Re: Leica SL images and specs. Looks somehow familiar...
I am going to include some of my observations, impressions and some images taken with the SL yesterday at PhotoPlus in New York City at the Javits Center.
First, I would like to say Wow. The SL is quite a camera in many respects. Comparing the construction of this camera with that of the Sony A7r and the A7rII cameras there are several orders of magnitude difference. The Sony are nice cameras but the SL is just in a different league for construction. The SL I would say is made at least to the level of the M240. Basically the camera body/chassis is made from a block of aluminum. Yes the camera does appear to be fairly large certainly when compared with either Sony or the Leica M240. Yes the M lenses do look small when compared to the size of the camera. The camera has real heft to it and the grip is somewhat deep for my small hands. It does appear to balance fairly well and you are holding and handling a piece of precision equipment when it is in your hands. As I mentioned, yes the camera does appear large when compared to the size of M lenses, but at the same time the size is in keeping with the R lenses and the new AF lenses that are designed to be used with the camera. Only the zoom is going to be available and ship with the camera and the other lenses I believe were either Prototypes or Pre Production.
As I suggested earlier in one of the threads about this camera. I would consider it to be the Swiss Army Knife of Leica Cameras. You can mount basically any Leica interchangeable lens from any of their systems onto the camera with the appropriate adapter. The camera has a Leica T mount and will of course work with the AF lenses that do and will be designed for the camera. T lenses I believe mount directly to the camera. With the proper adapter you can also mount M, R, and S lenses as well. Add that to being able to mount Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax... lenses when using the appropriate adapters made for the Leica T mount.
So, for the Leica user with lenses in many systems, this may be the camera for you and for traveling with just a single body if you like the \"look\" and character of specific lenses.
I only had a limited opportunity to really handle the camera with the AF lens and other lenses mounted to the camera, but as mentioned the camera has real heft to it and appears to balance fairly well with the lens. Menus did appear to be rather straight forward as the Leica Rep went through them. The EVF is something very very special. I would say that without question, this is the best and fastest responding EVF that I have every seen. The color and fidelity and refresh rate of the EVF were excellent. Now at the show we did not have taxing lighting conditions, but much of the time I almost felt like I was looking through a good OVF possibly approaching that of my R8 which is saying something. When we mounted my 280mm F4 Apo Telyt lens on a tripod and mounted the camera the system operated superbly. In order to mount an R lens onto the camera at this point Leica does not offer a direct adapter and we really do not know what will be incorporated in that adapter. Whether Leica will release an adapter that will provide auto aperture for R lenses will remain to be seen. For now, to mount an R lens onto the camera you need to use a R to M adapter mounted to an M to T adapter. Not necessarily the best way but for now the only way of doing this.
As to the question of the performance of M lenses on the camera being slightly poorer than on an M240, it is too early to really say. My understanding is that the sensor in the camera is a modified or updated version of the sensor used for the T camera which is updated from the sensor for the M240.
The camera really does fire at 11 FPS which faster than I need. AF appears to be fast using the lens that was available. S lenses will also AF with the SL. S lenses do not focus terribly quickly on the S cameras and we will have to wait for more time and testing to see if S lenses will actually focus faster on the SL than on the S cameras.
For those that are fortunate enough to own one of the R 280mm f4 lenses and in particular using this lens on the higher MP this is quite an eye opening optic. I would say that is particularly the case for anyone using the lens on the 36 MP Sony or Nikon or the the 42 MP Sony cameras. On the SL with the 24 MP this lens also shines. The Leica Reps, Jim Lager, my friend who is the author of 8 Leica Books and those at the Leica Booth when I mounted this lens were amazed and impressed. This is a rather infrequently seen and observed lens on cameras since only 2000 were made. I know that the Leica Reps and everyone were extremely happy with the combination. Jim was in total disbelief about what we were seeing when viewing through this combination. From comments from the Leica Reps, I have a particularly smoothly operating and functioning copy of the lens so I feel very fortunate. Below and in the next post are some images taken with the combination of the R280mm f4 Apo Telyt and the SL both SOC except Image Size adjusted and as 100% SOC. No processing was done at all for these files. I do not know the ISO set for the camera but it must have been fairly high. I also do not know the shutter speed set for the camera. The photos I believe were all shot wide open at f4. When we stopped the lens down on the camera I believe that we were still able to focus even when stopped down to f16. The EVF did adjust for the change in aperture by the way but it was not instantaneous and of course auto aperture would have helped. Again in regards to the images, I can not say that all were nailed for focus, but this is and was an impressive performance.
