Been staring at my SL2 and thinking about my trip to the Isle of Skye this October and I really need a dedicated landscape lens. I keep seeing people rave about the 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit and my logic was that native glass is always better but man it looks huge for 10-mile hikes.
I also read that the Sigma 24mm Art is sharp for way less but I worry I'll miss that micro-contrast people talk about with Leica glass. Budget is around 3k so I could go used on the Leica zoom but is the weight gonna kill me? Or should I look at the 21mm Super-Elmar-M with an adapter... do the corners hold up on the SL2 sensor?
> I keep seeing people rave about the 24-90mm Vario-Elmarit... it looks huge for 10-mile hikes. The Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 ASPH. is superb glass but definitely heavy for long treks. I'd suggest looking at the Panasonic Lumix S Pro 16-35mm f/4 as a lighter native alternative. It's very sharp. While the Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH. is compact, corners can smear on the SL2 sensor. The Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art L-Mount is sharp, tho it lacks that specific Leica micro-contrast.
> I also read that the Sigma 24mm Art is sharp for way less but I worry I'll miss that micro-contrast people talk about with Leica glass. Honestly, I had pretty high expectations for the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art L-Mount but I was disappointed by the heavy vignetting and edge softness when shooting wide vistas. It just isnt as good as the hype suggests for high-res sensors like the SL2. Regarding your M-mount idea, unfortunately, the thick cover glass on the SL2 sensor causes some pretty nasty color shifting and smearing with wide-angle M lenses. I tried the Leica Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH. and the results were just... not great. You lose that edge-to-edge crispness that makes landscape photography worth the effort. Quick tip: If you want to maximize your 3k budget, look for a used Leica Super-Vario-Elmar-SL 16-35mm f/3.5-4.5 ASPH.. Its lighter than the 24-90 and the optics are better suited for the SL2 resolution. Resources: I highly recommend checking the MTF tests on the LensRentals blog or browsing the L-mount groups on the Fred Miranda forums. People there have done extensive side-by-side tests between the Sigma Art and Leica APO glass. Basically, you are paying a huge premium for very small gains. Ngl, sometimes the Panasonic glass like the Panasonic Lumix S 24mm f/1.8 L-Mount is more practical for those 10-mile Skye hikes because its weather sealed and weighs almost nothing compared to the Vario-Elmarit. Just dont expect that clinical Leica look from the cheaper primes.
Are you shooting wide-angle primarily? In my experience, the Sigma 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary L-Mount provides high resolution-per-dollar and weighs only 450g... it's a bargain for those treks.