I'm sure they're lovely lenses (though pricey), and it is great that we can adapt them to the SL and other mirrorless cameras, but we already have manual-focus M lenses with plenty of character. My point is that we don't really have AF lenses like that. Most modern AF lenses for SL or mirrorless cameras have a very modern rendering and don't capture the kind of character the Hekton line offers...which is exactly what I would love to see in an AF lens.
For now, I am adapting the Canon 24/1.4L, 35/1.4L, and 50/1.2L AF lenses, and I'm really happy with the results.
p.6 #4 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
Thanks, LBJ2. We saw a rush to market of six-lens ranges from Zeiss, Leica and Cooke last year, all aimed at mirrorless mounts, for 'light cine'. Very expensive, but under a kilo for each lens, fully geared.
Hektors try to recreate 1930s-40s aesthetics, they look a little extreme to many, for general work. They resemble a heavy 'arty' profile at times, and that is a look that won't age well IMO. The Cooke and Zeiss ranges bring their existing cine look to smaller, more mobile forms of cine and video.
As Cooke and the Hektors are very 'vintage', it appears the battle against character lenses has been lost, now Zeiss is the last man standing. The distance between maker and user is perilously short in cine compared with the 'we make it, you buy it' functional ideology of stills lenses. Cinematographers are very clear and voluble about what they want.
Slowly, the Zeiss cine lenses are being seen as too surgical, so this is quite a move by them. Contax lenses have an esteemed place in the adapted cine sphere, many are very fond of the look from 28/2, 35/1.4 etc. Users will likely be hard markers for this new range. Good luck to them, of course.
p.6 #5 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
Fred Miranda wrote:
I'm sure they're lovely lenses (though pricey), and it is great that we can adapt them to the SL and other mirrorless cameras, but we already have manual-focus M lenses with plenty of character. My point is that we don't really have AF lenses like that. Most modern AF lenses for SL or mirrorless cameras have a very modern rendering and don't capture the kind of character the Hekton line offers...which is exactly what I would love to see in an AF lens.
For now, I am adapting the Canon 24/1.4L, 35/1.4L, and 50/1.2L AF lenses, and I'm really happy with the results....Show more →
For extreme effects Pentax once built not only 85mm soft focus lenses but also a 28mm soft focus lens.
😉
p.6 #6 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
Fred Miranda wrote:
I'm sure they're lovely lenses (though pricey), and it is great that we can adapt them to the SL and other mirrorless cameras, but we already have manual-focus M lenses with plenty of character. My point is that we don't really have AF lenses like that. Most modern AF lenses for SL or mirrorless cameras have a very modern rendering and don't capture the kind of character the Hekton line offers...which is exactly what I would love to see in an AF lens.
For now, I am adapting the Canon 24/1.4L, 35/1.4L, and 50/1.2L AF lenses, and I'm really happy with the results....Show more →
I absolutely love both of the SL Zooms I have but you are so right. They render things very differently from my old manual focus glass. I can't wait for spring and the chance to get back to rediscovering all the old glass again on the SL bodies. My failing eyesight stopped me using them much on my EOS bodies.
The SL bodies I got this past year already reignited my old love of the Mamiya 645 APO 200/2.8, my Leica R 90/2.8 and the Contax Zeiss 100/2.0. So excited for this shooting year and the chance to get back to all my old favorites. I've even got adaptors on hand now to try out some old Minolta lenses I never used on the EOS DSLR's in the past. It's going to be a good year of shooting!
All the glass I currently have. Well, except for the Sigma 150-600 in L Mount I just added to occasionally lighten my load while on foot hiking for wildlife. I'm getting old !
p.6 #7 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
"Viltrox has revealed that its first autofocus-equipped L-Mount lens is the AF 16mm f/1.8 L. The ultra-wide full-frame prime lens promises excellent performance for astro and landscape photography, as well as dynamic wide-angle video applications...
Viltrox first launched the AF 16mm f/1.8 lens for Sony E-mount in May 2023, and it proved to be excellent. Arguably, this is one of the early lenses that signaled that Viltrox was a lens company worth paying close attention to and taking very seriously...
Viltrox brought the AF 16mm f/1.8 lens to Nikon Z cameras in May 2024 as well...
The new L-Mount version has all the same features and specs as before. The lens still captures an ultra-wide 105.6° field of view and features 15 lens elements arranged in a dozen groups, including three aspherical and four ED elements. The lens promises excellent sharpness, minimal distortion, and nearly no chromatic aberration, even when shooting wide open. Importantly for night sky photography, the lens also promises minimal comatic aberration, helping keep stars round and sharp."
p.6 #10 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
SlowDriver wrote:
I have a hard time believing that for every 3 M lenses they also sell one L lens...
I read the same article and I do not have a hard time believing it. The M is a unique offer on the market. The Q almost unique and certainly when one takes into account its pure photographic ergonomics, high quality, etc.
The SL/L is a good system but it is big, very expensive and the competition is fierce.
I've used it as well as Sony & Canon and if tomorrow, I wanted to buy a mirrorless AF FF system, I'm not sure I would buy Leica. Or maybe a used SL2 but with Sigma and Panasonic lenses.
But I would have a hard time going this road vs Canon, Nikon or Sony. In fact, the only reason would be to mount M and R lenses.
My guess is that I'm not the only one hence the 12%.
p.6 #11 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
pmeheut wrote:
I read the same article and I do not have a hard time believing it. The M is a unique offer on the market. The Q almost unique and certainly when one takes into account its pure photographic ergonomics, high quality, etc.
The SL/L is a good system but it is big, very expensive and the competition is fierce.
