focus shift on the color skopar P II?

[meandihagee]

did you guys had any experience with this?

i am torn between getting the nokton 35/1.4 or the pancake. i've read about the focus shift on the nokton and i was wondering if the pancake has this problem as well.

it seems to me that the pancake takes better pics than the nokton, but i have a little trouble with its size, it seems a little difficult to operate. did you get used to it quickly?

thanks

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

I think it operates better than the v4 summicron I tried, especially the aperture ring, which doesn't get 'blocked' by the hood like the v4 does.

never noticed any focus shift.

 

[mpve]

Rest assured....

Almost all lenses have focus shift. It did not matter at all with film (except for lenses like the CZ Sonnar were focus shift is more severe). Only in these digital ages with a perfectly flat film plane (oeps, the sensor I mean) you start noticing focus shift. You now also see manufacturers dealing with this problem in the newest versions of their lenses....

I would not bother about it! The CZ Sonnar has focus shift and the whole internet is vibrating about it. Still the lens is perfectly usable once you know how to handle it. What I mean to say is: if there would be any distinct focus shift on this lens the internet would vibrate. If it is not, then the effect is neglible.

 

[rxmd]

Almost all lenses have focus shift. It did not matter at all with film (except for lenses like the CZ Sonnar were focus shift is more severe).

After the bokeh craze, the Holga craze, and the crop-factor-scars-my-soul craze, focus shift is the new craze for Internet armchair photographers.

Only in these digital ages with a perfectly flat film plane (oeps, the sensor I mean) you start noticing focus shift.

More importantly: in these pixel-peeping ages were an 1:100 enlargement is just a click away.

 

[Bingley]

I don't think focus shift is a problem w/ this lens; at least, I've never had a problem w/ it. And I've found this lens easy to handle, too, but then I tend to prefer smaller sized lenses. YMMV. (FWIW, it's about the same size as the Rokkor-M 40/2, which is also a great little lens).

 

[SebC]

No focus shift issues here. Not my favourite lens to use though - I don't like the focus tab.

 

[Turtle]

the pancake II or the 35 Skopar do not shift according to reviews I have read. The wee pancake II is a great lens.

 

[meandihagee]

rxmd, you're definitely right about the made up problems.

i guess i'm trying to find another excuse to get the pancake and not the nokton 35/1.4

thanks everybody

 

[back alley]

After the bokeh craze, the Holga craze, and the crop-factor-scars-my-soul craze, focus shift is the new craze for Internet armchair photographers.



More importantly: in these pixel-peeping ages were an 1:100 enlargement is just a click away.

AMEN!



.

 

[john_s]

Focus shift is a real problem in most lenses f1.4 (incl f1.5) and wider. Even with film. For f2 and smaller lenses, it's not likely to be noticed.

 

[rxmd]

Focus shift is a real problem in most lenses f1.4 (incl f1.5) and wider. Even with film.

Well, only with a few lenses that have it in particularly pronounced form (Sonnar type etc.), and even then only when you're not aware of it.

I think anyone capable of focusing a rangefinder is capable of dealing with it. Shoot a lot of pictures, get to know your equipment and forget about it. Nowhere near the Internet bogeyman some people make of it.

 

[gavinlg]

Don't worry about focus shift with any lens. I've owned the canon 50L - a lens known for it's shifting and in real life situations it doesn't make squat of a difference. Focus shift is for people that photograph test charts.

I've actually owned the cv35 pII as well, and it's a brilliant lens, no focus shift or problems of any sort. It's contrasty, sharp, tiny, well made, and very very good.

 

[Turtle]

I posted earlier but would say that the despite owning some very nice lenses, the pancake II is still my main choice for walkabout photography in 35mm. At 2.5/2.8, the Summarit is still stronger on FF - a touch - but out on the street in daylight I rarely shoot at less than 5.6. F4 would be rare. In this regard the smaller pancake is perfect, it is also cheaper in case of damage or loss and has a stiffer focus which is ideal for zone focused street work.

All the guff about bad bokeh is untrue and generated by Leica Nazis who scour the internet for incriminating images that prove the inferiority of this lens (despite not having a clue how any other lens would have fared shooting the same frame).

I find mine very flare resistant and just all round dynamite. I could use this lens alone for the rest of my life and be just fine. Printed images look indistinguishable from those shot on my ZMs or summarit, unless shooting at 2.5 where it it a little weaker in the corners and with more vignetting. I have only ever shot mine with film so cannot comment on coding/vignetting on digital.

 

[ferider]

I posted earlier but would say that the despite owning some very nice lenses, the pancake II is still my main choice for walkabout photography in 35mm. At 2.5/2.8, the Summarit is still stronger on FF - a touch - but out on the street in daylight I rarely shoot at less than 5.6. F4 would be rare. In this regard the smaller pancake is perfect, it is also cheaper in case of damage or loss and has a stiffer focus which is ideal for zone focused street work.

All the guff about bad bokeh is untrue and generated by Leica Nazis who scour the internet for incriminating images that prove the inferiority of this lens (despite not having a clue how any other lens would have fared shooting the same frame).

I find mine very flare resistant and just all round dynamite. I could use this lens alone for the rest of my life and be just fine. Printed images look indistinguishable from those shot on my ZMs or summarit, unless shooting at 2.5 where it it a little weaker in the corners and with more vignetting. I have only ever shot mine with film so cannot comment on coding/vignetting on digital.

+1.

That being said, the same Leica (or Zeiss fans) complain about the 35/1.4, that is a great lens as well. When you get the Nokton, you buy almost 2 stops speed, you loose a little wrt distortion. The Nokton 1.4 does have barrel distortion, but not more than, say, the over-praised 35/1.2 or UC 35/2 Hexanon. The Nokton 1.4 does focus shift, but not more than, say, 35 Summilux or Noctilux.

I have both, 35/2.5 PII and 35/1.4, and use them for different purposes.

And I'm not cheap on my lenses.

Roland.

 

[pachuco]

It's a fantastic lens that is almost always attached to my Leica. I have never had a problem with it!

 

[meandihagee]

cool. thanks for your input.