SLR Magic APO HyperPrime mini review

[Timothy Jones]

The Leica R 24mm is the worst R lens . It’s a Minolta with Leica coatings.

 

[paulcurtis]

Thanks for the new samples and the comparison to the Leica. These SLR Magics seem like winners.

Are you positive the focus was where you say it is?

I know what you mean and I'll double check today. It's a crop from the side by side further up unless i cropped from the wrong 8k source but i don't think i did. Focus on both was the grill of the car.

I need to do some practise with an easy rig today so I'll do some 85mm stuff

Cheers
Paul

 

[paulcurtis]

The Leica R 24mm is the worst R lens . It’s a Minolta with Leica coatings.

Just because it's designed by Minolta doesn't mean it's bad. I have the 28mm v2 as well which is down as being the best Leica R and whilst it is good it's not that far removed from this. But there are many bad copies of this lens out there. I have M mount lenses too and none of the Rs with the exception of the 28 stand up to them. The Rs are similar to the contax. Although the mandler designs are a bit Jekyll and Hyde in that wide open they glow and stopped down they look different. This is great for stills but little use for motion. They are what they are which are stills lenses.

Side by side the 24 R and 25 contax are pretty much the same.

I never got my hands on the APO R lenses, i believe these would be worthwhile. But a 90APO is more expensive than one of these Hyperprimes and i think the 85 is as good as you're going to get.

Cheers
Paul

 

[paulcurtis]

Good job done, Paul, I wish there were more reviews like yours here on RU. It's always nice to see direct comparison of different era lenses.

Why don't you post 8k directly here? I suppose no need in 2k downsample which kills every detail. I use google photo for instance, you can get a direct-to-original link and embed here.

The originals are linked to 4K versions. I ought to put up some R3Ds more than anything else i guess. Smaller than the 8K images!

But thanks again for the nice words

Cheers
Paul

 

[Tommaso Alvisi]

Much smoother (and modern) bokeh and without the awful onion rings caused by aspherical lenses which I hate...

But color balance seems off and coatings are...ehm...relatively ineffective?

Paul, have you tried if that green/yellow cast is present in all the lenses in the same intensity so when white balanced they match when changing focal lenght?

A minor shift is ok but having a shot made with that 25 and the 24 Leica R would slow everything down...

Thanks for posting this btw!!!!

 

[Aaron Lochert]

The originals are linked to 4K versions. I ought to put up some R3Ds more than anything else i guess. Smaller than the 8K images!

R3ds would definitely appreciated!

 

[paulcurtis]

Much smoother (and modern) bokeh and without the awful onion rings caused by aspherical lenses which I hate...

But color balance seems off and coatings are...ehm...relatively ineffective?

Paul, have you tried if that green/yellow cast is present in all the lenses in the same intensity so when white balanced they match when changing focal lenght?

A minor shift is ok but having a shot made with that 25 and the 24 Leica R would slow everything down...

Thanks for posting this btw!!!!

All the hyperprimes match colour wise and they're all shifted to green. The difference between the Leica and Hyperprimes are greater than Contax and Hyperprime but it's there. Now there are these SLR Magic filters than i have and i ought to see if they do or don't make a difference. I don't know too much about what they're supposed to be doing.

But yeah, cutting between Leica R and these would be a pain, although the shift is consistent and something that perhaps the tint control would handle. I've not made any attempt to do anything to the images as it's supposed to be a comparison.

Ideally a greater set of focal lengths would be the best solution and i believe they are working towards that.

I've been trying to make these flare, so it's a little unfair. In normal shots and at night for example, it's pretty well controlled. The 50 does flare less than the contax. Same for the 85 but if you get the sun direct in them then it's flare city. Also wide open induces flare just a bit more, especially on the 25. The 90 cron i had flares like no ones business, there would even be reflections of sky at the bottom of the image.

I did some tests with the 85 yesterday and i'll post those later on.

And see if i can't grab some R3Ds

And you're right on the lack of aspherics, that was one of the design 'criteria' i believe and it shows. I'm curious though because doesn't the Otus and cine summirons use aspherics?

cheers
Paul

 

[paulcurtis]

Here are some 85mm shots. First is a pretty boring shot of a branch against a dappled backdrop and a comparison with the Contax 85mm

and a side by side

This was a pretty dull day, so no extreme contrast. The Hyperprime is wide open and the Contax is stopped down to around f2 to f2.8 (it's a declicked iris). The Hyperprime is sharper at the focus point of the branch. The bokeh of the Contax has always been really nice, but you can see the Hyperprime is still a bit smoother.

