Summicron- sl 50mm or Summilux- M 50mm or M10-R for food related photography?

[phonebus.phonebus]

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Hello Folks,
This is my first post here and I would like to gather your opinions to help me decide which option I should proceed

My gear and my background
I own a sl2-s with both zeiss 50mm F1.5 and F2.0. I also have one voigtlander 40mm F1.4.
I take food and related photography every day. I shot the environment/ interior at the restaurants (from local small restaurants to 5 stars hotels), at the same time shooting the moment the barista brewing the coffee/ the chef preparing the food. The compact size of zeiss sonnar and planar gives me the ease of movement without disturbing others (Although need few second for focusing by myself). And I am very happy with the results. ( I also get a Sigma 35mm F2.0. People often say that it is easy to take food on the table with 35mm but i dont really like it as those out of focused plates/ bowls will be distorted )

Given an almost £500 voucher, I am thinking to upgrade my gear:

Option 1:
Summicron - sl 50mm F2.0
Pros: First AF lens for my gear (might suit my future job as well) / fully utilized with my sl2-s body/ could be used for another 10 years (at least )
Cons: heavy when compared to my zeiss lens / huge tank when I shot people/food at small restaurants/

Option 2:
Summilux - M 50mm F1.4
Pros: lighter than Cron-sl/ F1.4 aperture.
Cons: another mf lens within my gear/ dont know whether my sl2s body could fully utilized the lens (or vice versa)

Option 3:
Buy myself a m10-r as an alternative of sl2s ^^ and continue using my zeiss lens

Thanks for your opinions :)

 

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[jaapv]

A 500 GBP voucher will not buy you any of these things. I suggest you put it to the purchase of a nice Sigma AF lens of your choice. As to the blurred plates and background that is not caused by the lens or camera but by the wide aperture and shallow DOF. The cure woud be to stop  the lens down and use a flash. I suggest that you use a smartphone. The results would be far better for your purpose. Having said that, the images you posted are quite atmospheric. 

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[Simone_DF]

Why don't you get the Sigma 45mm? It seems to me the best option for your circumstances. You'll get autofocus, small and light, a distinctive look with very pleasing bokeh, wider than 50mm and narrower than 35mm. And you can find it for less than 500£.

The Summilux M sounds redundant to me, you already have the Zeiss 1.5 and 2.0

[frame-it]

autofocus for great food shots ??

stick with the SL2S and zeiss

[Photoworks]

if that is what you like to shoot I would suggest the Summicron-SL75. it is perfect for food.

 

everyone has a different interest probably. I buy most of my lenses Used, try them out. Keep them if I like them and resell them if they don't find any use.

I got my SL lenses for $3600. that is probably the difference from buying it new with your voucher.

Sigma make some good lenses too. 
The summilux-M 50 is a great lens and one of my favorite, but you already have 2 in the same range. A new 50 is not going to drastically different that to make it interesting.

 

[phonebus.phonebus]

5 hours ago, jaapv said:

A 500 GBP voucher will not buy you any of these things. I suggest you put it to the purchase of a nice Sigma AF lens of your choice. As to the blurred plates and background that is not caused by the lens or camera but by the wide aperture and shallow DOF. The cure woud be to stop  the lens down and use a flash. I suggest that you use a smartphone. The results would be far better for your purpose. Having said that, the images you posted are quite atmospheric. 

Thanks for your reply Jaapv.

Of coz I know 500 GBP could buy nothing for a great lens. (Maybe I should skip mentioning I got the 500 voucher) 

Below are the sceneries which I work on, and I  don't know whether they match the traditional meaning of 'food photography', therefore I only use the term 'food-related' photo to describe my work.

It is hard to use a smartphone to take the same pictures below.

And I agree that the images I posted are atmospheric, atmospheric food-related photos could also make one hungry.

 

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[jaapv]

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In that case I would recommend the Sigma 24-70 2.8 L DG DN. 

[phonebus.phonebus]

5 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

Why don't you get the Sigma 45mm? It seems to me the best option for your circumstances. You'll get autofocus, small and light, a distinctive look with very pleasing bokeh, wider than 50mm and narrower than 35mm. And you can find it for less than 500£.

The Summilux M sounds redundant to me, you already have the Zeiss 1.5 and 2.0

Thanks Simone.

The only thing is the aperature of sigma 45mm, it only got 2.8.

And I already sold my zeiss after I post my feed today, still able to get some profit from it.

 

[phonebus.phonebus]

4 hours ago, frame-it said:

autofocus for great food shots ??

stick with the SL2S and zeiss

Thanks Frame-it

not only food photos, but also the moment the barista brewed the coffee, the chef prepared the food

[frame-it]

1 minute ago, phonebus.phonebus said:

Thanks Frame-it

not only food photos, but also the moment the barista brewed the coffee, the chef prepared the food

still better with Manual focus in my opinion

[phonebus.phonebus]

3 hours ago, Photoworks said:

if that is what you like to shoot I would suggest the Summicron-SL75. it is perfect for food.

 

everyone has a different interest probably. I buy most of my lenses Used, try them out. Keep them if I like them and resell them if they don't find any use.

I got my SL lenses for $3600. that is probably the difference from buying it new with your voucher.

Sigma make some good lenses too. 
The summilux-M 50 is a great lens and one of my favorite, but you already have 2 in the same range. A new 50 is not going to drastically different that to make it interesting.

