Prime for SL2

[Masha Vesset]

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Hi there! I am a new Leica SL2 owner. So far the only lens I have is the 24-90, and would love to buy a portrait prime. For a bit of background, I came from Canon with the 85 and 50 1.2 lenses, and which I shot wide open or at 1.4 most of the time. I am currently torn: SL50 Summilux, M50 Summilux, or something else entirely? 
Grateful for advice!

[Jeff S]

I opted for the SL 75, as 28/50mm lenses are used on my M bodies, and I’m not fond of the 75mm frame lines.  A good friend of mine switched from Canon to L mount (S1R), the Canon 85 having been his favorite lens, and he also chose the SL 75.  We’re both delighted, but there are no bad performing choices, and personal needs and circumstances often differ.

Jeff

[Masha Vesset]

Thank you, Jeff! Have you shot your 50 on the SL?

[Jeff S]

No, I plan to use my M lenses only on the M bodies (M10, MM1).  They work perfectly well there.  I have the two longer SL zooms to cover longer FLs, while the  SL75 is my smaller, weather sealed option.

Jeff

[Daniel81]

I have only one SL prime (for my SL) . . . the 75.

I do love it although I do find I am cropping a lot and think perhaps the 90 would have been a better choice.

I may try to sell my 75 if I can get a good price and switch to the 90 (but only because I find I am cropping a lot).

Also, while I love the lens, love the autofocus . . .  don't hold your breath on the manual focus . . . . for such a price and the Leica reputation, the manual focus on the SL primes is a thorough disappointment.

[Donzo98]

6 minutes ago, Daniel81 said:

I have only one SL prime (for my SL) . . . the 75.

I do love it although I do find I am cropping a lot and think perhaps the 90 would have been a better choice.

I may try to sell my 75 if I can get a good price and switch to the 90 (but only because I find I am cropping a lot).

Also, while I love the lens, love the autofocus . . .  don't hold your breath on the manual focus . . . . for such a price and the Leica reputation, the manual focus on the SL primes is a thorough disappointment.

The 75 SL is a tough sell... there have been a few listed on FM recently. I sold mine... but missed it. I recently bought one back for 3800 in like new condition.

I love mine again

[Jeff S]

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23 minutes ago, Daniel81 said:

I have only one SL prime (for my SL) . . . the 75.

I do love it although I do find I am cropping a lot and think perhaps the 90 would have been a better choice.

I may try to sell my 75 if I can get a good price and switch to the 90 (but only because I find I am cropping a lot).

Also, while I love the lens, love the autofocus . . .  don't hold your breath on the manual focus . . . . for such a price and the Leica reputation, the manual focus on the SL primes is a thorough disappointment.

One secondary, but nice, aspect of the 75 vs the 90 is that the former has a much more recessed front glass element, making hood-less and filter-less use much safer.  The SL2 provides a lot of cropping flexibility. 

I agree that the stiff manual focus is a disappointment.  Mine, fortunately is good, although not as smooth as my two SL zooms.

Jeff

[alainD]

I use both the SL 75mm Summicron APO and the SL 50mm Summilux on my SL2. The way they render is so different that I see no overlap. The 75mm is unbelievable sharp, wonderful colors, and much lighter. Instant success guaranteed when you mount the lens! The 50mm is big and round, all in softness. It is very sharp, don't get me wrong, but sharp in a not-in-your-face way. And the way it renders out of focus background is just wonderful.

Alain

[Daniel81]

Ive wondered about that 50 SL Lux many times.  Its so big - there's quite a bit of second hand availability on that (I think people tire of its size and weight) - its tempting.

[Masha Vesset]

38 minutes ago, Daniel81 said:

Ive wondered about that 50 SL Lux many times.  Its so big - there's quite a bit of second hand availability on that (I think people tire of its size and weight) - its tempting.

