Leica SL2 or a Fujifilm GFX or...something else just for headshots in studio.

[SJB27]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hello,

I have been using the Sl2 camera for the past two years and I really like it. However, sometimes the SL camera does not connect to capture one time and time again and so it made me question if I made the right choice for headshots. Someone suggested that I check out the Fujifilm camera, but it seems that its build quality is not as good as the SL. 

I also heard that Hasselblad has stopped making the H series, and the Phase One is too expensive for my budget(even though I would love to buy one with a portrait lens), even if I consider buying a used one. I know this is just wishful thinking, but I would love to hear what other people have to say about this.

[Pieter12]

Don't know squat about the SL. Since this is the S forum, I would suggest an S3 or S 006 (for the sensor), with a 120mm APO S lens. The S3 won't be cheap, the S 006 a relative bargain, but there might not be support/repairs available for either camera now or down the line. It seems like you insist on tethering, I have only been able to tether using the Leica software and having C1 check the folder.

[thighslapper]

The build quality of the current GFX100 ii is first class and with the option of the tiltable very high res EVF would make it a good studio camera. Can't speak for the tethering functionality and reliability though as I have never tried it. Camera and lenses offer good value for MF compared to the competition. 

[John McMaster]

4 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

Hasselblad X2D

Not with tethering to C1....

john

[epines]

I tether to Capture One with the Leica S3 and a Hasselblad H4x + Credo 60 back. Both tether very solidly and are workhorses. Since getting the S3, that's the one I turn to all the time now. It's still a bit pricey to pick up, but you can get an S 007 at very good prices now. Check MPB, KEH, Leica Store Miami, and Leica Store Lisse on eBay (or contact them directly). I feel it's best to buy Leica from a dealer, since there's support if needed. The Leica S system is great. For studio headshots, I agree with Pieter12 -- you'd want the S 120mm lens. 

[mikelevitt]

I have all 3 generations of GFX100 cameras.  They are excellent, with a great line of lenses (the primes and wide zooms, not the 100-200) and work perfectly tethered with C1.

The quality is astonishing, cameras are flexible, AF works perfectly.  And they are made by a real camera company, not a drone maker.

The files are astonishingly good.  The 110 f2 is probably the best lens I own.  

I also have S006, 007, Leica M, and pretty much everything Canon makes.  I prefer GFX in the studio.  And you can get lightly used original GFX100 bodies very, very cheap now

Edited March 1, 2024 by mikelevitt

[Einst_Stein]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I had both, but now using S3.

[albireo_double]

Try to remove the SD cards from your SL2 when you tether into Capture One. Or just one SD card. It should help. The S3 tethers rock solid with Capture One for me.

Edited March 6, 2024 by albireo_double

[tom0511]

Am 2.3.2024 um 01:00 schrieb Einst_Stein:

I had both, but now using S3.

Which lens do you use mainly? ANd in which areas you see the advantage of the S3 compared to the other 2?

[irenedp]

I had the first GFX 100 and before that the first GFX 50. I did like the earlier camera and sold the second in late 2022.  I do studio work now with a Phase One XF and use an S3 as a backup. 

Of course it is a matter of preferences. I prefer the S3 to the GFX -but it is somewhat more cumbersome in the studio-, and do prefer the Phase over the other two. But much more cumbersome. 

Edited March 13, 2024 by irenedp

[Pieter12]

4 hours ago, irenedp said:

I had the first GFX 100 and before that the first GFX 50. I did like the earlier camera and sold the second in late 2022.  I do studio work now with a Phase One XF and use an S3 as a backup. 

Of course it is a matter of preferences. I prefer the S3 to the GFX -but it is somewhat more cumbersome in the studio-, and do prefer the Phase over the other two. But much more cumbersome. 

Do you find one camera easier to use--how it handles, placement of important controls, interface--and does that influence your choice for a given situation? And does switching between systems become an issue at all? When you say cumbersome, I assume size, shape and weight.

[irenedp]

When I say cumbersome it is mostly what you mention. I think the easiest camera to use -because it is stabilised- is the GFX. You can use it handheld with the 110 or the 32-64 at the longer focus like you would use a Nikon with a 50 or 85 mm.

But when I do a portrait, I don't do a model's book. For instance, now I am starting work on families' portraits. Those I will shoot on a tripod, on location. For an individual's portrait, whether in the studio or on location, I would also use a tripod.

With the S3 I can focus in liveview to 100%. With the Phase I can do the same to 500% and shoot thethered in C1. Theoretically I can also tether with the S3, but I would need a paid subscription to C1 -on top of everything I pay to Adobe-.  On the S3, my 70 mm is about a 56 and at the moment I don't have a longer lens. On the Phase, the 80 mm is a 48, a bit further, but still no major subject distortion. I also have a Mamiya 120 macro (72 equivalent in ff). My 70 mm has no lens shutter, the Phase lenses do. But both systems have superb lenses, so in that respect they are interchangeable. 

