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
VARIO ELMARIT 24-90mm is an autofocus (AF) standard zoom lens for Leica SL.
It’s an imposing lens with a total length of 140mm, a lens barrel diameter of 88mm, and a weight of 1.14kg, and 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, making it difficult to carry by hand. It’s very heavy to carry. I once attached it to my LEICA T, but the balance between the lens and camera was poor, so I never used it regularly.
I think the Leica lens was designed to be versatile as a standard zoom lens, but it seems to be better suited for shooting calm landscapes without crowds, studios, etc., where you can focus on a specific subject.
Unusual for a standard zoom lens, it is equipped with optical image stabilization, and due to the focal length, you can feel the benefits to some extent at the telephoto end of 90mm, but at the wide-angle end of 24mm, you hardly notice it.
The AF focusing speed is quite fast, and when shooting with the LEICA SL typ601, there were no scenes where I had trouble with the AF focusing speed being slow. It’s difficult to make a general assessment of AF focusing accuracy due to problems with the camera’s sensor, but it doesn’t get lost or miss shots when shooting general landscapes or people. For difficult subjects such as cats or birds deep in the bushes, the camera may not be able to focus exactly as the photographer intended, but this can be resolved by using MF interrupt.
I’m not particularly surprised by the quality of the images, but modern zoom lenses are well made and can produce impressive images.
For me, there are three reasons why the usage rate of this lens was low.
- When using a telephoto lens more than 90mm, use APO ELMARIT 90-280.
- When using a wider angle than 35mm, use SUPER ELMAR 16-35.
- Between 35-90mm, use Leica R mount prime focus
As mentioned above, the main reason for the range covered by this lens is that it can be replaced with other lenses you own, so I think it will be a useful lens for photographers who only have this lens.
When the SL series was first released, there was only this lens and the SUMMILUX SL 50mm, so I had no choice but to use it, but in 2022, a zoom lens with an F2.8 constant that seems to be made by Sigma OEM will be released at a low price. It seems that this lens has finished its role, having been usurped as a camera bundle 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 scary thing about Leica AF lenses, including this one, is motor failure, and if the warranty period is over, the repair cost 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 working order, it is difficult to afford them due to the future repair costs. I no longer have this lens on hand.
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
- 2024.03.10
- 2023.09.03
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