The best allround while also being a portrait lens?

[Olaf_ZG]

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I tried the 35apo, but somehow, 35 is not my thing. Like @trickness said, somewhere else, it’s not too wide, not too close, and therefore a perfect do it all lens. Not for me. I want tighter.

50mm is my (comfort)zone, especially with people. Enough close to have a connection, enough far away regarding distortion. Even indoors, I mostly could get away with a 50.

For landscape, 24mm is my preferred f/l, but landscape is not my allround situation. I go out for landscapes.

so, which lens would be a great allrounder, with which I can also do great portraits? There is the 50apo, 50lux and 75apo. @Sohail loves the lux, @robb likes the apo’s.

on my m I have a lux, sonnar and planar. The latter for every day carry, the sonnar for nudity and the lux for everything else. I also use the 75 nokton for portraits.

I don’t mind walking around with the 24-90 or cz135apo, so weight isn’t a problem. Size a bit, as I might need to buy a new back.

Last but not least, purpose of this lens is too walk around, and ask strangers for a portrait, no flash, except maybe a fill on the cam, and no studio bg.

The 24-90 is wonderful, and will do for the occasional portraits, but I still want sth with less dof.

[Almizilero]

It kinda reads like you already made the decission, the 50 APO seems to be a great fit. I found the Pansonic S-Pro 50/1.4 to be very much on par with the APO at F/2, with the added benefit of 1.4 if needed. (That is, if you get a good copy, I found it has quite a range of quality from copy to copy for a lens of it's price!)
Since Samyang joined the L-Mount, their 35-150/2-2.8 might be worth a look, once it's released. I used the Tamron version of this lens back in my Sony days, and if I'd have to go with one lens for the rest of my life, that would be my choice. If the Samyang copy is anywhere near that quality, it'll be an amazing addition to the L-Mount!

[Olaf_ZG]

29 minutes ago, Almizilero said:

It kinda reads like you already made the decission, the 50 APO seems to be a great fit. I found the Pansonic S-Pro 50/1.4 to be very much on par with the APO at F/2, with the added benefit of 1.4 if needed. (That is, if you get a good copy, I found it has quite a range of quality from copy to copy for a lens of it's price!)
Since Samyang joined the L-Mount, their 35-150/2-2.8 might be worth a look, once it's released. I used the Tamron version of this lens back in my Sony days, and if I'd have to go with one lens for the rest of my life, that would be my choice. If the Samyang copy is anywhere near that quality, it'll be an amazing addition to the L-Mount!

Honestly I didn’t. The lux is tempting, but a 75 is great for portraits, and either apo will be wonderful.

[robb]

If you are keeping the 35 apo, then I would add the 75 apo as a bookend set.

If you are selling the 35 then I would pick up the 50 apo or 50 lux because they can do everything and are in the middle.

I love the 75 because it feels like the right amount of compression and is flattering to portraits.  It is rediculouslg sharp.  I recently blew up a chest high shot on the sl2 to heads printed to 8’ high.  You could still count individual eyelashes shot at f4.  I never feel like I am too far away from people with the 75 for portraits either.  So it is my favorite lens made.

I have used the 50 apo for interior and outside environmental portraits.  It is a light weight lens to me and the background is easily blurred heavily when shot wide open.  The images feel like they were shot at 1.4 or a stop faster than the older designed lenses because of how Karsh designed the focus plane with fall off.

i feel like the 50 lux is a slower focussing lens compared to the apo if that matters to you.  I don’t see enough of the old school look in the lux vs the apo to put up with the extra weight.  But I know there are fans of it.  The apo wins in all categories to me.  Sharpness is in another level.  I did a three vertical multishot stitched together to give me a landscape that had unbelievable detail.  

so to me, the apo is the winner because of sharpness, lighter weight than the lux , and beautiful look for all types of photos.  The colors on the apo are also very clean and have amazing clarity.

enjoy your search.

Robb

 

[dpitt]

Why not use the 50 lux M lens on your SL? Sounds like ideal for portraits if you do not mind MF. And it is not too tight for other uses too. It is also very easy to carry compared to the SL lenses.

I love my Summicron 90 R on the SL. Slightly larger and much tighter than the Summilux 50 M, but I like that for portraits. No need for F1.4 at this FL because it would be too impractical narrow DOF anyway.

[Almizilero]

Like @robb said, if you keep the 35, add a 75. Or a 90 APO. Love mine in combo with the 35/1.2. If only one lens, I think the 50 will be more versatile, unless you do 90% portrait. In which case the 75 sound great.

[Olaf_ZG]

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Just to be clear, I don’t have the 35mm anymore.

[robb]

I’ll also add that I really love the 75 focal length for shooting travel and street believe it or not.  It’s that fantastic compression…

The 75 and 35 combo is kind of heaven for travel images.  

