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Lightroom is full of small controls that can quietly ruin your images if you don’t understand how they interact. The difference between an artificial edit and a clean, natural one often comes down to how you balance the simplest tools. When you know which sliders are tricking you, you can stop fighting the program and start getting results that feel intentional.

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A single lens that can move from wide landscapes to close wildlife without weighing down your bag is always worth your attention. When you want to capture fleeting moments without swapping glass, the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD lens is built for that purpose.

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A well-timed image of two Bee Eaters has been awarded this week’s Photo of the Week.

Taken by Lillian, it shows the birds in sharp focus with vivid colours and precise markings captured in fine detail. The timing is spot on, holding the moment with clarity and capturing their interaction beautifully. The richness of colour, the precision of detail, and the balance across the frame combine to make this an outstanding example of wildlife photography.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2026, we’ll crown our 2025 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards!

The Nikon FE2 isn’t just another film camera sitting on a shelf. It’s one of those rare tools that carries history in its mechanics, a companion that shapes how you see the world through a viewfinder. Film cameras like this remind you that the way you shoot is often as important as the images you make.

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The camera body has that famous red dot and the lens sits comfortably, definitely looking the part. A fairly compact Leica zoom that covers the essential standard focal lengths, has a useful 1:3.3 magnification and brings Leica quality within our grasp has to be attractive. Does it deliver that Leica quality? Let's find out, combining the lens with the 60MP Leica SL3 Full Frame mirrorless body. It looks like a formidable and impressive combination, so putting it through its paces should be interesting indeed.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Handling and Features

The Leica SL series, with its pseudo-DSLR styling, always looks solidly well made, be it the camera bodies or the lenses. The Leica name in itself invites high expectations. The construction is big and chunky, not so much in actual size or weight but in physical size of the controls and engravings. This is very true of the Leica SL3 provided to review this lens with the huge control dials and the huge LEICA logo showing little of the diminutive finesse of the Leica M series. The 28-70mm f/2.8 lens shares this ethos up to a point, but in fact is about as compact as it is going to get within the range. The finesse is apparent in the engravings around the front element, the focal length settings around the lens barrel being, in contrast, large and bold.

 

 

There is a supplied petal lenshood that bayonets firmly into place. There is no retaining catch, nor is one needed. The hood is well made, but the actual seating onto the front of the lens is such that it is just slightly fiddly to insert. There are smoother fitting hoods. Within the bayonet fit for the hood is a standard 67mm filter thread. The front and rear elements are coated with Leica's Hydrophobic Aqua-Dura coating, helping to repel moisture and grease. The lens as a whole is dust and splash resistant, a close to essential feature in variable weather conditions.

Weighing in at a fairly modest 572g (613g with hood), despite the Magnesium-Aluminium body, it is also quite compact at 72mm x 102mm. There are few controls, just the focusing ring and the zoom ring. The former is electronic, very smooth but with a higher degree of resistance than many. Focusing is selected via the camera, so no AF/MF switch, and is virtually silent as well as being snappy and accurate. Focusing is down to 0.19m at 28mm, for a maximum magnification of 1:3.3, and 0.38m at 70mm for a maximum magnification of 1:4.6.

 

 

Optical construction is 16 elements in 12 groups, including 3 Aspheric and 1 floating group that helps maintain quality at all focus distances. The electronically controlled aperture is capable of being set to operate in steps of either one third or one half stops.

 

 

Finally, the high quality L mount enables use of the appropriate L mount Leica, Panasonic and Sigma lenses. 

In many ways, a lens that hardly exists is the best lens, in that its operation should not get in the way of the photographer. The more dials and settings there are then the more complex and the less intuitive it becomes. The Leica SL 28-70mm is as simple as it gets and once the camera is set up it becomes an extension of the photographer's vision.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Performance

At 28mm central sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and fair at f/22. The edges are fair at f/2.8, very good from f/4 to f/8, good at f/11 and fair at f/16 and f/22.

At 50mm, central sharpness is excellent at f/2.8, outstanding at f/4, excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and fair at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 70mm, central sharpness is very good at f/2.8 and f/4, excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and fair at f/22. The edges are very good from f/2.8 right through to f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

The longer focal lengths clearly even out the sharpness centre and edge and the standard overall is very satisfactory.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 MTF Charts Previous Next

How to read our MTF charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Leica SL3 using Imatest. Want to know more about how we review lenses?

 

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is held to very low levels, especially at the centre, and is also well under control at the edges. There is little sign of colour fringing, even with severe subjects.

Distortion is very close to zero, measuring -0.02% barrel at 28mm, +0.05% pincushion at 50mm and +0.25% pincushion at 70mm.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Chromatic Aberration Charts Previous Next

How to read our CA charts

Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Leica SL3 using Imatest.

 

Bokeh is smooth and shows good gradation in the out of focus areas. This results in a great backdrop for portraits and flower studies in particular, but of course for any subject that is required to stand out in front of a defocused background.

Flare is minimal, with only very slight tendency to create artefacts. Even the most severe lighting is handled well.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Sample Photos Previous Next

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Aperture range Previous Next

You can view additional images in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own reviews, photos and product ratings.

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Value For Money

The [AMUK]Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 ASPH|Leica+Vario-Elmarit-SL+28-70mm+f/2.8+ASPH[/AMUK] lens is priced at £1650.00

Extending that range brings in:

• [AMUK]Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm f/2.8 ASPH|Leica+Vario-Elmarit-SL+24-70mm+f/2.8+ASPH[/AMUK], £2390

There are also three possible Sigma alternatives:

• [AMUK]Sigma 28-105mm f/2.8 DG DN Art|Sigma+28-105mm+f/2.8+DG+DN+Art[/AMUK], £1399
• [AMUK]Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN II Art|Sigma+28-70mm+f/2.8+DG+DN+II+Art[/AMUK], £1129
• [AMUK]Sigma 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary|Sigma+28-70mm+f/2.8+DG+DN+Contemporary[/AMUK], £779

Leica has a premium price, but not excessively so and it does deserve its Leica heritage in terms of quality.

