LEICA VARIO ELMARIT SL 24-90mm
Review and Photo example of the Vario ELMARIT 24-90mm F2.8-4 with Leica SL typ601.
Table of contents
Gallery
- Sample photos taken with the LEICA SL typ601.
Review
1．Overview
The Vario-Elmarit SL 24-90mm is an autofocus standard zoom lens for the Leica SL, and is equipped with optical image stabilization, which is unusual for a standard zoom lens.
The benefit of this is only slightly noticeable at the telephoto end of 90mm, and I didn’t feel any benefit at the wide-angle end of 24mm.
The lens is made up of 18 elements in 15 groups, a typical multi-lens configuration for modern lenses, and uses rear focusing to increase the focus speed and internal focusing, which does not change the lens length when focusing. The focus ring is located in front of the lens and has no distance indicator, so it is not a physical mechanism, but rather converts rotation into an electrical signal to operate the focus. A single aspherical lens toward the rear of the center serves the role of image stabilization.
The focal length of the front lens changes as the lens barrel expands during zooming in conjunction with the zoom ring, and is longest at the telephoto end of 90mm.
The AF focusing speed is quite fast, and when I shot with the LEICA SL typ601, I had no complaints about the AF focusing speed, and the AF focusing accuracy did not waver or miss when shooting general landscapes or people.
When shooting difficult subjects such as cats or birds deep in the bushes, the lens will not focus as intended by the photographer. In that case, it can be dealt with by interrupting the manual focus.
When this lens was released, Leica’s Oliver Kaltner said, “Since this is a zoom lens, it is natural and natural that the F-stop changes when zooming.” However, the fact that lenses with a constant F-stop were added to the lineup after that suggests that the convention that a fixed F-stop = high-end lens is still alive and well.
2．Usability
I bought the Vario-Elmarit SL 24-90mm when I was using the LEICA SL typ601.
The lens’s image quality is not particularly surprising, and as a zoom lens it is well made and I have no complaints about its image quality.
It is an imposing lens with a total length of 140mm, a lens barrel diameter of 88mm and a weight of 1.14kg, and looks good when attached to a large camera such as the LEICA SL typ601. Since it is a large and heavy lens, it requires a large and sturdy camera bag when carrying it around.
When I attached this lens to the LEICA T with an APS-C size sensor, the lens and camera were never used unbalanced.
I bought this lens but did not use it much for the following reasons.
- It is large and heavy for a standard lens.
- When using a telephoto lens longer than 90mm, use the Apo-Elmarit 90-280.
- When using a lens wider than 35mm, use the Super-Elmar 16-35.
- Between 35mm and 90mm, use a Leica R-mount prime lens.
The scary thing about Leica autofocus lenses is the motor failure, and once the warranty period has expired, the repair costs are high and the repair period is long. Leica autofocus lenses with broken motors are often found on the second-hand market, and even if they are in perfect working order, it is scary to think about the future repair costs and make it difficult to buy them.
3．Summary
In conclusion, to sum up the Vario-Elmarit SL 24-90mm has outlived its usefulness due to the new generation of standard zoom lenses. It is large and heavy, so it requires a lot of energy and stamina to carry it around.
The rotation direction of the zoom ring on SIGMA and SIGMA-OEM lenses is opposite to the LEICA standard, so if you want to use it with other Leica zoom lenses or if you want the rotation direction of the zoom ring to match the LEICA standard, then the Panasonic or Vario-Elmarit SL 24-90mm are your standard zoom lens of choice.
Specification and Competitor
In the L-Mount Alliance, Sigma has released three standard zoom lenses for 35mm full-frame cameras, Panasonic has released two, and Leica has released two.
When the LEICA SL typ601 was released, the only options for L-Mount 35mm full-frame lenses were this lens and the Summilux SL 50mm.
However, the “Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70 f/2.8 ASPH.” released in 2022 is a constant F2.8 zoom lens that is thought to be a Sigma OEM, and this inexpensive lens is also used in the camera’s bundled lenses, overshadowing the Vario-Elmarit SL 24-90mm.
Sigma lenses from the 2000s have improved quality as objects and the quality of the images they capture, making them a strong choice.
However, as mentioned above, the zoom ring on SIGMA and SIGMA-OEM lenses rotates in the opposite direction to the Leica standard.
Specifically, Leica’s standard Vario-Elmarit 24-90mm rotates from the wide end to the telephoto end when turned to the right. Sigma and lenses that appear to be Sigma OEMs rotate from the wide end to the telephoto end when turned to the left.
Panasonic’s L-mount zoom lenses rotate to the right from the wide end to the telephoto end, just like Leica.
Panasonic’s L-mount interchangeable lenses have a low presence in the S-series market, but they offer all the necessary focal lengths and have the advantage of the zoom ring rotating in the same direction as Leica’s original lenses.
| Items | VARIO ELMARIT 24-90 | VARIO ELMARIT 24-70 |
| Focal length(mm) | 24-90 | 24-70 |
| Max aperture | 2.8-4 | 2.8 |
| Min aperture | 22 | 22 |
| Lens Construction | 18elements in 15groups | 19elements in 15groups |
| Min distance(m) | 0.3-0.45 | 0.18-0.38 |
| Lens length(mm) | 138 | 123 |
| Lens diameter(mm) | 88 | 88 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 82 | 82 |
| Image stabilizer | Yes | No |
| Weight(g) | 1140 | 856 |
| Release date | 2015/11/28 | 2022/05 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | ¥650,000- | ¥350,000 |
| Lens name | SUPER VARIO ELMAR | VARIO ELMARIT | APO VARIO ELMARIT | SUMMILUX |
| Focal length(mm) | 16-35 | 24-90 | 90-280 | 50 |
| Max aperture | 3.5-4.5 | 2.8-4.0 | 2.8-4.0 | 1.4 |
| Min aperture | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Lens Construction | 18elements in 12groups | 18elements in 15groups | 23elements in 17groups | 11elements in 9groups |
| Min distance(m) | 0.25- | 0.3-0.45 | 0.6-1.4 | 0.6- |
| Lens length(mm) | 123 | 138 | 238 | 124 |
| Lens diameter(mm) | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 82 | 82 | 82 | 82 |
| Weight(g) | 990 | 1,140 | 1,710 | 1,065 |
| Image stabilizer | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Release date | 2018.05.10 | 2015.11.28 | 2016.04.29 | 2016.12.28 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | ¥760,000- | ¥650,000- | ¥820,000- | ¥770,000- |
Reference links
Update history
- 2025.5.16
- 2024.6.29
- 2024.03.10
- 2023.09.03
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