By David Farkas, LeicaStore Miami
Following the announcement
of the L-Mount Alliance at the Leica press event preceding the start of
Photokina, there seemed to be more questions than answers. How did such an
alliance come to be? How much cooperation and joint development would exist
between these companies? Weren’t they competitors? And, was this really a good
thing for Leica and Leica users?
Once the show started, I
started asking everyone I could about their thoughts on the L-Mount Alliance.
In the end, I ended up getting a few different viewpoints on the matter. From
the optics side, I spoke to head of optics Peter Karbe and the engineer
responsible for the SL lenses, Dietmar Stuible. From a high-level corporate
perspective, I discussed the alliance with Dr. Andreas Kaufmann. But, to really
get into the full details, I was repeatedly advised to chat with Stephan
Schulz, head of professional products at Leica. He seemed to be a key point
person in the alliance and deeply involved in SL and L-mount development.
Stephan Schulz (R) at the
L-Mount Alliance press event
I met Stephan in 2008 when
he was the co-product manager for the Leica S2. We’ve both enjoyed our
discussions over the past ten years, so when I asked him if he could answer
some of my questions on the L-Mount Alliance, he was happy to oblige. We found
a quiet meeting room and got down to it.
DF: Maybe the best place
to start is the underlining technology. Why don’t you tell me the story behind
the L-Mount?
SS: To understand how we
arrived at the L-mount, we need to go back to our first mirrorless ambitions.
So, we actually started to investigate mirrorless cameras around 2010.
That far back? Wow, I
remember Stefan Daniel holding a Q&A in late 2010 where he basically
outlined what the SL would become five years later. I suppose that makes sense
now.
Yes, but we were just
conceptualizing at that time. We first wondered: Can we make a full frame AF
camera with an M mount? This was our initial question. We checked with the
R&D department. But we found out that this wasn’t a good idea. The mount
diameter was too small and the flange distance too great. So, this wouldn’t
work for autofocus. On the M you can use the entire mount area as its a purely
mechanical connection. For an AF camera too much space is needed for electronic
contacts for aperture and AF control.
That’s crazy. I’ve never
heard that the M mount was ever considered for an autofocus mirrorless. But,
mount diameter was too small. So, you needed a different approach?
Yes. That’s the reason why
we developed, from scratch, the L-Mount. This allows us to do anything you can
imagine for optics. Fast autofocus. Image stabilization. Auto aperture. And
much more advance optical designs.
Was the L-mount initially
designed for APS-C?
No. It was not. The L
mount was developed in order to have all kind of autofocus optics for full
frame with sufficient diameter. And on the other side, in order to realize to
compact lenses for APS as well. It was not developed for APS. It was always designed
with full frame in mind, even though we came to market with APS first.
Similar to Sony’s E mount?
Not exactly. That’s a big
difference with the L-mount versus the Sony E mount. They started the mount
with the NEX, which was APS, but Sony didn’t have full frame in mind at that
time. So, they had some challenges in making the lenses work for full frame.
The Leica L-mount is much bigger which gives us more flexibility.
Alright, so APS first,
then full frame?
That was the goal. We came
out with the Leica T in 2014. At that time, it was called the T mount. At the
same time, we were developing full frame lenses and the SL system.
How much technology was
used from the S lenses, which were your first autofocus lenses?
Everything that we have
learned from the S we incorporated into the L-mount. The S2 was our first AF
camera. So, we took that experience and transferred it to the mirrorless
version. The S mount is designed around DSLR. The L-mount was developed as
mirrorless from the start. So, there are some differences for sure.
What about the TL lenses?
The APS lenses are
basically the same design philosophy as the SL lenses, just smaller. The TL
lenses were the first lenses inside Leica to be designed for at least 60 lp/mm
resolving power. And this is now the internal benchmark for new lens
development.
At what pixel resolution
do you think you’d really see the difference with a Leica lens? More than 24MP?
If you have a
consumer-grade lens, even on a lower resolving sensor, you will easily see the
lack of brilliance and overall image appearance. With a professional-grade
Leica lens, you will have a much better picture, even if the sensor is
technically beyond the resolving power of the lens. This just makes sense. You
can see this even on the M8 or DMR. Lower resolving sensor. Great images. It
was able to outperform much larger sensor, higher resolution cameras at the
time. This is due to the quality of the lenses.
I remember those tests at
the time of the DMR. It was amazing that a 10MP APS-H sensor was able to
outresolve and outperform a 16MP full frame sensor. And, these tests were done
with much more classic Leica R lens designs that were 20 or 30 years old. The
latest SL designs are a whole different level.
Yes, that’s a good point.
So, how exactly did the
L-mount alliance come about?
Panasonic approached us,
inquiring whether they could use the L-mount we developed for their planned
full frame mirrorless system camera. We started a discussion on how this might
work and how it would influence our SL business. Ultimately, we decided to move
forward.
And how did Sigma end up
joining?