I think I can live with the size, considering that the current one that I have is even bigger. I am also considering adopting the m summiluxe, But I am a big believer in native lenses. I saw the SL summilux for 3800, and the M version for 3200, and now I’m trying to finalize my decision. First world problems!

[Masha Vesset]

1 hour ago, alainD said:

I use both the SL 75mm Summicron APO and the SL 50mm Summilux on my SL2. The way they render is so different that I see no overlap. The 75mm is unbelievable sharp, wonderful colors, and much lighter. Instant success guaranteed when you mount the lens! The 50mm is big and round, all in softness. It is very sharp, don't get me wrong, but sharp in a not-in-your-face way. And the way it renders out of focus background is just wonderful.

Alain

Thank you, Alain! 
I think that helps me make my decision. I was looking for something that renders more gently, softer. The Summilux Sounds like the way to go.

[FlashGordonPhotography]

Compared to the Canon 50mm, both the SL50mm lux and Panasonic 50mm 1.4 are a huge improvement. The Canon 85mm 1.2 is more difficult because it is unique in the way it draws. The SL primes are sharper but draw in a much more neutral way. You’ll need to try them. I love my 90mm but it’s nothing like the Canon 85L and a stop and a bit slower.

If you still have the 85 you could try the MC21 adaptor and see how you like the 85L on the SL2.

Another option is the huge but sensational Sigma 85mm Art in L mount. Fantastic lens. Not at all like the Canon but wow, just wow.

Gordon

[Masha Vesset]

20 minutes ago, FlashGordonPhotography said:

Compared to the Canon 50mm, both the SL50mm lux and Panasonic 50mm 1.4 are a huge improvement. The Canon 85mm 1.2 is more difficult because it is unique in the way it draws. The SL primes are sharper but draw in a much more neutral way. You’ll need to try them. I love my 90mm but it’s nothing like the Canon 85L and a stop and a bit slower.

If you still have the 85 you could try the MC21 adaptor and see how you like the 85L on the SL2.

Another option is the huge but sensational Sigma 85mm Art in L mount. Fantastic lens. Not at all like the Canon but wow, just wow.

Gordon

Thank you Gordon! I guess it all comes down to trying a few of these, since it is such a subjective thing. That canon 85 was the very reason why it took me so long to consider switching from the Canon system. It is a thing of beauty in my opinion, but also cost me quite a bit of frustration at times. Thank you for the advice, it is much appreciated. I will check out the sigma as well as the 90 mm Apo.

[Jon Warwick]

2 hours ago, alainD said:

I use both the SL 75mm Summicron APO and the SL 50mm Summilux on my SL2. The way they render is so different that I see no overlap. The 75mm is unbelievable sharp, wonderful colors, and much lighter. Instant success guaranteed when you mount the lens! The 50mm is big and round, all in softness. It is very sharp, don't get me wrong, but sharp in a not-in-your-face way. And the way it renders out of focus background is just wonderful.

Alain

The SL 50 Summilux certainly sounds interesting, as an alternative to the super-sharp and “perfect” SL Summicrons. I like lenses that have very high resolving power, but also do it in a natural / graceful way (ie, making the rendering look more filmic if possible) ....which sounds a bit like the SL Summilux might do.

One question for people out there who are better than me at reading these things .... what is the implication of the MTF curve for the SL Summilux? Specifically the lines are generally all 80%+ at f5.6, BUT the tangential line at 40 lines per mm seems to nosedive. What does that tangential nosedive imply in terms of the image? 

https://uk.leica-camera.com/content/download/142717/2415354/version/27/file/160915_Datenblatt_Summilux-SL-50mm-ASPH_e.pdf

Edited March 4, 2020 by Jon Warwick

[caissa]

I find the Summilux SL 50 a great lens. But I use it not too often. It is great for portraits of young people. Phantastic for toddlers etc.  And excellent for everything else, even landscape.

I prefer the SL 90 for classical portraits (or even the 90-280 at 120 or 150 mm). This gives you the classical Leica portrait.