Would I like to own the SL? If I could get over the sticker shock of $7450 for the camera body, could deal with the size, weight, and the fact that the camera only offers 24 rather than 26MP, the answer is yes.
Re: Leica SL images and specs. Looks somehow familiar...
I am going to include some of my observations, impressions and some images taken with the SL yesterday at PhotoPlus in New York City at the Javits Center.
First, I would like to say Wow. The SL is quite a camera in many respects. Comparing the construction of this camera with that of the Sony A7r and the A7rII cameras there are several orders of magnitude difference. The Sony are nice cameras but the SL is just in a different league for construction. The SL I would say is made at least to the level of the M240. Basically the camera body/chassis is made from a block of aluminum. Yes the camera does appear to be fairly large certainly when compared with either Sony or the Leica M240. Yes the M lenses do look small when compared to the size of the camera. The camera has real heft to it and the grip is somewhat deep for my small hands. It does appear to balance fairly well and you are holding and handling a piece of precision equipment when it is in your hands. As I mentioned, yes the camera does appear large when compared to the size of M lenses, but at the same time the size is in keeping with the R lenses and the new AF lenses that are designed to be used with the camera. Only the zoom is going to be available and ship with the camera and the other lenses I believe were either Prototypes or Pre Production.
As I suggested earlier in one of the threads about this camera. I would consider it to be the Swiss Army Knife of Leica Cameras. You can mount basically any Leica interchangeable lens from any of their systems onto the camera with the appropriate adapter. The camera has a Leica T mount and will of course work with the AF lenses that do and will be designed for the camera. T lenses I believe mount directly to the camera. With the proper adapter you can also mount M, R, and S lenses as well. Add that to being able to mount Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax... lenses when using the appropriate adapters made for the Leica T mount.
So, for the Leica user with lenses in many systems, this may be the camera for you and for traveling with just a single body if you like the \"look\" and character of specific lenses.
I only had a limited opportunity to really handle the camera with the AF lens and other lenses mounted to the camera, but as mentioned the camera has real heft to it and appears to balance fairly well with the lens. Menus did appear to be rather straight forward as the Leica Rep went through them. The EVF is something very very special. I would say that without question, this is the best and fastest responding EVF that I have every seen. The color and fidelity and refresh rate of the EVF were excellent. Now at the show we did not have taxing lighting conditions, but much of the time I almost felt like I was looking through a good OVF possibly approaching that of my R8 which is saying something. When we mounted my 280mm F4 Apo Telyt lens on a tripod and mounted the camera the system operated superbly. In order to mount an R lens onto the camera at this point Leica does not offer a direct adapter and we really do not know what will be incorporated in that adapter. Whether Leica will release an adapter that will provide auto aperture for R lenses will remain to be seen. For now, to mount an R lens onto the camera you need to use a R to M adapter mounted to an M to T adapter. Not necessarily the best way but for now the only way of doing this.
As to the question of the performance of M lenses on the camera being slightly poorer than on an M240, it is too early to really say. My understanding is that the sensor in the camera is a modified or updated version of the sensor used for the T camera which is updated from the sensor for the M240.
The camera really does fire at 11 FPS which faster than I need. AF appears to be fast using the lens that was available. S lenses will also AF with the SL. S lenses do not focus terribly quickly on the S cameras and we will have to wait for more time and testing to see if S lenses will actually focus faster on the SL than on the S cameras.
