By Heinz Richter
With the introduction of the Leica M10-R and even more so the Leica M11, the question ‘are my lenses good enough to deal with the high resolution?’ is asked quite frequently.
Ultimately that depends on how much you want to enlarge your files in terms of image size as well as cropping of the original file. Without much cropping or with relatively modest size enlargements it does not really matter. Go shoot and enjoy the advanced features of these cameras like extended dynamic range or improved low light capabilities with noticeably less noise.
I am currently using a Leica M240 and all of my lenses have proven to be more than adequate. Am I going to upgrade to an M10-R or the M11? Maybe.
But the question of overall lens performance is definitely in the back of my mind, especially, as I have mentioned in the past, I use cropping of the original file to quite an extend to allow for less need to change lenses.
Obviously, using the lens most suited for the job at hand is always preferable. But for me, more often than not, that is not a good option. In cases like that I mostly use my 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit and crop during post processing to get the field of view of a 50 or 90mm lens. That has served me well. The 28mm Elmarit has proven to be an excellent lens and I have, so far, had little reason to update it.
For portrait and portrait related work I use my 90mm f/2.8 Elmarit and 135mm f/2.8 Elmarit lenses. Because of its relatively small size and weight, the 90mm is an ideal focal length for this work. But is it good enough to crop any of its files when desirable?
For my needs it definitely is. The level of detail it delivers is actually quite astounding and I am quite sure that it would perform equally well on a Leica M10-R or even the Leica M11.
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Wouldn't one of the newer APO/ASPH lenses perform even better?
ReplyDeleteI am sure, on the M10-R or the M11. I have yet to try one of those lenses, but I doubt that on my camera they would show any significant difference.
DeleteThis is an amazing level of sharpness. The larger, cropped examples of the first two pictures show detail that is not even visible in the full frame shot.
ReplyDeleteI understand your argument regarding cropping, but isn't it better to use a different lens, one that is most suited for the job?
ReplyDeleteOf course that is better, but if the time it takes to change lenses results in losing a good shot, then cropping is obviously the better way to go.
DeleteThe largest crop of the second example is not very good.
ReplyDeleteOf course not. Any lens has its limits and this shows the limit of the 90mm Elmarit.
DeleteI have the last version of the Elmarit with a built-in hood. It 's super sharp. I wonder how the APO would improve upon it.
ReplyDelete