so i’ve been an l-mount user for about three years now mostly shooting with the s1r and some of the sigmas but i just hit a wall with a new client. i’ve been doing high-end landscape and some street stuff for years but i just landed this massive contract for an architectural firm in chicago next month and they’re demanding these huge 40x60 prints for their main showroom. i’ve been doing some test shots with my 24-70mm and honestly the corners are just mushy when you blow them up that big. i always thought people were just gear snobs about the primes but now i’m seeing why they cost what they cost when you really push the resolution.
im looking to drop about 5 grand maybe 6 on a single prime that just absolutely shreds in terms of sharpness. i dont care about bokeh as much as i care about resolving every tiny little detail on brickwork and fabric textures. i’ve been looking at the apo-summicrons because everyone says they’re the gold standard but i’m torn between the 35mm and the 50mm versions. i’ve heard some people say the 35 is technically the peak of the line in terms of modern lens design but then others swear the 50 has better micro-contrast and less ca near the edges.
also i keep seeing reviews for that panasonic 50mm f1.4 s pro saying it's basically a leica in a different housing but im skeptical if it can actually match the apo-summicron when it comes to edge-to-edge resolution at f5.6 or f8. i need something that’s basically flawless because if i show up with soft corners on these prints i’m gonna lose the contract. i’ve never really been a pixel peeper until now and it’s honestly driving me a little crazy looking at these raw files.
between the different apo-summicron-sl options or maybe even some of the weirdly sharp sigmas like the 35mm f1.2 which one actually takes the crown for the absolute highest resolving power on a high-res sensor? like if you had to pick just one lens to get the maximum possible detail out of an s1r or an sl2 which one is actually the king of sharpness?
I totally feel your pain on the mushy corners thing... I remember doing a shoot for a boutique hotel in London a few years back and I thought my zoom would handle it. Boy was I wrong. When those huge prints came back from the lab, the edges looked like they were shot through a soup bowl. I actually tried the Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 50mm f/1.4 thinking it would save me some cash, but unfortunately, it just didn't have that biting edge-to-edge clinical precision I needed for architectural lines. It's a gorgeous lens for portraits, sure, but for your specific needs? It was a letdown tbh. I also gave the Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN Art a fair shake because everyone hypes it up. It's sharp in the middle, but the field curvature was a bit of a nightmare for flat walls. Honestly, if you want the absolute king of sharpness where the corners are as crisp as the center, you have to go with the Leica APO-Summicron-SL 35mm f/2 ASPH. I finally caved and bought one after that hotel disaster. It's annoying how much it costs, but it's basically a scientific instrument. The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 50mm f/2 ASPH is incredible too, but the 35mm is widely considered the technical masterpiece of that lineup. It resolves every single brick and texture without breaking a sweat, even on that S1R sensor. It's the only lens I've used where I don't even worry about checking the corners anymore... just set it to f/5.6 and you're golden.
Ive been shooting L-mount since day one and honestly, save your money! The Sigma 35mm f1.2 DG DN Art is an amazing beast that handles high-res sensors perfectly. I did a huge mural project recently and the detail was just fantastic. For the crown, the Panasonic Lumix S Pro 50mm f1.4 is the winner for budget and quality. You dont need to drop 6k on a Summicron for world-class sharpness. Its incredible!
Thought about this for a bit, and honestly, just go with Leica APO glass! The MTF charts are fantastic and youll totally resolve those textures. Sigma glass is another amazing option too!