For those that are fortunate enough to own one of the R 280mm f4 lenses and in particular using this lens on the higher MP this is quite an eye opening optic. I would say that is particularly the case for anyone using the lens on the 36 MP Sony or Nikon or the the 42 MP Sony cameras. On the SL with the 24 MP this lens also shines. The Leica Reps, Jim Lager, my friend who is the author of 8 Leica Books and those at the Leica Booth when I mounted this lens were amazed and impressed. This is a rather infrequently seen and observed lens on cameras since only 2000 were made. I know that the Leica Reps and everyone were extremely happy with the combination. Jim was in total disbelief about what we were seeing when viewing through this combination. From comments from the Leica Reps, I have a particularly smoothly operating and functioning copy of the lens so I feel very fortunate. Below and in the next post are some images taken with the combination of the R280mm f4 Apo Telyt and the SL both SOC except Image Size adjusted and as 100% SOC. No processing was done at all for these files. I do not know the ISO set for the camera but it must have been fairly high. I also do not know the shutter speed set for the camera. The photos I believe were all shot wide open at f4. When we stopped the lens down on the camera I believe that we were still able to focus even when stopped down to f16. The EVF did adjust for the change in aperture by the way but it was not instantaneous and of course auto aperture would have helped. Again in regards to the images, I can not say that all were nailed for focus, but this is and was an impressive performance.
Would I like to own the SL? If I could get over the sticker shock of $7450 for the camera body, could deal with the size, weight, and the fact that the camera only offers 24 rather than 26MP, the answer is yes.
Re: Leica SL images and specs. Looks somehow familiar...
I am going to include some of my observations, impressions and some images taken with the SL yesterday at PhotoPlus in New York City at the Javits Center.
First, I would like to say Wow. The SL is quite a camera in many respects. Comparing the construction of this camera with that of the Sony A7r and the A7rII cameras there are several orders of magnitude difference. The Sony are nice cameras but the SL is just in a different league for construction. The SL I would say is made at least to the level of the M240. Basically the camera body/chassis is made from a block of aluminum. Yes the camera does appear to be fairly large certainly when compared with either Sony or the Leica M240. Yes the M lenses do look small when compared to the size of the camera. The camera has real heft to it and the grip is somewhat deep for my small hands. It does appear to balance fairly well and you are holding and handling a piece of precision equipment when it is in your hands. As I mentioned, yes the camera does appear large when compared to the size of M lenses, but at the same time the size is in keeping with the R lenses and the new AF lenses that are designed to be used with the camera. Only the zoom is going to be available and ship with the camera and the other lenses I believe were either Prototypes or Pre Production.
As I suggested earlier in one of the threads about this camera. I would consider it to be the Swiss Army Knife of Leica Cameras. You can mount basically any Leica interchangeable lens from any of their systems onto the camera with the appropriate adapter. The camera has a Leica T mount and will of course work with the AF lenses that do and will be designed for the camera. T lenses I believe mount directly to the camera. With the proper adapter you can also mount M, R, and S lenses as well. Add that to being able to mount Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax... lenses when using the appropriate adapters made for the Leica T mount.
So, for the Leica user with lenses in many systems, this may be the camera for you and for traveling with just a single body if you like the \"look\" and character of specific lenses.
I only had a limited opportunity to really handle the camera with the AF lens and other lenses mounted to the camera, but as mentioned the camera has real heft to it and appears to balance fairly well with the lens. Menus did appear to be rather straight forward as the Leica Rep went through them. The EVF is something very very special. I would say that without question, this is the best and fastest responding EVF that I have every seen. The color and fidelity and refresh rate of the EVF were excellent. Now at the show we did not have taxing lighting conditions, but much of the time I almost felt like I was looking through a good OVF possibly approaching that of my R8 which is saying something. When we mounted my 280mm F4 Apo Telyt lens on a tripod and mounted the camera the system operated superbly. In order to mount an R lens onto the camera at this point Leica does not offer a direct adapter and we really do not know what will be incorporated in that adapter. Whether Leica will release an adapter that will provide auto aperture for R lenses will remain to be seen. For now, to mount an R lens onto the camera you need to use a R to M adapter mounted to an M to T adapter. Not necessarily the best way but for now the only way of doing this.
