First Impressions (ZM, Planar 50, Biogon 28)

Well swell. Just got a zm50f2 from popflash this Thursday. At least the pictures you posted seem to me to be rather nice. I guess I'll try various B&W films and see what happens.
 
Hi Marc-A, thanks for your in depth review and opinions.

I tend to agree with you on your opinions even though I think the planar is capable of producing some stellar results. Over the past few days looking at many pics from the 35/2 and the 50/2 I get the feeling that they are very nice, technically outstanding, but boring and lack something. The perfect sharpness across the entire frame and flatness of field may have something to do with this, I don't really know. It's just my opinion and am not saying the lense aren't good for one second. I am really liking the pictures I see from the pre-asph leica lenses in the summicron 35/2 and the summilux 50/1.4 I just like the way they draw and especially in B&W.
 
I personally feel that until you actually look at a proper print rather than 72 dpi of regurgitated smear on a computer screen, comment is fairly pointless.

I think a lot of people are getting caught up on 'characteristics' they like and dont like without realising that the neg is a base line which can be worked on with different devs and then you have the ability to interpret it at the printing stage. People are talking about the output from these lenses as something fixed, something you are stuck with (true)....and that the story ends there, but failing to see how truly insignificant some of these nit pickings are if you spend some time trying to learn how to be a good printer; not so that you ccan fix the results but produce almost whatever feeling you want from most negs.

In LF I shoot FOUR brands and they are all a little different. I can do with them whatever I like and hang prints that look great together or cannot be hung side by side, such is the flexibility of mono!

If the shots are boring and lack something I would suggest that this is a critisim of the photographer. If they are technically outstanding frames....even more so! How many of you feel seriously creatively constrained by the out of the box technical characteristics of the lens (within reason)? I think this links into my love hate relatioship with Holgas. They are fun and can produce (erm I mean the user) great images, but they are often used for 'instant art' by creatively challenged people because any straight shot tends to look 'moody and indirect'.

I agree that lenses have differing characteristics, but in my experience with the ZMs, they produce balanced negs which can be used as the blank canvas for just about anything. If that neautrality and balance leaves you in a stick, I would suggest getting those enlarger bulbs hot improving your techical printing skills and printing vision; the vision that would allow you to see just how flexible the neg in front of you really is! If you cannot do this, get a Holga and shoot nothing else....and claim you 'only do fine art' :D
 
Peter, I'm looking forward to see your Norway shots! I was also in short trip in Norway and Lapland, but I didn't use any ZM lenses there - because I don't own them. Well, one of my lens was Rollei/Zeiss/Cosina-made 40mm/2.8 HFT-Sonnar in LTM and the rest were CV and vintage Nikkor rf-lenses. :)

If you are interested the photos are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsuominen/sets/72157601298377780/
 
Turtle said:
I personally feel that until you actually look at a proper print rather than 72 dpi of regurgitated smear on a computer screen, comment is fairly pointless.
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Error number one.

I think a lot of people are getting caught up on 'characteristics' they like and dont like without realising that the neg is a base line which can be worked on with different devs and then you have the ability to interpret it at the printing stage. People are talking about the output from these lenses as something fixed, something you are stuck with (true)....and that the story ends there, but failing to see how truly insignificant some of these nit pickings are if you spend some time trying to learn how to be a good printer; not so that you ccan fix the results but produce almost whatever feeling you want from most negs.
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Major error number two.

If the shots are boring and lack something I would suggest that this is a critisim of the photographer.
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Error number three.
 
back alley said:
would you care to expand on this?

joe
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Ya... Myths all over the place. Screen resolution not doing justice to pics. They do. Lens character shows thru, regardless. Negs as base lines u can do whatever u want with even if theyre ****, check Larry Bartletts bw photo printing workshop to see how an enlarger can do nothing to salvage a crap lense performance, and then try seperating what a photog sees from issues of the feel of a print.

That ok as an answer?
 
Flying Carpet said:
Ya... Myths all over the place. Screen resolution not doing justice to pics. They do. Lens character shows thru, regardless. Negs as base lines u can do whatever u want with even if theyre ****, check Larry Bartletts bw photo printing workshop to see how an enlarger can do nothing to salvage a crap lense performance, and then try seperating what a photog sees from issues of the feel of a print.

That ok as an answer?
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is there a reason that you want to start here being an asshole?
i just asked you a question because i was interested in your answer. i wasn't looking for attitude.

joe
 
Flying Carpet said:
Soory. Got your question wrong.
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then, my apologies for the heavy handed reply on my part.

i was curious for an answer because those points have been made here regularly and had not been challenged (iirc) and i wondered about what you might say or know that would change that for me.

joe
 
back alley said:
then, my apologies for the heavy handed reply on my part.

i was curious for an answer because those points have been made here regularly and had not been challenged (iirc) and i wondered about what you might say or know that would change that for me.

joe
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Don't matter to me. sorry if i got misunderstood man.

I don't like thjis negative=any platform stuff, coz i slave away at trying to get the negative right and the negative's always right, and the negatives the way it is because what i screw onto the camera makes a great differnece to the negative.

That's all.
 
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