24-90 vs Q3/SL3 50 APO

[PeterBoyadjian]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

For wedding and event photography would you prefer using the 24-90, or a Q3 by your hip with a SL3/50SLAPO as your main. 

I have the 24-90, 90-280, 21,35,50,75 APOS - I went a little crazy and I need to clear some gear out. 

21 and 75 I'll never sell, 24-90 I rarely use after purchasing the APOS. My thoughts are sell the 35 and 24-90, fund a Q3 for my wide angle shots. 

I'm fortunate enough to have sold two businesses before moving on to photography as a full time job, but I'm finding that I am swapped lenses too often. 

Too many options can be a bad thing IMO. 

I know the 24-90 is the best all around but I'm finding it to be a bit too soft for me.

 

 

 

 

 

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[ajmarton1]

I would use the Q3 as a backup for close up and wide angle shots.  I had the Q3 with me in Paris last month for street photography and while I was able to capture everything I wanted and the Q3 images are excellent even with a severe crop I found that my Sony a1 with super fast and great AF tracking AI and the option for a zoom or other length lens did make it a lot easier to capture some images from a distance when I couldn't get in close.  The other issue I found with the Q3 is that while you can crop an image - you can't necessarily see the detail of the moment in the view finder as you just get the focal length lines.  With a zoom it's easier to compose for what would be a cropped shot on the Q3 and get the details/particulars dialed in quickly.  Fortunately, my cropped shots were always good on the Q3 or I had enough images in a series to be happy but it is a limitation in the Q3 that I hadn't necessarily fully appreciated before that recent trip.  I will now always have a backup camera that I can exchange lenses on. 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

If your 24-90 is too soft I'd be checking the lens first. It's anything but. I do get that after the APO's everything seems softish, though.

Now, retired from weddings I could shoot all day on a 24, 50 and 90. I liked something longer but rarely needed it. But I always had something between 135 and 200 around. Often the 90-280, which I really liked for weddings. And I always had my 24-90. Always. Your kit would be my absolute minimum, except my primes would have been a 21, 28, 50 and 90. If something happens to your SL3 what do you do? Can you shoot a full day on the Q3? If your 50 gets damaged? Then what?

My policy was to shoot what I wanted but always have what I need on hand. So in your situation I'd sell nothing. I'd have whatever you wanted over your shoulders. That sounds like the SL3/50 and a Q3. I'd probably have the 75 and 21 in a shoulder or hip bag. The 24-90 would be attached to a backup. Say a SL2 or S1R. You could lock it in a lock case chained into the boot of your car if you're in a place where that's relatively OK. I wanted it available, just in case.

My system was as follows. Primes until reception and then a 24-90 for that. Zooms trump primes when it gets frantic. Two of the same body and anything compatible as a backup. I had one camera over each shoulder and a spare lens on a belt pouch, with an extra battery and cards. Cards never left my side. Everything else was in a Thinktank wheelie bag (the small one). It was locked shut with my car keys and everything else I needed in it. I hated having stuff in bulging pockets and you never forget a bag that has your car keys inside. It has a built in cable lock for attaching to a church pew, etc, although I always had it somewhere I could see it. If you hide the bag, then the person stealing it can hide too. At reception I put everything into the bag and had the body and 24-90 out with a bounce flash and that was it. Maybe a super wide for dance floor shots in the belt pouch. Bag was with the DJ, locked to something. You could change out the 24-90 for the 75mm and a Q3. But I'd still want that lens on a backup.

Gordon

Edited May 18, 2024 by FlashGordonPhotography

[BernardC]

My wedding kit was 24, 50, 85. Occasionally I would use a 135 or an 18, depending on the venue. Half of the shots were done with the 50, it's a very natural-looking lens. 

I worked as a second for top local pros, so I didn't do groups but I did a lot of atmosphere and candids. 

You do need backups for your key gear, but there's no point going overboard. You want to think about images, not about equipment. 

[tom0511]

Personally I would not sell my 24-90. For some occasions its great, also outdoors in bad weather, for travel and also for events.

I do use the primes quite often though. At the moment my favs SL lenses are 21, 28 and 50. I think you are more flexible with a 24-90 on a wedding, but can get more "special looking" shots with a 50/1.4 SL.

I prefer a Leica M over a Q3, its more flexible and I enjoy it more and I can use other focal length.

Having one camera with a 28mm prime and one with 50 or 75 could be a nice combo for a wedding. (I have shot images on weddings but not professionally, only for friends)

[Stuart Richardson]

On 5/18/2024 at 4:55 PM, PeterBoyadjian said:

For wedding and event photography would you prefer using the 24-90, or a Q3 by your hip with a SL3/50SLAPO as your main. 

I have the 24-90, 90-280, 21,35,50,75 APOS - I went a little crazy and I need to clear some gear out. 

21 and 75 I'll never sell, 24-90 I rarely use after purchasing the APOS. My thoughts are sell the 35 and 24-90, fund a Q3 for my wide angle shots. 

I'm fortunate enough to have sold two businesses before moving on to photography as a full time job, but I'm finding that I am swapped lenses too often. 

Too many options can be a bad thing IMO. 

I know the 24-90 is the best all around but I'm finding it to be a bit too soft for me.

 

 

 

 

 

If you find the 24-90mm too soft, then the lens in the Q is going to be too soft for you. It is, if anything, slightly softer. Both are very sharp on center, but nowhere near the APOs in the edges and corners. I think the 35mm is really the pick of the litter, but if it is not wide enough for you, then the 28mm APO Summicron is a good choice. The Q3 can certainly do the job as a good wide angle camera, but again, you said the 24-90mm was too soft for you, and I think you will find the Q3 to be similar or worse on that front. I know that I sold my Q2 because my 550 dollar Sigma 24mm 3.5 was nearly identical to it, while also being smaller and lighter to toss in the bag as a wide angle (I am not a frequent wide shooter).

As for me, if I were doing weddings professionally (I have done a few, but it is really not my jam), I would work with two bodies and have one with a 28mm and the other with the 50mm 1.4. If I was concerned about weight, I would do 28mm and 50mm APO. I would use the 28mm for the overview shots, and the 50mm 1.4 for the portraiture and detail shots. I would likely keep a 20-21mm (for me probably a Sigma) and a 90mm in the bag as well, just in case. I can't imagine needing more than that. If I wanted to do different bodies, I would do the SL2S with the 28mm and the SL2 with the 50mm. You can get both for the price of the SL3. The downside is the AF...depends on how dynamic you are when you shoot a wedding, and what kind of photos you like to take.

Edited May 20, 2024 by Stuart Richardson