Your best portrait lens in the Leica SL system

[BernardC]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

6 minutes ago, Virob said:

Part of the trend to a shorter focal length for portraits may also be more portrait photographers working solo with a camera in one hand and a reflector in the other. You need to get close to your subject with that reflector.

A photographer I used to know had a theory that fashion focal lengths follow the price of New York studio space. They were longer when you could still get cheap industrial spaces, but fashion shooters were forced to user shorter lenses after those places were bought-out and renovated.

Another photographer friend used to shoot portraits from a hallway outside his studio, through the open door!

[FrankX]

Am 4.10.2022 um 12:42 schrieb LocalHero1953:

Not much comment here about other short tele L-mount primes:

• Sigma 65 f/2, 85 f/1.4 DG DN, 85 f/1.4 DG HSM, 90 f/2.8, 105 f/1.4
• Panasonic 85 f/1.8

Any experience out there?

 

 

The Sigma 85/1.4 DG DN is one of the best lenses I ever owned with respect to image quality.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[LocalHero1953]

3 hours ago, FrankX said:

The Sigma 85/1.4 DG DN is one of the best lenses I ever owned with respect to image quality.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Thanks! What do you mean by best? Edge to edge sharpness and absence of distortion? Characterful? Bokeh quality? Forgiving as a portrait lens? 

[profus]

On 10/4/2022 at 12:42 PM, LocalHero1953 said:

Not much comment here about other short tele L-mount primes:

• Sigma 65 f/2, 85 f/1.4 DG DN, 85 f/1.4 DG HSM, 90 f/2.8, 105 f/1.4
• Panasonic 85 f/1.8

Any experience out there?

 

 

Sigma 105/1.4 is a wonderful lens, but is heavy as hell...
Sharp even wide open with nice transition to oof area with beautiful smooth bokeh

I am also very, very pleased with my 90mm M Summarit - think it is not appreciated enough. Will never sell it.

Zeiss Milvus 85/1.4 (Nikon - mount ) - another winner, but also a bit (too) heavy. And of course manual focusing

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by profus

[LocalHero1953]

2 hours ago, profus said:

Sigma 105/1.4 is a wonderful lens, but is heavy as hell...
Sharp even wide open with nice transition to oof area with beautiful smooth bokeh

TBH, for a portrait lens I'm not too worried by weight - I'm not carrying it far.

But I already have the Summicron-SL90 (and 75) for bleeding edge sharpness and perfection in IQ. What I would really like is an autofocus lens that is forgiving of less than perfect complexions. For me, the 'best' portrait lens depends on who I'm photographing.

The 'perfect' Summicron-SL 90 shows you every last pore in detail under strobes, but slightly moist or greasy edges to the pores catch the light too much - in extreme close-up they can actually be seen as tiny blown highlights. Thus the slightly harsh look with anything but perfectly smooth skin (natural or with make-up). The classic older portrait lenses (Thambar, Hektor 7.3cm, and, I assume, the Summilux-M 75, which I have not tried) can focus sharp but introduce localised flare or dispersion that takes the edge off these tiny highlights on the edge of pores or wrinkles - thus they can look slightly softer/flatter/more forgiving, at the expense of a bit less microcontrast, while still showing sharp edges.

I am tempted by the Summilux-M 75 (or similar Summilux-R 85, or CV Heliar 75), but curious to know if there is an AF lens that performs in the same way.

Edited October 7, 2022 by LocalHero1953

[Simone_DF]

5 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

The 'perfect' Summicron-SL 90 shows you every last pore in detail under strobes, but slightly moist or greasy edges to the pores catch the light too much - in extreme close-up they can actually be seen as tiny blown highlights. Thus the slightly harsh look with anything but perfectly smooth skin (natural or with make-up).

Rather than spending additional money on another lens, you could consider using a diffusion filter on the Summicron 90 to tame a bit the harshness in potraits. Tiffen and Moment seem to be the most popular brands, but there are others available. Tiffen has a large selection:

https://tiffen.com/collections/diffusion

As a bonus, you'll keep the autofocus. 

[Abenteueranalog]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I'm a big fan of the Sigma 50/1.4 Art lens - the lens is sharp, works well on my SL2 and for 600€ around (used) it's a no-brainer.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[FrankX]

vor 18 Stunden schrieb LocalHero1953:

Thanks! What do you mean by best? Edge to edge sharpness and absence of distortion? Characterful? Bokeh quality? Forgiving as a portrait lens? 

