Leica S3 for portraits

[stump4545]

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They say the Leica 007 and S3 are great for portrait photography.

 I understand why a S3 is perfect for landscape, but what ascept of the S3 makes is perfect for portraits?

And what kind of portraiture photography does S3 have advantages over say the SL2?

thank you

[Jeff S]

Improved red channel and skin tones according to Leica.  Of course many other variables, including lenses, lighting, etc, etc.

Jeff

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[stump4545]

When they say improved skin tones, what does that mean exactly?

just more natural looking skin tones?

 

I guess if your frame is full of skin that is where the benefit is.

But if your model is fully clothed not showing much skin, and not wearing red clothes, the S3 benefits over the SL2 diminishes.

[Jeff S]

A lot more involved than that, as noted, not the least of which is a larger sensor and all that entails. And the person behind the camera and the printer, which is the most important variable;  otherwise we’d each produce the same results with the same gear, and that’s rarely if ever the case.

Neff

[Stuart Richardson]

The SL2 would be better for faster moving portraiture or things like runway work, since it has face detection and tracking, while the S3 only has center point AF. The main advantage the S3 might have is in regards to the lenses and the larger sensor. For the same angle of view, the S lenses have shallower depth of focus. The lenses also have a different character which is a bit smoother in tonality...not quite so contrasty and modern as the SL lenses, though both lens lines are extremely sharp in comparison to most other manufacturers. The bokeh of the 70mm is probably a bit more pleasing than that of the 50mm APO summicron, for example.

I suggest trying both cameras if you are interested in them, as they are rather different in use. I think the ergonomics and handling are the more important difference than the image quality differences. For portraiture, absolute resolution is not always that critical. The SL2 would be more versatile, since you can use it with so many lenses (including the S lenses), but the S3 has the advantage of the wider angle of view with shallower depth of focus, a more forgiving lens character and the optical VF. I find the optical viewfinder a lot nicer to use, particularly with flash. Finally, if you get the CS lenses, then the S3 will flash sync at 1/1000th of a second, which is useful for fill flash outside while keeping a shallower depth of focus.

[John Smith]

12 hours ago, Stuart Richardson said:

The SL2 would be better for faster moving portraiture or things like runway work, since it has face detection and tracking, while the S3 only has center point AF. The main advantage the S3 might have is in regards to the lenses and the larger sensor. For the same angle of view, the S lenses have shallower depth of focus. The lenses also have a different character which is a bit smoother in tonality...not quite so contrasty and modern as the SL lenses, though both lens lines are extremely sharp in comparison to most other manufacturers. The bokeh of the 70mm is probably a bit more pleasing than that of the 50mm APO summicron, for example.

I suggest trying both cameras if you are interested in them, as they are rather different in use. I think the ergonomics and handling are the more important difference than the image quality differences. For portraiture, absolute resolution is not always that critical. The SL2 would be more versatile, since you can use it with so many lenses (including the S lenses), but the S3 has the advantage of the wider angle of view with shallower depth of focus, a more forgiving lens character and the optical VF. I find the optical viewfinder a lot nicer to use, particularly with flash. Finally, if you get the CS lenses, then the S3 will flash sync at 1/1000th of a second, which is useful for fill flash outside while keeping a shallower depth of focus.

I agree with what Stuart has said here. I had the S for years, but recently traded it in to consolidate my kit into the SL2 and M. I was able to buy a 75mm Noctilux which fits somewhere between the S and SL lenses in terms of tonality, but carries the sharpness of the latest designs. While some on the forum would argue that the S is Leica's "flagship" and all, I think it's more about look and rendering than sensors these days. I don't miss the larger size and weight of the S and I don't believe that I've sacrificed any quality either. 

[LeicaR10]

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Stump4545,   I totally agree with Stuart's post.  Plus using either a S 70 or S 100 render superbly for portraits.  The S 120 is good as well, but it will get down to personal preference.  r/ Mark