 

Thanks photoworks,

I always buy used lens like you :-)

I can use my voucher buying a 2nd-hand sl lens, the 2nd-hand market in my place is hot. (2500 gbp for a sl 50 summilux)

(and I already sold my zeiss after I posted this feed earlier today with little profit, therefore at this moment I dont have any 50mm)

[phonebus.phonebus]

11 minutes ago, jaapv said:

In that case I would recommend the Sigma 24-70 2.8 L DG DN. 

Thanks Jaap, I will consider it :-)

[phonebus.phonebus]

3 minutes ago, frame-it said:

still better with Manual focus in my opinion

Thanks Frame-it :-)

[BernardC]

21 minutes ago, phonebus.phonebus said:

The only thing is the aperature of sigma 45mm, it only got 2.8.

And I already sold my zeiss after I post my feed today, still able to get some profit from it.

You should still try the 45. It has a unique look at close distances, I think it will give you the separation that you want, even though it's a stop slower than your old lens.

The Summilux-M is great, but it's limited in close focus like the Zeiss 2.0/50 is. The 1.5/50 has an even longer MFD (1.0m), but it isn't very good up close anyway.

One thing you didn't mention is what you are trying to achieve with a new lens. Those Zeiss lenses are very good, after all. You won't get much better contrast or flare protection anywhere else, at any price. You might get a bit more "pop" with an Apo-Summicron, but is that what you're looking for?

[frame-it]

if the OP is really itching to buy something, id go with the macro elmarit R 60mm, will cover closeups and medium distances and great for food and portrait-style cooking shots

[LocalHero1953]

I have spent quite a bit of time photographing in college kitchens here, serving classy food to 100-200 people. The shots you show are a similar range of types to mine. I have been using the SL2-S. I'm sorry I can't post them - I'd need to get permission.

I found I needed a wide angle for general interior shots and serving action, a short telephoto for individuals doing something interesting, and something longish with large aperture and close minimum focus to shoot dishes with blurred background (I agree that wide angle introduces distortion in close up food shots). I was using the 16-35 and 24-90 zooms and the 75 or 90 SL primes. If I had to constrain myself to primes, I would pick a 28mm, 75mm and 90mm for each of those scenarios.

When the action is busy, I prefer AF, because I find it quicker to shoot and jump out of the way. I was usually given single dishes of food to take away and shoot in a controlled environment (e.g. black cloth backdrop, strobes in brollies), so MF would have been fine. Which you find quicker is very much a personal thing.

If I was still shooting M lenses, I would have relied a lot on the Apo-Summicron-M 75, because it has such a short close focus.

Please ask more questions if I can help more.

[Stuart Richardson]

I have both the 50mm Summilux M ASPH and the 50mm APO Summicron SL. I find that the 50mm APO Summicron is my most used lens, particularly for my professional work. I think it is a no-brainer if you already have a 50mm 1.5 lens. The best part of the 50mm APO Summicron is that it is a lens that as a professional you will never have to worry about from the standpoint of image quality. It is tack sharp from wide open over the entire frame (within the plane of focus), there is no chromatic aberration (unlike the Sigma 45mm or 35mm...yes, I have tried them), more importantly, no longitudinal chromatic aberration. At close focus distance it is as sharp as a macro lens. I photographed an entire art book with it for a fascimile edition for a well-known publisher, and it is as good or better than dedicated macro lenses as long as you do not need to go to 1 to 1 reproduction distances. For food on a table, it will have great color, microcontrast and freedom from aberrations. Things like reddish or greenish specular highlights from lens aberrations should be minimal to zero. I can see a case like Paul is arguing for the 75mm, but I would say the 50mm makes more sense because it is so easy to crop in slightly and still have super high quality shots. Given you already have other compact "character" lenses, I would say get APO Summicron which will give you AF and extremely high performance. Don't worry about it lacking character...it still takes lovely pictures...the bokeh is quite neutral and smooth, and while it does not have a real "look" like a noctilux or 75mm Summilux, it is never going to ruin a shot for you either.

 

[Simone_DF]

5 hours ago, phonebus.phonebus said:

Thanks Simone.

The only thing is the aperature of sigma 45mm, it only got 2.8.

And I already sold my zeiss after I post my feed today, still able to get some profit from it.

 

Is that really a problem? You have a SL2S, you can crank the iso up without issues.

FYI I got the Sigma 45mm, the SL Summicron 50, the M Summilux 50 and the Zeiss 1.5. Yes I do love 50mm 🤣

All 4 lenses are great for one reason or another. I think you should really give a chance to the 45mm, it has a special look, in particular when shooting wide open at close distance, which I believe it's one of yours use cases.

[AZN]

6 hours ago, frame-it said:

go with the macro elmarit R 60mm,

Second this.  With the macro tube you can even go down to 1:1

https://www.overgaard.dk/pdf/Macro-Elmarit-R_60_mm_Technical_Data_en.pdf

This would cover the plate/ food/ cup shots.  Don't need AF for this.

For a wider view of the environment or people working etc. – either the 28mm or 35mm APO-SL would work well.

Had a quick look on Flickr.  Most of the images taken with the Macro-60R are of flowers (yawn), but found one with a coffee cup and Omega Speedmaster:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/185610380@N06/51005667456/in/pool-1884412@N24/

 

Edited June 4, 2022 by AZN
Added flickr image link

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[hansvons]

6 hours ago, frame-it said:

if the OP is really itching to buy something, id go with the macro elmarit R 60mm, will cover closeups and medium distances and great for food and portrait-style cooking shots

That. Seriously. Brilliant lens.