Is this the King of Bokeh?

[mojojones]

After seeing some images from the new Zeiss Sonnar C 50mm I decided to test my Leitz lenses for their Bokeh. I have three models: a Summicron 2/50 5th version Canada, a Elmarit 2.8/28 4th version Germany, and a Summicron 2/35 4th version Germany. While the 50 performed well, and the 28 was not anything special, it was the 35 that surprised me. I paid well for an excellent condition specimen of the lens know as the "King of Bokeh", but what I'm seeing here is far from what I'd expect. Here's what I got. All images were shot wide open focused at 1 meter (the point of the railing at the center of the frame).

 

[ChrisN]

Must say I'm not overly impressed with any of those. To my taste the 50 in the top left corner of the image is quite displeasing. Perhaps not the right subject to bring out the best in each lens' character.

 

[DwF]

I would find another subject and background that is less busy, just to try gain. Also I wonder whether there was wind blowing the leaves in the background?
Those lenses should do better, and the subject in the background should not ultimately matter but I would shoot more before writing these lenses off from that point of view. Each of those lenses that you are using are all really capable of making beautiful images.
David

 

[aizan]

very difficult background, but none of them look smooth. the pre-asph summicron is good at around f4-f5.6. i'd imagine the same is true for the others.

 

[Mazurka]

Overcast is good for bokeh, even with busy backgrounds. 😛

 

[mojojones]

Yea it's a busy background... That's just why I chose it. It's supposed to be a challenge. (No the wind wasn't blowing) I guess if bokeh is only good with favorable backgrounds then any lens is a candidate for the "King".

 

[Mazurka]

Bokeh varies with subject & background distances, aperture, lighting, etc. In order to have a general idea about how a particular lens behaves, you have to spend a great deal of time shooting with it under different conditions.

Unless it's a telephoto, most lenses tend to have harsh background bokeh wide-open because of over-corrected spherical aberration designed to improve sharpness.

 

[Avotius]

Hm....not too impressed myself either. Very busy background though, maybe this test would be better if you tried shooting a portriat shot with a farther away background ~2-3 meters with your subject at the 1 meter mark. Might be a better showing then.

 

[Ororaro]

Summarit 5cm f1.5 is the best boke lens in the Leica lineup, IMO.

 

[Mazurka]

Under the right (or rather wrong) circumstances, the Summarit can give ugly backgrounds too: http://www.takanet.com/hobby/camera/Lens/Boke/

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[anhtu]

From "The King" a.k.a 4th Gen 35 Summicron.

Shot on Provia 100F

 

[Rhoyle]

I saw the harshness in the upper left background as well. My question is this... Is the problem coming from the lens or is it digital schmutz from the scan. Upon occasion I've had this happen to certain images where the original chrome was quite smooth.

 

[Bosk]

Though I'm hardly an expert on 'bokeh matters' I will say that of the lenses I've owned the 4th version 50 Summicron impressed me the most.

A good test of bokeh I found was to shoot a brick wall at a 45 degree angle, focusing as close as possible. The test of the lens is then to see how smooth the transition from fully in-focus to totally OOF is. This is often a smoother, more gradual transition with Leica lenses than Japanese-made ones.

 

[clintock]

Here's an old seven element ridgid Summicron m50 (not DR), note how excess sharpening can make sort of bad bokeh go to horrid. The not-sharpened one here is a noritzu scan, so was probably already sharpened before I intentionally overdid the other.
Has anyone got an example of a Konica m Hexanon 50 doing anything harsh?

 

[dave lackey]

Hmmmm....

😕

Not impressed yet...does anyone have results that rival these from the Nikon rangefinders?

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37430

 

[clintock]

That thread does have some pretty examples, I'm thinking this thread is more of a bad bokeh thread, or 'when good lenses go bad' sort of deal.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[VinceC]

>>if only someone had B&W shots with that lens<<

I do a lot of B&W work with the 50mm/1.4 Nikon Millenneum lens. Its color rendition is magnificent with the modern multicoating. But it is, at heart, an early 1960s design that was mainly used with black and white.

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request