[Leica] Leica 24-90 SL lens question

[Bob Adler]

Got it. The f/4 is a bit of a show stopper for me. You will need extremely high ISO performance even fully open. My 35/f 2 doesn't really make the cut for getting the most star detail and manageable noise at 2400 ISO. And that's at the max shutter speed of 11-12sec. F/4 would have to have an ISO 2 stops higher (9600?) to have the same performance. Most who use the Nikon like 32000 for 6 sec with a 35mm. That is a limitation, IMO, of the SL and new zoom. 

A Sony with OEM seems to be the best tool for this app. I'm thinking very hard about this as I don't trust Sony. They will change everything at the drop of a profit...

Or am I missing something?

Bob Adler
Robert Adler Photography
www.robertadlerphotography.com

> On Dec 2, 2015, at 9:06 AM, Aram Langhans <leica_r8 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Thanks, Bob.  I use the live view in Nikon now.  It is a PITA.  Try to find a star, then focus with a loupe.   Then if I change focal length  I have to do it all over again.
> 
> I have no problem with hard stop infinity on the R 35-70/4.  The stars are perfectly sharp wide open.  Much more so than with either of my Nikon zooms focused as stated above.  Wide open they are no match for the R lens.  And I can zoom with impunity.  But I most often need something wider than 35mm than on the longer side.
> 
> Aram
> 
> -----Original Message----- From: Robert Adler
> Sent: Tuesday, December 01, 2015 3:55 PM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica 24-90 SL lens question
> 
> Hi Aram,
> 
> For astro landscape photography, you will not want to depend on the lens'
> hard stop at infinity with such a terrific EVF: just use the EVF and manual
> focus to make the stars sharp.
> With the M's you don't have a choice but to depend on the hard stop. On
> other camera's with a good EVF or LCD (use a loupe) it's best to see your
> focus on the stars.
> Hope this helps chip away at spending all your $ on the SL.   I certainly
> am considering it except that for my WA lenses don't play well with it. So
> in addition to the SL I would need a 35/1,4 ASPH and a 21/1,4 ASPH. Add
> that to the autofocus 24-90 and basically I am SOL!
> :-)
> Best,
> Bob
> 
> 
> 
>> On Tue, Dec 1, 2015 at 1:10 PM, Aram Langhans <leica_r8 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Tina and anyone else with this new camera.  I have a question.  Does this
>> lens have a hard stop at infinity or does it focus past infinity in manual
>> mode?  I am thinking of night astrophotography.  My35-70/4 has a hard focus
>> at infinity.  I just turn till it stops and I am all set, no matter what
>> focal length I am using.  Not so on my Nikon AF lenses.  Not sure it this
>> is the way a lens has to be designed for AF, or if it is just cheaper to do
>> so.
>> 
>> Also, in manual focus,  if you focus on an object at 90mm, does the focus
>> change as you zoom out to 24?  In other words, does the focus change as you
>> move through the zoom range?  Again, the 35-70/4 does not change focus as
>> you zoom, but all my Nikon zooms do.  The 16-36/4, the 24-120/4 and the
>> 70-200/4.  The worst offender is the 24-120.  My love to hate lens. Again,
>> I am thinking of astrophotography.  If the 24-90 SL lens does not have a
>> hard infinity,  I would like to be able to focus once on a star then not
>> have to refocus if you change the focal length.  Hard infinity would be
>> best, but this would also work after the initial focusing.
>> 
>> I looked at the review by Dowling.  I really need to stop looking.  It
>> really makes me want one  in spite of the size.  It looks like a very
>> impressive camera with a great viewfinder, the thing I really dislike about
>> the other mirrorless cameras.  But I know I should not spend that much
>> money, if I had it, and just enjoy what I have now for a while.
>> 
>> Thanks.
>> 
>> Aram
>> 
>> Aram Langhans
>> (Semi) Retired  Science Teacher
>> & Unemployed photographer
>> 
>> “The Human Genome Project has proved Darwin more right than Darwin himself
>> would ever have dared dream.”   James D. Watson
>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Bob Adler
> www.robertadlerphotography.com
> 
> 
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