for male “selfies” on dating apps.

[Stuart Richardson]

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As someone on the shorter side, I have learned the hard way over the years to do my best to avoid being in wide angle group photos. I have a hilarious one with two friends and me in the center that makes it look like I am the child they look after in their big brother program. One of the friends is not even that much taller than me, but the old school 24mm warped the edges so much that the center looks tiny.  

[Jeff S]

I’m reminded of this photo….

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/us/politics/biden-carters-photo.html

[PhotoCruiser]

 

vor 26 Minuten schrieb Stuart Richardson:

As someone on the shorter side, I have learned the hard way over the years to do my best to avoid being in wide angle group photos.

I don't think that you are in Punk Music, but i organized a concert with the awesome Lagwagon and their singer in the center of the stage was/is really short while the  guitarist and the bassist on his sides where really slender and tall. That looked rather odd even without a WA lens.

Chris

[Stuart Richardson]

35 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

I’m reminded of this photo….

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/us/politics/biden-carters-photo.html

Oh boy, I remember that one. Brutal. But I feel for the photographer. I am sure they did not have the ability or leeway to properly pose such a photo, especially considering the ages and status of all involved! Basically a no-win scenario.

[tangosix]

I am lucky that that SL 50mm 1.4 is not larger.  I love that thing.  It defined a lot of my social event work in a way that other lenses cannot.  If I am facing a crowd with senior ladies, that big boy comes out to play.  

 

Besides, the 50Lux still makes me feel so Leicashly Leicaish.   Swoon.  

[Stuart Richardson]

1 hour ago, Jeff S said:

But photo did provide guidance for male “selfies” on dating apps.

It actually is very interesting how wide angle photography being the default in phones has dictated how people (especially young women) present themselves on social media. Without necessarily understanding optics or photography, people have learned to lean their upper body toward the camera or use a high angle to emphasize their chest and minimize their lower body, or on the other side there is a kind of squatting position that a lot of young women will do where they have their legs facing to the side and their butt towards the camera that makes their butt seem larger and their legs longer, while slimming their upper body. I started seeing it a lot about 10-15 years ago and was like "what is going on with this?" and it turns out they were way ahead of the game. 

Searching it now, it seems like Vogue was on it in 2016...they don't talk about the optical effects though. 

https://www.vogue.com/article/model-squat-pose-instagram-trend

[Jeff S]

2 minutes ago, Stuart Richardson said:

It actually is very interesting how wide angle photography being the default in phones has dictated how people (especially young women) present themselves on social media. Without necessarily understanding optics or photography, people have learned to lean their upper body toward the camera or use a high angle to emphasize their chest and minimize their lower body, or on the other side there is a kind of squatting position that a lot of young women will do where they have their legs facing to the side and their butt towards the camera that makes their butt seem larger and their legs longer, while slimming their upper body. I started seeing it a lot about 10-15 years ago and was like "what is going on with this?" and it turns out they were way ahead of the game. 

Searching it now, it seems like Vogue was on it in 2016...they don't talk about the optical effects though. 

https://www.vogue.com/article/model-squat-pose-instagram-trend

I was thinking about more specific male parts, and private pics, while not violating forum decorum.

[BernardC]

1 hour ago, Stuart Richardson said:

As someone on the shorter side, I have learned the hard way over the years to do my best to avoid being in wide angle group photos.

One thing that helps with wide angle group photos is to keep the camera level, and at chest height. That's what I did back in my wedding days. I had a cheap bubble level in the hot shoe and scale-focused (which is easy enough to estimate in the 2-3m range).

Often with small children it's even better to go down to their chest height.

[jaapv]

Perspective Control does a good job as well. I use it as a level by coinciding the lines with the EVF frame. 

[PhotoCruiser]

The on-screen level works well for me,
i am used to use it for many years now on several cameras and phones and find it less distracting than the moving square of PC what is on my cameras always off. Both work fine, it's probably just with what system one has more experience with.
Chris

[jaapv]

Yes it does but only horizontally. To mimic a bubble level you need vertical alignment as well. 

[PhotoCruiser]

The built-in bubble level function show a horizontal and vertical line for both camera level on my SL2 if i hold her in either horizontal and vertical position, same on my Q2. But may not on other Leica cameras i don't have.
It's also described in the user manual.
Chris

The German Manual is a bit more clear than the English one

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Edited Sunday at 10:24 AM by PhotoCruiser

[jaapv]

Ah- didn't know that, just using the horizontal line and only very sporadically at that. Thanks!  

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