I've used it as well as Sony & Canon and if tomorrow, I wanted to buy a mirrorless AF FF system, I'm not sure I would buy Leica. Or maybe a used SL2 but with Sigma and Panasonic lenses.
But I would have a hard time going this road vs Canon, Nikon or Sony. In fact, the only reason would be to mount M and R lenses.
My guess is that I'm not the only one hence the 12%.
Per photorumors, this is the recent Leica sales breakdown by camera systems:
Leica M system: 40%
Leica Q system: 40%
Leica SL system: 12%
Other (D-Lux, Sofort): 8%
The SL system is less popular, because there are so many other alternatives available...
Interesting. Something many of us have wondered about. First time anyone posted such data *that I know. More importantly the author also stated:
" I cannot confirm if this information is accurate, but I was told that this is the recent Leica sales breakdown by camera systems" –Leicarumors dot com
Without any further details, IF SL = 12% of Leica camera sales, that number could be relatively significant...for Leica. No idea how much of the total annual revenue posted below is for Leica "cameras sales" compared to other non camera Leica products sold ( product catagory details in the posted link). I'm guessing camera sales is by far, Leica's largest category of products sold. *Again, 12% could be a significant number of sales revenue.
p.6 #13 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
philip_pj wrote:
Thanks, LBJ2. We saw a rush to market of six-lens ranges from Zeiss, Leica and Cooke last year, all aimed at mirrorless mounts, for 'light cine'. Very expensive, but under a kilo for each lens, fully geared.
Hektors try to recreate 1930s-40s aesthetics, they look a little extreme to many, for general work. They resemble a heavy 'arty' profile at times, and that is a look that won't age well IMO. The Cooke and Zeiss ranges bring their existing cine look to smaller, more mobile forms of cine and video.
As Cooke and the Hektors are very 'vintage', it appears the battle against character lenses has been lost, now Zeiss is the last man standing. The distance between maker and user is perilously short in cine compared with the 'we make it, you buy it' functional ideology of stills lenses. Cinematographers are very clear and voluble about what they want.
Slowly, the Zeiss cine lenses are being seen as too surgical, so this is quite a move by them. Contax lenses have an esteemed place in the adapted cine sphere, many are very fond of the look from 28/2, 35/1.4 etc. Users will likely be hard markers for this new range. Good luck to them, of course. ...Show more →
p.6 #14 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
pmeheut wrote:
I read the same article and I do not have a hard time believing it. The M is a unique offer on the market. The Q almost unique and certainly when one takes into account its pure photographic ergonomics, high quality, etc.
The SL/L is a good system but it is big, very expensive and the competition is fierce.
I've used it as well as Sony & Canon and if tomorrow, I wanted to buy a mirrorless AF FF system, I'm not sure I would buy Leica. Or maybe a used SL2 but with Sigma and Panasonic lenses.
But I would have a hard time going this road vs Canon, Nikon or Sony. In fact, the only reason would be to mount M and R lenses.
My guess is that I'm not the only one hence the 12%.
I think you are correct that if you are going to by excellent but reproducible in another system lenses like Panasonic, or Sigma there are really better systems to chose from. If you are going to buy APO-SL lenses then in my experience no other system offers that image quality or shooting experience in a full frame system. The APO-SL lenses are why I own and SL3.
p.6 #15 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
1bwana1 wrote:
If you are going to buy APO-SL lenses then in my experience no other system offers that image quality or shooting experience in a full frame system. The APO-SL lenses are why I own and SL3.
I do not doubt this but I'm not that sensitive to image quality: I've showed A3+ prints 2 days ago to other photographers shot with M11, Ricoh GRIIIx, Pen-F and on film.
I do not see the difference. In fact, the one I prefer was shot with a 50 years old Leica M5 and a modern Voigt lens.
But of course, this is me. Other make different choices, buy SL + Apo, X2D, monochrom M, etc.
p.6 #16 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
1bwana1 wrote:
I think you are correct that if you are going to by excellent but reproducible in another system lenses like Panasonic, or Sigma there are really better systems to chose from. If you are going to buy APO-SL lenses then in my experience no other system offers that image quality or shooting experience in a full frame system. The APO-SL lenses are why I own and SL3.
For a lot of people the APO Summicrons might not be enough of a unique selling proposition though. Too big, too heavy and too expensive.
If Leica could deliver a (new) SL4c with an APO SL 35mm Mk II that weighs 400-500g less that could in my opinion change things...
p.6 #17 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
SlowDriver wrote:
For a lot of people the APO Summicrons might not be enough of a unique selling proposition though. Too big, too heavy and too expensive.
If Leica could deliver a (new) SL4c with an APO SL 35mm Mk II that weighs 400-500g less that could in my opinion change things...
I fully agree. This is not a system that makes sense for many (probably most by a big margin). We are blessed with so many fantastic choices in camera systems.
p.6 #18 · Do You Still Use the Leica SL System? (Poll)
I agree also... They need to make smaller apo lenses like they did with M lenses. Sigma has already covered pretty good with smaller f2 primes and Sony has 28-70mm f2 zoom to cover nearly all the range except 90mm... Q3 43 apo is at least unique with its size and no competition...
SlowDriver wrote:
For a lot of people the APO Summicrons might not be enough of a unique selling proposition though. Too big, too heavy and too expensive.
If Leica could deliver a (new) SL4c with an APO SL 35mm Mk II that weighs 400-500g less that could in my opinion change things...
These look pretty good. There's so much genre variations now in all media that it's less about trends of "the look" meta and more about precise lensing to maximize the narrative aesthetic.
Shift from S35 > FF and now FF > LFs is definitely a trend though for specific cleanness, less additive lighting, and of course marketing.
I might be at BSC Expo, will try to get some samples if I go and they approve my gear.
! 
