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
The Vario-Elmarit 24-90mm is an autofocus (AF) standard zoom lens for the Leica SL.
It is an imposing lens with a total length of 140mm, a lens barrel diameter of 88mm, and a weight of 1.14kg. It looks good when attached to a large camera such as the Leica SL typ601, but it requires a large camera bag to store it when carrying it around, and it is very heavy when carried by hand.
Since it has the same mount, I attached it to the LEICA T, but the balance between the lens and the camera was very bad, so I never used it normally.
I think Leica designed this lens to be used universally as a standard zoom lens, but it is too large and conspicuous for use in the city, so it seems to be suitable for shooting calm scenery without crowds, or shooting specific subjects in a studio.
Unusually for a standard zoom lens, it is equipped with optical image stabilization, and the benefit of this can be felt to some extent at the telephoto end of 90mm due to the focal length, but it was hardly felt at the wide-angle end of 24mm.
The AF focusing speed is quite fast, and when I shot with the LEICA SL typ601, there were no scenes where the AF focusing speed was slow and caused problems. The AF focusing accuracy is difficult to evaluate due to issues with the camera’s sensor, but it does not get lost or miss with general landscapes or people. With difficult subjects such as cats or birds deep in the bushes, the focus does not come into focus as intended by the photographer, but this can be dealt with by interrupting MF.
The image quality is not particularly surprising, but you can take images that impress you with how well modern zoom lenses are made.
For me, the reasons why this lens was used so little are the following three points.
When using a telephoto lens longer than 90mm, use the Apo-Elmarit 90-280.
When using a wider angle lens than 35mm, use the Super-Elmar 16-35.
Between 35mm and 90mm, use a Leica R-mount prime lens.
As mentioned above, the main reason for this lens’s coverage is that it can be replaced with other lenses you own, so I think it’s a useful lens for photographers who only have this lens.
When this lens was released, the official (reference link “LEICA SL Release Interview (Japanese)”) stated that it was reasonable and natural for the F value to change because it is a zoom lens, but even if Even if it’s a batch change, I wonder if the apparent specification of continuous F value is effective in terms of marketing, and I feel that Leica’s willingness to introduce new lenses almost unchanged seems to be a good thing. This trend is accelerating with regard to the SL series, and most of the lenses other than single focal length lenses are OEM products from Sigma.
The direction of rotation of the zoom ring on this lens is similar to that of Leica zoom lenses from the R-mount era, with the right rotation for the telephoto end. Lenses made by Sigma and thought to be Sigma OEM have not changed the rotation direction of Sigma zoom lenses, so the telephoto end is reached by rotating left. If you own zoom lenses from multiple manufacturers, you may be confused. Panasonic’s L-mount zoom lenses reach the telephoto end by rotating right, the same as Leica.
The scary thing about Leica AF lenses, including this lens, is the motor failure, and once the warranty period has expired, the repair costs will be high and the repair period will be long. Leica AF lenses with broken motors are often found on the used market, and even if they are in perfect working order, it is scary to think about the future repair costs and it is difficult to buy them. I no longer have this lens on hand.
When the SL series was first released, there were only this lens and the SUMMILUX SL 50mm, so I had no choice but to use this, but in 2022, a constant F2.8 zoom lens thought to be Sigma OEM was released at a low price, which took over the position of the camera bundle lens, and this lens will have outlived its usefulness.
Also, Sigma’s genuine zoom lenses can be purchased more cheaply, and Sigma lenses from the 2000s have improved quality as objects and the quality of the images they capture, so they are also worth considering. Panasonic’s S-series interchangeable lenses for the L-mount are less prominent, but they have the necessary focal lengths, so they could also be an alternative.
Specification
| 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
- 2024.6.29
- 2024.03.10
- 2023.09.03
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