Deciding to get the next last lens for my SL2 -

[cumirebus]

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Hey guys,

I've got enough space for one last lens for my SL2. Currently I have the standard 24 - 90 and last year I got myself the wide angle 16 - 35mm .

Which lens do you guys think worth spending as the last lens  to complete my SL2 kit?

 

Thanks

[Virob]

So many options. Consider some of these questions to help you decide what would be most suitable for you. What do you like taking pictures of? Portraits, macro, sports, wildlife, pets, kids, street, nights, astro, landscapes, etc?. You have 2 large zooms, do you want a prime or another zoom? Is AF important, size, weight, cost? Would you like shallower depth of field? More reach? What shots are you currently not getting with the lenses you have? Does it have to be a lens made by Leica? And so on.

good luck!
 

[cumirebus]

Thanks Virob. I love taking portraits of my kids/family.

[Simone_DF]

The SL Summicron 90 will give you a shallower depth of field compared to your zoom. 

[jplomley]

Looks like you need the 90-280 mm to complete the zoom trio!

[cumirebus]

14 minutes ago, jplomley said:

Looks like you need the 90-280 mm to complete the zoom trio!

That is a beast of a lens  : ) , but maybe you're right complete the trio!

[erudolph]

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Whether it suits your uses or not, I don't know, but the 90-280 is a sensational lens.

[beewee]

I’m not really into portraits and I don’t own the 90-280 but I have used other lenses of similar size and it’s definitely not something I’d want to carry around for spontaneous shooting. Generally speaking, the goal of such a lens is to compress the background and/or get more reach in instances where you can’t get closer. So if that’s something you feel lacking then it’ll solve that problem for you. I see it more useful as a landscape lens but I wouldn’t want to do any hiking with it as it’s just too heavy for anything more than a short hike from a car.

You already have a 24-90 so you should be able to go back to the catalog of your favourite photos and check what focal length(s) you shoot most on. From there, if you feel like you can benefit from the unique rendering of the APO SL primes, then I’d seriously consider getting one. Your SL2 will benefit from the microcontrast that the APO SL primes produce and the APO SL primes have a genuinely unique look that I very much enjoy and I can pick out even in low res jpegs posted on this forum. When shot at wide apertures, the plane of focus is incredibly sharp with a quick falloff in contrast. What I find most fascinating about the APO SL prime rendering is its ability to reduce the contrast of specular highlights in the background when shot at large apertures. This means things like points of light such as the rays shining through between leaves on a tree canopy or point reflections on a car or the water surface are strongly muted and do not become distracting, as compared to most other lenses where such highlights still have strong contrast in the background and draws the eye away from intended subject.

Edited January 26, 2022 by beewee

[trickness]

Get an M prime lens (35 or 50) & the adapter So you can enjoy the light weight and manual focusing with an EVF. It is a completely different shooting experience and an absolute joy. It will be like you own a completely different camera when you use an M lens on the SL. 

[Jeff S]

4 hours ago, cumirebus said:

I've got enough space for one last lens for my SL2. 

Space in your bag? Space in your budget? Or do you have a need based on some aspect of your photography that is missing?

I recently went the other way, and sold my lone SL prime lens (SL75), and decided that the 24-90 and 90-280 met my needs sufficiently.  I appreciate the extra space in my bag and budget. YMMV.

Jeff

[rtai]

I believe any lens kit should have a fast 50mm.

[cumirebus]

@trickness Cool thanks. Never thought of that (using M lens)!

[trickness]

20 minutes ago, cumirebus said:

@trickness Cool thanks. Never thought of that (using M lens)!

M lenses on the SL are fantastic because they are so small and light, and manual focusing with the EVF is a joy. Feels like an entirely different camera

Edited January 27, 2022 by trickness

[beewee]

Being someone that own both M and SL systems, I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase an M lens to use on an SL body. In fact, I don’t even use my M lenses on the SL2-S because I get better performance and AF with native L-mount glass. There are better lenses for the SL for much cheaper (from Sigma) and has autofocus. The M lenses, at least the wide angle options with rare exceptions (35 APO M) don’t perform as well on the SL bodies, as compared to an M body.

[tom0511]

It depends what you need/miss. I know what I would miss: 

1) a 35 or 50mm prime with f1.4 or f2.0

2) a longer lens, for example a 70-200 or 70-300 Papa? (The 90-280 is optically bigger but azure big and heavy and expensive.

3) eventually a f1. 4 or f2.0 portrait lens (75 or 90 mm)

1) would be the most important for me 

[Gavin Cato]

If I were you I'd get the 50/1.4 or the 75/2 because the DoF characteristics will be quite different to your 24-90.

 

[bpLeica]

I'm going to throw a different suggestion; you have all the good zoom lenses... the 24-90 can serve your portrait needs to a great extent... I found the Sigma 35/2.0 a very viable solution for compact, agile and decent quality that will encourage you to take your camera out more often. Unless you really have the budget and have high quality expectations to justify using an M lens, the sigma will serve you well at a very low cost... I am very happy with it

[hansvons]

9 hours ago, bpLeica said:

the 24-90 can serve your portrait needs to a great extent...

I find the 24-90 too dimensional for portraits for my taste. Leica's craving for plasticity has merits on many things, not so much on the rendering of faces. With some flatness, faces look more flattering. YMMV, of course.

[trickness]

12 hours ago, beewee said:

Being someone that own both M and SL systems, I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase an M lens to use on an SL body. In fact, I don’t even use my M lenses on the SL2-S because I get better performance and AF with native L-mount glass. There are better lenses for the SL for much cheaper (from Sigma) and has autofocus. The M lenses, at least the wide angle options with rare exceptions (35 APO M) don’t perform as well on the SL bodies, as compared to an M body.

And yet, Leica makes quite a point of the versatility of the SL in all their marketing, especially with M glass, and MANY SL users love to use M lenses for their form factor, different rendering, and the shooting experience.

In regards to not performing as well on an SL body, that is a highly overblown criticism. I own a 21 SEM and a 75 Noctilux and if one can’t take a good photo with either of these lenses, it’s likely due to the competence (or lack thereof) of the snapper

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[threeseed]

50 APO SL

28mm Summicron M (zone focus and your SL2 is a point and shoot)