Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2017/01/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Your images delight me regardless of the equipment used. Cheers, Nathan Nathan Wajsman Alicante, Spain http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/> http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws <http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ <http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/> Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator <http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator> YNWA > On 07 Jan 2017, at 18:28, Doug Herr <wildlightphoto at earthlink.net> > wrote: > > Yesterday was my first full day with the SL and 90-280mm zoom. The SL is > unchanged since I first tried it a year ago, what's new (for me) is the > lens. Given the storms and family obligations for the next several days > it will probably be another week or more before I can use the camera more. > > Recapping my initial thoughts about the SL: the solid construction, > responsiveness, file richness, the simple, configurable, no-nonsense > control layout, and viewfinder (with one exception) continue to delight me. > > I'm still annoyed by the inability to make the viewfinder's exposure > preview mode permanent; it's enabled by a half-press of the shutter switch > or can be configured to be activated by the fn button (where the DOF > preview button is on Leicaflexes). The viewfinder reverts to automatic > brightness after each exposure. If the subject and background are similar > tones, no big deal. OTOH if there's much difference between the subject > and background tones it can be very distracting particularly when using > spot metering and the subject is dancing around the field of view, as > avian subjects often do. > > The 90-280 is spectacular, nearly as good as the 280/4 APO. I haven't > seen any color fringes either spherochromatic (color fringes in OOF > high-contrast objects) or laterally. This lens would do well with a > higher-resolution sensor. Much higher. Which brings up a problem: > aliasing and moire. > > Feather detail, a very sharp lens and a sensor without AA filter can be a > difficult combination to work with. Moire-reducing software and > occasional cloning out scrambled pixels become necessary for the best > quality files. This is less a problem with the Sony a7II which has a > similar-sized sensor and an AA filter. I still see some color aliasing > when using the 280/4 APO on the Sony but not nearly as much as the 90-280 > on the SL. Combine the Sony with the Canon FD 500mm f/4.5 L and color > aliasing is never a problem, in part because the lens has some lateral > chromatic aberration, correctable with software. > > My test subjects were familiar birds in my yard, lured within range of a > 280mm lens with seed, water and fruit. This was my first opportunity to > try the SL's AF in the field. I found that the most reliable use of this > feature was single-point manual focus, which means that a touch of the > joystick focusses the lens at the focussing point. The SL's AF is quick > and quiet and assuming it locks onto the right target its accuracy leaves > nothing to be desired. No micro-adjustment ever required. > > As I expected, the AF system focuses on the nearest point within its AF > area meaning the bird's shoulder or wing and not necessarily its eye. > Manual fine-focus is possible by pressing the lower-left key on the > camera's back, with brings up 3x or 5x magnification in the viewfinder in > two steps. I find that 3x is an excellent compromise that allows critical > focus over a significant area of the image. I wish the Sony offered this > option instead of jumping directly to 5x. I also wish the SL would offer > the 3x option with the joystick button when using non-electronic lenses. > > When using a native lens the lower-left key is the only option for > bringing up viewfinder magnification, so I have to take my left hand away > from the focussing ring, move it to the camera's back to press the key, > then back to the focussing ring. Not the most effective technique. Maybe > I can train my nose to press the key. The 90-280 is a focus-by-wire lens; > the zoom is mechanical. Both rings rotate smoothly and the resistance of > the two rings is identical. When using manual focus the focusing ring is > sensitive to the rate of turning the ring: quick rotation = large changes, > slow rotation = small changes. Very nice. > > The lens's optical stabilization works well, probably better than the > Sony's sensor stabilization, but subject motion is the limiting factor > more often than the stabilization technology. In practical use the Sony's > stabilization would have done just as well. > > Enough words, show some pictures! > > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/temp/L1000046_crop.jpg > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/temp/L1000065_crop.jpg > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/temp/L1000091_crop.jpg > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/temp/L1000108_crop.jpg > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/temp/L1000116.jpg > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/temp/L1000131_crop.jpg > http://www.wildlightphoto.com/temp/L1000206_crop.jpg > > Doug Herr > Birdman of Sacramento > http://www.wildlightphoto.com > http://doug-herr.fineartamerica.com > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information