Your best portrait lens in the Leica SL system

[LocalHero1953]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

6 hours ago, graphlex said:

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. 

But sadly are not AF on the SL!

[huwm]

32 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

But sadly are not AF on the SL!

but surely MF for portraits is ok?

I like an old Elmar 135mm (1962) which just produces, to my eyes only maybe, beautiful 'soft' images and is a doddle to focus on the SL2

[LocalHero1953]

Just now, huwm said:

but surely MF for portraits is ok?

I like an old Elmar 135mm (1962) which just produces, to my eyes only maybe, beautiful 'soft' images and is a doddle to focus on the SL2

Yes, of course, MF, and AF, are both OK for portraits. As I wrote in a previous post, I am considering a Summilux-M 75, but would prefer AF: it just reduces the number of things I have to think about when working with people. Now that I have looked at (on paper) all the options in L-mount, I suspect there are none with those characteristics, and I will end up with a Summilux.

[BernardC]

5 hours ago, huwm said:

but surely MF for portraits is ok?

One technique that can work with portraits is locking the focus and moving the camera (and your own head) back and forth for fine focus. For instance, if the focus is on the tip of the sitter's nose, and you want it on the eye, lean forward by a few centimeters. I find it easier than nudging the focus ring by a tiny fraction, or waiting for the AF system to realize that you disagree with its assessment... It's essentially the same idea as a macro rail, only hand-held.

[LocalHero1953]

13 minutes ago, BernardC said:

One technique that can work with portraits is locking the focus and moving the camera (and your own head) back and forth for fine focus. For instance, if the focus is on the tip of the sitter's nose, and you want it on the eye, lean forward by a few centimeters. I find it easier than nudging the focus ring by a tiny fraction, or waiting for the AF system to realize that you disagree with its assessment... It's essentially the same idea as a macro rail, only hand-held.

I rarely have this problem with AFs with the SL2-S and face/eye recognition. If it picks up something incorrect (usually a strong contrasty edge) then I find it easier to move the camera angle slightly and try again. If it actually 'sees' the eyes and face, it rarely (if ever) fails to focus accurately on them. With manual lenses I do exactly as you say.

[Almizilero]

I use two lenses for portraits, the Summicron 90/2 and the Sigma 35/1.2. Love them both for different purposes. I'm coming from Sony where I worked with a same-ish combo, Sigma 85/1.4 and 35/1.2, so I got the same lenses for the SL2s. But the 85mm range is my favourite, so I did rent the 90 and fell in love with it. I used the 90 and the 85 side by side during a couple of shoots and while the Sigma is amazing, the output of the Summicron is amazing and then some.

I can highly recommend the Sigma, it is so much bang for the buck! It's fast, it's light, it's sharp, everything you can wish for. But maybe it's missing a bit of character. But if the price isn't an issue, the Summicron is a lens for the ages. Maybe just rent them both and try if you see that tiny difference as well and if it's worth the massive extra to you.

[Pierre68]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

16 hours ago, Almizilero said:

I use two lenses for portraits, the Summicron 90/2 and the Sigma 35/1.2. Love them both for different purposes. I'm coming from Sony where I worked with a same-ish combo, Sigma 85/1.4 and 35/1.2, so I got the same lenses for the SL2s. But the 85mm range is my favourite, so I did rent the 90 and fell in love with it. I used the 90 and the 85 side by side during a couple of shoots and while the Sigma is amazing, the output of the Summicron is amazing and then some.

I can highly recommend the Sigma, it is so much bang for the buck! It's fast, it's light, it's sharp, everything you can wish for. But maybe it's missing a bit of character. But if the price isn't an issue, the Summicron is a lens for the ages. Maybe just rent them both and try if you see that tiny difference as well and if it's worth the massive extra to you.

Hi Almizilero, didn't you miss the 1 stop extra aperture of the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 then using the Summicron 90mm ?

[Sohail]

16 hours ago, Almizilero said:

I use two lenses for portraits, the Summicron 90/2 and the Sigma 35/1.2. Love them both for different purposes. I'm coming from Sony where I worked with a same-ish combo, Sigma 85/1.4 and 35/1.2, so I got the same lenses for the SL2s. But the 85mm range is my favourite, so I did rent the 90 and fell in love with it. I used the 90 and the 85 side by side during a couple of shoots and while the Sigma is amazing, the output of the Summicron is amazing and then some.

I can highly recommend the Sigma, it is so much bang for the buck! It's fast, it's light, it's sharp, everything you can wish for. But maybe it's missing a bit of character. But if the price isn't an issue, the Summicron is a lens for the ages. Maybe just rent them both and try if you see that tiny difference as well and if it's worth the massive extra to you.

The 90 Summicron-SL, right?

[Almizilero]

vor 1 Stunde schrieb Sohail:

The 90 Summicron-SL, right?

Yes.

vor 1 Stunde schrieb Pierre68:

Hi Almizilero, didn't you miss the 1 stop extra aperture of the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 then using the Summicron 90mm ?

That was one of my main concerns actually, since I do a lot of stage photography.
But the High ISO performance of the SL2s is so good it didn't really matter in the end. During daylight portrait shoots, I compared the Leica at F/2 to the Sigma at F/1.4 and F/2. Of course the Sigma will give you a better background blur wide open, but (only in direct comparison), the images look a bit flat. The 90mm has this pop to it, so in many cases I preferred the F/2 images of the Leica over the F/1.4 images of the Sigma.
But this is really only something you see in direct comparison. Maybe. Or want to see. I worked with the Sigma for quite a while on my Sony and when you just look at the Sigma images, they're great. But the 90 has some special rendering that just stands out. Even in blind tests after a shoot I could pick it out most of the time. So there might be a bit of „I spend a ton of money so I want to see a difference“, but to me, the Leica images stood out from the bunch. And, I told this story in another thread already, my girlfriend, who hates being photographed, needed some pictures and she mostly picked the Leica ones over the Sigma ones as well. That is basically the highest praise a lens can get in my book

So no, I don't miss the extra stop. But I do miss the aperture ring and AF/MF switch  

[Sohail]

10 minutes ago, Almizilero said:

Yes.