As to the question of the performance of M lenses on the camera being slightly poorer than on an M240, it is too early to really say. My understanding is that the sensor in the camera is a modified or updated version of the sensor used for the T camera which is updated from the sensor for the M240.
The camera really does fire at 11 FPS which faster than I need. AF appears to be fast using the lens that was available. S lenses will also AF with the SL. S lenses do not focus terribly quickly on the S cameras and we will have to wait for more time and testing to see if S lenses will actually focus faster on the SL than on the S cameras.
For those that are fortunate enough to own one of the R 280mm f4 lenses and in particular using this lens on the higher MP this is quite an eye opening optic. I would say that is particularly the case for anyone using the lens on the 36 MP Sony or Nikon or the the 42 MP Sony cameras. On the SL with the 24 MP this lens also shines. The Leica Reps, Jim Lager, my friend who is the author of 8 Leica Books and those at the Leica Booth when I mounted this lens were amazed and impressed. This is a rather infrequently seen and observed lens on cameras since only 2000 were made. I know that the Leica Reps and everyone was extremely happy with the combination. Jim was in total disbelief about what we were seeing when viewing through this combination. From comments from the Leica Reps, I have a particularly smoothly operating and functioning copy of the lens so I feel very fortunate. Below and in the next post are some images taken with the combination of the R280mm f4 Apo Telyt and the SL both SOC except Image Size adjusted and as 100% SOC. No processing was done at all for these files. I do not know the ISO set for the camera but it must have been fairly high. I also do not know the shutter speed set for the camera. The photos I believe were all shot wide open at f4. When we stopped the lens down on the camera I believe that we were still able to focus even when stopped down to f16. The EVF did adjust for the change in aperture by the way but it was not instantaneous and of course auto aperture would have helped. Again in regards to the images, I can not say that all were nailed for focus, but this is and was an impressive performance.
Would I like to own the SL? If I could get over the sticker shock of $7450 for the camera body, could deal with the size, weight, and the fact that the camera only offers 24 rather than 26MP, the answer is yes.
Re: Leica SL images and specs. Looks somehow familiar...
I am going to include some of my observations, impressions and some images taken with the SL yesterday at PhotoPlus in New York City at the Javits Center.
First, I would like to say Wow. The SL is quite a camera in many respects. Comparing the construction of this camera with that of the Sony A7r and the A7rII cameras there are several orders of magnitude difference. The Sony are nice cameras but the SL is just in a different league for construction. The SL I would say is made at least to the level of the M240. Basically the camera body/chassis is made from a block of aluminum. Yes the camera does appear to be fairly large certainly when compared with either Sony or the Leica M240. Yes the M lenses do look small when compared to the size of the camera. The camera has real heft to it and the grip is somewhat deep for my small hands. It does appear to balance fairly well and you are holding and handling a piece of precision equipment when it is in your hands. As I mentioned, yes the camera does appear large when compared to the size of M lenses, but at the same time the size is in keeping with the R lenses and the new AF lenses that are designed to be used with the camera. Only the zoom is going to be available and ship with the camera and the other lenses I believe were either Prototypes or Pre Production.
As I suggested earlier in one of the threads about this camera. I would consider it to be the Swiss Army Knife of Leica Cameras. You can mount basically any Leica interchangeable lens from any of their systems onto the camera with the appropriate adapter. The camera has a Leica T mount and will of course work with the AF lenses that do and will be designed for the camera. T lenses I believe mount directly to the camera. With the proper adapter you can also mount M, R, and S lenses as well. Add that to being able to mount Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax... lenses when using the appropriate adapters made for the Leica T mount.
So, for the Leica user with lenses in many systems, this may be the camera for you and for traveling with just a single body if you like the \"look\" and character of specific lenses.
