On the road again - Robb's Leica Adventures

[LocalHero1953]

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4 hours ago, frame-it said:

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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You might want to try the Lightroom AI subject/face mask in my post above.

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[frame-it]

1 hour ago, LocalHero1953 said:

You might want to try the Lightroom AI subject/face mask in my post above.

i dont plan to upgrade at all.

[jaapv]

2 hours ago, frame-it said:

i dont plan to upgrade at all.

It would be a massive improvement. The newest versions of PS and LR are vastly better than those of even a few years ago. More efficient and time-saving too. 

[helged]

On 6/24/2023 at 11:16 PM, robb said:

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

Add the relatively small & low-weight S-70 f2.5 with updated af-motor to your arsenal (and with S-to-SL adapter), and the ladies will smile...

[Chaemono]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb helged:

Add the relatively small & low-weight S-70 f2.5 with updated af-motor to your arsenal (and with S-to-SL adapter), and the ladies will smile...

You beat me to it. I was going to suggest this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Leica-Summarit-S-120mm-f-2-5-CS-Aspherical-Apo-Macro-Lens-for-the-S2-System-/374740862427?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10#viTabs_0

David Farkas shows some portraits with it: http://www.reddotforum.com/content/2012/03/testing-the-cs-lenses-on-the-leica-s2-740/

[robb]

On the road the next two weeks in Alberta, Canada photographing industrial and finished projects along with worker portraits.  Will try to enjoy some Rocky Mountain time as well.  Arrived in Calgary this afternoon and am headed to Banff and Jasper then Edmonton and Fort McMurray.

Traveling lighter for this work.  Here is what I brought:

 

two SL2 bodies with RRS L-plates

24 tilt shift with sigma mc-31 adapter

SL 50 apo

SL 90-280 apo

10 batteries for SL2, two chargers 

profoto B10 with two triggers and 4 extra batteries with one charger

gitzo 4 section CF tripod with ball head / arca quick release

multiple heliopan circular polarizers

12 cf Sandisk cards each 64gb

hassy x2d with 5 batteries and RRS bottom plate, multi charger, 

38 2.5

55 2.5

dji mini 3 pro with seven 249g batteries and two multi chargers with RC w display

MacBook Pro 16

Color checker.  

 

will be using 50 apo a ton along with x2d in xpan mode and full frame with portraits outside.

 

light stands and background paper also shipped ahead of my arrival so less to bring through customs and haul…

looking forward to posting some new images.

Robb
 

 

 

 

[robb]

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In Alberta in the National Parks before my commercial work gets started Monday.  Seemed like the air quality was impaired a bit from BC fires.  But I was pleased with my downtime and using the 50 apo in the field.  Great lens.

Peyto Lake in Alberta, Canada - Leica SL2 with APO Summicron SL 50mm Asph, iso 100, 1/80th at f 5.6 - 3 vertical image multi-shot stitch with heliopan circular polarizer.  This image original is 29,000 x 16,360 pixels..... amazing what you can do with the apo's and SL2.

Robb

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[robb]

Close eye in focus.  Smooth background fall off.

Engineer in Training in Calgary, Canada - Leica SL2 with APO Summicron SL 50mm Asph, iso 400, 1/200th at f 2.0

Robb

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[robb]

Here is what my gut tells me about my apo summicrons now that I have used the 50 a bit more:

all of them are matched with color and clarity.  If I had to split really small hairs, I would say the 35 carries a hair more saturation and the 50 and 75 seem to have the most similar “look” between the group. The 90 seems perfect in every category and might be the baseline for all of them.  But all four work well as a set.  All are ridiculously sharp, like landscape detail sharp at edges even wide open…  All have smooth background transition and tend to act more like 1.4 versions because of Leica tweaking the designs. The colors are very clear or pure and it’s easy to make any minor changes to dial in exactly your preference.  I never had this feel in my previous canon’s or Nikon’s.  Some of their latest mirrorless lenses may be better than the else versions, but at a much bigger size and weight cost.  Their prices are also getting closer to Leica prices.  So that can make the Leica choices better across the board if you look at the differences.

