LEICA VARIO-ELMARIT-SL 24-90mm vs APO-SUMMICRON-SL 50 & 35mm

In the video I compare the two Leica SL prime lenses Apo-Summicron-SL 35mm f/2.0 ASPH and Apo-Summicron-SL 50mm f/2.0 ASPH with the standard Leica SL zoom lens Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4.0 ASPH.
The video has two parts:
Part 1: indoor shooting, focus on center sharpness and bokeh
Part 2: outdoor shooting, focus on corner-to-corner performance
Around 18:30 there is a typo: I shot the Vario-Elmarit-SL in the last comparison with 51mm instead of 50mm as intended since the focal length is in the metadata but not in live view on the LCD.
At 11:04 I accidentially say "stop down" but clearly mean and wanted to say "open the aperture more" to f/2.0 and go accordingly for a faster shutter speed :) slip of the tongue
See also my recent review of the Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm:
• 5 Reasons why the LEIC...

[@michaelchoi2685]

The point is that the best zoom lens of all brands is the SL24-90.

[@NikCan66]

Anotjer brilliant tutorial on the strength and weakness of each lenses.

[@gamingwithstand6886]

24-90mm is a good range for wedding photographers. When I shoot weddings I hate primes just because I work so fast and a lot of times don't have time to change lens. Don't get me wrong I do love primes when things show down. Also I shoot weddings by myself.

[@Biosynchro]

Keeping in mind that this is a high resolution sensor, the zoom did very, very well. At 24Mpx I doubt there would be much difference. But, some say that the the 24-90 is better than any M lens, which says a lot.

[@Peter-od2vf]

at 14:15 LHS is focused ob neck scarf vs RHS is foused on the lips and nek scarf is out of focus thus the argument is not valid/convincing but the contrast is better. and definitely cant beat prime lens. Beautiful review, thank you.

[@mathphotographer]

Thx for your comment and the feedback!

[@farhadfarajov8030]

Hey Math, thanks for another good review. I believe that the main reason for having very comparable results is shooting the cityscape at f/8.0. If you shoot a brick wall (vertical plane) with APO summicron primes and Vario Elmarit zoom at widest possible apertures (as in the studio shots), then most likely you'd get bigger difference in terms of IQ in the corners as well.

[@mathphotographer]

Fair point, thanks! The reason why I chose the setup is the following: wide-open I typically go for sharp foreground and soft blurry background in, e.g., portraits, close-ups, people photography, etc. Landscape and cities I want to have with a large and deep DoF, so here I close the aperture down to f/5.6 up to f/11. So these two shooting scenarios were the ones I wanted to look into. But your remark is right and spot-on.

[@benjhaisch]

12:40 made me literally say “wooooooow”

[@digo2829]

Awesome comparison! To my eyes Summicron 35mm is the sharppest of them all, but the diference between summicron 50mm and the Elmarit zoom is a very, but very close call. Did not expected that! wunderbare

[@vadimhsu5114]

A little field feedback from a current ~4,500 shot per day fashion shoot in CA with both the 35mm + 50mm SL APOs on the SL2. 35mm is faster on the auto-focus. They are both RAZOR sharp, perfect contrast, just plain frickin’ perfect in every way - no comparison to any other lenses I’m using. Focal planes in

[@EdAb]

Great feedback on the buffer/AF and WB. Thanks!

[@yi10001li]

所以我买了徕卡sl2-s

[@warrendupuyphotosvideos8540]

if you used sl2s then buffer would be ok? Or is that not good enough quality for your work?

[@vadimhsu5114]

I love all of these lenses and have not tested them as you have, so thank you for this technical study! I do disagree with a bit of your analysis of the outside photo comparisons. I don’t think they are as comparable as you say and show in such detail. The primes are both MUCH sharper in every area, and also let in so much more light within the exact same exposure parameters. I agree its less of an issue outside than in-studio, but there is no comparison even as great as the SL24-90 is. I think it’s more to the point that the new 35 + 50mm SL APO primes designed by Peter Karbe are simply the best optics in production lenses, period. Look at the MTF charts and you will find the data to support what your field work is showing here, and less what you’ve stated in your opinion. I’m sorry to be critical, I do appreciate your work and channel, and care in your analyses - just saying what I’m seeing here!....

