Help again choosing lens

[Csacwp]

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I'm a budding professional photographer who shoots M's and the SL and I'm trying to decide on my next lens purchase. I currently own M 35 cron asph, 50mm apo, and 75 lux. I was going to pick up a 90 apo for tight portraits, but I got to try the SL zooms last weekend and now think it might make sense now that I'm working professionally to have an autofocus lens that is weather sealed. The size doesn't bother me. That said, the 90 apo would complete my dream set of M lenses. Should I get the 90 apo or dive into the SL lenses and buy the SL 50 lux? It looks to render beautifully. Then at a later date I could get the forthcoming 90mm SL. The downside is that neither lens works on my M.

[phongph]

I'm a budding professional photographer who shoots M's and the SL and I'm trying to decide on my next lens purchase. I currently own M 35 cron asph, 50mm apo, and 75 lux. I was going to pick up a 90 apo for tight portraits, but I got to try the SL zooms last weekend and now think it might make sense now that I'm working professionally to have an autofocus lens that is weather sealed. The size doesn't bother me. That said, the 90 apo would complete my dream set of M lenses. Should I get the 90 apo or dive into the SL lenses and buy the SL 50 lux? It looks to render beautifully. Then at a later date I could get the forthcoming 90mm SL. The downside is that neither lens works on my M.

Hi!

I have got SL601, SL 24-90, M10, M35 Lux Fle, M50 Apo, M75 Lux. I am also looking for the lens from 90mm to 180mm for portrait and Landscape. It is my private idea:

1. R Apo 180 f2.8 v2 (shoot with SL601)

2. R Apo 180 f3.4,

3. SL 90.

Ps: I did not like much the bokeh of M90 Apo!

 

I have often got both SL601 and M10 with my above lens for shooting the portrait, landscape, street life ...

Have a nice day!

Thanks!

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[IkarusJohn]

If you have the 75 Summilux-M, I wouldn't bother with the AA 90 Summicron-M; at least not for portraiture.  The 75 Summilux is so good - I sold my AA 90 as it didn't add to what I had and wasn't as nice as the Summilux.

 

Conversely, to my mind the 50 Summilux-SL looks fantastic.  People have commented on it being (1) HUGE, (2) slow AF, and (3) Greg (Geetee) doesn't like its rendering.  I think the out of focus blur is smooth, buttery and very attractive.  Also, with the SL, you can use face recognition, which another poster here pointed out works really well.

 

I have the two zooms, and I'm not planning on adding more SL lenses (I have 21-75 covered in M mount already).  A really good short tele, like a 135mm f/2.8 with macro function in SL mount might interest me, and a good wide angle prime ...  But, I don't need half the lenses I have!

Edited September 19, 2017 by IkarusJohn

[Csacwp]

I find the bokeh of the 90 apo to be beautiful when shooting with busy backgrounds like trees, but it is fairly ugly with wide open background or buildings. The colors and sharpness though are stunning.

 

The Summilux SL is tempting but I imagine purchasing an M lens would be a better longterm investment (more longevity of the system)? But the. again, I already have the 50 apo. I'd get a zoom but they don't have the image quality or character of the M lenses or SL 50.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Csacwp

[IkarusJohn]

There's lot's of speculation about slow SL sales, etc  I'm generally not convinced by that sort of thing.  Leica is committed to the L mount (see the TL2, despite the suggestions that Leica was going to kill the camera); they spent over 3 years developing the SL from scratch; the SL fills a particular niche, which is a very Leica way of placing its products: and even if an SL2 is never released, my camera and lenses will keep working just fine.

[mumu]

I can not imagine, what an SL2 could do better for me.

The SL (601) is the perfect tool to use with M-, R-, T-and SL lenses, so what?

 

Back to the question of the TO, i am in an similar situation and my next step is the SL 90-280 and the SL 90, if it is available.

[ramarren]

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Clients and photo buyers are rarely as sensitive to specific lens nuances as photographers can be.

 

The SL lenses are workhorses designed to complement and enable use of every feature of the SL. Depending on what you're intending to do in your professional career, they are generally the best choice if you're intent is to use the SL for paid work. 

 

I haven't shot any paid work in a long while ... happily retired now and shoot for myself mostly ... I outfitted my SL kit with both the SL24-90 and SL90-280. I often use older R prime lenses for my shooting because I like the images they make, but in all honesty when I absolutely need to get top notch results for a particular session, I always just carry the two zooms and work with them exclusively. Two lenses with a range from 24mm to 280mm and at the quality these two lenses produce ... well, you just can't really go wrong. (I use my M lenses on my M-D and rarely fit them to the SL.)

 

When the SL primes beyond the 50mm appear, I'll see if any of them appeal to me with an advantage that I just can't live without.  

[geetee1972]

 

and (3) Greg (Geetee) doesn't like its rendering.

 

I appear to have developed a reputation!

[LocalHero1953]

Are you a professional or an amateur?

 

I occasionally get paid for portraits and publicity shots, but I'm under no illusions: I'm an amateur and will never be anything else: as the word means, I do photography for the love of it. But I have been a professional in other areas, and I know what it means to be a professional.

 

A professional does whatever it takes to get the results the client wants, and get paid more than they spend. He/she cannot afford dreaming. And in general, as Godfrey has said, subtleties of rendering of different lenses are not noticed so much by clients as by whether you get the best from your models, make no technical blunders, and deliver on time.

 

An amateur can afford to dream, complete a collection, get the ideal lens because you like it etc.

 

My view, FWIW as an amateur: if you can handle the SL and its zoom(s), they will perform much better as portrait lenses than anything on the M, because of the AF and OIS, and WYSIWYG viewfinder. Use the long end of the 24-90 for 90mm portraits - none of your clients will notice that they were not taken with the 90M (except that the latter are more likely to be OOF).

 

The M will make a difference in actually obtaining a shot if you have to gt in the face of the subject/model - then the SL+zoom can be intimidating and the subject may react accordingly (I found that last Friday, trying to take a close up of the eyes of a client). On those occasions the M may be better.

 

In your shoes I would use the 24-90 now, and consider the 90SL when it comes out, if you need that extra 2 stops. 

[MT0227]

I shoot my SL with the APO-Summicron-M 90mm f/2 and very pleased with the rendering from this combo; the small footprint is also very nice, making it quite portable.   I think you will be quite pleased with the options you have in front of you.  The questions you should focus on is the need for Auto Focus and or OIS at this focal length; also if ergonomics and portability are a factor. 

 

Enjoy! 

Edited September 19, 2017 by MT0227