A Prediction - The Leica SL-2 is Coming Soon

Godfrey said:
Nothing that more pixels wouldn't do, in my opinion. What else could the SL2 possibly do that the SL doesn't when the carefully made Leica lens profiles offered for M and R lenses allow them to image with just about the exact same beauty that they did on the cameras they were originally designed for?

Operationally, the SL2 couldn't do anything that the SL doesn't already unless they included a rangefinder cam linkage in the mount adapter that fed the focus distance display and maybe the automatic focus aids, but that would be a matter of the adapter rather than the lenses themselves. :)

I loved my SL, one of the very finest cameras I've ever owned. But I moved to the CL body a year and some ago as it suits what I do now, post-retirement, better than the SL body. Simpler, smaller, lighter, and the smaller format has some advantages for what I do with the camera. Regardless, I look forward to seeing what Leica provides with the SL2 body.

G
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Thank you for your useful assessment, Godfrey. My M9 is getting old, and I may need some new camera. For me, it has been a decision between an M10 or an SL so far.
 
Godfrey said:
Nothing that more pixels wouldn't do, in my opinion. What else could the SL2 possibly do that the SL doesn't when the carefully made Leica lens profiles offered for M and R lenses allow them to image with just about the exact same beauty that they did on the cameras they were originally designed for?

Operationally, the SL2 couldn't do anything that the SL doesn't already unless they included a rangefinder cam linkage in the mount adapter that fed the focus distance display and maybe the automatic focus aids, but that would be a matter of the adapter rather than the lenses themselves. :)

I loved my SL, one of the very finest cameras I've ever owned. But I moved to the CL body a year and some ago as it suits what I do now, post-retirement, better than the SL body. Simpler, smaller, lighter, and the smaller format has some advantages for what I do with the camera. Regardless, I look forward to seeing what Leica provides with the SL2 body.

G
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No doubt the CL is a great camera. I'm lucky because I own both a SL and CL. Call me spoiled.

The CL was a lot cheaper than buying short tele's for my SL. The CL takes great glass and exploits the sweet spot to get perfection. My 50 Lux-R "E60" becomes a 75 Lux and kinda crushes the 75 Lux-M version 2 I had wide open.

The Noct-Nikkor becomes an 87/1.2.

Interesting to note that the three button layout of the SL2 seems to have been "lifted" off the CL. The Leica menues are so easy to navigate and the CL keeps everything simple and direct. So intuitive...

A feature on my CL that I love is that if I have an autofocus L-mount lens on the CL and I switch to autofocus the camera enlarges the image to nail the focus the moment I turn the focus ring.

Too bad my CL did not do this with M-mount and R-mount. Only AF lenses work this way when set in manual mode.

Cal
 
Huss said:
Are you still happy with the images that the M9 gives you?
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I am very happy with the images because my photography is mainly in Florida where we do not need high ISO most of the time. I am just viewing it as a "maybe next buy" one day.
 
analoged said:
Guess beauty is in eye of the beholder, kinda like the R8/9...
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Analog,

I agree. I loved my Hunchback of Solms (R8).

Also people disregard how the advances have been passed down from the Leica "S" to the SL, and lastly to the M10. For example the Maestro processor with big buffer. The processor in the M10 is not new to me because I have been using it in my SL for the past 4 years or so.

When "Mike the skinny hipster" borrowed a three lens Leica "S" kit from Leica for a feature that would be published in the latest issues of Leica "S" magazine and LFI, Mike called me because I own a SL. Pretty much the same intuitive menues and layout. I was surprised how similar the two cameras were.

Now it seems the new SL2 even adopted the same three button on the left side as the CL. BTW I love the simple controls on the CL, even better than the SL because they are so simple and elegant.

Pretty much I dumb down the camera and remove all the stuff I don't need or never use. Pretty much I make my SL and CL like a film camera.

Already lots of haters that are die hard M users on the DP Review thread above that John posted.

If one understands the flow of technology and development one would see that the big advances first came out in the "S" then SL that are now in the newly released M10.

As far as glass goes the M-lenses win in speed with 28 Lux, 0.95 Noctilux, and 75 Noctilux, but know that all the L-mount Crons, even the wides, are all APO.

My 50 Lux-SL I kow is monsterously huge and heavy, but it is mucho smooth in rendering yet just as sharp as my 50 Lux-M ASPH. The 50 Lux-M ASPH was biting sharp and at times had aweful harshness in the OOF.