This is not a difficult shot at all really, it's just showing that wide open the Hyperprime is very good. Focus is perhaps 5 metres away.

More coming up

cheers
Paul

 

[paulcurtis]

Comparison wide open and then around T4 (might be T5.6)

Very rarely would i be shooting hand held and wide open unless i'm on sticks. But the lens works equally well wide open, i would have no issue with it.

Now flare. Like the 50 this will flare direct into the sun and it's a wonderful full on flare that's quite difficult to show in images. I will see whether i can pop a little sequence up but if you like flare this is the one for you, yet away from flare the contrast is good, better than the contax.

The sun is literally just above and behind, so this is the kind of veiling glare you'd get.

I love this 85, find it very usable and full of flare character. The drop off is wonderful. The Contax's are great as well.

cheers
Paul

 

[Curtis boggs]

how is the focus breathing on these????

 

[paulcurtis]

how is the focus breathing on these????

Not an issue at all on any of them.

What i will try to do is to pop a movie up of this, need to find some time but i can do breathing and flare at the same time.

cheers
Paul

 

[John Brawley]

I'm a big fan of these lenses.

I've been using them a lot on the show I'm doing right now. I have two extremely seasoned (credits you'd all know) focus pullers who have both said to me that they really like the "action" and the focus scaling. Both also remarked that they're well built and small. It's also why I like them too, I prefer the smaller physical size. I've had them on the camera for a few weeks now daily and they've survived the rigor of high torque focus motors so far.

For look, my A camera focus puller said they reminded him of primos (and that's what we're shooting the rest of the time on this show) and my B focus puller said they reminded him a lot of the Leica Summicrons.

For me they're a very pleasant lens, not overly sharp or contrasty, very gentle falloff and minimal CA. Until now I've been using CP2s in their place (which I also own) but the SLR MAgics are a much nicer match for the Primos. The focus pullers both hate the focus scaling for the CP's, they're maddeningly bad. The lighter weight is the only advantage the CP's have.

They do have a pretty unique flare, already mentioned here. It's pretty distinctive and you'll either love it or hate it. They can flare more "normally" too in the right circumstances. The breathing is very very good too (low). The close focus isn't amazing but it's not terrible.

They're also making an interchangeable mount for EF, but I'm a PL guy all the way, but it's nice you can change them.

I'm really looking forward to them expanding their lineup, it's what's holding them back now. I know there's a fourth lens coming very soon.

The price makes you wonder if they can be that good, but I think they're very underrated.

Wish I could share photos but the show hasn't aired yet and is embargoed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbhHp9sFuMl/?taken-by=johnbrawley

JB

 

[Curtis boggs]

Thanks for sharing your experience John.

Comparing these lenses to Leica Summicrons is a strong statement. is that a Summicron r, c etc??

I have a Sigma 18-35 cine that I love and was thinking of grabbing a 50 and 85 to make a set.
However these look very nice and seem like a great deal !

Do you have experience with the Sigma lenses and how would you say the APO's compare?

Curtis

 

[paulcurtis]

Thanks for sharing your experience John.
Comparing these lenses to Leica Summicrons is a strong statement. is that a Summicron r, c etc??
I have a Sigma 18-35 cine that I love and was thinking of grabbing a 50 and 85 to make a set.
However these look very nice and seem like a great deal !

Thanks to John for chiming in, it was some of his reviews and comments that made me take these seriously.

I can tell usually when stuff is shot on Leica cine lenses on TV and i've found these remind me of them. They're not going to be in the same league when pushed into all sorts of complication situations, but they seem to share some kind of base ancestry, feel or look.

Although all these have big lens caps with Leica written on them... Maybe that's unconscious bias as work.

As for Sigma, i do have a 24-35mm Art sigma and i said i'd do a comparison for a friend, so will post that here as well.

I'd echo what John says in that part of me was thinking, are they really this good for that price compared to what else i see. And so far i think it's yes. Clearly you have to be into this look and their flare as well.

I can't wait for more lengths, i have no idea of the timeline but if there was a queue i'd be standing in it

cheers
Paul

 

[scott devitte]

I wonder if one or all three "stacked" would work on our APO's? Add Leica charm and perhaps something really usable on the cheap (for Leica).

https://leicastoremiami.com/collect...s/leica-cine-macrolux-0-5?variant=33351733136

 

[Curtis boggs]

Thanks to John for chiming in, it was some of his reviews and comments that made me take these seriously.