[@fatgrouch]

shadow details look a bit darker on the 24-90mm compared to 50mm APO , 20:38 Is that the difference in sunlight, exposure or the lens ???

[@lorraine6185]

Thank you for the information. I am thinking of buying a Leica.

[@ewinsurance2723]

I noticed the exposure between the 35 corn which is brighter compared to the zoom. Shouldn’t you adjust the exposure during post to give a better comparison? Using 3.2 for both may not give the same exposure with different lens design. Thx

[@vautierchristophe]

Zooms are very useful for travel photographer because of their weight. And it allows them to face to whatever situation.

[@das.gegenmittel]

Could you make a video in which you compare the 24-90 v.s. the lumix 24 70 2.8? 🤔🐒

[@steveteare3865]

Thank you for a very thorough comparison. I'd like to see a similar comparison between the Panasonic 50mm f1.4 and the Leica APO-SUMMICRON-SL 50mm. It seems like Panasonic pulled out all the stops and built a no-compromise lens (or as near as such a thing is possible) and although it's expensive, it is still quite a bit cheaper than the Leica - but can a Japanese tech company build lenses that compete with legendary German engineering and Leica's legacy of excellence in optics?

[@gautambiswas7338]

Thanks for another very interesting and useful video. One question remains- your comparison indoors was at the largest possible aperture 3.2 or 3.6 for 35mm and 50mm. However, in the outdoor shots, the aperture was set at f8, normally the best performing aperture for most lenses. I was wondering what would have been the comparison of the IQ if the largest apertures were used in the outdoor comparison like in the indoor comparison, as well as comparison at f8 in the indoor shots.

[@Traveljournalist]

great experience ! thanks ! can you do the same with the 75 and 90 ?

[@rafaelkamaltdinov]

Thank you for this review. I'll ordered APO-SL 90 then 24-90

[@thedisquisitivebarbarian4979]

Another great video - thanks! Would you expect the other two SL primes at 75 mm and 90 mm to have a similar relationship with the Vario-Elmarit-SL? Or could there be more of a difference than you observed at 35 mm and 50 mm?

[@mathphotographer]

Honestly I don't know at this point in time, I would need to test them the same way. The reason why I went for 35mm and 50mm was that these are the most demanded lenses in the SL lens system. If I get a chance to test the 75mm and 90mm I will share the results of course. My expectation is that we would get a comparable outcome: the Vario-Elmarit is a very good lens at all focal lenghts and the prime lenses will be slightly better but not to an extent that we should abandon the Vario-Elmarit.

[@alexdiaz3465]

Thanks , Maybe you can test the sigma or lumix 24_70

[@mathphotographer]

Yes, I will test the Sigma, have it hear, and maybe also the Panasonic, both 24-70.

[@stevek7319]

Thank you for posting. Looks like you're using firmware 2.01. Has that been released already?

[@peterlund4501]

So I follow your work, but I would love to see some real pictures. These are pixelpeeking pictures, which is ok, but with all the gear you are using and the location you are living, I would rather enjoy some pictures of you taken without tripod. And if you are hungry you can peep the pixels of those too! Have fun peter

[@manoftheroad55]

Roof top landscape lens comparison ..at 15 mins ..If the exposures are identical .. 24-90 contrast is flat by 1/4 stop.. sharpness is also noticeable less sharp .. building sign, 24-90 to my eys dosent measure up to its price..

[@Bayonet1809]

In the cityscape shots the APO-Summicron 50mm looked much better than the Vario-elmarit to my eyes. Lots more fine detail. Even in the center there was a noticeable difference in favour of the prime.

[@mathphotographer]

Thanks for your comment, the Apo-Summicrons are in any case sharper. The question is can people who have the Vario-Elmarit only get "enough" sharpness for large prints, and the answer is yes :)

[@EdAb]

​@@mathphotographer Is "enough" a word that belongs in the Leica vocabulary? Leica doesn't charge enough, Leica is all about "more" or "most". If I simply wanted enough I'd shoot with a Nikon/Sony/Canon. :-)

[@hanspetscher5770]

Thanks, nice vid. Considering the extremely good primes the vario is in excellent shape too. If this is the way you are shooting you are not giving up anything considerable withe vario. For me as a prime shooter too it is still a reassurance to have a slightly better choice in terms of image quality. Thanks Leica, and you to point it out.

