What camera and lens am I using for portraits these days? Any issues pop up?

 

When I shoot portraits in the studio I almost always use a tripod. Really. Can't stand handholding a camera  for work in the studio if a tripod is available. Why? Mostly because I want to lock in a composition and sometimes it's important to put a bit of "air" around the shoulders of a subject in case I need to composite the subject into something else. Another background? Too close to the shoulders handheld and eventually I find the expression I want is on the frame where one shoulder or the other is cut off. Not fun if you need a clean and believable composite. Yes, you can always reconstruct the missing shoulder in post but....what a pain in the butt.

If I'm on a tripod I don't need or want image stabilization so I turn it off. That means I can use older cameras that don't have built-in image stabilization. Like the Leica SL. 

And there's something about the sensor (not a Sony!) and the in-camera color science in the original SL that I like very much. Even more so than newer SL2 variants. I can't explain why I like the SL imaging so much but it just seems like Leica got the first one out of the gate mostly perfect. And, I like working with 24 megapixel raw files better than 47.5 or 60 megapixel files. Usually the extra resolution is not only unnecessary but also a time waster in post. 

I had been using the SL in combination with the Sigma 90mm Contemporary lens and also with the big, Leica 24-90mm zoom lens. But a few weeks ago I impulse purchased the TTArtisan 75mm f2.0 AF lens for L mount. Don't fret, it was cheap.  The TTA 75mm is more mellow than the other two lenses which works with the majority of photographs I do. Maybe too much hard detail isn't a wonderful thing for every photograph. Especially of faces. I also find that I like the wider field of view for a lot of portraiture these days since the formalist days of "heads and shoulder" or tight "headshot" portraits are mostly behind us.  A bit of "air" around our subjects seems to be a more contemporary stylistic choice now. 

So, what's the catch about using the TTArtisans 75mm lens on an SL, an SL2-S or an SL-2? As far as I can tell there is only one fault and while it's not a "deal-killer" it's more of a nuisance for me. 

The issue I have is with the automatic lens profile setting the camera uses with this particular lens. And you should know that the profile comes with the lens, from TTA,  not the camera in this instance. When I look through the viewfinder of the camera and get the exposure just right, as I have done over and over again for the better part of five years now with other lenses, when I take the photograph the resulting review frame is about half a stop, maybe 2/3rds of a stop lighter. And when I open the file in Lightroom it is still...half a stop or more lighter.  

Which means it's half a stop lighter than I want the file to be which means more touch  points during processing and, if I miss on the wrong side of the exposure line I might even blow out some highlights, which I'm never happy about. 

I conjecture that the lens maker was trying to correct for vignetting while the lens is wide open, programmed in a correction and then didn't figure out how to back out of the correction as the user stopped the lens down past the point where physical vignetting was an issue. By lightening the frame overall, and with all emphasis on the vignette, they succeeded in messing up the accuracy of the exposure as set by visual confirmation in the finder by the user. 

If there was a way to turn off the lens profile setting in the camera for the lens I would gladly do that as I know quite well how to handle vignetting if it becomes an issue. But I can't. The menu item for lens profile accurately shows the TTArtisan 75mm f2.0 lens is selected but the entire selection is grayed out which means that there's no way to change the setting. Drat. And since vignetting is variable with distance and aperture setting the TTA setting supplied seems only accurate for the widest aperture at a specific distance. A coarse correction for a nuanced issue.

I like the lens enough to work around the issue by shooting a test frame and then adjusting exposure. Then working with a darker preview frame and double checking my work if I change aperture or distance. The lens does have a USB-C port so I'm hoping that there is a firmware update at some point. Sooner would be better than later. 

It's the same on the other SL2 variants as well. Oh heck. What do you really expect from an under $200 prime delivered in a metal lens body and with good optics? Compromises happen. If it really pissed me off I'd be using the little Voigtlander 75mm f1.9 M mount lens instead. The lack of communication between that lens and the cameras ensures that I can always dial in the corrections I want and they'll stay put. 

That's all I've got for you right now. The week ahead is lining up to be busy. Not with work but with lunches, coffees and meetings. And as a special Labor Day treat we actually have a coached workout on Monday morning (that's tomorrow if you are reading this on Sunday). It's from 8-9:30. My first meeting is over coffee at 10. Tight but do-able. Heads up.