I think the 75 will always be my preferred portrait solution and If you have the room to work with it, it’s also the winner for almost any image, inside or out.  Definitely my favorite lens.  I love this with the 35 for a travel combo as a good spread.  I left both of those at home this trip.  I needed to travel as light as possible with a small backpack only on a small aircraft flying to some more remote locations.  I chose to spend more time with the 50 with one very wide and the long zoom on this trip.

I think the 50 summicron is a perfect fit for images in office or indoor environments where I have less room but still want to have a less wide look.  For stuff outside, it’s easy to be happy with it as a one-lens-only solution.  I was amazed with it stitching in multishot also.  Right in the sweet spot.  It is just as pretty as the 75.  

I do feel kind of  right on top of my portrait sittings with the 50mm so I doubt I will be using it for this use.  I’ll reserve it for more documentary or environmental images.  This trip I used the 90-280 set at 90mm for my strobed indoor portraits and it also knocked it out of the park - but was way heavier than the usual summicrons.  I will say this.  I like the SL 50 apo better than my 3 previous copies of the m 50 1.4.  Those were very nice but I think for what I am after wide open, hard to beat the optics of the apo SL.  

35 is definitely incredible.  I tend to prefer longer lenses but the 35 lets you do more in smaller spaces inside with more of a normal feel.  It doesn’t feel like anything is stretching.  The perfect travel prime for landscape, Street, portrait, and just showing life around you.  The background knocks right out at f2.  No problem.  

the 90 has beautiful compression.  If you have room or want more reach, it’s great and amazing how much better it is than the m apo 90…

I hope Leica will hurry up with the 21 apo.  I am ready to add it for duty matching these others.  A 21/35/75 set.

I didn’t buy the 28 summicron yet but would likely add it to have the full set after the 21 arrives.  Perfect for a 28/50/90 set.

so some kind of apo summicron mix with the 90-280 is a perfect do all set in my book.  I guess it depends what you like to shoot.  Can’t lose with any of the apo’s

Robb

[Olaf_ZG]

Robb, thank you for this, I appreciate your thoughts on the Leica system. I am rather new and used the Q, SL and M. To me, a monochrom M is the perfect b/w system with a 24, 50 and 90mm.

For color I am in doubt: love the Q, except for its 28mm. Would love to have a wlf, so either a 907x or x2d would fit here, but then I loose the SL apo’s. A pity, but do they make sense on the 2s with only 24mp?
I bought the SL cause once a year I need a telezoom, thought it was great to be able to use m-lenses, but it is rare…

Reading your journey the SL is worth it… for you. And I love your story. Just not sure how to proceed with mine… a 500cm plus back would be rather nice…

[robb]

just fun thoughts as I am grabbing lunch in Edmonton.  If I were starting fresh with the Leica SL2 or Sl2-s… 

I would probably buy the 50 apo as a first lens.  Even though most would opt for the 35 apo first.  The 50 can pretty much do anything extremely well.  I am very impressed with its sharpness and look.    I think I will likely reach for the 50 more than the 35 in the future.

but of course I’d keep adding all of the apo lenses in short order.  

their smaller size seems just the perfect fit.

Robb

 

 

[robb]

23 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said:

Robb, thank you for this, I appreciate your thoughts on the Leica system. I am rather new and used the Q, SL and M. To me, a monochrom M is the perfect b/w system with a 24, 50 and 90mm.

For color I am in doubt: love the Q, except for its 28mm. Would love to have a wlf, so either a 907x or x2d would fit here, but then I loose the SL apo’s. A pity, but do they make sense on the 2s with only 24mp?
I bought the SL cause once a year I need a telezoom, thought it was great to be able to use m-lenses, but it is rare…

Reading your journey the SL is worth it… for you. And I love your story. Just not sure how to proceed with mine… a 500cm plus back would be rather nice…

I think the Leica apo glass punches WAY above its camera’s weight class… so you’ll be able to do more with those 24mp images than other camera combos.  And when you ever need to switch to multishot, for an occasional bigger file, the apo’s won’t limit you there.  You also future-proof your gear to be higher resolution compatible with new things way down the road.