That was one of my main concerns actually, since I do a lot of stage photography.
But the High ISO performance of the SL2s is so good it didn't really matter in the end. During daylight portrait shoots, I compared the Leica at F/2 to the Sigma at F/1.4 and F/2. Of course the Sigma will give you a better background blur wide open, but (only in direct comparison), the images look a bit flat. The 90mm has this pop to it, so in many cases I preferred the F/2 images of the Leica over the F/1.4 images of the Sigma.
But this is really only something you see in direct comparison. Maybe. Or want to see. I worked with the Sigma for quite a while on my Sony and when you just look at the Sigma images, they're great. But the 90 has some special rendering that just stands out. Even in blind tests after a shoot I could pick it out most of the time. So there might be a bit of „I spend a ton of money so I want to see a difference“, but to me, the Leica images stood out from the bunch. And, I told this story in another thread already, my girlfriend, who hates being photographed, needed some pictures and she mostly picked the Leica ones over the Sigma ones as well. That is basically the highest praise a lens can get in my book

So no, I don't miss the extra stop. But I do miss the aperture ring and AF/MF switch  

You may already have done this but are you willing to share (in this thread) some of the images which illustrate the 90mm's "pop"? 

BTW, I have a 90/2-SL too.

[Almizilero]

You can have a look at this thread, where I posted some images stripped of the EXIF data. But be warned, nobody could identify the Summicron correctly and most actually preferred the Sigma
So I guess it might be a matter of personal preference and pixel peeping that does not properly translate to downsized images ...

But I'll try again. Here's a set of downsize pictures:
 

Leica F/2.0

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!

 

Sigma F/1.4

Edited October 12, 2022 by Almizilero

[Pierre68]

36 minutes ago, Almizilero said:

That was one of my main concerns actually, since I do a lot of stage photography.
But the High ISO performance of the SL2s is so good it didn't really matter in the end. During daylight portrait shoots, I compared the Leica at F/2 to the Sigma at F/1.4 and F/2. Of course the Sigma will give you a better background blur wide open, but (only in direct comparison), the images look a bit flat. The 90mm has this pop to it, so in many cases I preferred the F/2 images of the Leica over the F/1.4 images of the Sigma.
But this is really only something you see in direct comparison. Maybe. Or want to see. I worked with the Sigma for quite a while on my Sony and when you just look at the Sigma images, they're great. But the 90 has some special rendering that just stands out. Even in blind tests after a shoot I could pick it out most of the time. So there might be a bit of „I spend a ton of money so I want to see a difference“, but to me, the Leica images stood out from the bunch. And, I told this story in another thread already, my girlfriend, who hates being photographed, needed some pictures and she mostly picked the Leica ones over the Sigma ones as well. That is basically the highest praise a lens can get in my book

So no, I don't miss the extra stop. But I do miss the aperture ring and AF/MF switch  

Thanks for the elaborated reply. I am in the same boat as I do stage photography and have the SL2-S too. I am using both the sigma 85 f/1.4 and 135 f/1.8 for that purpose and for general portraits and I am quite satisfied with both lens but I have always been looking at the Leica 90mm SL maybe to replace both of these lenses in a quest to go all Leica....

May I ask if you  could  post some example of your stage work with the Leica 90mm SL?

[Almizilero]

And 100% crops with no sharpening during export:

 

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!

[Pierre68]

Thanks I had already read through this extensive comparison you did and could not figure which lens was which.... Just interested in how the 90mm would do in low light and difficult lighting such as in stage work.

 

[Almizilero]

vor 1 Minute schrieb Pierre68:

Thanks for the elaborated reply. I am in the same boat as I do stage photography and have the SL2-S too. I am using both the sigma 85 f/1.4 and 135 f/1.8 for that purpose and for general portraits and I am quite satisfied with both lens but I have always been looking at the Leica 90mm SL maybe to replace both of these lenses in a quest to go all Leica....

May I ask if you  could  post some example of your stage work with the Leica 90mm SL?

Yeah, that was my idea as well. I wanted to treat myself and have at least one Leica set.
I'm not sure if this thread is the place for that kind of pictures, but I might just start another one?

[Almizilero]

vor 19 Minuten schrieb Pierre68:

Thanks I had already read through this extensive comparison you did and could not figure which lens was which.... Just interested in how the 90mm would do in low light and difficult lighting such as in stage work.

 

 

 

[jankap]

Delete please.

Edited October 12, 2022 by jankap

[jankap]

On 10/4/2022 at 11:05 PM, Doug Trabaris said:

I own a Leica 90-280 zoom. I took this portrait at 90mm. I could have cropped it, but the subject didn’t want it.

 

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!

Please no cropping. What for? The picture is excellent, as it is.

[hofo100]

Interesting thread - I am certainly only an occasional portrait shooter, but when I do I go to both my Summicrons 50SL and 90SL. Both have their merits, with the shorter focal lengt helping to capture more of the surrounding and not isolating the model too much. 

SL2 and Summicron 90SL @f2

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!

SL2 and Summicron 50SL @f2 

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Doug Trabaris]

13 hours ago, jankap said:

Please no cropping. What for? The picture is excellent, as it is.

Thank you. That is most kind!