On the road again - Robb's Leica Adventures

[tangosix]

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Badass.  Seriously.  Congrats man. 

 

[robb]

Couple of updates and thoughts…

1.  my 24-90 was front focusing about 6-8” in autofocus mode at portrait distances that I noticed in the longer zoom range.  So I have sent to Leica NJ to get to perfect spec.  It was sharp when manual focusing, but I don’t always have time to zoom in and manually touch up to know it is exactly locked on.  I’ll stick with my apo summicrons until it returns in the likely 4 months… oh the horror. Lol

2.  I ordered a Q3 that I will likely use primarily cropped using the 35mm frame line function most of the time, in low light environments, and when I need to be as discrete as possible, along with some outdoor flash with higher sync with the leaf shutter lens.  I will likely favor the hassy x2d for some of these situations but it is a slightly larger camera.  So the Q3 will help keep packing small, sharing batteries with an sl2 with apo tele.  Hopefully coming soon.  Don’t want to wait until Xmas.

3.  I am still waiting on the Leica SL apo 21mm but have faith that it will be here soon.  I will hope to replace my canon tilt shifts with this using the architectural correction in camera.  We’ll see.

4.  I love the silver finish SL2 because of my fondness for the r8.  I had it in both finishes.  I will save up and try to add one this Xmas if there are still some avail.  They look great with the m lenses.  

5.  I really need Leica to add a function so I can select rear button continuous AF - not just single AF.  Canon and Nikon had this 30 years ago… it is badly needed on the sl3 for sure.  

6.  Leica, sigma, or Panasonic need to put out a 400mm fixed pro lens and / or longer with matched extenders at a canon L or Nikon Edif quality.  None of this external zooming.  I get it.  $10k.  Bring it.  We need those.  Make it a sigma art level lens if Leica just can’t do it. That’s fine.  But I need something longer than the 90-280 that is just as good.  150-600 doesn’t cut it for me and my expectations.  I’d rather not carry a z9 with Nikon glass for this.  I have a 400 do ii lens from canon with adapter that is very sharp.  But AF is slow with the adapters.  I would prefer an in-house solution moving forward.

7.  X2d is a great camera especially with latest firmware updates.  I have been using it in xpan mode since 6x17 is my favorite roll film cameras from years past.  Love what it can do.  Perfect companion to sl2 gear.  Still waiting on my ordered and paid for 90mm v lens.

8.  Been trying to configure different load outs of cameras and lenses for different types of assignments I run into and trying t9 keep it minimalistic where possible.  Using a backpack or messenger bag for traveling light vs a roller bag.  Unfortunately more gear is generally required for travel as a commercial photographer shooting a variety of places and people.  So only using a backpack gets heavier fast.  I’ll post some photos of these scenarios soon.  Who doesn’t like bag/gear shots?  Lol

Happy Father’s Day out there.

Robb

 

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[Luke_Miller]

9 hours ago, robb said:

5.  I really need Leica to add a function so I can select rear button continuous AF - not just single AF.  Canon and Nikon had this 30 years ago… it is badly needed on the sl3 for sure.  

Unless I misunderstand, this option exists on both my SL and SL2.  I use back button focus exclusively on my Nikons and SL bodies.  With the Nikons I stay in AF-C, but with the Leicas I switch between AF-S and AF-C.

Edited June 17, 2023 by Luke_Miller

[jplomley]

12 hours ago, robb said:

 my 24-90 was front focusing about 6-8” in autofocus mode at portrait distances that I noticed in the longer zoom range.  So I have sent to Leica NJ to get to perfect spec.  It was sharp when manual focusing, but I don’t always have time to zoom in and manually touch up to know it is exactly locked on.  I’ll stick with my apo summicrons until it returns in the likely 4 months… oh the horror. Lol

My 35 APO SL lens has exhibited a DOF bias since day one...with most of the DOF in front of the plane of focus. Several have reported this so just thought it was part of the lens design. But my 75 APO SL does not exhibit this behaviour, nor a recent 50 APO SL I tested. So this has me wondering if the 35 APO does not need a tweak???

[robb]

My issue is not the DOF being in front but the actual main sharp focus point being in front of where I put the curser 

Robb

[Ken Abrahams]

15 hours ago, robb said:

My issue is not the DOF being in front but the actual main sharp focus point being in front of where I put the curser 

Robb

That’s a real pain Rob. You said previously you were having hit and misses with the 24-90 Elmarit, I think. One begins to doubt their own expertise until fleshing out the real cause which in this case is the lens. I was walking around Melbourne with M9M  which was back focussing, none of my shots were sharp. I thought I was going crazy!  It was such a relief to get it corrected and adjusted here in Australia. Unfortunately those Leica repair technicians are no longer operating and I fear any kind of work repairs needed would now be sent to Germany. 

Best  of luck it returns sooner rather than later. 
Ken A 

[robb]

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Had a client respond that some individuals (women in Southern California) in a recent visit including corporate portraits (headshots with a gray backdrop) thought they were unflattering because of the sharpness.  I used the sl 75 apo and didn’t really add any additional sharpness in my Lightroom settings.

so I guess I will take a look at what I can do to adjust in these certain situations.  

the men were all pleased… just sayin.  I was pleased…. maybe I’ll need to add the less sharp M 75 apo and shoot at f 2 or 2.8 instead of f4

could also be the high resolution of sl2 files letting people zoom way in.  

my main reason was architectural work there.  The headshots were a secondary part of why I was there.

just putting this out there 

Robb

Edited June 24, 2023 by robb

[Jon Warwick]

fwiw, I gave up doing headshots of my wife and daughter with the SL2 and SL 50 APO, they consistently disliked the high sharpness and overall rendering. Personally I think the combo works ok for full height body shots, but it’s all too much sharpness and detail for my taste when in close for a headshot (and quite challenging to soften up in post processing too), with the sharpness being beyond what I see “naturally” when I look at someone imho. In that situation, for digital, my M240 and M 50 Summicron v5 has been the type of combo to give me a rendering that I much preferred.

