Do you like the Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 5cm f1.5 Converted to LTM?

[Sonnar Brian]

Losing the focus at F1.5 at this distance:

At F4 the Focus-Shift works to your advantage:

On the M8: ISO 160, contrast and sharpening set to the Lower-End of the settings.

I like muted colors.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I've done 20 Sonnar conversions, 12 5cm F1.5's and 8 5cm f2's. There is performance variation between individual lenses, more than you will find in the Nikkors. The F1.5 lens outperforms the F2 lens. The deviation is much less than I've found in the Jupiters. I find them to be sharper wide-open than the three Canon 50/1.5's that I've used. They are all good, and most are "outstanding". They are amazing lenses, especially given their 75-year vintage.

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

And the Sonnar stock index goes up another notch...

I think its interesting how the Canon and Nikkor were modeled after the Zeiss Sonnar but took two different approaches (from what I've heard, haven't been able to see for myself). The Nikkor optimized for wide open close up and the Canon for mid aperture mid distance use.


A Canon 50/1.5 wide open

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I will be doing a similar comparison with a number of Sonnars, including the 50/1.5.

MY Canon 50/1.5 is optimized for close-up and wide-open work. I changed the shims.

I have several Nikkor 5cm F1.4's, most of them in S-Mount. Close-up and wide-open, the Bokeh is harsh compared with the Zeiss and Canon. But it is Sharper.

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

I will be doing a similar comparison with a number of Sonnars, including the 50/1.5.

MY Canon 50/1.5 is optimized for close-up and wide-open work. I changed the shims.

I have several Nikkor 5cm F1.4's, most of them in S-Mount. Close-up and wide-open, the Bokeh is harsh compared with the Zeiss and Canon. But it is Sharper.

Brian,

If your interested in using a garden variety Canon 50/1.5 for your comparison I'll be happy to lend you mine.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I did a comparison of the Canon 50/1.4, Nikkor 5cm F1.4, Extremely good J-3, and the Canon 50/1.4. The Canon Serenar kicked in at F4, and F1.5 was off. It was the Sonnar focus shift, akin to the modern Zeiss M-Mount Sonnar lens. SO: I changed the Canon after that.