Leica, please give us a Summicron-TL 50 f2.

[robgo2]

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There is no lens currently in the TL lineup that fits what many would describe as a classic portrait lens. A TL 50 f2 would be equivalent to a 75 f2 in FF format. I realize that f1.4 would be even more classic, but it would necessarily be fairly large and heavy, which seems contrary to the whole point of the CL/TL system. Hence, I would be quite happy with a nice 50 f2, but I don't need it to match the optical quality and price of the M-50 f2 APO. Just a really good, well made, genuine Leica lens with lovely rendering and bokeh. Is that asking for too much? 

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[jaapv]

Well, the market is full of nice Summicron M lenses...

[robgo2]

39 minutes ago, jaapv said:

Well, the market is full of nice Summicron M lenses...

Well, of course, and I have both M and R 50mm lenses, but I am talking about autofocus lenses for the CL.

[Boojay]

15 minutes ago, robgo2 said:

Well, of course, and I have both M and R 50mm lenses, but I am talking about autofocus lenses for the CL.

I couldn't agree more - would be a definite buy for me.  Just surprised someone hasn't yet suggested the APO Summicron 50 f/2 SL - which would of course provide autofocus, but at quite a cost.  

[jaapv]

I assumed so, but I find the autofocus appeals most to me on the zoom lenses. For primes I prefer manual focus anyway. YMMV.

[Petercoll]

For a manual, I have found my late Father's 50mm Canada built f2 R lens outstanding. In fact all my R lenses seem to be every bit as good as TL lenses, but for one thing : Their colour rendition is rather dreamy of a certain taste, this is actually great for portraiture and close up stuff. I suppose also the 60 mm Macro lens isn't much off a 50mm ?

[robgo2]

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1 hour ago, Boojay said:

I couldn't agree more - would be a definite buy for me.  Just surprised someone hasn't yet suggested the APO Summicron 50 f/2 SL - which would of course provide autofocus, but at quite a cost.  

Right. CL users tend to be more cost sensitive than M and SL users. That's why a TL 50 f2 lens cannot be the ne plus ultra of 50mm lenses. It just has to be a good Leica lens. 

[jaapv]

As a matter of fact, I presently carry my CL with a Color-Skopar 25, Summicron-C 40 and Zeiss Tele-tessar 85. I think that is as good as it gets in quality-size/weight ratio.

[bags27]

I chose a Zeiss Sonnar 50 f/1.5 for my CL portrait lens.  Couldn't be happier. I have never regretted a manual focus prime; I sometimes wonder about my autofocus lenses.....

[ramarren]

I tend to prefer a hair shorter than 75mm eqFOV as a general rule. I've used my Summilux-R 50 on the CL quite a lot and it works beautifully, but I like the Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Limited more for my kinds of portrait shooting. 

AF just doesn't do much for me.

[robgo2]

1 hour ago, bags27 said:

I chose a Zeiss Sonnar 50 f/1.5 for my CL portrait lens.  Couldn't be happier. I have never regretted a manual focus prime; I sometimes wonder about my autofocus lenses.....

I hear what jaap and you are saying. I have a Summilux-R 50 f1.4 (E60) and a Summilux-R 80 f1.4 that are my favorite portrait lenses on the SL, especially the latter. Until such time as Leica brings out a TL 50, I will rely on the R-50 for portraits with the CL. The R-80 may be a bit too long for handholding in low light, but OK in good light.

[robgo2]

5 minutes ago, ramarren said:

I tend to prefer a hair shorter than 75mm eqFOV as a general rule. I've used my Summilux-R 50 on the CL quite a lot and it works beautifully, but I like the Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Limited more for my kinds of portrait shooting. 

AF just doesn't do much for me.

As a former Pentax shooter, I still have the FA 43. though I have never used it on my SL or CL.  I would have to get an adapter for that.

Regarding MF vs AF, I use MF lenses exclusively on the SL, so I am quite comfortable focusing manually. But whenever I walk about with my Q, I really appreciate the snappy autofocus. That is one of the reasons that I bought a CL, and so far, I am very glad that I did. It's a great little camera with some fine native lenses.

