The influence of the lens on the image result
Does the choice of lens have a greater influence on the image result than a few megapixels more or less?
This question was after that big high-end camera test, I together with my friend Christian Habermeier have carried out, in the room. Theoretically it is clear that the choice of lens will have an influence. But how big is he? I wanted to investigate this question, and through fortunate circumstances I was able to test five very different lenses in the focal length range of 70/75 mm. Thank you very much at this point Leica Camera AG Switzerland and Photo Vision Zumstein for the loan lenses and also a big thank you to Iris Michel, Eva Küng, Simone Meylan and Sam Bregenzer.
The 75 mm focal length is very exciting in my opinion. A 75 can be used as a normal focal length, but also as a portrait focal length. That makes it very universal. Thanks to the high resolutions of today's sensors, you can cover a lot with a 28 mm or at most 35 mm and a 75 mm, for example, because you can also "simulate" other focal lengths by cropping the image section. Taking a 50mm section from an image with a 35 mm lens or choosing a 90mm section from an image with a 75mm lens is easily possible with cameras with up to 50 megapixels.
The protagonists
I carried out the test with my Leica SL2, so all lenses can be connected to the L-mount directly or via adapters. Starting from left to right:
01 // voigtländer 75 mm / 1:1.5 nokton vm (aspherical)
Focal length: 75mm
Length: 63.3mm
Number of lenses: 7 lenses in 6 groups
Largest aperture: 1.5
Smallest aperture: 16
Closest focusing distance: 0.7m
Filter diameter: 58mm
Focus: manually
Weight: 350g
Price: CHF 998
Special: very attractive ratio of max. aperture / weight / price
02 // leica summary-s 1:2.5/70 asph. (cs)
Focal length: 70mm
Length: 93mm
Number of lenses: 8 lenses in 6 groups
Largest aperture: 2.5
Smallest aperture: 22
Closest focusing distance: 0.5m
Filter diameter: 82mm
Focus: Autofocus
Weight: 740g
Price: CHF 4640 (normal version) CHF 6030 (CS version with built-in shutter)
Special: The lens is designed for the (larger) Leica S sensor and therefore has a larger image circle
03 // Sigma 70mm f2.8 DG Macro
Focal length: 70mm
Length: 70.8mm
Number of lenses: 13 lenses in 10 groups
Largest aperture: 2.8
Smallest aperture: 22
Closest focusing distance: 0.258 m
Filter diameter: 48mm
Focus: Autofocus
Weight: 605g
Price: CHF 648
Special: macro
04 // Leica Noctilux-M 1:1.25 75 mm Asph
Focal length: 75mm
Length: 91mm
Number of lenses: 9 lenses in 6 groups
Largest aperture: 1.25
Smallest aperture: 22
Closest focusing distance: 0.85m
Filter diameter: 67mm
Focus: manually
Weight: 1055g
Price: CHF 13,860
Special: brightest 75mm available
05 // Leica Apo-Summicron-SL 1:2/75 Asph
Focal length: 75mm
Length: 102mm
Number of lenses: 11 lenses in 9 groups
Largest aperture: 2.0
Smallest aperture: 22
Closest focusing distance: 0.5m
Filter diameter: 67mm
Focus: Autofocus
Weight: 720g
Price: CHF 5350
Special: Other lenses with the same housing and the same maximum aperture and characteristics available (currently 28/35/50/75/90 mm, planned 21/24 mm)
The test idea
As always with my tests, this time it's all about testing the equipment in practice. There are a few shoots scheduled for the test weekend: a portrait of a painter friend, a photo shoot with my friend Sam's 1969 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Magnum plus two more portrait shoots. In addition to the camera/lens combination that I normally use, I take some pictures in which I photograph a subject setting with all test lenses. I didn't experience any extreme backlighting situations or anything like that, but I think you can estimate the characteristics of the five lenses quite well.
