Portrait lens recommendation for M8

[Eoin]

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I'd have to agree with the recommendation on the pre asph 90 summicron. I've had a love-hate relationship with the 75 summicron Apo Asph, fantastic lens, hard to fault in any department except it is perhaps just that touch to stark and sharp for portraits. Also the 75 frames are perhaps the most inaccurate in terms of framing.

 

I've searched long and heard for a replacement and finally settled on the 50 Summilux Asph for full length portraits and use the 90 Summicron for tight head and shoulders. I love the pre asph 90 because it's almost 2 lenses in 1, softer wide open sharpening up nicely as I close it down to f:/4 then kicks in full sharpness by 5.6. I tend to shoot it in the f:/4 range most and just adore it's colour and rendering and the 90 frame lines are pretty accurate as well. What's more is it's only €600 at most for a good copy.

 

Strangely enough the 75 Summicron and 50 Lux Asph are almost the same design and rendering, but I prefer the rendering of the 50, it's sharp but that point seems not to matter so much with full length portraits for some reason. I can and do use the 50 as a tight portrait lens also with pleasing results, but my heart lies with the 90.

 

There is also some excellent old leica glass out there worth considering, my Summarex 85 f:/1.5 is my ace in the pocket as far as portraits lenses are concerned, Grandfather of the Noctilux, this 1950's lens has all the uncorrected choma and lack of micro contrast that makes for a rendering reminecent of a bygone age. Simply stunning IMO in B&W images, perhaps a bit of a cross process look in colour.

 

I still miss my Canon EF 85L, that look I've never been able to replicate.

[Mauribix]

I dont think a 90 mm is too long for portraits, even not at the crop-M8. At the R8 I prefer the 180 for that purpose. You can concentrate really on the person. Not always you need to show the last end of every hairtip. Sometimes eyes only i.e. can tell a lot of the one behind them.

 

Focusing is not a real issue, especially not with the M8 where you have the sudden control. Interesting possibiliy with the old Summicron: use it with the short helical mount at the Visoflex. Then you can control the areas in and out of focus very well.

 

Regards Friedhelm

 

I wasn't discussing the mm of the lens itself, I was strictly referring to the 90mm lens on the M8 alone (and as I said, I use it sometimes).

I'm used to take portraits with the 70-200mm lens on DSLR, but on RF I was curious to know how you handled with framing and DOF. That's it.

You mentioned the Viso and the R, but these aren't RF.

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[wstotler]

Thank you everyone for your comments so far. More pics please! I find that looking at people's best pics taken with the lenses give me an idea of what the optics are capable of in real world shooting (which, after all, is what I am interested in).

 

Daniel,

 

Some of my "best" M8 portraits have been shot with the 50mm Summicron ASPH. Others have been shot with a 90mm Summicron Type II (1964ish, used--the "Leitz Canada" 90mm mentioned above), which is large/heavy (compared to new, modern Leica glass) but does a good job and was obtained at a good price. I've had some success recently with the very reasonably priced Elmar-M f/4 135mm (1961ish, used).

 

To put it in perspective, if you're careful you could buy both of these lenses, plus Leica cut filters, in good condition for less than a grand, USD.

 

With the Leica 1.25x magnifier. . . . 135mm takes patient, fiddly focusing. 90mm takes patient focusing. 50mm snap focuses, almost automatic. Has to do with RF patch size, accuracy, and varying throws on the focus rings. IMO, buy and use the 1.25x if you're looking at these focal lengths. (I'm looking at the newest Leica magnifier, considering that.) BTW, keep it on its chain even though that's slightly inconvenient if you don't want to lose it. I didn't and I almost lost it. Sigh.

 

Some shots attached.

 

1-50mm.jpg = Subject lit, 50mm Summicron ASPH (6-bit), f/2 - compare bokeh / OOF areas with 90mm shot

1-90mm.jpg = Subject lit, 90mm Summicron Type II (1964ish), f/2 - subject expression poor, shown so bokeh can be compared

50mm.jpg = Natural light, 50mm Summicron ASPH (6-bit), f/2 - Perfect. I pull shots like this out of the 50mm on a regular basis if I'm paying attention (like I should be) to framing, focus, and exposure.

135mm.jpg = Side lighting, 135mm Elmar-M f/4 (1961ish), f/4 - I was surprised by how good this looks to get what I wanted and will be using this lens more now. (I never expected this glass to pull this effect. Shame on me.)

 

I'm still learning how my 90mm/135mm glass behaves so I can properly leverage it (by design) on the M8. The 50mm I understand by instinct. (Use it more, so go figure.)

 

Cheers!

Will

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[Mauribix]

Daniel,

 

Some of my "best" M8 portraits have been shot with the 50mm Summicron ASPH. Others have been shot with a 90mm Summicron Type II (1964ish, used), which is large/heavy (compared to new, modern Leica glass) but does a good job and was obtained at a good price. I've had some success recently with the very reasonably priced Elmar-M f/4 135mm (1961ish, used). Some shots attached.

 

1-50mm.jpg = Subject lit, 50mm Summicron ASPH (6-bit), f/2

1-90mm.jpg = Subject lit, 90mm Summicron Type II (1964ish), f/2 - not best expression but shown so bokeh can be compared

50mm.jpg = Natural light, 50mm Summicron ASPH (6-bit), f/2

135mm.jpg = Side lighting, 135mm Elmar-M f/4 (1961ish), f/4

 

 

Thanks,

Will

 

Will, the 135mm portrait is just fantastic. You did a great use of that lens!

[Guest PhotoWebb.co.uk]

Thanks very much for your help so far, the response has been excellent.

