I'm back to RF looking for narrower DOF. Wich lens?

[jaifo]

Hi folks, this is my first post at this forum (wich i have been reading for a couple of months), and it's about my comeback to RF.

I was a previous Leica shooter (M6+28elmarit + 50cron) who swapped to medium format and played a bit with digital.
Now i own a beautiful and pretty unusual Rolleiflex 50f4.o (eq to 28mm) a fantastic Ricoh GRD (28mm) and a Olympus E1 with a macro 50f2 which is like a fast portrait lens.

My problem is that i'm not realy confortable with what i have. All are superb performers in their place. The Rollei performs best an architecture camera (beter for me than the Hassy SWC, but is too slow to use as street camera. The GRD for everyday use, and the E1 for portraits and architecture details (BTW, i'm ending my studies as an architect here in Barcelona). But i lack a camera to carry with me everyday. My GRD is really nice, but i love the ability of choosing a narrow DOF, and digital lacks that!!

So i'm back to film (slides, for scanning) and i have choosen the new Ikon with CV glass. Firstly due to it's price, and second and not less important, becuse they make FAST lenses.
I have limited my decission to 2 possibilities:

- 28 ultron (1.9) + 50 nokton (1.5)
- 35 nokton (1.2!)

I would really apreciate to see some photos taken with those lenses wide open, and to hear your comments
I'm a wide fan. Love those candids with a 28, but the 35 looks so tempting.... It's like a wider Noctilux!
But if the 28 is capable enough to defocus the background as i want.... that would be a wiser decission (smaller -not that really matters, but helps).

Thank's for your patience and help!

P.S. I have posted this message in the Zeiss Ikon forum AND the cosina AND Leica. Sorry if that was not polite...

 

[Kim Coxon]

Hi and welcome,
I hope you don't mind but I have deleted the duplicate of this post. You are more likely to get a reasoned set of responses in one thread.

Kim

 

[jaifo]

Thank's a lot! i didn't notice...

 

[wrenhunter]

If you must have speed, I'd go for the 28 and 50. I have the 50 and like it so far. And the 28 is, well, wider 🙂

But if you really like wide, I'd go for the 21/4 and the 35/2.8. I also have those and love them. You'd also save a few bucks.

 

[pvdhaar]

For shallow DOF, the 50/1.5 will beat the 35/1.2 wide open for the same magnification, albeit by a small margin.

 

[mr_phillip]

If shallow DoF and smooth bokeh are priorities, don't pass over the CV 75mm Heliar - it's a peach, at any price.

 

[jaapv]

The narrowest Dof on the market? Summilux 75.> 2.968-3.076 @ 3m @ 0.03 COC.Even narrower than the Noctilux.

 

[jonasv]

35 2.8, 75 2.5, 75 1.4, ... Not very usefull responses so far since you specified and wide and fast.

If I were you I'd go with the 35 1.2, results I've seen from it are great and it's speed should be great... I'm not too sure, but does the ZI have 28mm framelines? If it doesn't, the 35 may be more comfortable as well. Anyway, the 50 1.5 is a superb performer. The 28 1.9 is supposed to be great as well, but keep in mind it is well over a stop slower than the 35 1.2, so personally I'd to with the latter.

 

[rvaubel]

So i'm back to film (slides, for scanning) and i have choosen the new Ikon with CV glass. Firstly due to it's price, and second and not less important, becuse they make FAST lenses.
I have limited my decission to 2 possibilities:

- 28 ultron (1.9) + 50 nokton (1.5)
- 35 nokton (1.2!)

I assume you are looking for a wide with limited DOF. A tall order but the 28mm Ultron will do it if you use it wide open. At a focal length of 28mm you MUST use it wide open. But it does work and it works great.
I would also recommend the 40mm Nokton F1.4 This lens is really useful for narrow DOF work. Its really compact and cheap too. I use it both on my film cameras as a moderate wideangle and my RD-! as a moderate/portrait telephoto.
They real king here in the wide/DOF department has got to be the VC 35mm F1.2 The priciest of all the VC offerings, still a bargain when compared to the Leica 35mm F1.4 Summilux aspheric. I don't have either but would take both in a heartbeat.
I will post photos after work.
By
Rex

 

[gustav[] pEña]

Have you think about the canon 50mm f1,2 (made in 1956) for your zeiss ikon? its around $300.


gustav[] pEña

 

[jaifo]

Thank's for all your responses. This forum is really something worth looking at!

To reconduct the responses, i would like to say ask again for some samples.
As rvaubel has stated, i'm lookin for a wide for limited DOF (sorry, my english is sometimes confuse) so the main battle is between the 35f1.2 and the 28f1.9.

I have always liked the 28 view. But i love the way my 28mmequivalent MF Rollei draws the scenes, with the subject diferenciated from the background. Some kind of 3D effect that i love. Also speed is welcome for low light, of course!

The 28 ultron wide open will have the effect i'm looking for, but i'm not so sure that it can accomplishthat at moderate distances (2m and away). That would be the place for the 35 nokton.
I would also like to see some 35 nokton shots to see if the angle of view suits me.

Thank's

 

[Dougg]

Welcome to RFF!

A wide maximum aperture (lens "speed") is certainly needed (along with close subject distance) for throwing the background out of focus. Speed is also useful if you find yourself hand-holding shots indoors and still you want to avoid the grain of very fast films. I chose the 28mm f/2 for both these reasons and (same as you) I like the 28mm view very much.

One factor yet unmentioned is rectilinear distortion. As an architect, you are probably interested in keeping straight lines looking straight. This lens characteristic is tightly controlled within narrow limits in the new Zeiss Ikon lenses and I think Leica lenses too in general. So dig out the lens specifications and try to discover the % levels of linear distortion in each of the lenses of interest.

If you see specified distortion more than 1.0% or so you know you'll easily see in your pictures (those with straight lines near and parallel with the photo edge) either "pincushion" or "barrel" distortion depending on whether the figure is negative or positive. Down around 0.5% or less, this is probably low enough not to be noticeable. It's surprsing to me that modern sophisticated lens designs, some even with aspheric surfaces, may show noticeable linear distortion. For instance the Voigtlander (Cosina) 50mm Skopar has pincushion distortion, and the Pentax 43mm Limited premium lens (celebrated as one of the best "normal" lenses ever made) has noticeable barrel distortion, as does the new Pentax 67-mount 75mm f/2.8 aspheric just as a few examples.