I only had a limited opportunity to really handle the camera with the AF lens and other lenses mounted to the camera, but as mentioned the camera has real f heft to it and appears to balance fairly well with the lens. Menus did appear to be rather straight forward as the Leica Rep went through them. The EVF is something very very special. I would say that without question, this is the best and fastest responding EVF that I have every seen. The color and fidelity and refresh rate of the EVF were excellent. Now at the show we did not have taxing lighting conditions, but much of the time I almost felt like I was looking through a good OVF possibly approaching that of my R8 which is saying something. When we mounted my 280mm F4 Apo Telyt lens on a tripod and mounted the camera the system operated superbly. In order to mount an R lens onto the camera at this point Leica does not offer a direct adapter and we really do not know what will be incorporated in that adapter. Whether Leica will release an adapter that will provide auto aperture for R lenses will remain to be seen. For now, to mount an R lens onto the camera you need to use a R to M adapter mounted to an M to T adapter. Not necessarily the best way but for now the only way of doing this.
As to the question of the performance of M lenses on the camera being slightly poorer than on an M240, it is too early to really say. My understanding is that the sensor in the camera is a modified or updated version of the sensor used for the T camera which is updated from the sensor for the M240.
The camera really does fire at 11 FPS which faster than I need. AF appears to be fast using the lens that was available. S lenses will also AF with the SL. S lenses do not focus terribly quickly on the S cameras and we will have to wait for more time and testing to see if S lenses will actually focus faster on the SL than on the S cameras.
For those that are fortunate enough to own one of the R 280mm f4 lenses and in particular using this lens on the higher MP this is quite an eye opening optic. I would say that is particularly the case for anyone using the lens on the 36 MP Sony or Nikon or the the 42 MP Sony cameras. On the SL with the 24 MP this lens also shines. The Leica Reps, Jim Lager, my friend who is the author of 8 Leica Books and those at the Leica Booth when I mounted this lens were amazed and impressed. This is a rather infrequently seen and observed lens on cameras since only 2000 were made. I know that the Leica Reps and everyone was extremely happy with the combination. Jim was in total disbelief about what we were seeing when viewing through this combination. From comments from the Leica Reps, I have a particularly smoothly operating and functioning copy of the lens so I feel very fortunate. Below and in the next post are some images taken with the combination of the R280mm f4 Apo Telyt and the SL both SOC except Image Size adjusted and as 100% SOC. No processing was done at all for these files. I do not know the ISO set for the camera but it must have been fairly high. I also do not know the shutter speed set for the camera. The photos I believe were all shot wide open at f4. When we stopped the lens down on the camera I believe that we were still able to focus even when stopped down to f16. The EVF did adjust for the change in aperture by the way but it was not instantaneous and of course auto aperture would have helped. Again in regards to the images, I can not say that all were nailed for focus, but this is and was an impressive performance.
Would I like to own the SL? If I could get over the sticker shock of $7450 for the camera body, could deal with the size, weight, and the fact that the camera only offers 24 rather than 26MP, the answer is yes.
Re: Leica SL images and specs. Looks somehow familiar...
I am going to include some of my observations, impressions and some images taken with the SL yesterday at PhotoPlus in New York City at the Javits Center.
First, I would like to say Wow. The SL is quite a camera in many respects. Comparing the construction of this camera with that of the Sony A7r and the A7rII cameras there are several orders of magnitude difference. The Sony are nice cameras but the SL is just in a different league for construction. The SL I would say is made at least to the level of the M240. Basically the camera body/chassis is made from a block of aluminum. Yes the camera does appear to be fairly large certainly when compared with either Sony or the Leica M240. Yes the M lenses do look small when compared to the size of the camera. The camera has real heft to it and the grip is somewhat deep for my small hands. It does appear to balance fairly well and you are holding and handling a piece of precision equipment when it is in your hands. As I mentioned, yes the camera does appear large when compared to the sized of M lenses, but at the same time the size is in keeping with the R lenses and the new AF lenses that are designed to be used with the camera. Only the zoom is going to be available and ship with the camera and the other lenses I believe were either Prototypes or Pre Production.
As I suggested earlier in one of the threads about this camera. I would consider it to be the Swiss Army Knife of Leica Cameras. You can mount basically any Leica interchangeable lens from any of their systems onto the camera with the appropriate adapter. The camera has a Leica T mount and will of course work with the AF lenses that do and will be designed for the camera. T lenses I believe mount directly to the camera. With the proper adapter you can also mount M, R, and S lenses as well. Add that to being able to mount Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax... lenses when using the appropriate adapters made for the Leica T mount.