Personally, but this is a personal opinion, the level of detail with the S or the Schneider lenses is superior than with Fuji lenses. But on that one I had two zooms (32-64, 100-200), the 23 and the 110. Maybe my 110 was not perfectly focus trimmed.

The image below is a test shot before a portrait, with modelling light -just checking focus- on the Phase; about a month ago

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!

[Pieter12]

Thanks. I always like to hear about how different photographers work. I usually don't worry about needing IBIS if I'm working with strobes, but the S with a 120 can be heavy to hand-hold. For what you seem to be describing, have you considered the S lens rendering vs Phase One's Rodenstocks? I'm not that familiar the the latter, but I do love the look of the S lenses. BTW, you can buy a license for Capture One, no need to subscribe.

Your project about families made me think of Annie Leibovitz's recent IKEA work. Not that you have the same thing in mind. https://lifeathome.ikea.com/annie-leibovitz/showcase/

[irenedp]

it rings a bell, but i hope it won’t be the same. I will use their homes, but I don’t want them to “pose”. Rather, as a painter, capture the “natural” scene, although it should be carefully arranged, very much like some of Jeff Wall’s portraits. 

[Pieter12]

26 minutes ago, irenedp said:

it rings a bell, but i hope it won’t be the same. I will use their homes, but I don’t want them to “pose”. Rather, as a painter, capture the “natural” scene, although it should be carefully arranged, very much like some of Jeff Wall’s portraits. 

Interesting. My impression is that Jeff Wall's portraits are all staged, not candid. But I don't claim to have an extensive knowledge of his work.

[irenedp]

they are staged to the extreme detail, as are Crewdson's, but in both's work there is always the artifice that the subject is 'spied'. The subject is not looking at the camera, they're not 'aware'. That is a trend that started in painting in the 18th century. 

You can look at "a view of an Apartment" or "morning cleaning" by Wall. Or anything by Crewdson (who is deliberately pictorial). The characters are not looking at the photographer, they are supposedly doing their thing, and the photographer is just an 'unknown' observer, whom they are not (theoretically) aware of. 

Of course I am not trying to imitate either of them. Someone might look at the work when is finished and think "this is Leibowitz" or "this is Wall". Everything in photography has been done before. But the reason of "not being aware" of the photographer, is that I want these families "doing their usual thing", however they would be in their living room on a normal day. It will be staged work, but I want this staging to resemble at least remotely their reality.

[Jon Warwick]

15 hours ago, irenedp said:

 

Personally, but this is a personal opinion, the level of detail with the S or the Schneider lenses is superior than with Fuji lenses. But on that one I had two zooms (32-64, 100-200), the 23 and the 110. Maybe my 110 was not perfectly focus trimmed.

 

 

Interesting re the level of detail off your 110, given it has a really high reputation as the sharpest of the GF lenses in recent years; the recently introduced GF 55mm also seems to have very strong reviews.

[Jon Warwick]

5 hours ago, irenedp said:

they are staged to the extreme detail, as are Crewdson's, but in both's work there is always the artifice that the subject is 'spied'. The subject is not looking at the camera, they're not 'aware'. That is a trend that started in painting in the 18th century. 

You can look at "a view of an Apartment" or "morning cleaning" by Wall. Or anything by Crewdson (who is deliberately pictorial). The characters are not looking at the photographer, they are supposedly doing their thing, and the photographer is just an 'unknown' observer, whom they are not (theoretically) aware of. 

Of course I am not trying to imitate either of them. Someone might look at the work when is finished and think "this is Leibowitz" or "this is Wall". Everything in photography has been done before. But the reason of "not being aware" of the photographer, is that I want these families "doing their usual thing", however they would be in their living room on a normal day. It will be staged work, but I want this staging to resemble at least remotely their reality.

As an aside, re Crewdson, I’ve read that a major European retrospective of his work is apparently in the works for 2024, which will be a real treat if it materialises.

[mgrayson3]

I am not a portrait photographer, but I know one who is a (very) long time Leica S (006) and (007) shooter. Recently, he's been using the SL2 with Sigma 85/1.4 for a lot of shots, and finds it more than good enough. The Leica S files are still better, but the difference rarely matters. He'll probably get his hands on an SL3 soon and we can have a shootout with my copy of the S3. I predict better in-focus keeper rate with the SL3 😆. We'll see!

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[irenedp]

3 hours ago, Jon Warwick said:

As an aside, re Crewdson, I’ve read that a major European retrospective of his work is apparently in the works for 2024, which will be a real treat if it materialises.

I would love to see it. I have been interested in Crewdson’s work since photography school.