Panny S1 M lens disappointment

H

Huss

Veteran
Local time
7:57 AM
Joined
Sep 19, 2014
Messages
9,859
Seems Panansonic and Leica have an agreement to make sure that the Panny will not work as well with M mount lenses as the Leica Sl does. Thereby maintaining a reason for the more expensive SL (and upcoming SL2).
The Nikon Z series is clearly better with them. Brief test (not mine):

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1597407

It's all about the sensor glass thickness. And honestly now I don't see any reason to get one of these Panasonics. They are huge, and are not great w Leica glass (no matter what Steve Huff claims w/ his night time testing where you cant see anything but the center). If you want a mirrorless with Leica - get a Leica M or SL. If you want a great mirrorless camera with a massive (adapted) lens range that also works well with Leica M glass - get a Nikon Z.
 
I'm not discounting your point or the validity of your opinion, but I'd be genuinely interested to know the percentage of S1 buyers that already own M glass VS the percentage of SL buyers that already own M glass.

I'm inclined to say that the SL appeals to many (wealthy) Leica M users that want the option to use EVF, autofocus and the occasional use of M lenses. And I'm betting the vast majority of prospective S1 buyers could care less about mounting M lenses.
 
I would agree.

Panasonic is looking at more crap from their video fan base.

Guaranteed they will find something to dog.

Likely EF lens compatibility.
 
S1 buyers are far more likely to be moving from a DSLR, or from m43 cameras. We are not the majority, and M lens compatibility would be a very low consideration for Panasonic.

As a Panasonic m43 video shooter and owner of the 5D Mark II and M9, I would consider the S1 and native lenses as a full frame version of the G9, with the still capabilities of a contemporary mirrorless camera. As nice as it would be to put M lenses on a S1, it's not my priority. The S1 is too chunky to be thought of as a M alternative, anyway.
 
Archiver said:
S1 buyers are far more likely to be moving from a DSLR, or from m43 cameras. We are not the majority, and M lens compatibility would be a very low consideration for Panasonic.

As a Panasonic m43 video shooter and owner of the 5D Mark II and M9, I would consider the S1 and native lenses as a full frame version of the G9, with the still capabilities of a contemporary mirrorless camera. As nice as it would be to put M lenses on a S1, it's not my priority. The S1 is too chunky to be thought of as a M alternative, anyway.
Click to expand...

The SL is as chunky. But people would still like to have their M lens on it. For $4000 more.

Guess both Panasonic and Leica would be happy with the upcoming SL2.
 
CameraQuest said:
hmm.
someone mentioned to me that Digiloyd loved M lenses on the S1 --
???
Click to expand...
Not my impression. I would summarize his opinion as being that rangefinder lenses suffer on the S1R in general, with the possible exception of the Zeiss 35/1.4. Even that loses quality wide open, but looks extremely good stopped down. I can't see that article on his front page any longer, but that's my memory of it. I hope I can make a little quote from Diglloyd in his test results one the Leica 18/3.8 Super-Elmar-M on the Panasonic S1R:
"With each new mirrorless camera system, hope springs eternal even as basic physical facts are ignored (sensor cover glass). No, micro lenss do not fix sensor cover glass issues. Leica M lens performance is always impaired by ray angle when the sensor cover glass of a mirrorless camera has differing (greater) thickness than the optical path designed for the lens. The negative effects increase with distance from optical center and can include sharpness losses and amplification of field curvature and astigmatism."
 
Buying a camera for lenses it was not designed for makes little sense. If you want maximum quality from your Leica lenses, you are going to need to buy a Leica body. The L-mount alliance does not extend to cover glass and micro lenses.
 
ptpdprinter said:
Buying a camera for lenses it was not designed for makes little sense. If you want maximum quality from your Leica lenses, you are going to need to buy a Leica body. The L-mount alliance does not extend to cover glass and micro lenses.
Click to expand...

I agree but there are a lot of people who want to use M lenses on an evf body.
 
ptpdprinter said:
Then they will just have to accept that they won't work optimally. They were designed for film, not digital sensors. Tail wagging the dog.
Click to expand...

yes and no. they work great on digital Leica M kameras.
Just not other kameras outside the Leica SL and to a lesser extent the Nikon Z series.
 
Bang goes my reason for potentially getting the S1 as my first interchangeble lens digital camera. Looks like I will stick with my film camera until I can use my various zeis an Leica M mount lens on a alternative to a digital Leica body. So the nikon Z is the better than sony or panasonic for useing M mount lens?
 
kram said:
So the nikon Z is the better than sony or panasonic for useing M mount lens?
Click to expand...
Nikon has thin cover glass, so theoretically it will work better with manual focus M lenses. Theoretically. As a practical matter, even with thin cover glass, does the Z6/Z7 convert an excellent film lens into a average (or even mediocre) digital lens? If so, what's the point?
 
kram said:
Bang goes my reason for potentially getting the S1 as my first interchangeble lens digital camera. Looks like I will stick with my film camera until I can use my various zeis an Leica M mount lens on a alternative to a digital Leica body. So the nikon Z is the better than sony or panasonic for useing M mount lens?
Click to expand...

Nikon Z is the best of the non Leica brands. But what is wrong w getting a Leica M240? Mint condition used they are about the same money as the others are new but work perfectly with M lenses. And are reliable!
I much prefer using my M240 w M glass than my Z w M glass.
 
IMO, an M with M lenses is the way to go, unless you're doing slow-setup (large-format style) photography with longer focal lengths (>50mm)
 
The only non-Leica camera I like for M lenses is the sadly discontinued Ricoh GXR with M module. Although it has an aps-c sensor, it is by far the best solution for shooting M mount lenses outside of a purpose-built rangefinder. There's no loss of sharpness, colours are rich, and no AA filter means you get all the detail the sensor can capture. It's also slow, a bit clunky, shot to shot time is bad, but in terms of image quality the GXR-M is fabulous.

I'm more interested in the Nikon Z6 as my full frame mirrorless camera. For reasons of budget and technology, I've held off from getting into full frame mirrorless, but the Z6, with its relatively small lenses, great handling and EVF, as well as great colour rendition, seems like a great option. The body is also considerably smaller and lighter than the S1. As much as I love my Panasonic m43 cameras, the S1 hearkens back to the happily departed days when I lugged the 5D Mark II everywhere.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom