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Thoughts on 30, 45 and 70 CS lenses


Leicalifer

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Hello

 

New to S system. Many thanks to the forum members for sharing.

 

Question: As I build my lens inventory, has anyone used the 30, 45 and 70 cs lenses? The CS lenses look ideal for using with my Broncolor Siros S monolights and Grafit A2/Unilite 1600 ws heads.  The 30 appears well suited for indoor architecture and the 45 and 70 cs for studio portraits.   The CS feature appears useful for use outdoors also where I need to use the flash to over power the sun or freeze the subject.

 

Please let me know you thoughts, many thanks in advance.

 

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Not sure what the focus of your question is. Yes, you can sync your strobes up to 1/1000s with the CS lenses, which is the sole purpose of the CS (leaf shutter) feature. So you can largely forget about HS/HSS and also ignore the fact that, outside of a small German brand Priolite (and of course Leica's own SF speedlights) nobody makes a remote controller or speedlight that allows high speed sync with Leica cameras. As you correctly point out, you would use this feature outside, to "overpower" the sun, or better to say, be able to shoot at wider apertures without ND filters, than what would be the case if you were limited by the S cameras FS sync speed of 1/125s. In this context, it is important to look at the flash duration of your strobes at different power settings, as these in any case have to be shorter than the sync speed that you will be using (i.e. for example, if you want to shoot at 1/1000s using a CS lens, then your strobe should have a duration shorter than 1/1000s at the relevant power setting that you are using, to ensure proper exposure).

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If you are asking about lens quality, you can pretty much just ignore it...all the lenses are very good, and some are superb. The 45mm is superb. The 70mm is very good to superb depending on what you are doing. It has a bit of field curvature that can interfere with getting even sharpness across the frame at infinity when below about f/6.8. The line of sharpness will curve toward the camera, so while the sharpest detail in the center might be focused at 100m, the sharpest detail in the edges might be at 20 or 30m. I have not noticed that in the other lenses. For this kind of work the problem is basically solved by shooting from f/6.8-16. Generally diffraction kicks in past f/11 and gets bad at 22. I do not have the 30mm, but I do have the 35mm. It is an excellent lens as well, with little to criticize. The 120mm is superb. The 30-90mm is great if you are not that bothered by full edge to edge sharpness. It has fantastic performance in the center of the frame, but it never really gets evenly sharp across the field, especially at the longer end. It is better from 30-60mm than 60-90mm. I bought it before the 45mm to try to fill the gaps between 30mm and 70mm, but if I had to do it again, I would not have bought it, and instead just get the 45mm, which is noticeably sharper from edge to edge. My preferences are mostly derived from landscape work and artwork reproduction, so if you are primarily interested in portraits I think any of the lenses will work well.

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Can't go wrong with any, but I would say the 45mm is a bit wide for studio portraits. I prefer the 70mm or longer for that. 

 

Outside the 45mm is an amazing focal length.

 

Can't go wrong with the 70mm (everyone has it I believe haha)

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The 70CS is my workhorse lens in studio. Mine did suffer the AF fail after some 10s of thousands of exposures. It was fixed for free and promptly. The central shutter failed after that (about 45000 exposures) and Wetzlar has it right now. 
I used a loan 45 for few hundred exposures and liked it very much for what I shoot. I think in other medium format systems the 35mm equivalent may be a common standard focal length? For me I prefer the (56mm equivalent) 70 for full length in studio.
I consider the results from both lenses are superb.
Nearly all here with the 70CS and the typ 007 but also S2 before that and some typ 006 (a loaner) too I think.. Some with the SL and 24-90. They are captioned in any case.
https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/248412-studio-fashion-with-the-s-system/
Some examples from the 45 at #28, #30, #34

For portrait style I have the 120 which I think is fabulous
https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/247391-studio-portraits-s-cameras/


 

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I love the CS lenses, they give me the possibility to shoot both inside and outside with strobes. 