 

I am now even considering going for a 90mm lens. I am used to using a Canon 70-200 f/2.8 for portrait shooting so don't think that the focal length will be too long for me especially for close up portraits, which I enjoy taking. The beauty of the 90 is that there are several Leica lenses available at fairly modest prices on the used market.

 

The dealer that I normally use, Ffordes in Scotland, have a large number of these lenses used in stock with a 90mm f/2 coming in at £549 for a very good copy.

 

I susbcribed to Sean Reid's site today and spent a while lusting over lenses on my lunch break!

[chrism]

There are some comments on the Summarit series in this recent review at photo.net:

 

Leica M8 and Summarit-M Lenses Review - photo.net

 

Chris

[doug_m]

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Consider the 50 F1.4 ASPH. With the M8 crop this is a fantastic portrait lens and possibly the single best M lens ever made.

 

You will never regret buying a 50 Lux ASPH- and its relatively small.

I also have the latest 75 and 90 crons but he 50 lux is tops for my portraits.

[akiralx]

75 Summicron:

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[rickp13]

hello daniel

 

despite the weight, the 75mm summilux might still fit your criteria for portraits on the m8. here are three family shots which might influence you to add the summilux to your short list.

 

good luck with your choice

 

rick

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[Guest PhotoWebb.co.uk]

There is a common theme appearing here as far as I can see - none of these lenses are producing anything short of high quality results!

 

Thanks again for the posts so far - this is a great way to evaluate what the lenses are doing and the field of view they provide on the M8.

 

Thank you

 

Daniel

[mwalker649]

Russian Lady....35 Lux

 

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[wstotler]

Russian Lady....35 Lux

 

Lovely OOF areas--and framed for good use with your subject and light. NICE. Thanks,

Will

[hoppyman]

From the examples posted above, clearly you can make wonderful portraits with any of the mentioned lenses. If you are happy with the look from the modern well corrected designs, in my opinion the 50ASPH. and its 75 Summicron ASPH. cousin are superb for the job, most especially when you use them wide open or nearly so. That's what you pay the big dollars for, of course. The 75 frames are more fiddly to use than the smaller 90 in the M8 in my experience, but nothing you can't learn. I recommend the focus magnifier too. One point not mentioned in the other responses is that these two appear immune to the focus shifts that can occurr sometimes when stopping up or down.

Example from the 50

Mina from the shadow side photo - Geoff Hopkinson photos at pbase.com

and from the 75 (full frame)

new hairstyle photo - Geoff Hopkinson photos at pbase.com

I think that these are superb lenses.

I have briefly tried the 75 Summarit and 75 Summilux on the M8 too. They look to work extremely well. The Summilux is significantly bulkier and my impression was that it made superbly smooth photographs. My personal preference is for the more modern 'look' from the Summicron. The Summarit was tiny. I didn't like the focus throw as much. Check prices and availability where you are. My Summicron ASPH. ended up costing only 20% more than the Summarit here. More than worth it in my opinion.

[tom0511]

Hard to tell.

I own several lenses in this range (50asph, 75 Summilux, 75 Summarit, 90 Elmarit).

I mostly use the 50asph and really like that lens and for my taste 75 or 90 I often have to get to far to the subject/person.

Now regarding the 75s I am still not sure which to like better of the two I own and I might even also try the 75cron one day.

The Summarit I own is really sharp, nice bokeh, gives me good images.

The point where I am not so sure are the colors. I have a feeling that those are just not as vivid as rhose from a lens like the 50asph. Again-no test , just a feeling.

If we talk sharpness I have to say that every M lens I own is really sharp enough for me, as long as it is focused correctly. And whenever I got the feeling they are not sharp its mostly been a lens which needed calibration or shows slight misfocus.

With all respect for tests/reviews I have to say that I find the sharpness/resolution part is often overrated and the color part is mostly missing.

If you go 90 I can really recommend the 90 Elmarit.

Regards, Thomas

[jonmccormack]

I've been using both the old 90/f2.8 Elmarit and the 50/1.4 pre-asph Summilux as portrait lenses. Both are small and readily available used on ebay for reasonable $ (i paid $600 for the 90/2.8 and 1000 for the 50/1.4).

 

I like to shoot portraits wide open and the lenses are characteristically very different at wide aperture. The 90/2.8 has very good sharpness both at the center and towards the edges. The 50/1.4 is pretty soft all over and has a dreamy quality. Both have a place for me in portraits.

 

Example of 90/2.8 (at f2.8):

 

Example of 50/1.4 (at f1.4):

 

Jon

[geoffreyg]

A couple of candids, with the CV 75, 1250, theater light. The lens renders well and has a nice feel.

 

However - composition (framelines) is a bit of a gamble. Another option is the 50 Summicron which is much easier that way, and at f2, gives a nice bokeh.

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[Michael Tyler]

Obviously good portraits can come out of any of these lenses. My formula for portraits is a split between a 35mm and a 90mm pre-apo summicron. I'm always so happy with that 90.

 

[KC727]

I love APO cron 90mm ASPH

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[MP3]

For me the best portrait lens is still the first Leitz Canada Summicron 2/90, although my Summilux 1.4/75 and even the Noctilux are not bad for this purpose.

 

It is not a question of l/mm!

 

Regards Friedhelm

 

x 2 ... Vote to Early Canadian 90/2 from mid'50s to late'70s.

ABSOLUTELY IMHO ! !

 

FYI, I shot with 75/1.4, 50/1 as well

but for me Portrait work is the domain of Canadian 90/2.

It gives beautiful colors, skin tones, soft skin rather than hard, sharp and over

contrast skin.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[KC727]

I also love 50mm Lux ASPH

 

@1.4

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