Leica SL Type 601

RezaLoghme

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I tried using the search function, but nothing came up.

Does anyone here use the Leica SL 601? I recently discovered it and like it. It also seems to sit at a quite attractive price point when compared to Leica's other products. I am going to use it for travel and documentary projects, as described in some of my previous threads. I love my X (113) but have started thinking about its fixed-lense architecture limitations, so I wanted to add an X-Vario (113) to it. Then I came across the 601, which seems to have aged well. And due to its L-mount, I could use both primes and zooms. I also find its design very "fresh".

Any users here with hands-on experience?
 

locutus

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Compared with a secondhand Panasonic S1 it's quite expensive for what it is.
 
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RezaLoghme

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Does anyone have hands-on experience in using R lenses on L mount? what is the best adaptor?
 

bags27

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I no longer shoot digitally, but had several Leica digital cameras, though never the SL. I found it too heavy for my purposes. Still, the SL plays very nicely with the much smaller and lighter Leica M glass, though there can be smearing around the edges once you get down to 21mm focal length (or perhaps even 24mm; I forgot which). That's the main advantage over the Panasonic S1R (which has 47 mps compared to the SL's 24 mps): the Panasonic is not good with M glass unless it's around 50mm or longer in focal length. And the SL has a vastly superior user interface to the Panasonic--or any other camera except the digital Hasselblad.

I used to shoot a digital CL which is a half sensor camera with the L mount and paired it with long (and brilliant) R glass for birding (getting an additional 50% effective focal length boost). There are several L to R adaptors on the market and, IIRC, they all work. I can't remember the reason to shell out the extra bucks for a Leica-made adaptor, but it is slightly more convenient. You could pose that question on the Leica Users Forum and get immediate answers.

Leica Forum

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RezaLoghme

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Done! new 601 is home now, just waiting for the Novoflex then.
 

bags27

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RezaLoghme said:
Done! new 601 is home now, just waiting for the Novoflex then.
Click to expand...

Enjoy and congrats! Everyone I know who's had one, really enjoys it. There are so very many lens options for it.
 
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RezaLoghme

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I have bought a 80-200 R and will look for something similar with a wider angle, then I am set.
 

bags27

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RezaLoghme said:
I have bought a 80-200 R and will look for something similar with a wider angle, then I am set.
Click to expand...

Lots of great glass to chose from.
Here's something to think about. Erwin Puts was a great, great Leica authority:

ERWIN PUTS: This LEICA-R zoom lens is better than the corresponding fixed focal lengths!

Hello, I am new here in this forum and wondered why there is still no thread about a LEICA-R zoom lens, which impressively contradicts the rule that fixed focal lengths are better than zoom lenses. Moreover, it is currently available on eBay for less than € 1.000. The lens in question is the LEIC...
www.l-camera-forum.com
 
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RezaLoghme

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Just wanted to say that the difference between my X 113 and the SL 601 is huge! The SL feels like the "real thing", its controls are much better, the viewfinder gorgeous, the ergonomics perfect.

What to do with my X now? Keep it?
 
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RezaLoghme

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The 80-200 Vario looks comically large on the SL, but the image quality is impressive. I still need to get used to the ergonomics; without a tripod I am struggling to find a way how to hold and handle it comfortably.
 

bags27

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That's a fine lens, indeed. And I always thought that the greatest of the 3 original (designed and built completely by Leica) zooms was the 16-35. That produces amazing, medium format-like images.
 
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RezaLoghme

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The 80-200 will be like artist's brush for me. At full aperture, it does all sorts of things. DoF is interesting. Definitely not ideal for high-MP digital cameras, but that is the point I am trying to make.

But it feels like carrying an alphorn. If you want to "wear" one with your camera, to quote a well-known Danish Leica ambassador, you have to be a strong m/w/d.

If you look at the usual auction and marketplace platforms, you can pick one up for 100 EUR. Justified, because of its elephant-trunk-like handling? Or few years down the line we are all going to lust after them when they have become unobtainium, because of their "legendary dreamy bokeh" or whatever?
 
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RezaLoghme

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And a 16073 OEM strap.

The Summicron arrived, what a delight. I cannot upload photos but I can share that is is sharp, although not 2024 digicam sharp, but somewhat "pleasant and forgiving".
 

bags27

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There are many iterations of the famous Summicron. It helps to know which version you have, so that you can appreciate when it was manufactured and therefore its relative sharpness and/or character.

As always (at least until his untimely death), Erwin Puts can help:
 
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