So, for the Leica user with lenses in many systems, this may be the camera for you and for traveling with just a single body if you like the \"look\" and character of specific lenses.
I only had a limited opportunity to really handle the camera with the AF lens and other lenses mounted to the camera, but as mentioned the camera has real f heft to it and appears to balance fairly well with the lens. Menus did appear to be rather straight forward as the Leica Rep went through them. The EVF is something very very special. I would say that without question, this is the best and fastest responding EVF that I have every seen. The color and fidelity and refresh rate of the EVF were excellent. Now at the show we did not have taxing lighting conditions, but much of the time I almost felt like I was looking through a good OVF possibly approaching that of my R8 which is saying something. When we mounted my 280mm F4 Apo Telyt lens on a tripod and mounted the camera the system operated superbly. In order to mount an R lens onto the camera at this point Leica does not offer a direct adapter and we really do not know what will be incorporated in that adapter. Whether Leica will release an adapter that will provide auto aperture for R lenses will remain to be seen. For now, to mount an R lens onto the camera you need to use a R to M adapter mounted to an M to T adapter. Not necessarily the best way but for now the only way of doing this.
As to the question of the performance of M lenses on the camera being slightly poorer than on an M240, it is too early to really say. My understanding is that the sensor in the camera is a modified or updated version of the sensor used for the T camera which is updated from the sensor for the M240.
The camera really does fire at 11 FPS which faster than I need. AF appears to be fast using the lens that was available. S lenses will also AF with the SL. S lenses do not focus terribly quickly on the S cameras and we will have to wait for more time and testing to see if S lenses will actually focus faster on the SL than on the S cameras.
For those that are fortunate enough to own one of the R 280mm f4 lenses and in particular using this lens on the higher MP this is quite an eye opening optic. I would say that is particularly the case for anyone using the lens on the 36 MP Sony or Nikon or the the 42 MP Sony cameras. On the SL with the 24 MP this lens also shines. The Leica Reps, Jim Lager, my friend who is the author of 8 Leica Books and those at the Leica Booth when I mounted this lens were amazed and impressed. This is a rather infrequently seen and observed lens on cameras since only 2000 were made. I know that the Leica Reps and everyone was extremely happy with the combination. Jim was in total disbelief about what we were seeing when viewing through this combination. From comments from the Leica Reps, I have a particularly smoothly operating and functioning copy of the lens so I feel very fortunate. Below and in the next post are some images taken with the combination of the R280mm f4 Apo Telyt and the SL both SOC except Image Size adjusted and as 100% SOC. No processing was done at all for these files. I do not know the ISO set for the camera but it must have been fairly high. I also do not know the shutter speed set for the camera. The photos I believe were all shot wide open at f4. When we stopped the lens down on the camera I believe that we were still able to focus even when stopped down to f16. The EVF did adjust for the change in aperture by the way but it was not instantaneous and of course auto aperture would have helped. Again in regards to the images, I can not say that all were nailed for focus, but this is and was an impressive performance.
Would I like to own the SL? If I could get over the sticker shock of $7450 for the camera body, could deal with the size, weight, and the fact that the camera only offers 24 rather than 26MP, the answer is yes.
Re: Leica SL images and specs. Looks somehow familiar...
I am going to include some of my observations, impressions and some images taken with the SL yesterday at PhotoPlus in New York City at the Javits Center.
First, I would like to say Wow. The SL is quite a camera in many respects. Comparing the construction of this camera with that of the Sony A7r and the A7rII cameras there are several orders of magnitude difference. The Sony are nice cameras but the SL is just in a different league for construction. The SL I would say is made at least to the level of the M240. Basically the camera body/chassis is made from a block of aluminum. Yes the camera does appear to be fairly large certainly when compared with either Sony or the Leica M240. Yes the M lenses do look small when compared to the size of the camera. The camera has real heft to it and the grip is somewhat deep for my small hands. It does appear to balance fairly well and you are holding and handling a piece of precision equipment when it is in your hands. As I mentioned, yes the camera does appear large when compared to the sized of M lenses, but at the same time the size is in keeping with the R lenses and the new AF lenses that are designed to be used with the camera. Only the zoom is going to be available and ship with the camera and the other lenses I believe were either Prototypes or Pre Production.