Before I go into the individual lenses, here are four test panels where you can see excerpts from the shots I took with all lenses. I worked with the aperture fully open in three test situations. The maximum aperture varies of course, but high aperture is an essential criterion when buying a lens. From my point of view, it wouldn't have made sense if I had tempered all the light giants down to aperture 2.8. The sinfully expensive Noctilux in particular should and must be able to demonstrate its advantages:
Test table 1
Cockpit of the Dodge Charger R/T 440 Magnum
All images are unedited
Test table 2
Fig tree leaves
All images are unedited
Test table 3
Eve
All images are unedited.
Test table 4
iris
All images are unedited
Practical notes on the individual lenses
01 // Voigtländer 75 mm / 1:1.5 Nokton VM (aspherical)
I would have expected a lens with such a high aperture to be larger and heavier. The Nokton weighs just 350 g and is priced at a level you wouldn't expect. Personally, I think that the lens offers extremely good value for just under 1000 francs. Even with the aperture open, the performance is very good. It draws a little harder than the Leica Noctilux, but softer than the other lenses. This makes it an ideal portrait lens that you can easily take with you, especially because it is so small. Precise manual focusing was a challenge for me. With the aperture fully open I produced quite a bit of waste. Some of the images weren't much off and could easily be published on all electronic channels (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), and an A4 print would also be possible for many of them. But my aim is to make full use of the sharpness performance of a lens, and my error rate with the manually focusable lenses is significantly higher than with the AF models. Maybe it's a matter of practice. I'm attaching an edited image for each lens, since that's what you normally do with photos. You edit them before you publish or print them. For the Nokton I chose an image from the Iris series. With the aperture fully open there is a beautiful bokeh, and the slightly softer drawing is great for the portrait of the great artist.
Edited image
Voigtländer 75 mm / 1:1.5 Nokton VM, 1/50 sec, f 1.5, 200 ISO, daylight
02 // Leica Summarit-s 1:2.5/70 Asph. (CS)
I admit, the Summarit S 70 mm is a bit exotic in this test series. It is designed for the larger sensor of the Leica S. From the Medium format test But I was very excited about the combination of the S and the 70. And so I couldn't resist and mounted an S 70 with an adapter on my Leica SL2. And I wasn't disappointed. In my opinion, this lens has an unobtrusive sharpness, not as “loud” as the SL 75 (more on that later), but still more accentuated than the Noctilux from the M series. And now comes exactly what's so fascinating: every photographer will develop his or her own style. Personal preferences and the subjects will influence the choice of lens. However, under certain circumstances you cannot cover everything with one lens and so you “treat” yourself to two lenses of the same focal length in order to achieve, for example, a slightly softer and a slightly harder rendering style. Or you can use a manually focusable, high-opening lens plus an autofocus lens with a less wide opening. And and and... The Summarit S is the ideal portrait lens for my type of photography. Small side note: On the Leica S3 the lens performs a little better and surfaces are displayed in an even more nuanced way.
The image I chose for the Leica Summarit S comes from the series I created with Eva. She spontaneously started ruffling her hair and all the ruffling made her laugh so hard. And I was able to capture exactly that moment. She has since posted the picture on Instagram and Facebook and wrote to me that she had never received so many positive reactions to a photo of her. I take that as a compliment ;-).
Edited image
Leica Summarit-S 1:2.5 / 70 ASPH / 1/100 sec, f 8.0, 200 ISO, flash
03 // Sigma 70mm f2.8 DG Macro
The Sigma lens is the cheapest in the test. So it's not surprising that the manufacturing quality is not on the same level as the other lenses. I bought it some time ago because the macro range of the L system is still a bit dormant. And I have to say: Despite the low price, the Sigma delivers very good quality and I can recommend it to anyone who needs a macro lens in the L system. The brightness of 2.8 is the lowest in the test environment, but the Sigma makes up for it all with its low focusing distance. A lens that delivers honest results at a very reasonable purchase price.
The image I chose as the edited photo for the Sigma lens is a still life from Iris' studio.
