Anyone directly compared 50/2 ZM and M-Hexanon 50/2?

[amin_sabet]

I am looking for a good general use 50 for my Bessa R3A. I've reviewed all the images I could find online for both the Planar 50/2 ZM and M-Hexanon 50/2, and I know I can't go wrong with either of these lenses. Although the Zeiss does a very nice job rendering out of focus areas, I am wondering if it is a bit harsher than the Konica in this respect. This is just based on online images from others, and it may simply be that the particular images I looked at for the Zeiss lens had more challenging backgrounds than those found in the Hexanon samples. Has anyone done direct testing of these two lenses using the same settings and scene? Would love to see something like that before buying what is likely to be my only RF lens for what is likely to be a long time.

EDIT - Oops I just realized there is an "Optics and Lenses" forum. Should have posted this there!

 

[myoptic3]

Unfortunately I don't have any shooting experience w/ these 2 lenses, but I do have a system for getting what I need in similar situations. I would just buy both of the lenses. Shoot w/ them, see the results w/ my own eyes, get the feel of how they handle, and keep the winner and sell the loser on ebay or on this forum for instance. If you buy at a good price you won't lose that much, and whatever you do lose on the deal is marked up to having hands on experience. Some things are too hard to figure out w/ other people's suggestions. I remember when I was looking for a better SLR to replace my Nikon N80. Everyone raved about the F100. So I bought one, and I bought a much cheaper N8008s at the same time. Well, the F100 was nice, but it had a mirror slap that was just far too loud, No one mentioned that. The older 8008s was a much nicer camera for what I needed, and $200 cheaper, so I put the F100 right back on ebay from whence it came and it sold right away. I guess that I lost $35 or so in shipping fees and ebay listing costs, but that was a cheap price to pay for getting a camera that exactly fitted my needs. Call it a $35 investment in market research.

 

[amin_sabet]

I wish I could do that, but it would really irritate my wife =).

 

[ferider]

You will not go wrong with either lens. But pay far less for the Hexanon
(which is why I picked it). I also like built-in hoods.

Roland.

 

[Assaf]

I have a ZM and a good friend has a Hexanon.
If you have a comperative test in mind please tell me and I'll try to perfrom it.
I can do the test on a film camera (either M6 or R3A)

 

[amin_sabet]

Hi Assaf, thanks for the kind offer. To be honest, I will probably buy one or the other today since I'm getting anxious looking at my new camera which has no lens =). What I had in mind though was any comparison with the same shot taken with each lens showing out of focus rendering of challenging subjects.

 

[sepiareverb]

I've had both of these lenses for a time, and found the Hexanon to be the near duplicate of the current Summicron, with only a slightly lessened contrast. The ZM was also excellent, but had less beautiful OOF areas- less micro-contrast in the OOF or something, those areas just looked a bit less snappy. If I was in the market I'd get the Hexanon. And as Roland says you'll be saving a bundle, and I think getting a slightly better lens.

Handling wise the Planar may have a slight edge with the 'nipple' if you're used to that, plus the Hexanon has a bit sharper knurling on the focus ring (more like the rewind knob on the MP), if that factors in. Don't forget the ZM's 1/3 stops vs KM's 1/2 stops if that makes a difference. And an expensive hood isn't included with the Planar...

Decisions decisions. That's half the gear fun ain't it?

 

[Way]

I too am looking at the Planar and one thing that I like is the close focus distance of .7 meters. What is the Hexanon's? I have a Canon 50 1.4 LTM and I find that the minimum focus of 1 meter to be a bit far.

 

[cameraman]

Have owned both, and prefer the Planar. As for "harsh", I actually found the Hexanon to be "worse" than the Planar. All depends, I guess. Oh, and I liked both better than the two latest versions of the Summicron.

 

[awilder]

Planar comparison

Planar comparison

WARNING: This response may be flammable.

Here are some center crop comparisons between the Planar, tabbed Summicron and Hexanon on my trusty USAF resolution chart that I use primarily for checking focus accuracy and relative lens performance. This in by no means the final word in performance but does reveal (in my sample) a slightly different focus optimization chosen by Zeiss. The slight softness of the Planar was gone when it's focus was bracketed to slightly behind the subject. The Summicron and Hexar was taken with my Hexar RF (focus recalibrated to exactly match my Leica MP) and the Planar on my MP.

 

[myoptic3]

Admin,
Yeah, it would irritate my wife too, but now and then I actually make money on ebay sales so it evens out. I don't do it w/ out of pocket money anyway. Put it on a visa, and I can get the unwanted item sold before there is even a finance charge. The trick is to only buy something that is quality and that there is a good market for. If it's a breakable item like a camera (vs a lens), it's better to buy it from KEH because of their 100 day warranty.

Actually, that is another option I have used. If you can't decide between 2 lenses or cameras or whatever, buy them both from KEH and they have a 14 day return policy. In fact, this is what their customer reps have suggested to me in the past. You are just out the $10 or $15 shipping on the one you send back. Great people over there. I highly recommend them.

 

[mfogiel]

amin
I think myoptic3 had a good suggestion. For example, if I was to buy a Leica lens today, first thing I'd do, is to shoot it against the light to see the flare. I hate flare, as I find myself always looking for difficult lighting situations. When I saw shots against the light made with the ZM lenses, it was like there existed no other lenses on the market for me. So each has his own criteria which are more important than others, and nothing can replace actual experience. You might get one of the two lenses and make a temporary swap for a week or so with another rff member, to get real experience, then you can decide if you want to keep the lens you have, or trade it for the other one.

 

[awilder]

Planar Comparison

Planar Comparison

Here is the refocused Planar as described earlier. If I had done the same tweaking of focus with the other two lenses, I'd also get a slight improvement but not by very much.

 

[amin_sabet]

Thanks to all for the comments and information. In the end, I had decided on the Zeiss. However, in order to save some money, I subsequently tried my luck on Ebay bidding on a "like new" copy of the Hexanon. Won it for $360 including overseas shipping, which I think is a great price.

 

[Krosya]

you can see some info here: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50244

 

[sepiareverb]

$360 is indeed a great price. Enjoy it!

I never had the front cap for mine, but found a Schneider slip on cap that worked fine.

 

[awilder]

One thing I've noticed on the Hexanon compared to the Planar was that the Hexanon's build quality appeared more robust and less likely to develop play over time with hard use. The rf cam also appeared to be better excecuted, i.e. hand finished brass like Leica vs black anodized (?) aluminum.