[maron]

I like to use my cl for portraits with my Summicron M 50 from the late 50‘s and like it so much. I tried my R 50/2 too, but the R-Adapter is much longer and not as useful. I prefer manual focusing for portraits, so i dont miss anything.

[cirke]

a 50 or 60  TL Summilux 1.4  for me please  !  with autofocus of course !

Edited May 11, 2019 by cirke

[dkCambridgeshire]

On 5/8/2019 at 6:29 PM, robgo2 said:

There is no lens currently in the TL lineup that fits what many would describe as a classic portrait lens. A TL 50 f2 would be equivalent to a 75 f2 in FF format. I realize that f1.4 would be even more classic, but it would necessarily be fairly large and heavy, which seems contrary to the whole point of the CL/TL system. Hence, I would be quite happy with a nice 50 f2, but I don't need it to match the optical quality and price of the M-50 f2 APO. Just a really good, well made, genuine Leica lens with lovely rendering and bokeh. Is that asking for too much? 

If Leica decided to commence such a project, it would probably require c. 3 years design / testing / production planning. Meantime, there are lots of manual focus 50mm / 55mm 'classic' / 'legacy' lenses available which can easily be adapted to the L mount … if prepared to use manual focus. 

dunk

Edited May 11, 2019 by dkCambridgeshire

[robgo2]

2 hours ago, dkCambridgeshire said:

If Leica decided to commence such a project, it would probably require c. 3 years design / testing / production planning. Meantime, there are lots of manual focus 50mm / 55mm 'classic' / 'legacy' lenses available which can easily be adapted to the L mount … if prepared to use manual focus. 

dunk

Thanks for the incredibly helpful response.🤨

It would not surprise me in the least if Leica is already working on a TL portrait lens that may arrive sooner than you expect.

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by robgo2

[robgo2]

5 hours ago, cirke said:

a 50 or 60  TL Summilux 1.4  for me please  !  with autofocus of course !

I agree that would be very nice. The main issues for many people would be size and cost. 

[dkCambridgeshire]

2 hours ago, robgo2 said:

Thanks for the incredibly helpful response.🤨

It would not surprise me in the least if Leica is already working on a TL portrait lens that may arrive sooner than you expect.

 

If a Leica CL 50mm Summicron was anywhere near production readiness it would be on the Roadmap or hinted at, e.g., in Leica Rumours. Interviews with Leica's APS Product Development Manager Maike Harberts suggest Leica is happy with the current APS-C prime lens range and that one of the goals is compact lenses. An L mount APS-C 50/2 lens would not be compact. The following interview with Maike Harberts mentions Leica's APS-C lens design philosophy.  The 'L Mount Alliance' and Sigma's contributions are mentioned in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrG0foigETs

The sole fast APS-C L mount portrait lens announced so far is the Sigma 56/1.4 DC L due for release in 2020 … which as regards portrait bokeh on APS format is equivalent to a FF 84/2.1 lens. The lens has likely been in the pipeline for at least 2 years and with Leica's knowledge / cooperation. An 'L mount'  APS-C 50mm 'compact' lens would probably be slower than f2, e.g., f2.8.  

dunk

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by dkCambridgeshire
typo

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[lct]

Why do you need AF for portraits? Just curious.

[robgo2]

1 hour ago, lct said:

Why do you need AF for portraits? Just curious.

I don't need it in the sense that I cannot use MF lenses, which I do regularly with my SL. However, I have arthritis in the proximal joints of both thumbs, worse on the right, and the force that is required to support the camera with my right hand while adjusting the focusing ring with my left hand puts a lot of stress on that joint. That was the main impetus in my decision to purchase a CL, which is much lighter than the SL. Being able to use autofocus will further reduce the force that is applied to the joint and, hence, the pain that is involved in taking pictures. Believe me, I love the rendering of my R Summilux lenses, which I know will not be replicated by any modern lenses, and I will hate giving them up.

Leica SL + Summilux-R 50 f1.4 (E60)

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Edited May 11, 2019 by robgo2