During these discussions,
we realized that both Leica and Panasonic had some preexisting relationship
with Sigma for various projects, and decided that might make a good addition to
what would become the alliance. They bring a wide portfolio of experience
developing lenses for multiple mounts as well as their own camera technology.
How will the Alliance
effect the SL System?
After the Alliance has
been announced, attention for the SL system has already immediately increased.
We can see this just from the interest here at Photokina. Leica is now part of
a fast growing system, and we think that this might attract many additional
customer to step into the Leica SL system.
What about alternative
lenses for SL users made by Panasonic or Sigma?
For the moment, we do not
know their plans, but Panasonic has already announced three lenses for their
full frame S1 system. We can imagine that specialty lenses will become
available that Leica may not offer in the near future.
So, for instance, if Sigma
already has super telephoto options like the 500mm f/4 or ultra wide angle zoom
like the 12-24mm ART lens already in their portfolio, would it be a reasonable
assumption that they could start offering such lenses in L-mount?
This is of course
possible. But so is the potential for a co-engineering a lens with Sigma or
Panasonic. And this could be accomplished in different ways. Maybe Leica could
design the optics and the lens would be manufactured by one of the alliance
partners. Or, this is something we could build using additional technology that
we do not have available at Leica. For sure, there are many different ways we
could approach this. The alliance makes it easy to leverage synergies.
Sigma 500mm f/4
What about the other way?
Leica lenses on Panasonic or Sigma cameras?
We think the existing and
upcoming SL lenses can be a great addition to future Panasonic or Sigma
customers. With ever increasing camera resolution the demands on the optics
becomes even greater. All the SL lenses from wide open on are able to achieve
full resolving power, even for much higher resolution sensors. They deliver the
maximum of what is possible.
Will SL lenses perform as
well on non-Leica cameras, given that the SL body and SL lenses were
specifically designed to work together from the beginning?
We have a very detailed
specification for the L-mount to secure best possible compatibility and image
quality. In order to be an approved L-mount product, either camera or lens, it
must conform completely to the agreed upon specification. So, in this way, we
feel comfortable that photographers might use Leica lenses on a non-Leica
camera.
Newly announced
SL-APO-Summicron wide angle prime lenses
Is this alliance similar
to the Micro Four Thirds Alliance that was formed in 2008 ?
No. It’s different because
the L-mount alliance is a closed alliance, with Leica Camera AG as the
licensor.
Does this mean that Leica
isn’t considering future members?
Future additional members
are possible if the current alliance members agree that the alliance as a whole
could benefit from adding more members.
Leica obviously has a few
adapters available for the L mount already like the M-Adapter L. So, is this
covered by the specification among the alliance partners?
No. It’s not. Alliance
members are free to make this work on their products, but it’s not a must to
secure compatibility with adapters.
Just to clarify. Let’s say
someone with a Panasonic S1 wants to use the Leica M-Adapter L and a 75mm
Nocitlux. Would this work?
Basically, we expect that
it would work. But, the adapter isn’t part of the current specification which
means lens data may not be recognized and used by the camera. If Panasonic wanted to use the data on their
own, they certainly could but again, it’s not supported by the specification.
I noticed here at the show
that the newly announced L-Mount lenses from Panasonic are a little different
in terms of design from the SL lenses. They have physical switches on the lens
for AF/MF and OIS. And one even has a manual aperture ring. Will these work
with Leica SL?
Yes. The lenses are not
yet on the market. There will be a firmware update for the SL in order to
support these functions. This is a result of the regulatory committee meeting
periodically. The committee is made up of representatives from each of the
three member companies.
That’s interesting. So,
new concepts can be added in. How could this work in the future?
Well, for example, because
of Panasonic’s expertise on professional video we’ve had discussion about how
to implement improved focus behavior for L-mount lenses in video mode.
Likewise, we are excited by the potential contributions that our alliance
partners can bring to future development of the L-mount standard. We see this
as one of the important benefits to Leica.
So, ultimately, do you
think the L-mount alliance is good for Leica and Leica customers?
I think it’s very good for
Leica and our customers. We now have the potential to be recognized by a much
wider audience. It also shows that Leica is a recognized global player like
Panasonic and Sigma. Beyond the business and marketing side, we have the
potential to really benefit from the expertise of our alliance partners. This
will result in innovative products under Leica brand. And from the customer
perspective, the alliance greatly increases the amount of choices available.
Thanks Stephan. These are
exciting times. I’m really curious to see how the L-Mount Alliance plays out
going forward.
Absolutely. We are very
excited too.
For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right
To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.
__________________________________________________________________________
For other articles on this blog please click on Blog Archive in the column to the right
To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.
__________________________________________________________________________
Buy vintage Leica cameras from
America's premier Leica specialist
http://www.tamarkinauctions.com/ http://www.tamarkin.com/leicagallery/upcoming-show
Buy vintage Leica cameras from
America's premier Leica specialist
http://www.tamarkinauctions.com/ http://www.tamarkin.com/leicagallery/upcoming-show
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
No comments:
Post a Comment