But I use the SL 75 more often. It is the easiest lens (rather small, not far from 50, so still universal).

So in the end you “need” all 3 (or even 4). To compensate I decided not to buy any other primes, but only the 16-35.

[T25UFO]

I have owned both the SL 50mm Summilux and SL 75mm Summicron.  Bought the 50mm first but, like many, found it too large and heavy.  Sold it when I bought the 75mm and this lens balances much better on the SL.  No question, the 75mm is a brilliant lens and the auto-focus is faster than the 50mm, although the latter was improved with a firmware update.

On reflection, I now regret selling the 50mm and @alainD post 8 sums it up perfectly.  It renders beautifully, especially at f1.4, and from what I have seen, only the X1D with 80mm improves upon this.  While the 75mm-90mm range is considered ideal for portraiture, the 50mm offers more scope and you can easily crop to achieve the same look for head and shoulders photos, particularly when using the higher resolution SL2.  I haven't done the maths, but cropping the 50mm to achieve an effective 75mm on the SL2 will most likely produce a higher resolution than using the 75mm lens on the SL1.

Of course, if finances allow then do as @caissa suggests and buy all 3 (or 4); or perhaps go with the Hasselblad and 80mm plus 135mm (effective 65mm and 105mm equivalent full frame) and add the 30mm (effective 24mm) to complete the kit 🙂

[Masha Vesset]

4 hours ago, T25UFO said:

I have owned both the SL 50mm Summilux and SL 75mm Summicron.  Bought the 50mm first but, like many, found it too large and heavy.  Sold it when I bought the 75mm and this lens balances much better on the SL.  No question, the 75mm is a brilliant lens and the auto-focus is faster than the 50mm, although the latter was improved with a firmware update.

On reflection, I now regret selling the 50mm and @alainD post 8 sums it up perfectly.  It renders beautifully, especially at f1.4, and from what I have seen, only the X1D with 80mm improves upon this.  While the 75mm-90mm range is considered ideal for portraiture, the 50mm offers more scope and you can easily crop to achieve the same look for head and shoulders photos, particularly when using the higher resolution SL2.  I haven't done the maths, but cropping the 50mm to achieve an effective 75mm on the SL2 will most likely produce a higher resolution than using the 75mm lens on the SL1.

Of course, if finances allow then do as @caissa suggests and buy all 3 (or 4); or perhaps go with the Hasselblad and 80mm plus 135mm (effective 65mm and 105mm equivalent full frame) and add the 30mm (effective 24mm) to complete the kit 🙂

Thank you for the input!  I don’t think that finances will allow more than one prime in the near future, so I am still leaning towards the 50 summilux (i will however try the 75 and a few others). I wonder if it makes sense to try the M summilux as well, since it may render differently on the SL2 vs SL?

[Jeff S]

You’ll only know by trying, and also considering whether differences like lack of AF or weather sealing offset any size/handling factors. 

Jeff

[Masha Vesset]

8 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

You’ll only know by trying, and also considering whether differences like lack of AF or weather sealing offset any size/handling factors. 

Jeff

Jeff, you are right. I am pretty excited to try! Sl2 is a beast!

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[tom0511]

The 50 SL Summilux was the first prime I had for the SL (now use SL2). Later I added SL 75, 35 and 50 Summicrons. I like all of those lenses, and the Summicrons have a nice size and weight, and are optically excellent. However lately I use the 50 Summilux SL more often again. I "feel" that it has something special going on.

Since you say you used your Canon lenses at f1.4 often, and you dont mind the size of the 50/1.4 (its big and heavy, but I also think it feels very solid and good in hand), I would recommend the 50/1.4 SL. Also you can get it used for interesting prices. One thing to keep in mind it also focuses a little slower than the Summicrons. But its ok for me. I like the lens for taking images of my kids, portraits from short distance and thing like that.