Read the Jono Slack review where he compares the APO 50 Cron-M against the APO 50 Cron-L. There is a clear winner and it wasn't the M-lens as great as it is.

No doubt in my mind which files will print bigger (SL2).

I will also say not everybody prints, and even fewer print big to transcend formats where enhanced IQ, increased resolution, and expanded tonality counts. Not for everybody...

I would even argue that for the 75 Noctilux that my SL would be a better platform for nailing the focus wide open. I actually tried this lens on my SL. At F1.2 the 75mm FOV has mucho shallow DOF. I would expect a lower "hit" ratio with a rangefinder. I find the zoom in much more accurate than focus peaking.

I find it rather amusing how people can hate the SL and SL2 already and love the M10. Pretty much a lot of the same camera.

I have a friend who owns a SL who then later bought a M10. He agrees that pretty much they are more alike than different. BTW he favors the SL over the M10 and with the M10 has buyer's remorse.

Cal

POSTSCRIPT: How many years do you think will pass until a M11 comes out with a 47 MP sensor? I say 4-5 years. Meanwhile later this year the SL2 will start becoming available. Ha-Ha.
 
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While the SL works great with both M and R manual focus lenses, as well as my Noct-Nikkor, the pain is waiting for the native L-mount lenses.

The 50 Cron-L APO has just been released. Read Jon Slack's review and look at the rendering in the supplied images.

https://www.macfilos.com/2019/08/15/review-leica-apo-summicron-sl-50mm-f2-asph/

Not that the comparision between the 2 50 APO Cron's is extensive, and the statement about which one is better is really only one sentence, but the APO 50 Cron-M is arguably one of the best M-mount lenses available.

Know that Jono is mostly a 50 shooter.

Cal
 
Out to Lunch said:
Who needs a 47MP sensor? To those who do, and to those who think they do...I wish them all the best.
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OTL,

Even maximizing my MM which is only 18 MP without a Bayer filter array I can print big (20x30 on 24x36 sheet). With some files I wish I had a 44 inch printer.

A friend of mine shoots a Hasselblad H1. The digital back is not so many when compared to a H5. He says sometimes it is about the size of the pixel verses how many.

Surely 47 MP exceeds many users requirements. Not that I have to defend being a SL owner/user or prove how crazy some SL, or already SL2, hater's logic is irrational.

Simple fact is that given some time M-bodies a few years out will likely have 47 MP sensors.

I agree 47 MP is crazy and serious overkill.

Cal
 
Photoville is this weekend. Leica forgoes participating in PhotoPlusExpo, but there is an opportunity to borrow and test Leica gear at Photoville with a photo ID and Credit Card as collateral at the Leica booth there.

I'm hoping I can try the new APO 50 Cron-L or an APO 35 Cron-L. I'll be bringing my SL and CL.

Should be exciting and informative.

Cal
 
Guess beauty is in eye of the beholder, kinda like the R8/9...[/quote]


+1
It looks good and, as a guess, it will feel good in the hands, too, a sometimes undervalued consideration.
 
Canyongazer said:
Guess beauty is in eye of the beholder, kinda like the R8/9...
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+1
It looks good and, as a guess, it will feel good in the hands, too, a sometimes undervalued consideration.[/QUOTE]

My SL is slightly bigger than a M, but the glass is both big and heavy. The weathersealing is a big deal and will spoil you. I have shot in heavy rain where I would have left an M at home.

In real life, over the years, I still just have the single OEM battery and never bought a spare. Meanwhile with a M I carry at least one spare battery and at times two.

I found this black rubber bracelet that has the word "Monster" printed on it for some VIP event. I put it on my 50 Lux-L to honor my friend John who calls my big and heavy cameras "Monsters."

While I do see many M-bodies "in the wild" here in NYC, it is very rare that I will see a SL. Not a popular camera. Mucho much bigger and heavier than a M.

Cal
 
Out to Lunch said:
An expensive scanning solution! Would you actually buy the new SL for scanning purposes?
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Not at all. $2500 for 47mp that gives much better image quality than any of the currently available dedicated scanners under $10K. Much quicker to use. Much better software. Works seamlessly with whatever you may have.
And it can also be used as a kamera.

I wouldn't buy the SL2 as a dedicated scanner because I need a 1:1 macro lens with AF. AF is key as it focuses on the film grain (in live view) in a second. I don't think there are any such lenses available that can be used in such a way with the SL series. Manual focus - yes - but not AF. I tried MF when I first started and it took me forever to get focus as I kept on making adjustments.
 
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