Valid questions... I'll try to answer them:

 What do you mean by best? The lens is already very sharp at f/1.4 and extremely sharp at f/2.0. So far, I never recognized any chromatic aberrations in real life (at f/1.4) and in test scenarios at f/2.0. The lens is relatively small and light for a 85/1.4 of this quality. And I don't see any distortions in portrait or wedding photos so far, but of course it is corrected by software as you probably know. Edge to edge sharpness is nothing I am really interested in for portraits. However, according to many review it is very sharp edge to edge at f/2.0.

Characterful? This lens often shows some '3D pop' effect, but my impression (from photos I have seen) is that the Summicron-SL 90 might be slightly better regarding this 'pop'. Other than that you might describe the character as bit clinical (definitely a more modern rendering).

Bokeh quality? In most situations this lens rewards with a very nice, smooth bokeh rendering. Nothing to complain about here. 

Forgiving as a portrait lens? Definitely not! This is also what bothers me a little bit with this lens. Currently, I am thinking about trying a weak mist filter to make it more forgiving.

Hope that helps a little bit! That said I like the rendering of the Sigma 85/1.4 DG DN, but I really LOVE the rendering of my Summilux 50 BC. The latter is in my opinion very forgiving as a portrait lens and the rendering of the whole picture is simply beautiful. Nevertheless, sometimes you simply need something longer...

[Olaf_ZG]

35 minutes ago, Simone_DF said:

Rather than spending additional money on another lens, you could consider using a diffusion filter on the Summicron 90 to tame a bit the harshness in potraits. Tiffen and Moment seem to be the most popular brands, but there are others available. Tiffen has a large selection:

https://tiffen.com/collections/diffusion

As a bonus, you'll keep the autofocus. 

Remind me of the softars many many years ago…

[Jean-Michel]

If photographing in a studio, or indoor environment, the space you have may well dictate what focal length is available to you. With a 90 mm, and a subject placed one or two meters (3 to 6 feet) from a background, you need at least 4 to 5 meters (about 16 feet) of shooting space for a head and shoulders portrait. That space works ok for a full body portrait if you use a 50 mm lens.  Too often, the “ideal” lens just doesn’t work in a particular situation. 

Edited October 7, 2022 by Jean-Michel
Typo

[LocalHero1953]

1 hour ago, FrankX said:

Valid questions... I'll try to answer them:

 What do you mean by best? The lens is already very sharp at f/1.4 and extremely sharp at f/2.0. So far, I never recognized any chromatic aberrations in real life (at f/1.4) and in test scenarios at f/2.0. The lens is relatively small and light for a 85/1.4 of this quality. And I don't see any distortions in portrait or wedding photos so far, but of course it is corrected by software as you probably know. Edge to edge sharpness is nothing I am really interested in for portraits. However, according to many review it is very sharp edge to edge at f/2.0.

Characterful? This lens often shows some '3D pop' effect, but my impression (from photos I have seen) is that the Summicron-SL 90 might be slightly better regarding this 'pop'. Other than that you might describe the character as bit clinical (definitely a more modern rendering).

Bokeh quality? In most situations this lens rewards with a very nice, smooth bokeh rendering. Nothing to complain about here. 

Forgiving as a portrait lens? Definitely not! This is also what bothers me a little bit with this lens. Currently, I am thinking about trying a weak mist filter to make it more forgiving.

Hope that helps a little bit! That said I like the rendering of the Sigma 85/1.4 DG DN, but I really LOVE the rendering of my Summilux 50 BC. The latter is in my opinion very forgiving as a portrait lens and the rendering of the whole picture is simply beautiful. Nevertheless, sometimes you simply need something longer...

Thanks! It's doesn't sound like it's what I'm looking for, but useful information nonetheless.

[LocalHero1953]

On 10/6/2022 at 1:52 PM, Virob said:

Part of the trend to a shorter focal length for portraits may also be more portrait photographers working solo with a camera in one hand and a reflector in the other. You need to get close to your subject with that reflector.

I get the subject to hold the reflector!

[Jon Warwick]

3 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

Rather than spending additional money on another lens, you could consider using a diffusion filter on the Summicron 90 to tame a bit the harshness in potraits. Tiffen and Moment seem to be the most popular brands, but there are others available. Tiffen has a large selection:

https://tiffen.com/collections/diffusion

As a bonus, you'll keep the autofocus. 