Robb

[goodbokeh]

Robb, I'm considering the Voigtlander 50/1.0 for my new SL2 but I'm concerned there is still no Adobe raw lens profile. What are your thoughts on how to successfully work with this exotic M lens that has no optical correction support?

Thanks for any advice, Doug

[Chaemono]

vor 13 Stunden schrieb robb:

just fun thoughts as I am grabbing lunch in Edmonton.  If I were starting fresh with the Leica SL2 or Sl2-s… 

[…]

Robb

 

 

Just one thought on the SL2 vs. SL2-S, the SL2-S’s embedded profile shows a bit punchier colors with excellent WB (easy to adjust when using AWB). I don’t think it’s the BSI sensor but Leica made some improvements. Reds are off by a lot, though, and very accurate only with the Adobe profiles. Greens are off a bit in the Leica profile, too, but easy to fix if one deems it necessary. Yellow and orange are not completely accurate but don’t need fixing because they look nice and strong. Overall, the SL2-S should appeal more to non-pros because of punchy colors with excellent AWB that can be adjusted fast to be correct while maintaining the colors one desires. That’s the reason I sold the SL2 when I got the SL2-S. I don’t print large and don’t crop much.

[robb]

13 hours ago, goodbokeh said:

Robb, I'm considering the Voigtlander 50/1.0 for my new SL2 but I'm concerned there is still no Adobe raw lens profile. What are your thoughts on how to successfully work with this exotic M lens that has no optical correction support?

Thanks for any advice, Doug

Doug,

I love the 50 1.0 voigt.  Super sharp.  Nice looking background especially at portrait distances waist up horizontally.  I like the look of the lens, vignettjng and all.  It’s a “certain character” lens that I didn’t really correct with any profiles.  Blasphemy probably.

I think I used the old Leica m 50 1.0 profile once or twice but really did not use it much.

I also liked the voigt wide open for further away distances isolating focus.  I primarily always shot it wide open.  

I liked the summicron apo look and perfection so much (along with both eyes regularly in focus) that I sold the voigt and added the 50 apo SL instead.  I didn’t think the voigt would get much use after the apo arrived.  

but I still love the voigt.  Just the apo more so.

Robb

 

[goodbokeh]

2 hours ago, robb said:

Doug,

I love the 50 1.0 voigt.  Super sharp.  Nice looking background especially at portrait distances waist up horizontally.  I like the look of the lens, vignettjng and all.  It’s a “certain character” lens that I didn’t really correct with any profiles.  Blasphemy probably.

I think I used the old Leica m 50 1.0 profile once or twice but really did not use it much.

I also liked the voigt wide open for further away distances isolating focus.  I primarily always shot it wide open.  

I liked the summicron apo look and perfection so much (along with both eyes regularly in focus) that I sold the voigt and added the 50 apo SL instead.  I didn’t think the voigt would get much use after the apo arrived.  

but I still love the voigt.  Just the apo more so.

Robb

 

Thanks much Robb. I'm still thinking over the Voigt 50/1.0 for that unique f/1.0 look. But I know for certain an APO prime is in my future. I would like the APO that would best compliment my Q2 when I go out with the SL2 also. I've been partial to the 75 (or maybe the 90) but the 50 might be worth considering also...I've got time to ponder, my bank account has to replenish 😉

[robb]

Confined Space Welder, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada - Leica SL2 with APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm f/2.8-4, iso 100 at 125mm, 1/200th at f 4.0

Robb

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[robb]

Machine Welding Operator in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - Leica SL2 with APO Summicron SL 50mm Asph, iso 640, 1/60th at f 2.0

Robb

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[robb]

Plasma Torch Cutter in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - Leica SL2 with APO Summicron SL 50mm Asph, iso 100, 1/640th at f 2.0

Robb

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[robb]

Just thought I would mention that I haven’t reached for the hasselblad x2d in 10 days even though it is also with me.

SL2 is just a force with the apo 50… and other glass.  Shooting with it and the viewfinder in monochrom mode is the ultimate enjoyment.

Robb