Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 50mm F1.5 Limited Edition Nikon S Mt 1st Photos

Thanks for pics Jon, Soooo nice! And......it's hard to resist !! :bang:
By the way, are you moved to Nikon photography department? :) beautiful pictures.
 
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That strap is a cutie, but I would install some leather pads. The strap rings will marr the black paint at the SP upper edges.

Other good solution is to replace the original A&A rings with smaller ones in diameter, then the thickness of the strap leather ends would block the rings from touching the paint... what I did with a Luigi strap, and it works super w/o leather pads... ;)

The second photo with the rainbow reflections within the lens coatings is superb !
 
That second statue picture at f4 is fantastic, particularly like that the statues become gradually more out of focus compared to the other shot. I become more and more interested in getting a 50...

emails on mobile phones? mobile phone email parties?! sounds like a recipe for eye strain if you ask me! ( + 12 duffer points to me I think)
 
Beautiful results in compact package. I'm sure close-up performance is not its strongest, but if you use it where its strengths are, I'm sure you'll be more than happy. Put some classic B&W film through it, I bet the tones will blow you away.
 
Roma said:
Put some classic B&W film through it, I bet the tones will blow you away.
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I did that, although with vintage version of it - C-mount Zeiss-Opton Sonnar 50/1.5 at f/2:


Jon, your modern S-mount Sonnar looks so good on black SP, that it deserved a creamy cake! :)
 
Highway 61 said:
That strap is a cutie, but I would install some leather pads. The strap rings will marr the black paint at the SP upper edges.

Other good solution is to replace the original A&A rings with smaller ones in diameter, then the thickness of the strap leather ends would block the rings from touching the paint... what I did with a Luigi strap, and it works super w/o leather pads... ;)
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It's hard to tell from the photos, but the leather ends do actually prevent the strap rings from coming into contact with the black paint under normal use, although they may well come into contact with the body if the strap is twisted to the extreme. Your suggestion to change the rings for smaller diameter rings is a good one. I think I have some spares somewhere, so will give it a try!
 
Hi, Jon!

Love that lens and the chrome on the chrome body is superb!

I have seen these similar images you provided with the millenium lens...as I remember, the millenium produced very good images as well, maybe better?

Would like to see side-by-side comparisons of the two when you have time.

Thanks for the post.
 
arturo said:
But the focused point is always within the focused are, it is always sharp. It is only that the DOF around it is (very) unbalanced towards the back. If you continue stopping down things get back to normal. ....

I also saw that the corners are not particularly sharp wide open and it has some barrel distortion. That is not unexpected in a lens with old and very simple optical design.

Arturo
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I use the M version. As you describe, there is no focus shift. There is an asymmetrical DOF relative to the point of focus. I wish people would whine and moan about the DOF asymmetry, and just quit mis-using the term focus shift.

Also, at 1.5 the vignetting is not trivial.

This lens has a unique signature and a lovely transition to OOF areas. The color rendition is also pleasant (and somewhat counter culture as colors are never harsh or unrealistic). Its personality changes as you stop down, so it's like having two different lenses.
 
Well, my reply to your posted images is now gone...???

I complimented you, Jon, on the superb chrome lens on the chrome body...very nice. But, having seen the photo location in one of your previous posts, I was hopeful you would compare this lens with the millenium lens. Maybe the Nikkor was better or was it just different? I dunno...

Thanks for your post..informative and interesting as always!
 
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e, you
dave lackey said:
Well, my reply to your posted images is now gone...???

I complimented you, Jon, on the superb chrome lens on the chrome body...very nice. But, having seen the photo location in one of your previous posts, I was hopeful you would compare this lens with the millenium lens. Maybe the Nikkor was better or was it just different? I dunno...

Thanks for your post..informative and interesting as always!
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Hi Dave, your previous post is still there, three above this one! Thanks for the compliment :)

I haven't done it yet (been pretty busy lately :eek:), but will do a Millennium/Sonnar comparison soon. In fact, I was going to do it today, and even got a roll of Velvia 50 out of the fridge in preparation but its raining right now :bang:

From what I've seen so far, IMO the Millennium 50/1.4 is still the 50mm king for Nikon RFs. It's crisp right across the frame even wide open, well corrected, and is extremely flare resistant. One area the Sonnar might have the edge is in the bokeh department with its "cream puff" bokeh, but the Millennium is no slouch in this area either. We'll see soon ;)
 
jonmanjiro - I'm trying to figure out how many were made - can you post a picture of the Serial number of the lens or email me ? thanks
 
Zeiss will not tell how many were made. The figure I heard in Japan (from a very reliable source) was that it is less than 300 (mine is #284 or something like that). Far less than I suspect Zeiss anticipated though. All of which does not bode well for a SC mount 21/4.5 Biogon.
Anyway, it is a great lens with a distinct signature. On a S4 at the moment. loaded with Presto 400.
 
marcr1230 said:
jonmanjiro - I'm trying to figure out how many were made - can you post a picture of the Serial number of the lens or email me ? thanks
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The last three digits of the serial number on my lens are "108". The preceding numbers in the serial number are the same for all lenses. No real need to do more research on this one, as I'm sure we can trust Tom A's very reliable source :)
 
jonmanjiro said:
The "Exclusively for Japan" sticker is a bit of a mystery too. I didn't think these were only for the Japanese market. Did anyone outside Japan order one?

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Mystery solved! I discovered last weekend that this "mystery" sticker is placed on all boxes of ZM lenses sold in Japan. It's probably just a way to distinguish lenses for export from lenses to be sold in the domestic market.
 
Nice lens! It really is too bad that it isn't available in a classic 'C' mount. The Sonnar design produces lovely bokeh - much nicer than the 50mm planar SLR lens that Zeiss is selling.
 
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The 50f1.5 SC Sonnar is really good! This is with Neopan 400, processed in home-brewed Pyrocat HD for 12.5 min. Doesnt get much better!
 
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Tom A said:
The 50f1.5 SC Sonnar is really good!
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I agree! Here are my recent shots, with modern Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5 at wide open on Nikon S2. Film was Rollei Retro 100 souped in Rodinal 1+50, 10min.







If you click the photos, you can find the larger versions. The last two ones have even Mill. Nikkor 50/1.4 versions, if you want to compare the bokeh... :)
 
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