Edited image
Sigma 70mm F2.8 DC Macro, 1/80 sec, f 4.0, 200 ISO, daylight
04 // Leica Noctilux-M 1:1.25 75mm Asph
The M-Noctilux is in some respects beyond all normal limits: Thanks to its maximum aperture of 1.25 (the fastest 75 in the world) it offers the possibility of achieving the smallest possible focus ranges. Despite this performance, it is incredibly compact. You realize that there is a lot packed into the small housing when you pick up the lens: it weighs over a kilogram. Even with the aperture fully open, the Noctilux delivers enormous sharpness performance, which subjectively increases somewhat as you stop down. It has an unobtrusive sharpness that can be increased in post-production if necessary. The edited image I chose was a photo of Sam's Dodge at the airport runway. Thanks to the fully open fascia, the classic car stands out wonderfully from its surroundings. I selectively increased the sharpness a little in the area of the car. Under no circumstances should you shoot over the entire image, otherwise you will destroy the bokeh of the Noctilux. The same applies to this lens: At full aperture, I had a relatively high rate of not being able to position the focus quite precisely, especially in portraits, despite focus peaking. These are often deviations in the millimeter range. For example, the tip of the model's eyelashes is sharp instead of the eye.
Edited image
Leica Noctilux M 1:1.25 / 75 ASPH, 1/1000 sec, f 1.25, 50 ISO, daylight
05 // Leica Apo-Summicron-SL 1:2/75 Asph
The Leica SL fixed focal lengths with the initial aperture 2.0 have a very special look. I own the 35 and 90 and am a big fan of these lenses. I don't know of any other lens in the 35mm format that delivers such sharpness in the focused area. It draws every little detail crisply and precisely. When blurred, it's not quite as soft as the Noctilux, for example. This is probably due to the design and of course also because the initial aperture cannot be opened beyond 2.0. Here, Leica deliberately chose not to use a larger aperture opening in favor of compactness. Because the Apo Summicron SL 75 makes such a crisp impression in the sharpness area, the gap between sharpness and blur is greater than you would expect with an aperture of 2.0. For portrait shots where you don't necessarily need to see every detail, the Apo Summicron SL may not be the right choice. But when it comes to sharpness, this lens is in its element.
I deliberately chose a motif from the shoot with Simone as the edited image. We spontaneously did a bubble gum session with her Audrey Hepburn shirt. In my opinion, the hard light from my Profoto B1 and the crystal clear sharpness of the SL 75 go well together. It is a rather “loud” lens, and that also suits the subject of the image.
Edited image
Leica Apo-Summicron-SL 1:2 / 75 ASPH / 1/250 sec, f 10, flash
The big question about resolution
I have already pointed out several times that I miss information from the manufacturer regarding the resolution of the lenses. I know from Leica that a lot of effort goes into maximizing the resolution. About six years ago, Urs Tillmanns and I knocked on the Leica headquarters in Wetzlar about this. The bottom line of our visit was - to put it from my layman's perspective: The resolution of a lens is given in pairs of lines per millimeter. Apparently this value cannot simply be converted 1:1 into megapixels, but you could certainly calculate an order of magnitude of how many megapixels a lens can resolve.
If every manufacturer were to commit to specifying the resolution in line pairs per millimeter, large price differences might be easier to understand. Because it is of course nonsense if you buy a 50 megapixel camera and the resolution of the lenses is only 30 Mpx. Or vice versa: If you take photos with a 24 megapixel camera and know that you will never need more resolution, you don't need to buy lenses that have a resolution of 50 megapixels.
Final conclusion
The lens has a significant influence on the image. Anyone who knows their lenses knows how to use them, where the weaknesses and where the strengths lie. What I know from Leica is that the company tries very hard to ensure that lenses of different focal lengths are available with the same reproduction characteristics as possible. I assume that other manufacturers also handle it this way. Once you have a series of lenses that all have a similar image effect, you can work very well with them. My “working lenses” are clearly the SL fixed focal lengths with a focus on the two fixed focal lengths of 35 and 90 mm. If your wallet allows it, you can also treat yourself to a lens with a different character and then use it consciously.
However, and on the one hand this is a downer, but on the other hand it is also comforting: Even the best lens cannot turn a mediocre picture into a great photo.
;-)
