Okay so I just got this Leica SL2 and I really have no clue how it works yet. It was a huge gift from my dad who is a big camera nut but he didnt really explain much to me other than it takes amazing photos and costs a fortune. I tried taking some pictures of my sister yesterday and they look okay but I want that really pretty blurry background look you see in professional wedding photos or on instagram. Someone told me I need a fast lens for that? I think that means the numbers on the lens are small or something like that right? Honestly its all pretty confusing and I feel a bit silly asking because this is such an expensive camera but I really want to learn how to use it properly.
I live in Seattle and my best friend is getting married in about six weeks so I really want to get a lens that makes people look good before then so I can practice as much as possible. I have some money saved up from my graduation but I dont want to spend like five thousand dollars if I dont have to though I know Leica stuff is super pricey and my dad said you get what you pay for.
Here are some of the things I am looking for:
- Something that makes the background really blurry for portraits
- It needs to be easy to focus because I still dont understand all the manual settings
- My budget is maybe around $2500 or $3000 at the very most
- I want to be able to use it inside since the wedding is at a hotel and might be dark
- Not too heavy if possible because the camera already feels like a brick
I was looking online and saw things about 50mm and 90mm and I have no idea what the difference is for portraits. Does the 90mm make people look thinner or better? Someone told me that once but I dont know if they were joking. Also I saw some lenses that say Sigma on them but they say they work on Leica? Is that true or will it break the camera because it is a different brand? I just dont want to mess anything up...
I was nervous about non-Leica gear but honestly ive been so happy with my Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art L-Mount. It works well, wont break anything, and the backgrounds look amazing.
Totally agree on those. I'm satisfied with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art L-Mount for indoors. It has snappier focus than the Panasonic Lumix S PRO 50mm f/1.4 L-Mount and costs significantly less.
Building on the earlier suggestion, the Sigma is top-tier. In my experience, L-Mount cross-compatibility is flawless, so dont worry about damage. If that feels too heavy, the Panasonic Lumix S 85mm f/1.8 L-Mount is a technical gem. 85mm gives better compression than 50mm, which creates that flattering slim look you mentioned. It handles low light perfectly for weddings. TL;DR: 85mm is the superior portrait focal length.
@Reply #3 - good point! Snappy focus is something I always prioritize because, in my experience, a missed shot is a missed shot regardless of the brand on the lens. I've tried many different setups over the years and I've learned that reliability is what really matters when you're out in the field. If you dont have gear you can trust, you wont enjoy the process. Since you mentioned being in Seattle though, it reminds me of a trip I took up there for a project a few years ago. The rain was so constant I ended up spending most of my time in this tiny used bookstore near the market. I found this first edition copy of a travel log from the 1920s and got so engrossed in it that I missed my dinner reservation at this fancy steakhouse. I ended up eating a cold sandwich from a gas station instead. Pretty disappointing considering how much I'd heard about the food scene there. Anyway lol sorry kinda went off topic there.
@Reply #4 - good point! Reliability is everything when you're shooting a wedding. I've been shooting for a long time and I've learned the hard way that you really need to be careful with how different brands handle color and skin tones. I once bought a lens thinking it would be perfect and then spent hours in post-production trying to fix the weird tint it gave everything because the glass coatings were different from what I was used to. Honestly, if you're worried about spending that much money, just go on YouTube and search for Leica SL2 portrait lens comparisons. There are some really great videos from guys like the Red Dot Forum crew or various wedding shooters who show exactly how the backgrounds look and how the autofocus behaves in low light. It's a lot better to see the actual footage than just taking our word for it here. Just look for something like Sigma vs Leica portraits on there and you'll find everything you need to know in about ten minutes. It'll save you a lot of headache before the big day.
