Best portrait lens

[lct]

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90mm lenses are less easy to focus than wides due to the thinner DoF but my 90/2 apo is easier than my pre-apo sample from this viewpoint and my latest Elmarit 90/2.8 has the same vivid colours as those of Algrove's nice pic above. Both sharp lenses though so little skin defects will be visible at all apertures including f/2 and f/2.8.

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[neli]

I find the Noctilux f/1 a great lens for portraits.

 

I would stay away from:

- The 90 APO, as it is optimized for infinity, and is really hard to focus correctly (I don't know why).

- The Elmarit-M 90, as it has dull colors.

 

I had both also, and sold them both and are probably the only lenses I didn't regret selling.

I tend to like the drawing style of older lenses.

 

To answer your question with a quandary.

You have a lot of 50's so you seem to be happy with that focal length. Then the obvious choice is the noct/0.95 and it's easy to change its character by stopping down just a little. It really is a different lens at 1.4/2 then it is at 0.95.

I use the 75/1.4 for portraits as well, and that said, on occasion I've worked with the 35/1.4 pre-asph, nice glow at 1.4 that some hate some love etc.

It depends on your style of portrait shooting. Do you compose, interact with the model a lot giving directions, try to make the picture just right? Are you a spontaneous photographer that grabs the images and only guide in a precursory manner? Is it for weddings, school yearbooks, family, a model/actor/musician portfolio, a company brochure? All of the above? For me the job usually determines the lens, the 75/1.4 look or nocti look is hard to sell to corporate folks that often want a different kind of portraits than do young musicians or middle-aged actresses.

The longer the focal length the less spontaneous the lens can feel to me and I tend to shoot wider and go closer to the subjects, if I have to hammer out 500 portraits in 4 days for a company a 50 Asph or 75 cron or 90/4 (pick almost any) works just fine, since lighting, color etc is easily controlled/added in post and doesn't require a lot of individual work.

When I do a band portfolio or similar there is a lot of leeway (usually) for creative work and a nocti or 75/1.4 comes into it's own.

I would think about what you want to shoot first, then pick the lens. And if you like the look of the lens, pick that and shoot whatever you want. A nocti is a fascinating landscape lens, a great allrounder, it's kind of heavy, but it's lighter than carrying three lenses cause you can't decide which one to use, it's my goto lens.

And obviously, the lens you use the most will be after just a few thousand photographs, be the lens you're best at using, giving better results.

[wattsy]

All of the lenses listed in this thread are suitable for portraiture. Far better to have an "idea", an "approach", than to worry about the differences in rendering between a 90 APO or 75 Summilux or the "dull colours":rolleyes: of the 90 Elmarit. In truth, I don't think the M, with its diddy little film/sensor size and non ground glass focussing, is even the right tool for the job although undoubtedly great portraits have been taken using the system.

[LocalHero1953]

I don't find the APO-Summicron 90 as difficult to focus as is occasionally reported, or at least no more difficult than any lens in that range. It is frighteningly sharp and you notice when it is out of focus, which may be part of the issue. I have just used it for a natural light portrait session inside a darkish church, and apart from a couple at the beginning of the session, they were pin sharp.

 

The subject is a bigger determining factor for me: in this case it was a young woman with great skin, and the APO 90 was entirely appropriate. For older people I now have a Hektor 7.3cm which can produce a lovely glow, though you have to watch for distracting highlights. I also have both Nikkor LTMs mentioned, the 10.5cm and the 85/2, which fit well between the Hektor and modern sharp lenses.

 

I'm not comfortable with anything shorter than 75 for portraits because it is too easy to get perspective distortion: a shoulder, hand or a nose to the fore can look a bit monstrous. Short lenses are OK in more active/creative sessions (e.g. performers and musicians acting in part). I have an APO 50 on order though, so I'm sure I will give it a try. I have the Sonnar 1.5, which can be beautifully soft, but I struggle with perspective distortion.

 

Wide apertures sound attractive, but I, for one, get a bit tired of portraits where one eye is in focus and the other not, so I am more likely to shoot at around f/4 anyway, as long as I can get good separation from the background.

[NightSun]

I used to shoot with the Nippon Kogaku 8,5cm f2 and liked it a lot. I eventually sold it because it is a large chrome-brass lens (though I believe there is more than one version of it, including a lighter black model) which is also very front heavy because almost all of the glass is in the front part.

