Your (non-Leica) favs on S

[helged]

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Without knowing anything about the inner Leica-circles, I nevertheless imagine that Leica will extend the S-lens portifolio with/after the rumored S003 release... Irrespective of this - what is/are your on-Leica favourite lens(es) on the S?

 

I have the 24,35,70 and 120mm S, all of which are optically fine and, possibly, with the 120mm on top among the four.

I am primarily a landscapes shooter, but the question is not limited to optical 'perfection' like sharpness across the frame, high micro contrast, optical distortion, chromatic aberration, neutral colours, etc., but to the subjective term 'character'. 

For instance, I love the 75Lux-M wide open or just slightly stopped down, not for optical perfection across the frame, but for its sharpness vs blur, oof rendering, colour, etc. 50Lux-M, 50Noct-M and 90Elmar-M also belong to the same cathegory, wide(ish) open.

So: Which S-compatible lens do you adore - and for which reason?

Edited September 3, 2018 by helged

[Milan_S]

I love the S 100mm f2 and non Leica lenses is the contax 80mm f2 it a dream lens for portraits and wedding

[ynp]

The Contax Distagon 55mm. works as a body cap on my S2-p. I love the Hasselblad 50-110mm. for strobe lights, I prefer to use it at f4,5-5,6. This lens covers the most useful range for people shooting and it’s very sharp.

The favorite Leica S lens is the S100mm.

[helged]

Thanks for the input so far!

 

A related thread...

[John McMaster]

The Mamiya 80/1.9 is the cheapest way into that sort of look...

 

john

[Deliberate1]

The Contax 120mm f4 macro is brilliant, especially for the price. But then, you have the native 120mm so no soup for you.

I would love to try the 80mm Contax and should have bought one before it reached cult status with then past two years.

David 

[xiaubauu2009]

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Contax 35, 45-90 and 120... my go to lens with using Leica S006/007 and Alpa 12FPS with IQ3100mp.

[ropo54]

The Mamiya 80/1.9 is the cheapest way into that sort of look...

 

john

 

John:

I posted a separate thread on this topic; would appreciate any thoughts you might have on this lens.

Thanks,

Rob

[ocean2059]

I enjoy using my Hasselblad 250mm f5.6 SA lens with my S system.

[djmay]

I only have one; Pentax67 300mm. It is not bad, but definitely not S quality. However, that is the trade-off for a longer lens.

 

Jesse

[BernardC]

I posted this in the Mamiya 80/1.9 thread, but it should probably be here for future reference.

 

I have an 80/1.9, but I never use it. The 70/2.5 is so much better.

The 80 is quite soft wide open, and I find the bokeh busy and distracting compared to the Summarit-S. It's certainly not "magical" like, for instance, an old Planar 50/1.4 is on the SL.

 

I also have a Mamiya 35/2.8, which was bad enough to make me buy the Leica S35. It was OK stopped-down at mid distances, but that was it.

 

I use the Mamiya 200/2.8 APO, and matched doubler. Good lens. I rarely feel the need go to that long, but it's fully up to the task.

 

My favourite non-Leica lenses on the S are the Hasselblad 110/2.0 and 150/2.8. They both "pop" in that classical Zeiss fashion, and have an extremely smooth transition between in-focus and out-of-focus areas. Lovely for portraits.

[kparseg]

I love the S 100mm f2 and non Leica lenses is the contax 80mm f2 it a dream lens for portraits and wedding

Agree on 100S but I wish Leica made a 100CS. It's a deal breaker for me.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I only have the zoom, 35, 70 and 120 S lenses. I do use the HC 24, 100, 150 and 210 with the AF adaptor. The 100 is a lovely portrait lens that does very well on the smaller S sensor. Plus the 210 for some reach.

 

Gordon

[ryanlowry]

Really love the hasslblad 50-II 3.5, great alternative to the expensive and hard to find 45mm S lens!

[Photon42]

John:

I posted a separate thread on this topic; would appreciate any thoughts you might have on this lens.

Thanks,

Rob

 

 

I have it as well, Rob. It is lower contrast, but surprisingly good for portraits. My copy has a switch for auto aperture / manual aperture which effectively just closes the lens down to the aperture selected. So you can focus wide open, flick the switch and take the photograph with proper metering. Having said that, I mostly used it wide open with a Metabones adapter (I think). The Contax 80 is better, also stopped down, but the S+Mamiya 1.9 makes for an incredibility light combo.

[jip]

Leica S-E (Typ 006)

Contax 645 Zeiss 45mm