I can also recommend the 120mm Macro APO CS it's a wonderful lens, very sharp WO with creamy bokeh!

 

Leica S007 w/ 120mm Macro CS

 

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

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Why do you think you need CS lenses indoors? Just asking. And - I did actually sync a Cactus speed light as well as a older broncolor flash with HSS, but the setup was a bit ... well ... adventurous. Certainly nothing for serious work.

Not sure if you were addressing the original poster or my post there?

I don't shoot with flash outdoors. Sometimes the ambient light in a studio space is significant and I have on occasion synced at up to 1/500th there if I didn't want to include the ambient lighting. More typically I just use 1/180 @F/9.5 and be there . Sync is always perfect with my Elinchrom monoblocs and no adjustments made for start of flash etc.

Anecdotally I think that the CS versions may hold their value a little more or be appealing to a buyer. Very unlikely that I would test that though. All of the earliest original production was without the central shutter, so CS lenses are likely to be younger. Having said that my central shutter broke after some tens of thousands of exposures, lens close to 4 years old

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Not sure if you were addressing the original poster or my post there?

I don't shoot with flash outdoors. Sometimes the ambient light in a studio space is significant and I have on occasion synced at up to 1/500th there if I didn't want to include the ambient lighting. More typically I just use 1/180 @F/9.5 and be there . Sync is always perfect with my Elinchrom monoblocs and no adjustments made for start of flash etc.

Anecdotally I think that the CS versions may hold their value a little more or be appealing to a buyer. Very unlikely that I would test that though. All of the earliest original production was without the central shutter, so CS lenses are likely to be younger. Having said that my central shutter broke after some tens of thousands of exposures, lens close to 4 years old

 

 

I should have been quoting ... was relating to the original post, but happily read yours, too  :) . I do not have a lot of studio like experience, that is why I asked. I am slowly getting into a tad more flash photography, and have not yet felt the urge of higher sync for indoors. I tried outdoor fill flash with a Metz and a SF40 at 1/2000 thereabouts with HSS, and it seemed to have worked.

All my lenses have been the lowest price option possible, so no CS. You are possibly right on your value statement. After all the dual shutter is one of the very particular aspects of the S system.

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I don't like my 30mm..........If I had the chance over again I would have got the 24mm instead, I have seem many lovely pictures take by Jesse using his 24mm.

 

My 30 is sharp in the middle but quickly falls off 

 

Neil

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I don't like my 30mm..........If I had the chance over again I would have got the 24mm instead, I have seem many lovely pictures take by Jesse using his 24mm.

 

My 30 is sharp in the middle but quickly falls off 

 

Neil

 

 

I do not own or have used the 30 mm. Just two thoughts: the 24mm does not have a CS option - and the Contax 35/3.5 may be worth a thought. Makes most sense financially if split between two or three Contax lenses and/or bought used. 

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I use my Hasselblad 50-110mm. with the adapter. It covers almost all my studio and outside strobe people photography. It works with my Bron lights perfectly. I also have a 120 with the CS when I need to step a bit closer to the subject or need an ambient look with a touch of flash. The two lenses allow me the adequate range for people shooting.

I also have a Leica S zoom, but it doesn’t have a shutter and it’s limiting.

 

I am seriously thinking about buying more CS lenses in advance of a New Sinar multi shot solution because I still need to shoot textiles for the collection.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I use my Hasselblad 50-110mm. with the adapter. It covers almost all my studio and outside strobe people photography. It works with my Bron lights perfectly. I also have a 120 with the CS when I need to step a bit closer to the subject or need an ambient look with a touch of flash. The two lenses allow me the adequate range for people shooting.

I also have a Leica S zoom, but it doesn’t have a shutter and it’s limiting.

 

I am seriously thinking about buying more CS lenses in advance of a New Sinar multi shot solution because I still need to shoot textiles for the collection.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

you can try my 30 CS mate next time you are in Phuket [emoji3][emoji3][emoji120][emoji120]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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