The Online Photographer

But Michael, an M lens would require an adapter, and you don't......

Thanks for the update on the Leica. Enjoy the show! There is something about been able to see gear in the metal/plastic so to speak that is not convaid in 2d online images. Would love to hear your thoughts about the SL EVF.

That's something to think about, fifteen years since your last show, and your "posting" with a "I phone"!

Based on the numbers and pictures posted in all the various reviews, the Leica SL body looks to be very close in size to the Leicaflex SL, a camera I desired from the very first time I saw and handled one in 1969. I have two of them now, and an R8.

They're all large by the standards of a compact camera like the E-P5, X-T1, or even E-M1, but they smaller than either my Nikon F6 or Nikon D750, never mind behemoths like the D4s and EOS 1d. The Leica SL is essentially a professional DSLR replacement/upgrade to a fully electronic imaging system body, and is designed to be used with DSLR scale pro-grade lenses, so it doesn't make sense to produce a little tiny body that will be ergonomically out of whack when you fit an appropriate pro-grade lens to it.

I've been waiting for this camera for the past three years. The Leica R lenses are, to a lens, all excellent and super high quality. I tried using them with the Sony A7 for a year and some, and ultimately gave up because a) the rig is unbalanced when used that way, b) the Sony A7 is kind of a clunky, noisy thing in its own right, and c) the Sony A7 series sensor have a rather thick stack which degrades imaging with the shorter focal lengths of even SLR lenses (never mind what it does to M lenses).

The Sony E-mount diameter is too small for it to be used with my Elmarit-R 19mm f/2.8 without vignetting. (The same lens does better on the Leica M-P with R Adapter M fitted, but still vignettes to some degree due to the M-mount's small diameter as well.) The SL's 50mm mount diameter means the 49mm diameter R mount will be usable without this kind of shrouding. Leica's done this sort of stuff before, think about the incredibly successful LTM to M-Mount transition, and has designed for it with their lenses and adapters in this camera already. This is why the T system lens mount looked so oversized when I first saw it, and immediately got my attention that something was coming. :-)

I am really looking forward to the Leica SL release now. I've got all the lenses I need for it; AF isn't that important to me but the excellent R lenses are. Perhaps when the system's lens line fills out with a few more choices I'll buy a dedicated SL lens or two ... I'm sure the Summilux-L 50 will be terrific, as will a 24, a 35, a macro, a 90, etc. ... and enjoy the AF and other features.