First Results: Test of Fifteen 50mm Lenses

Sorry, Raid, but here's a comment/question about one of your test shots

Sorry, Raid, but here's a comment/question about one of your test shots

Sorry, Raid. Didn't mean to hijack your thread or distract from all the great work you did testing those lenses! 😱

One comment I have is that I wondered about the focus on the shot taken with the Canon 50/1.5 (sorry if I sound completely focused on that lens!). Don't know if the focus was just off, the lens needs cleaning, or what, but unlike many of the other shots, that one is generally soft throughout. This is particularly apparent by comparison to the shots I took versus the Nikkor 50/1.4 where the Canon shots were surprisingly sharp.

-Randy
 
Randy: Do you mean the test that you did on the Canon 50mm/1.5 or the test that I did? I am just thirsty for discussions here. I also had some shots were I happened to move during the shot or my model moved. With fifteen lenses being etsted, I don't have the luxury of repeating shots.

Raid
 
raid said:
Randy: Do you mean the test that you did on the Canon 50mm/1.5 or the test that I did? I am just thirsty for discussions here. I also had some shots were I happened to move during the shot or my model moved. With fifteen lenses being etsted, I don't have the luxury of repeating shots.

Raid
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Raid, I was referring to the shot you took of your daughter with the Canon 50/1.5 @ f2.0 (you posted it with 2 other comparison shots in a post in this thread a bit earlier). Perhaps I'm just biased now towards that lens (or, at least, my copy of it...) but I found the shot you took to not be as sharp as the ones I've experienced. Could be, as you say, you happened to move when taking that shot (just as I believe I moved slightly with my first Nikkor 50/1.4 shot of the lamp - see my comment about that in one of my previous posts in this thread) or perhaps your copy of that lens has some haze. Don't know the cause in your particular case, but in response to your request for comments I thought I should point it out.

-Randy
 
Randy: I now have additional shots of the lenses taken at 1.4/1.5, and the Canon 50mm/1.5 lens looks good there. Take a look.

Raid
 
Raid - very nice shots of your daughter. In the 3 shots with the Canons, the 1.2 and 1.5 may be front focused a tad, while the 1.4 back focused. No biggie.

Randy - in Raid's first tests of the Zeiss cloth boxes, and videos, do you see the distinct perfect circle bokeh at the top, mostly in the Canon 50/1.5@1.5, but also a little evident in the 50/1.5@2.0 example? That's something the Hexanon doesn't have 😉

There's no doubt from your photos, and some of Raids that these Canon lenses are ultra sharp.
 
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ampguy said:
Raid - very nice shots of your daughter. In the 3 shots with the Canons, the 1.2 and 1.5 may be front focused a tad, while the 1.4 back focused. No biggie.

Randy - in Raid's first tests of the Zeiss cloth boxes, and videos, do you see the distinct perfect circle bokeh at the top, mostly in the Canon 50/1.5@1.5, but also a little evident in the 50/1.5@2.0 example? That's something the Hexanon doesn't have 😉

There's no doubt from your photos, and some of Raids that these Canon lenses are ultra sharp.
Click to expand...

Yes, Ted/ampguy, I see what you mean. Nice bokeh in those Canon 50/1.5 shots! Better than the Canon 50/1.4, 50/1.2 and the Zeiss 50/2.0 (would love to see a comparison with the Zeiss 50/1.5 - Raid, any chance you can add that to your great set(s) of shots?). And as Roland pointed out earlier, the Canon 50/1.5 is a nicely sharp lens even if it isn't quite as sharp as the Nikkor 50/1.4. Similar praise from Dante Stella when he said, "this is a sleeper of a lens, one that is very much a well-kept secret" (see: http://www.dantestella.com/technical/canoleic.html).

-Randy
 
Randy:Just scroll back 2-3 pages and you will see the comparisons.
I have the Zeiss 50mm/2 and not the Zeiss 50mm/1.5. If you have such a lens,send it over to me.

I just returned from the post office, picking up additional parcels from Mark.
Unless I am mistaken, they will include a Canon 7s camera with the amazing Canon 50mm/0.95, plus a Nokton lens with adapter [edited😛lus a Zeiss 50/3.5] and maybe even a camera to go with that lens.

THANKS Mark!

When someone pays so much money to send me equipmant,and also risks damaging things in the mail, they deserve far more thanks than I do. I will try to make special tests for these special lenses.


Can you imagine the comparison between Canon 50/0.95 and Nikon 50/1.1!!!
Then, compare these two to the "slower lens", the Canon 50/1.2.


Raid
 
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Note: I just replaced in posting # 86 the image that was labeled 'Canon 50mm at 2.0". By mistake, I had an image taken by the Canon 50mm/1.5. Now it has been corrected. It is rather time consuming to keep15 lenses apart.

Raid
 
I find the following lenses quite sharp and pleasant looking when looking at the images taken at 2.0:

Nikon 50/2
J-3
Canon 50/1.5
Canon 50/1.8


The eyebrows are sharp, and the overall image quality is high.
Note that the first three lenses are Sonnar design.



Raid
 
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Raid, excellent test of the capabilities of the various lenses at 1.4 and 1.5. After seeing this latest test, I am really impressed, and quite surprised with the J-3. I have to search out the 2.0 section now.
 
dexdog said:
Raid, excellent test of the capabilities of the various lenses at 1.4 and 1.5. After seeing this latest test, I am really impressed, and quite surprised with the J-3. I have to search out the 2.0 section now.
Click to expand...


Mark,

The J-3 most likely must first be reshimmed by someone before it is sharp. In my case, Brian handpicked the lens and he then shimmed it. Mine is supposedly made for military uses. Maybe that's why it is so sharp.

Raid
 
With a moving child/model, variations will occur due to movement. There is no other way to get a human face except with maybe an older model. As you compare the images at 1.5 and 2.0, you may find at times that the image at 1.5 appears sharper. Use the enlarged view to see details. It is quite surpsing how sharp some lenses are.

I may re-do the entire test with all lenses wide open as a back-up replicate.

Raid
 
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I encourage people here to post images taken by any of the lenses [same type] I tested. Maybe we can see similiarities or differences.

Raid
 
I have good news: Fred (FB) is sending me a new Zeiss 50mm/1.5 C-Sonnar lens for the test in addition to another Nokton lens. He asked me whether anyone has sent me a Noctilux ... he he he. [No]

Raid
 
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