I can tell usually when stuff is shot on Leica cine lenses on TV and i've found these remind me of them. They're not going to be in the same league when pushed into all sorts of complication situations, but they seem to share some kind of base ancestry, feel or look.

Although all these have big lens caps with Leica written on them... Maybe that's unconscious bias as work.

As for Sigma, i do have a 24-35mm Art sigma and i said i'd do a comparison for a friend, so will post that here as well.

I'd echo what John says in that part of me was thinking, are they really this good for that price compared to what else i see. And so far i think it's yes. Clearly you have to be into this look and their flare as well.

I can't wait for more lengths, i have no idea of the timeline but if there was a queue i'd be standing in it

cheers
Paul

Paul,

By far some of my favorite glass is the Summicron-c , so sharp and yet so creamy and awesome focus fall off.
If these have a similar personality I'd be very happy.
I do like the bokah quite a bit.

I sent an email asking if there are more focal lengths planned and I got
an answer of "yes" but no indication what they will be or when.
I'd like to know more before I get into this too deep.

Might order a 50 to see how it looks and if it'll match close enough to my Sigma 18-35 cine.

Curtis

 

[John Brawley]

Thanks for sharing your experience John.

Comparing these lenses to Leica Summicrons is a strong statement. is that a Summicron r, c etc??

Summicron-C

Do you have experience with the Sigma lenses and how would you say the APO's compare?

Curtis

I haven't really shot the sigma very much. Just one job.

I will say the Sigma are very sharp and very well corrected from what I can see.

I like the APO's, because they DO have character, it's just very subtle. They're a "soft" lens, meaning I guess a lower contrast look to what they do.

Sigma's are a bit more...plain ? With more contrast ?

JB

 

[paulcurtis]

Here're are some more comparisons.

I am putting together a video with focus pulls in because actually i realised how they can show characteristics in a way that stills can't - for example the green/magenta fringing as edges go out of focus is evident front and centre. That will probably be tomorrow.

This time set up indoors, it's way more controlled without the sun and so the contrast is much lower - it's an easy shot for all lenses so at this stage we're nitpicking really. First up with the 25mm and i'm comparing the 25 APO, the Sigma Art 24-35mm and the Leica 24.

And apologies for very easily seasons greetings...

Then there's a comparison of native colour and then one with them all balanced to neutral.

Now the Sigma looks great actually, much nicer than Leica or Contax. The 25 APO is the weakest of the lenses i feel. Even so personally i feel it has a slightly smoother feel than the sigma (when i'm looking at the focus pull, the stills don't really show this as much). I've also usually found that Zooms show a quicker focus drop off than primes. I think this is evident as well.

But the sigma is very good - i don't know how representative the 24-35 is to the rest of the range though. I found the 50 art i tried once to be sharper/more fringy.

Also gotta say that when i took the APO off i found a great big fingerprint on the rear element - so this would affect the images to some degree...

Colour balance. So these APOs really are quite different. I've been trying to work out whether there's a benefit to this at all, green being a more sensitive colour than the others but nope. It's very easy to balance out though.

So next up is the 50 then the 85 - these show more differences

cheers
Paul

 

[paulcurtis]

Now for the 50s, this is a Leica R Cron 50 (late serial ROM version) and the 50 APO. Two focus versions, one on the colour checker and the other on a branch.

Colour checker.

I don't know if you can see in these but the Cron like all Mandler designed Leica Rs shows a halo wide open, it's great for portraits but not so good for motion. Generally stopping down to f4 makes for a lovely lens but then pretty much all lenses look great at f4. I find the bokeh of the R lens busier and less uniform. You can see sharp donut edges to the bokeh balls compared to the APO.

Branch focus

With this focus position fringing becomes more evident, in the sense that there's a green tint to the out of focus areas in the back. Really i feel this becomes more noticeable when pulling focus as the colour will change. As the lines on the colour checker (foreground) move in and out you can see them go magenta then white then green for example.

cheers
Paul

 

[Matt stambaugh]

Just purchased the 25 2.1 APO and 50 2.1 APO. My Leica R 24mm ended up going down and still have the 28,35,50,90 but was looking for something that is more of an owner operator set.

After some research, I just couldn't justify the CP2, CP3, Sigma Cine and the CN-E price range. These fit the bill very well, seem way better than the xeens.

With that said, my take on it is these are a great set of lenses that will make me money from the start, rather than working to pay them off. If a client needs something different / more, we can rent.