ZM C-Sonnar 50mm Photos

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chandler_chou

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just got this lens last week.
did a quick test when buying it. (focus on Mr.Mark right eye)
it seems no focus shift issue to my eyes....


@f1.5

Zeiss C Sonnar 50 面交試拍 by 錢得樂, on Flickr







@f2.8

Zeiss C Sonnar 50 面交試拍 by 錢得樂, on Flickr







@f5.6

Zeiss C Sonnar 50 面交試拍 by 錢得樂, on Flickr






simply love this lens!!!
i'm going to share some shots from this lens....
you're all welcome to share shots or comments to this lens here...




妹妹的晚餐時間 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








光在清晨裡的顏色 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








家裡一角 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








通勤 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








葉 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








下班 by 錢得樂, on Flickr
 
Roger Hicks said:
I love this lens too, but if you want to see focus shift, go to http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps firstlook sonnar 50.html and scroll about a quarter of the way down. It is not possible that you have a unique copy with no focus shift.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...


not sure if i understand it correctly, but if it is MUST THERE issue for c-sonnar 50, then how lucky i am that doesn't impact my daily basis use!

thanks for providing the info. 🙂



妹妹的晚餐時間 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








上學前還要去花園生態遊一下 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








學校旁發現大蝸牛 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








滿頭汗 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








畫畫 by 錢得樂, on Flickr








釣魚 by 錢得樂, on Flickr
 
chandler_chou said:
not sure if i understand it correctly, but if it is MUST THERE issue for c-sonnar 50, then how lucky i am that doesn't impact my daily basis usage!
Click to expand...

Why doesn't it affect you? Simply because, like most things on the internet, its importance is wildly exaggerated, often by people who don't know what they're talking about. It really only matters for close-up shots (1-2 metres). It's always there -- it's an inherent part of the design -- but it's very rarely important except to obsessive theoreticians or to those who always shoot close up at f/1.5 or f/2 (lens coupling optimised for f/2.8) or f/2.8 to f/4 (lens coupling optimised for f/1.5).

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Why doesn't it affect you? Simply because, like most things on the internet, its importance is wildly exaggerated, often by people who don't know what they're talking about. It really only matters for close-up shots (1-2 metres). It's always there -- it's an inherent part of the design -- but it's very rarely important except to obsessive theoreticians or to those who always shoot close up at f/1.5 or f/2 (lens coupling optimised for f/2.8) or f/2.8 to f/4 (lens coupling optimised for f/1.5).

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

Clearly correct. My test shows that there is almost no practical effect of the focus shift.

It is a fantastic lens, at any aperture. it's character at f5.6 is lovely as the OP's shots also show.
 
Richard G said:
Clearly correct. My test shows that there is almost no practical effect of the focus shift.
Click to expand...

I must have been doing something wrong the two times I've owned it... because there was certainly focus shift and it did affect some of my photos to the point of the being unusable. I used it on the M8 and M9 which tend to make the shift very noticable. Since Zeiss admits that it is part of the design, I'm going to assume that it does. It's not hard to focus a camera guys, so don't assume that because it doesn't come up in your usage that it doesn't affect anyone.
 
jsrockit said:
I must have been doing something wrong the two times I've owned it... because there was certainly focus shift and it did affect some of my photos to the point of the being unusable. I used it on the M8 and M9 which tend to make the shift very noticable. Since Zeiss admits that it is part of the design, I'm going to assume that it does. It's not hard to focus a camera guys, so don't assume that because it doesn't come up in your usage that it doesn't affect anyone.
Click to expand...

But see post 8.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
That's what I do!

And at f/2.8-f/4 and 1-2 metre (lens optimised for f/1.5), I lean forward 5-10 cm (2-4 inches) between focusing and shooting. I got this trick from Dr. Hubert Nasse at Zeiss...

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...


Hello Roger thanks for this information, but I'm a bit confused (I have a C-Sonnar which I was told is optimized for f/1.5 but I have not used it yet).

My understanding WAS that as one stops down from f/1.5 to say, f/2.8, the point of best focus moves back (away from the camera).

So for a shot at f/2.8, wouldn't that mean that I would need to focus on my subject and then lean slightly backwards?

For a shot wide open, I could just focus and shoot, if I understand correctly.

Sorry to re-hash what I know has alrady been covered, but I just can't seem to get this straight...

CHEERS
 
I agree that focus shift, like other optical phenomena, is more noticeable when shooting digital, probably because of the tighter tolerances, instant feedback, & ease of pixel peeping. The same thing has happened to owners of other lenses w/well-known focus shift, like the Noctilux or 75 'Lux.

I have the Nikon RF/S-mount version of the C Sonnar, which is optimized for f/2.8. I shoot w/it often on film bodies in my usual aperture range (f/1.5-5.6, very heavily weighted towards wide-open & f/2) & the focus shift, while noticeable, is not a dealbreaker, but it is on my M9 (judging from my own experience w/an Amedeo adapter) for the above reasons. Rather than send it to Zeiss to be optimized for f/1.5 (a different procedure than the ZM version because the lens doesn't have a focus helical), I decided to just use it for film most of the time. I figure I have plenty of vintage Sonnars that are clearly optimized for wide-open, & if I ever want to extensively shoot a C Sonnar on digital, I can always borrow or buy a ZM version that's optimized for f/1.5.

jsrockit said:
I used it on the M8 and M9 which tend to make the shift very noticable. Since Zeiss admits that it is part of the design, I'm going to assume that it does. It's not hard to focus a camera guys, so don't assume that because it doesn't come up in your usage that it doesn't affect anyone.
Click to expand...
 
sleepyhead said:
Hello Roger thanks for this information, but I'm a bit confused (I have a C-Sonnar which I was told is optimized for f/1.5 but I have not used it yet).

My understanding WAS that as one stops down from f/1.5 to say, f/2.8, the point of best focus moves back (away from the camera).

So for a shot at f/2.8, wouldn't that mean that I would need to focus on my subject and then lean slightly backwards?

For a shot wide open, I could just focus and shoot, if I understand correctly.

Sorry to re-hash what I know has alrady been covered, but I just can't seem to get this straight...

CHEERS
Click to expand...
Sorry. DUH. You are quite right. Pure brain fade on my part: I have amended the earlier post. And, for wide open, yes, you are also right if the lens is optimized for f/1.5.

Cheers,

R.
 
Great write up Roger, I get my new Sonnar-C on Friday, got it new from B&H, can't wait to check it out!

This is going to be an all-rounder lens for me so I need a game plan for shooting people photos at F/2-F/4 at medium distance. Instead of leaning back, I would rather tug back on the focus a bit. I have about 15 frames left in my M3 on a roll of Tri-X, so I will do a couple of test shots. I am looking forward to this being a faster version of my collapsable Summicron, has the character wide open but without the collapsing and flare.

Roger Hicks said:
I love this lens too, but if you want to see focus shift, go to http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps firstlook sonnar 50.html and scroll about a quarter of the way down. It is not possible that you have a unique copy with no focus shift.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...
 
I'm a novice when it comes to understanding the inner workings of lenses.
But as I look to use some different RF lenses on my Xpro1, I'm assuming the focus shift on this lens would be a non issue, since I'd be focusing through the actual lens, rather than with the RF mechanism.

But I also realize I may be totally wrong on this. Perhaps the shift would still have an impact on close/wide open shots - something I do a fair amount of.
 
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