It can certainly help to some degree, I have a Black Pro Mist and also the Glimmerglass, albeit just in fairly low “strengths”, both from Tiffen. But I still think the underlying very sharp look of some lenses remains the main feature, even with these filters. So I think other ways to tame the harshness are important, ie, maybe reduce contrast, maybe clarity too, maybe use some added grain?

I also wonder if lower megapixel cameras (24mp) give a different and more gentle aesthetic for portraits compared to higher resolution ones (say 47mp)?? For example, does the 47mp add more acutance that one doesn’t really want for portraits? I wonder that, simply because the most pleasing portraits I’ve achieved off digital have been with the M240 (and M Summicron v5), much more so than the SL2 (not just because I was using the very sharp SL 50 APO, but even with the M 75mm Summarit), the SL2 being much harsher and less cinematic to my eyes and hence requiring more effort to tame the sharpness.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Jon Warwick

[Olaf_ZG]

Personally, I, and my models, enjoy the images from the mm or sl over my gfx50r. Not sure if this is due to the lower mp, or the fact I use classic lenses  on leica. The latest lenses, in comparison with high mp have too much details which for most portraits is not desirable.

That said, any phone plus social media filter looks ofcourse much more perfect than any other camera could do…

[John Robinson]

Back in the 1970s and 80s when asked to do a mid-shot portrait on 35mm, the first choice was almost always 85mm (sometimes 105mm).  On 6x6, 150mm (sometimes 135mm).  The point was partially about separation between the person and background but also about finding a comfortable distance between photographer and subject.  A mid-shot at 50mm or shorter required a much closer stance with some of the distortions mentioned above but also potentially caused discomfort.  Fast-forward to the 2020s and the relationship to camera is quite different, especially from the impact of camera-phones that often have an angle of view similar to 28mm on 35mm film or digital so maybe people don't mind so much if you put a camera close to their face (and live with the distortions).

On a Leica SL, if you don't need autofocus, there is a considerable array of manual-focus lenses to choose from.  I can vouch for the Summarit-M 75 and APO-Summicron-M 90 ASPH that give superb results on the SL and have an additional benefit of a relatively short focus throw (90degree or less from infinity to MFD) that makes focus using peaking almost as fast as AF.  Some would say the APO-Summicron is a bit too sharp, in which case R lenses like the Elmarit 2.8/90 (which I can vouch for) or older Summicron 90 (R or M--that I haven't tried on the SL) might be a good choice.  Carl Zeiss lenses in C/Y mount are also superb choices e.g. the German-made Sonnar 2,8/85 or Planar 1,4/85.  I have used both on an SL with excellent results.

As I said, if you can work with manual focus, the range of choice (using adapters) is excellent.

[Cowz]

I use both the Sigma 85mm f1.4 DG DN Art and the Sigma 105mm f1.4 DG HSM Art lenses for portraits and I love them both..  Both render amazing images on my SL2 and have never really failed me (if I do my job properly).  I do tend to use the 105 for open, outdoors areas where tight shooting spaces are not an issue.  the 85 I tend to use more indoors.  When it is super tight, I can grab a manual 50 or grab a Sigma 35mm DG HSM Art (but I am not a fan of 35 or 50 for portraits). The first image is the 85mm and the second a 105mm, although its hard to tell without EXIF Data. 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[trickness]

This is with the 50 1.4 M Lux ASPH. Added some grain in post. I tend to avoid using it too often because getting a great result is like shooting fish in a barrel, as I get older I guess I want to be challenged a bit more 👨‍🦳 - 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[profus]

On 10/9/2022 at 5:28 PM, trickness said:

This is with the 50 1.4 M Lux ASPH. Added some grain in post. I tend to avoid using it too often because getting a great result is like shooting fish in a barrel, as I get older I guess I want to be challenged a bit more 👨‍🦳 - 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Me like! 👌

[SonbomaBear]

I use two very different lenses for portraits. Different goals: surgical resolution -vs- warmth.

the Sigma 85/1.4 is a money maker - folks today want sharpness perfection. 

the “thin” Leica Tele-Elmarit, one of Herr Doctor Mandler’s best, is totally romantic in its renderings. 1973 I think…

I often shoot with the 85/1.4 mounted and the 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit in a jack pocket to capture a rare facial expression. 

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[graphlex]

On 10/7/2022 at 4:08 AM, LocalHero1953 said:

but curious to know if there is an AF lens that performs in the same way

The one that comes to mind is Inconveniently in F-mount: the Nikon 105 f/2 AF DC is superb for the all the qualities you mention.

The old 90mm LTM Elmar comes somewhat close but with a vintage look.