Sigma fp L And Leica M Mount Lenses

Sigma fp L And Leica M Mount Lenses:

As some of you know I reviewed the Sigma fp L a while back, and I thoroughly enjoyed using it.  You can read the review here, and you can also find my review of the 24mp fp as well, here.  Getting back to the fp L, at the time I was using it, I thought it would work great with M lenses but didn’t really have a chance to thoroughly try them out with the camera.  Thanks to Sigma, I was able to get another loaner to use specifically with my M lenses, and I thought I’d post a write up of what I experienced in case there are others who might be curious.

Thanks for taking the time to read my article!  If it helped, please consider purchasing from any of the links mentioned in this post, which in turn, helps support this site.  I get a small commission but it will not cost you anything extra.  Thank you!

So, there are reasons, which might be obvious to some, why I think the fp L would work great with M lenses.  One is the size.  For a full frame camera, this thing is tiny.  It’s actually smaller than a Leica M camera but also packs a 61 megapixel sensor, which to me, is quite impressive.  I do love my megapixels but besides that, the sensor’s capabilities are actually excellent as well.  My first thought when I started using the fp L was it would be such an awesome camera with my 35mm Summicron Version 4.  The ASPH version is a great choice too, of course, but I just love the ultra compact nature of the Version 4.  Imagine this set up used for street photography, for example.  All that full frame power packed into a combo that is practically pocket size.

↑ Here’s the Sigma fp L with my 35mm Summicron Version 4 attached.

Now, I know some of you are thinking, the Sigma fp L doesn’t have a built-in viewfinder like the M but then again, is the viewfinder always necessary for something like street photography?  I hear quite a lot about how many street photographers don’t even look through a viewfinder much, and instead, will do hip shots, for example.  I even have a friend who is a fantastic street photographer, and she actually prefers using live view.  She’s able to get some great shots, and I’m always amazed at how no one even notices her shoot.

Now, let’s say you do need that viewfinder to frame the shot.  I get it; I did very much enjoy the fp L without the viewfinder because of just how compact it is but in general, I like having a viewfinder on my camera, and there were times when I needed one with the fp L.  I definitely needed one with the Sigma 105mm f1.4 I was testing.  Well, there is the EVF-11 that you can get, which while maybe a little quirky, still works quite well.  It’s a 3.68 M dot OLED electronic viewfinder with a magnification of 0.83x, so it’s actually pretty decent.  It’s very easy to look through, thanks to the large magnification, and it’s very clear, bright, and sharp.  What I particularly like is the tilting mechanism, which angles upwards to 90 degrees.  So, it will help with shooting at different angles, which is always good.  It will also help some in street photography because one does not have to lift the camera up to the face to shoot all the time.

↑ There’s an optional EVF for those who are interested.

Anyway, this isn’t a review, so let’s get straight to the optics.  The lenses I used were the Super Elmar-M 18mm f3.8 ASPH, the 35mm Summicron Version 4, the Summilux-M 50mm f1.4 ASPH, and the 75mm Summilux.  These are my own lenses, so I know how they perform overall because I’ve used them for years.  I thought these would be great choices to try with the fp L.  Besides the optics being excellent, I figure this is a nice range in terms of focal length.  Since the fp L is L mount, I was easily able to attach my M lenses with my Leica M to T Adapter from my SL2 but you can probably use any M to L adapter.

↑ The Sigma fp L with M lenses.

Overall, the fp L worked great with my M lenses.  Besides the fact that they balanced very nicely with the fp L, in terms of size and weight, I was getting fantastic image quality as well.  How could I not; I am using arguably some of the best lenses out there with what I feel is a superb 61 megapixel sensor.  The combo is kind of a match made in heaven.  I also love the fact that the M lenses felt like native lenses on the fp L.  It felt just like using my M lenses on my SL2, so the compatibility factor is there.  There is focus peaking, which helps quite a bit, so you end up with sharp results as well.

↑ This was taken with the 35mm Summicron Version 4.

↑ Here’s another photo taken with the 35mm Summicron Version 4.

↑ This was taken at night with a tripod.  I used the 35mm Summicron Version 4.

↑ Here’s another where I used the 35mm Summicron Version 4.

I took the fp L with me everywhere around the city.  I did some street shooting, which I haven’t done in quite sometime, and I just loved how easy it was to carry around, especially with the 35mm Summicron Version 4 attached.  It’s also worth noting that the fp L is quick enough that I had no trouble getting the shots I wanted.  Plus, since it only has an electronic shutter, you can bet that it’s extremely quiet, which is great when you want to be a little sneakier for say candid work or street.  I also did do some cityscape stuff, which I haven’t done in ages.  I went out at night with my best friend to look for spots around Dumbo, Long Island City, and Queens.  I actually haven’t done much of this, since the pandemic, so it was a nice change.  We even took the tripod along to get better results.  Overall, I just had a really fun experience with the entire set up.

↑ This was taken on a late night with my Super-Elmar-M 18mm f3.8 ASPH lens.

↑ Here’s another taken with my 18mm Super Elmar.

↑ This was taken with my 75mm Summilux.

↑ Here’s one taken with the 35mm Summicron.

There is one issue I ran into which is a slight color cast in the corners in some of my shots with my Super Elmar-M 18mm f3.8 ASPH but to me, at least, it isn’t a huge deal.  Not only is something like this easily fixable in Photoshop, it just didn’t bother me.  I didn’t do any corrections for the photos that were affected.  The point is, everything works quite well overall.  Having a slight issue with one lens doesn’t seem like a big deal to me when I look at the larger picture, which is a camera that works great with most of my M lenses all while also matching them in size and weight.

↑ This was taken with my 18mm Super Elmar.

↑ Here’s another taken with my 18mm Super Elmar.

↑ This was taken with my 35mm Summicron.

↑ This was a hip shot taken with my 35mm Summicron.

Now, I know this article’s main point is using M lenses with the Sigma fp L but I should at least mention the Sigma I Series lenses real quick.  The reason is because I just feel like they kind of relate in a way, and maybe another reason why the fp L is a good alternative to say an M body or another camera body that can use M lenses.  Let’s just say, you’re not in the mood to manually focus but you still want some compact and lightweight options.  Unlike an M, you still have the option of trying the I Series lenses, which are ultra compact, and have autofocus.  I’ve reviewed every single one so far (reviews here), and they are fantastic.  I can’t recommend them enough, and even with autofocus, some of them are about the size of M lenses (check out my 90mm f2.8 review).

↑ In addition to M lenses, you can get lenses in the Sigma I Series collection, which are not only autofocus, they are very compact.

↑ This was taken in the morning with my 35mm Summicron.

↑ Here’s another taken with my 35mm Summicron.

Overall, I think the Sigma fp L is a great option for M lenses, and something one should consider, if they want a full frame camera around the size of a Leica M rangefinder.  I can even see this as being a nice alternative to a Leica CL, which I love but is a cropped sensor.  As I said earlier, I love the fact that I have so much raw image taking power in a camera that fits in the palm of my hand.  Together with M lenses, it was just a downright, fun experience, and I ended up with great pictures too.