[@mathphotographer]

Thanks for the kind comment.

[@548raptor]

Is it the zoom lens has more sharpness at 50mm than at 35mm -OR- Is it the 35mm prime is sharper than 50mm prime

[@mathphotographer]

The prime lenses are always (at least a bit) sharper than a zoom lens, question is whether the advantage is noticeable in real life. The 50mm and 35mm primes are comparably sharp. They are both excellent. On the Vario-Elmarit I did not test yet which of the (variable) focal length is the sharpest.

[@548raptor]

@@mathphotographer It is true that primes are sharper than zoom. But my question was if 35 prime is sharper than 50 prime? Because in the comparison 35 prime kicks 35 zoom out of the park but the 50 zoom gave tough competition to 50 prime. So, Is it the 35 prime sharper than 50 prime. -OR- Is it the zoom lens more crisper at 50 than at 35 and make the 35 prime look sharper than 50 prime relatively?

[@janehlers4629]

What is about the depth of field preview while the aperture is changing? You always and only see what get with widest aperture. In the EVF you see no difference concerning depth of field between 2.0 and 8 or 20. This is a bit poor I think. When I bought my Sl 2 with 50 mm/2.0 of course I didn’t mention this point in the Leica Store. This should be self-evident, that there is a real life depth of field review in EVF. But it is not!!!

[@xiayu6665]

Hi,how 24-90,50 apo sl campre to 50 apo m on sl2? Thanks

[@thomaswhitmore5095]

Thanks for your videos. Very helpful. What would be of interest is to test Panasonic’s best normal zoom (24-70 f 2.8) against the Leica 24-90. By accounts it is excellent and of course much less costly.

[@yeethao5130]

please tell us what camera and lens did you use to video this thanks.

[@dazhsh7109]

Does 24-90 resolve new 60Mp sensor of SL3?

[@mathphotographer]

Yes it does, found no issues so far.

[@bobsykes]

Excellent!

[@mathphotographer]

THX

[@JericTamayo]

What I wanna see is these expensive lenses vs Sony’s G master lenses. Are the overpriced Leica justified or primarily overpriced due to their brand?

[@mathphotographer]

There is brand aspect to the pricing. Sony has excellent G-Master lenses which are a full match to Leica lenses.

[@luisliu7843]

35 & 50 or 35 & 75 comb ?

[@luissalazar2159]

Nice stuff

[@mathphotographer]

Thanks for watching

[@joelek110699]

Great video as always! Do you have an Instagram or Website where we can see more of your photos? I would love to see your shots that aren't puposely made to compare lenses!

[@jeremymak]

will you try Leica SL lenses on Panasonic s5II?

[@mathphotographer]

Not my main focus/scope, sorry. But could look into it for the Panasonic S1R which is the only Panasonic camera I have in our studio.

[@jeremymak]

@mathphotographer s5ii has new af system

[@Evrce]

SL lens work great on s5ii, the lens is where the magic is at. I have the 50 s pro and compared it with my 50 lux. The 3d pop is in the 50 lux on both the sl2 and s5ii and will be selling my 50 s pro.

[@mikamika8608]

Hi, just a question about IBIS on tripod for your tests. Some are saying to switch it off, some that you can let in on with tripod. What is your point of view Thanks

[@mathphotographer]

I never switch it off on any of my cameras on tripods and never faced an issue.

[@mikamika8608]

@@mathphotographer thanks for your reply

[@simon7289]

Schöne Uhr ;)

[@kevinbatchelor9566]

I think you mean 50mm not 55mm.

[@mathphotographer]

Yes indeed, 50mm, thanks!

[@mathphotographer]

Corrected now, stupid typo in title and thx for pointing out :)

[@LuisSilva-xw6nu]

in the video description is 55 instead of 50 hug

[@mathphotographer]

Yes, indeed 50mm