3-Way Shootout at 90mm on Leica SL: Mannequin in Cerro Gordo Mining Museum
Related: apochromatic, Cerro Gordo, image stabilization, Leica, Leica 24-90mm f/2.8-4 Vario-Elmarit-SL ASPH OIS, Leica 90mm f/2 APO-Summicron-R ASPH, Leica 90mm f/4 Macro-Elmar-M, Leica APO-Summicron, Leica APO-Summicron-R, Leica Elmarit and Elmar, Leica Elmarit-M and Elmar-M, Leica Elmarit-SL and Elmar-SL, Leica Lenses, Leica M, Leica M lenses, Leica M9, Leica R lenses, Leica SL lenses, Leica SL Typ 601, Leica Summicron, Leica Summicron-R, rangefinder
See my Leica M wish wish list and Leica SL wish list at B&H Photo.
This 3-way shootout at 90mm looks at bokeh in particular, but as it turns out, it is an excellent and unequivocal argument in favor of one of the lenses on multiple counts.
- Leica 90mm f/2 APO-Summicron-R ASPH (same optical formula as 90/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH
- Leica 90mm f/4 Macro-Elmar-M
- Leica 24-90mm f/2.8-4 Vario-Elmarit-SL ASPH at 90mm zoom
The range of apertures through f/11 gives a look at how each lens “cleans up” while the 90mm f/2 APO-Summicron-R ASPH offers additional perspective at f/2 and f/2.8 as well as an excellent look at f/4 versus what the other two lenses can deliver wide open.
Shootout: Leica 90mm f/2 APO-Summicron-R ASPH vs 90/2 APO and SL 24-90mm: Cerro Gordo Mining Museum
Includes large crops with commentary as well as full-resolution 24-megapixel images for all apertures through f/11. The f/2 and f/2.8 and apertures of the 90/2 APO provide additional perspective, since the other two lenses are f/4.
Having shot all three lenses in the field on other subjects with results that confirm the findings here, I am deem this shootout definitive. A must read for the 90mm Leica M or Leica SL shooter.
NOT TO SCALE
LEICA SL (Typ 601) + Leica 90mm f/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH
[low-res image for bot]