 

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Verdict

Leica quality at more realistic price levels can be an attractive proposition, and here we have a very, very good lens that should give many years of excellent service. The price is not excessively high so it is in line with other quality marques.

The lens is simple in terms of handling and is a pleasure to use. The images look great, the only slight downside being a slightly weaker performance at 28mm at the edges. Being aware of the optimum apertures to use, this need not be a deal breaker, but a stronger edge performance would lift the lens into a higher category.

In summary, a very likeable and easy to handle lens that delivers great images and can be Recommended.

 

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Pros

• Very Good to Excellent sharpness
• Fast f/2.8 constant aperture
• Well controlled CA
• Very low distortion
• Very good flare resistance
• Weather resistance
• Close focusing
• Excellent AF performance

Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 28-70mm f/2.8 Cons

• Lens hood slightly fiddly to insert
• Moderately high price
• Slightly weaker edges at 28mm

 

[REVIEW_FOOTER]R_features=4|R_handling=4.5|R_performance=4.5|R_value=4|R_overall=4|A_level=4|A_text=Recommended – A likeable and easy to use lens that delivers great images|E_id=8027[/REVIEW_FOOTER]

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Zoom burst photography is a photography technique that is achieved by zooming your lens in or out whilst the exposure is being taken. It's a great technique for exaggerating movement or for just adding an abstract feel to an image. Colourful subjects or scenes with patterns work well as they help create a really striking zoom burst that's full of bright, colourful lines.

 

1. Equipment Check List

To get the desired effect, you'll need your zoom lens and a tripod, to keep the image steady, plus this will allow you to have your hands free to smoothly control the zoom. A zoom with a good range to play with will mean you can get a really even effect, with some nice long streaks guiding the eye through the image. You'll also need a remote or cable release to eliminate any shake caused by pressing the shutter. If you don't have one, then use the self-timer setting on your camera. Using the flash on your camera or an external flash gun can help to add sharpness and freeze the image too.

 

2. Get The Zoom Right

The key to success with this technique is to get the amount of zoom burst right. If the zoom is too obvious then it may disguise the subject. If you don't zoom enough, then the image won't have the desired effect. You don't want your exposure to be too long, otherwise, your shots will be overexposed, but it needs to be long enough to enable you to create the zoom effect.

To create the effect you can zoom in or out, most people choose to zoom out. Press the shutter and wait for a while, around half to three-quarters of the exposure should do it, and then you need to zoom out in a smooth and fast manner. Leaving the image to develop for half to three-quarters of the exposure beforehand allows some definition to be captured in the image before the zoom is added. Try somewhere between 1-3 seconds for your starting exposure length and extended if it's needed. If you can, it's worth locking the focus, too so it stays constant.

Use a small aperture and an ISO of 100 or 200 for the best results. If you find that your images come out overexposed, it's probably best not to make the exposure time shorter as this will make it more difficult to fit the zoom in. Fit a polarising filter or ND filter instead and try again.
 

3. Experiment & Try Again

It's then quick and easy to see on the screen if your attempt was successful. If it wasn't, you can try again straight away. Experiment with the shutter speed and zoom timing until you find something that works for you and your subject. You may find you need to crop the shot for better composition but as the vanishing point will be in the middle of the frame, this won't cause any problems.

To be different, why not zoom in, try a shorter zoom, experiment with city lights at night or rotate the lens to add circular shape to your lines? If one idea doesn't work just delete the image and try again.

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1. Focal Lengths

Choosing the right focal length is critical to balancing the key elements in the frame of a landscape. Before hitting the shutter button, take the time to think about where you're placing the camera and the focal length you're using. For example, try a longer focal length and step back. This will pull distant objects into the image and create harmony with what's in the foreground. 
 

2. Foreground Interest 

Another way to balance your landscape shots is with foreground interest. An object placed in the foreground can help guide the eye in the right direction as well as filling in what could be a vast empty space when your attention is on mountains and other background detail. Foreground detail helps give landscapes a sense of depth too. For more information, take a look at this article: Why You Should Look For Interesting Foregrounds For Your Landscapes.

 

3. Add A Frame

An alternative way to add foreground interest is with a frame. We don't mean for you to go out with a large photo frame in-hand but do be on the lookout for items and objects out in the landscape that can be used to create a frame for your shot. Overhanging branches, doorways and arches are just a few examples of frames you can find when out-and-about. 
 

4. Basic Rules 

Don't overlook the basic rules of photography which includes the rule of thirds, lines, shapes and various other elements as these can help you balance your shot. You'll need to use your lens to complement the rule which could mean changing its position or adjusting the zoom. Take a look at these beginner's tips for more information: Beginner's Guide To Composition
 

5. Shoot Panoramics

As wide-angle lenses sometimes create distortion, an alternative way to shoot photos that have more of the landscape in them is with a panorama. You can shoot panoramas with a short telephoto focal lens and using a tripod helps but it's not essential. The important thing is the choice of scene. Scenes with close to the camera elements will not stitch properly with this method. However, you can buy dedicated panorama heads for scenes that have foreground as well as background interest. More panorama photography tips can be found here: How To Shoot Panoramas and Panoramas Without A Panoramic Head.

More information on lens choices for landscapes can be found in this article: Make The Most Of Your Lenses For Scenics 

 

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