5cm Summarit and 5cm Nikkor SC

[foto_fool]

Like others on RFF lately I have been enjoying shooting with vintage lensess. This morning I got my 3-year old to sit still long enough (with a piece of cake) for me to make some shots while swapping the 5cm Summarit and Nikkor SC. These LTM lenses were mounted on an Epson R-D1 with a CV adapter. Both shots were wide-open (f1.5 and f1.4 respectively) at ISO400.

Summarit:


Nikkor SC:


Click on the images to go to a page where you can "get original photo" - 3MB JPEGs (3000x2000 px) - for more detail.

I like both these lenses very much. The Summarit seems a tad sharper but this lens has no cleaning marks while the Nikkor does. The color rendition seems a little warmer with the Nikkor. I see some interesting differences in boke but don't prefer one to the other. What do y'all think?

- John

 

[raid]

Hi John,
Both posted images look a little soft. What was the focus point in the two images? I have the Summarit and the 50/2 Nikkor. I expected the image taken with your Nikkor to look sharper. I took a look at the full sized images. Else, both photos are nice looking. The use of a digital camera to quickly get feedback is a very useful feature.

Cheers,

Raid

 

[foto_fool]

Thanks Raid. The kid is a moving target. I was at the 3.5 ft. mark on both lenses and then moving to try to bring the eye area into exact focus when I tripped the trigger. Shutter speed was in the 1/125th range. With the shallow DOF, relatively slow shutter speed, and movement I would have been surprised to get anything sharp. 🙂

This was a spur of the moment thing this morning - some 7 am quiet time, nice light as the marine layer started to break up, both lenses and the body at hand at the same time, and a desire to see a back-to-back with two lenses I like on film.

Cheers back - John

 

[raid]

John: Try repeating the little experiment when standing in the open shade outside your home. There, you shouldn't have a problem with using an aperture such as 1.4 or 1.5 at fast shutter speds. Watch the minimum distance for each lens. I often stand too close to the person being photographed.

Raid