Robb

[robb]

Just now, Olaf_ZG said:

Just to be clear, I don’t have the 35mm anymore.

50 apo all day then for me.

Robb

[Sohail]

I love the 50 SL Summilux but I think the 75 APO is ideal. The 50 is a little too wide for my tastes. For head and shoulders shots, it just about meets the threshold.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Sohail

[Stuart Richardson]

You say 50mm is your comfort zone, and you no longer have the 35mm...if you liked the look of the 35mm apo but it was just too wide, then get the 50mm APO. Essentially the same look with a longer lens, and a shallower DOF. The handling is identical, as they are the same barrel. You already have a Lux M and 75mm Nokton that you could also use for a different look if you have or obtain a L to M adapter. Seems to me like the most obvious choice is the 50mm APO, especially if you want it also as a general purpose lens and as a walk around lens. The 50mm 1.4 summilux is quite the anchor to drag around with you.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Stuart Richardson

[Olaf_ZG]

The 50apo would be the most logical, I quess, but then, the rendering of the lux is said to be more special.

second hand, price is the same, so the question is, are the lenses from f2 onwards similar?

which one renders more equal to the 24-90?

[Dr. G]

If you're asking about one all around lens I'm not sure you will go wrong wit a 50, since you seem to prefer that.  The 50 Lux is an amazing portrait lens and when stopped down to f/2 is close to the performance of the APO.  I have both the 50 Lux and 50 APO and use them for different purposes.  For me the advantages of the APO over the LUX are size, weight, minimum focusing distance (better on the APO), microcontrast and focus speed.  The Lux wins hands down for the falloff wide open and the out of focus rendering. The one area where, to me, the 50 APO SL wins is high contrast black and white conversions.  The microcontrast that the APO produces creates very dramatic looking black and white images.  In fact, on the SL2-S the APO creates images that look like they were taken with a much higher resolution camera.  I would choose the APO for product photography, architecture and landscape.  The LUX for portraits, and pretty much anything where I was shooting people or subjects that needed a little softer look in the falloff and background.  Subject separation with the LUX and APO can be similar depending on the distance from what you're shooting, it's just the way the separation is rendered that is different.  Look at images taken with each lens and you should be able to see what I'm talking about.  However, if we're back to talking about only one lens for everything, the 50 APO should cover all your bases.

FWIW, I also have the 35 and 75 APO.  I did a trip last year that was a large culinary event in Grand Cayman and had to take lots of group shots, some portraits, commercial type food photos and really wish I would have had my 50, instead of the 35 and 75.  I'm also most comfortable at the 50mm focal length, though.  This year I'm taking my Q3, 50 Lux and 50 APO and know I will be much better off.  

Edited December 27, 2023 by Dr. G

[PeterBoyadjian]

75 APO SL is one of the greatest lenses ever made, I keep it glued to my SL2S. 

Smokes anything coming out of a higher megapixel R5 and A7V. 

[Olaf_ZG]

10 minutes ago, PeterBoyadjian said:

75 APO SL is one of the greatest lenses ever made, I keep it glued to my SL2S. 

Smokes anything coming out of a higher megapixel R5 and A7V. 

But is it a good allrounder?

[pwr1978]

I have the 35 and 75 APO SLs and they are both brilliant and versatile lenses.

I also have the Leica 24-70 f/2.8, and if I had to have just one lens to cover everything it would do the trick.

[Archiver]

You seem keen on Leica lenses, and perhaps you can consider offerings from Sigma and Panasonic. The 50mm f1.4 from Panasonic is reportedly a superb lens. The Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG DN is also excellent, albeit with some purple fringing wide open. A few have posted some lovely images here with that lens. The Sigma 50mm f2 is also reportedly very good. Not Leica APO good, but it may still suit your needs for a bit of character.

[garysamson]

Why not try the 75 Nokton with the Leica M to L adapter, this is a combination I really like for portraits with my SL2s. 

[Simone_DF]

The 50 apo is a great lens, but for portraits it can be a bit harsh. What about the Sigma 45mm? It’s small and inexpensive, and when shooting wide open at close distance, it produces a softer look and a pleasing bokeh which I like for portraits.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[Olaf_ZG]

7 hours ago, Archiver said:

You seem keen on Leica lenses, and perhaps you can consider offerings from Sigma and Panasonic. The 50mm f1.4 from Panasonic is reportedly a superb lens. The Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG DN is also excellent, albeit with some purple fringing wide open. A few have posted some lovely images here with that lens. The Sigma 50mm f2 is also reportedly very good. Not Leica APO good, but it may still suit your needs for a bit of character.

I do have some other brands for the m/sl, but in this case I really would like the best prime possible, as I know it will be here to stay.