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Jon Warwick

[robb]

All my headshots are waist up with the sl2 so I’m definitely not way up close but can see that issue.  Will experiment with some settings and possibly second setup/ lens for the women headshots in the future…

Robb

[Ken Abrahams]

Back in the day when the studio were shooting RB 67's and 4x5 we had a device in the darkroom for female portraits. It was a true tried and tested and nearly century old technique for avoiding complaints. It was unceremoniously called and somewhat sexist "The Horse Blanket". A sheet of material plastic or fibre stretch over 12 x 10 frame which was held under the enlarger lens while exposing prints. It softened the sharpness very well indeed. We know the lenses are sharp and wonderful but the customer is always right and some feedback needs to be assessed. It would be easy to use a filter in PS to cater for such clients and still retain the sharp original.     

[robb]

Back in the way old days of 80’s with film (I think Barbara walters on tv) , they had soft filters (she was famous for having those written into her contracts) but I never wanted anything to do with those.  

but I’ll try some brushes and settings on the computer so I can keep the original sharpness in tact.  

Robb

[Olaf_ZG]

Time to get the softar’s out again.

Personally, for female portraits I do use a nokton 75 for its soft/dreamy rendering.

[Ken Abrahams]

5 hours ago, robb said:

Back in the way old days of 80’s with film (I think Barbara walters on tv) , they had soft filters (she was famous for having those written into her contracts) but I never wanted anything to do with those.  

but I’ll try some brushes and settings on the computer so I can keep the original sharpness in tact.  

Robb

Yes, it's so fake looking and spoils the continuity of the good lighting and camera work. I think they did a bit of that in the NCIS series with some female actors. It's so noticeable and in your case Robb, for annual reports and brochures etc the change in sharpness of images will be apparent to some but not others. In some circumstances it would be good to discuss with graphic designers/creative directors to place the female images on facing pages or something like that to minimise the difference? It really depends on the final media usage of the images and whether they are enlarging to draping banners sized prints? Otherwise the clients complaining will need to toughen up and accept the media production process. 

Best

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Ken Abrahams

[Chuck Albertson]

I use a ProMist filter (think it's 1/4 strength) on the SL90 for certain subjects; the lens is unforgiving of zits, blemishes, etc. ProMist is not as over-the-top as a soft filter.

[LocalHero1953]

On 6/17/2023 at 7:49 PM, robb said:

My issue is not the DOF being in front but the actual main sharp focus point being in front of where I put the curser 

Robb

IIRC this was an issue in the early days of the SL (601) and 24-90. Without doing a forum search, I think the focus point the camera used was a bit above or below the visible crosshair. But I also thought this had been corrected with a firmware update.

[TealWayFilms]

Negative clarity in Lightroom helps tame some of the unwanted sharpness when I shoot portraits.

[frame-it]

40 minutes ago, TealWayFilms said:

Negative clarity in Lightroom helps tame some of the unwanted sharpness when I shoot portraits.

negative texture + a bit of positive clarity + increase the noise level works Very well via a LR Brush-Mask

[robb]

I appreciate all the positive tips.  If I only have a couple to do I like the approach.  If I photographed 100 women at an office, each with 4-5 dif pics, I’d hate the time involved to do a mask for each image.  There are always slight shifts from image to image so it wouldn’t be a straight apply… and would require some brushwork on each image.

I’m also wary of “plastic” looking skin… I guess I’d rather shoot most everything as-is with little to no processing in general.  But there is that little thing called “making a living”. Lol

Robb

[frame-it]

40 minutes ago, robb said:

I appreciate all the positive tips.  If I only have a couple to do I like the approach.  If I photographed 100 women at an office, each with 4-5 dif pics, I’d hate the time involved to do a mask for each image.  There are always slight shifts from image to image so it wouldn’t be a straight apply… and would require some brushwork on each image.

I’m also wary of “plastic” looking skin… I guess I’d rather shoot most everything as-is with little to no processing in general.  But there is that little thing called “making a living”. Lol

Robb

if you don't want to use the brush, you can also make an oval mask and choose color or luminance depending on the shot, then save it as a preset and sync that shot to all the other similar pics, [i use this way for long portrait sessions]

 

not a good example shot but you get the idea>

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Edited June 27, 2023 by frame-it

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[LocalHero1953]

5 hours ago, robb said:

I appreciate all the positive tips.  If I only have a couple to do I like the approach.  If I photographed 100 women at an office, each with 4-5 dif pics, I’d hate the time involved to do a mask for each image.  There are always slight shifts from image to image so it wouldn’t be a straight apply… and would require some brushwork on each image.

I’m also wary of “plastic” looking skin… I guess I’d rather shoot most everything as-is with little to no processing in general.  But there is that little thing called “making a living”. Lol

Robb

Robb, the latest AI masking in Lightroom can handle this. Mask (with the AI subject/face mask) and edit one, then sync the mask to all the others: it automatically identifies each figure and adjusts and applies the mask. It's magic! 

I agree with your other comments about minimising face editing. I have a Summilux-M 75 for portraits on the SL2-S - works well wide open, at the expense of slower focusing (I place focus magnification on the joystick; focus peaking is too unreliable). I keep the Apo-Summicron-SL 75 and 90 for students with perfect skin😁.

Edited June 27, 2023 by LocalHero1953