As I suggested earlier in one of the threads about this camera. I would consider it to be the Swiss Army Knife of Leica Cameras. You can mount basically any Leica interchangeable lens from any of their systems onto the camera with the appropriate adapter. The camera has a Leica T mount and will of course work with the AF lenses that do and will be designed for the camera. T lenses I believe mount directly to the camera. With the proper adapter you can also mount M, R, and S lenses as well. Add that to being able to mount Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax... lenses when using the appropriate adapters made for the Leica T mount.
So, for the Leica user with lenses in many systems, this may be the camera for you and for traveling with just a single body if you like the \"look\" and character of specific lenses.
I only had a limited opportunity to really handle the camera with the AF lens and other lenses mounted to the camera, but as mentioned the camera has real f heft to it and appears to balance fairly well with the lens. Menus did appear to be rather straight forward as the Leica Rep went through them. The EVF is something very very special. I would say that without question, this is the best and fastest responding EVF that I have every seen. The color and fidelity and refresh rate of the EVF were excellent. Now at the show we did not have taxing lighting conditions, but much of the time I almost felt like I was looking through a good OVF possibly approaching that of my R8 which is saying something. When we mounted my 280mm F4 Apo Telyt lens on a tripod and mounted the camera the system operated superbly. In order to mount an R lens onto the camera at this point Leica does not offer a direct adapter and we really do not know what will be incorporated in that adapter. Whether Leica will release an adapter that will provide auto aperture for R lenses will remain to be seen. For now, to mount an R lens onto the camera you need to use a R to M adapter mounted to an M to T adapter. Not necessarily the best way but for now the only way of doing this.
As to the question of the performance of M lenses on the camera being slightly poorer than on an M240, it is too early to really say. My understanding is that the sensor in the camera is a modified or updated version of the sensor used for the T camera which is updated from the sensor for the M240.
The camera really does fire at 11 FPS which faster than I need. AF appears to be fast using the lens that was available. S lenses will also AF with the SL. S lenses do not focus terribly quickly on the S cameras and we will have to wait for more time and testing to see if S lenses will actually focus faster on the SL than on the S cameras.
For those that are fortunate enough to own one of the R 280mm f4 lenses and in particular using this lens on the higher MP this is quite an eye opening optic. I would say that is particularly the case for anyone using the lens on the 36 MP Sony or Nikon or the the 42 MP Sony cameras. On the SL with the 24 MP this lens also shines. The Leica Reps, Jim Lager, my friend who is the author of 8 Leica Books and those at the Leica Booth when I mounted this lens were amazed and impressed. This is a rather infrequently seen and observed lens on cameras since only 2000 were made. I know that the Leica Reps and everyone was extremely happy with the combination. Jim was in total disbelief about what we were seeing when viewing through this combination. From comments from the Leica Reps, I have a particularly smoothly operating and functioning copy of the lens so I feel very fortunate. Below and in the next post are some images taken with the combination of the R280mm f4 Apo Telyt and the SL both SOC except Image Size adjusted and as 100% SOC. No processing was done at all for these files. I do not know the ISO set for the camera but it must have been fairly high. I also do not know the shutter speed set for the camera. The photos I believe were all shot wide open at f4. When we stopped the lens down on the camera I believe that we were still able to focus even when stopped down to f16. The EVF did adjust for the change in aperture by the way but it was not instantaneous and of course auto aperture would have helped. Again in regards to the images, I can not say that all were nailed for focus, but this is and was an impressive performance.
Would I like to own the SL? If I could get over the sticker shock of $7450 for the camera body, could deal with the size, weight, and the fact that the camera only offers 24 rather than 26MP, the answer is yes.
Rich
Oct 23, 2015 at 07:47 AM
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