M6TTL Ektar

 

Indeed, there are multiple versions of this charming lens, both chrome and black in M39 and Nikon S mounts. Unfortunately, the black M39 version is quite rare, and therefore much more expensive than chrome ones if you are able to find one, but it's really worth it. It does not seem overly heavy at all, just perfect size/weight.

[Berlinman]

I love the 90Apo for portraits but for me often a 135mm is the optimum. I used the Tele-Elmar and actual the Apo-Telyt. the first is wonderfull and not expensive - the second is sharper and has more contrast.

[Doc_P]

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2.8/90 Elmarit lat gen... Balanced, au point but not clinical sharp at f2.8 ... Avoids nasty discussions afterwards compared to the last gen Karbe Summicrons!

[Firefly]

The older big Bertha 90mm Summicron, two lenses in one, a forgiving portrait lens wide open but super sharp for detail when stopped down. Cheap too nowadays, cheers Rob

[farnz]

The three lenses you've mentioned will all produce wonderful portraits under the right conditions. To add to LCT's comment, I don't use the 90/2 APO-Summicron asph for portraits of ladies of a certain age because it renders details that they don't wish to acknowledge but it's superb for character photos of older gentlemen with facial hair and buckets of wrinkles.

 

My favourite portrait lens is the 80/1.4 Summilux-R with the M240 but you'd be well set with a good 75/1.4 Summilux-M since it has the same lens element design as the 80.

 

I also use a 50/f1 Noctilux and a Zeiss 50/1.5 C-Sonnar for some portraits and they're both excellent for the right style of portrait in the right light and both have unique but different character, which is something I look for. Otherwise portraits can start to look a little 'passport-ish' to me; of course if that's the intention then that's fine.

 

Pete.

[Universalb50]

If your on a budget, and find any of the 90mm difficult to focus with the rangefinder, consider the lens head from a Elmarit 90 mounted on a Visoflex III?

[bocaburger]

The only 90 I had that I disliked as a portrait lens was the APO Cron. Way too brittle a look for my taste.

[james.liam]

I have experience with a Leitax'd R 90 AA on Nikon DSLRs and found it to be too clinically unforgiving and brutal for portraits.

[farnz]

Here's an example of a portrait with the 90 f/2 APO-Summicron asph.

 

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[algrove]

I say if you know how to post process any lens will work. One can always soften a "too sharp" image, but it is very difficult to bring back sharpness that you later wish was present in the image.

[lct]

One can always soften a "too sharp" image

Tried a lot of things to soften portraits in PP, including the impressive PortraitPro software, but i never found a better way to get natural results than using a softer lens so far. YMMV.

[farnz]

For softening skin so that the tiny wrinkles and blemishes are less obvious I've found success with Surface Blur in the A and B channels in LAB colour space in PS. This leaves the luminance untouched and retains detail where you wish to. Gaussian Blur can also be used but I find it to be a little coarse and doesn't leave the high frequency edge detail alone.

 

I suspect that an Edge Mask would be effective for some applications too.

 

Pete.

[algrove]

Agree about surface blur.

[CheshireCat]

my latest Elmarit 90/2.8 has the same vivid colours as those of Algrove's nice pic above.

 

My Elmarit 90/2.8 had the same orangish cast. Never figured out how to fix it in post, and I am convinced it cannot be fixed. Had to convert lots of shots to b&w. It is a pity, as the lens is great in any other aspect.

 

The 90 APO had much better colors, but quite disappointing wide-open at normal portrait distance (for a $4000 lens). Despite the APO in the name, this lens is not corrected for color errors as much as I expected. I am waiting for the next version of the lens, with FLE and proper APO correction.

 

I ended up with the 75/2 APO, which is a very good lens for its size, when you want the modern "clinical" rendering.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[lct]

So your Elmarit 90/2.8 is both "dull" and "orandish" if i understand well? We must not have the same lens then.

[CheshireCat]

So your Elmarit 90/2.8 is both "dull" and "orandish" if i understand well? We must not have the same lens then.

 

Sorry, it is hard to find the right terms to describe a lens spectral transmittance curve.

Maybe "crappy colors" is more appropriate.

 

I find it unlikely we don't have the same lens (latest model with built in hood).

Did you know that 8% of the male population suffers from some kind of color blindness ? Many people don't know they are in this 8% until they are tested for some reason.