Lenses with 3D effect for M

[Miers]

I was astonished to see the marvelous 3D effect on my old Red Scale50 Elmar.What other lenses have a similar effect?I couldnt believe a 60 year old lens could be so good.Do the voigtlander lenses have a similareffect? Is this what is called DRAWING in a lens?

 

[laptoprob]

AFAIK a lot of - older - lenses have this. Something to do with the lack of optimizing for sharpness and contrast, or optimizing for the whole frame. Qualities almost everyone seems to want these days.
At least older Leica lenses are famous for this. I am sure older Canons and others will share this quality.
Welcome to the forum!

 

[mfogiel]

The lenses which exhibit this the most are from Zeiss.

 

[mike_j]

I don't really understand what you mean by this 3D effect. Could you post a picture to demonstrate please.

 

[Miers]

3D effects from Red Scale Elmar

3D effects from Red Scale Elmar

Thank you for your comments. New chum Bobby here.I wish I could post the photograhs which resulted from a bumbling beginner but I quite lack the technical skills to do so.But it is that same lack of expertise which took me aback when I saw the remarkable result of someneighbourhood houses photographed with Fuji Reala print film.100 ASA.The qualities were smoothness of texture and colour:a pleasing overall impression which revealed the architects intention of ...harmony? But most of all the impression of depth of theside walls.I showed my wife who said well...welll...she was impressed.I believe I quite like this photography business.
Regards
Bobby

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I have a framed picture at home, a 5x7. It looks like it is in 3D. It's with a 13.5cm F4.5 Hektor. I think it's the low contrast and shadow detail that creates the illusion.

Take a photo of an outdoor scene. Hold it near to you, and close one eye. Your brain will try to compensate for the lost 3D information. The same is going on when you look at a flat image. Maybe the low contrast recreates the scene closer to what the brain expects.

 

[MCTuomey]

I think the effect is more pronounced in prints when using larger format gear, esp 4x5 and beyond. I believe I've noticed it on a limited basis with several 35mm format lenses i've owned or used: 75 summilux (strongest/more often), 50 elmar (a bit) , CV 35/1.7 (a bit), and just recently a contax 24-75N (too early to tell for sure on the zoom). Haven't seen it with my 50 pre-asph lux.

Maybe there are more variables than just the lens: type of subject, light, aperture & subject-camera distance. Curious speculation really.

I used to think that the effect was partly dependent on type of film (slower vs faster), but since I've seen it with my digi gear I'm not sure.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Bobby,

A lot depends on subject matter and viewing distance, but there is no doubt that some lenses do have a more 3-D rendering than others. It's partly quantifiable -- resolution across the field and aberrations -- and partly 'magic'. It is meaningless to ascribe this to a certain maker, though.

No, this isn't the ame as 'drawing', at least as currently used, because that is generally used to refer to barrel or pincushion distortion.

Cheers,

R.

 

[dlove5]

I just looked at a couple of prints of mine that look 3D. In one case, taken with an old 35 Elmar, back lighting of the primary subject seems to help. It tends to outline the foreground in-focus subject causing even more separation from the out-of-focus background.

Other lenses I have used that have produced good 3D pictures without me even trying:

135 Nikkor F3.5
135 Tele-Elmar F4
135 Elmarit F2.8
90 Summicron F2
​

 

[Ororaro]

3D effect?
This has to be a joke...

 

[raid]

We are in the joking mood! Next there will be a 4D effect!

 

[sirius]

For me it has to do with a lot of factors. Leica lenses are reported to have very good micro contrast and beautiful out of focus rendering. There seems to be a lot more middle tones in my Leica negatives than I found in my old Canon RF lens results. The Canons pictures looked flatter to me.

Over at cameraquest there was this comment that stuck in my mind: "The M's reason for being as far as I am concerned is their incredible Black and White work. If you have never tried it, you're in for a treat. Leica negs stand out on a light table instantly from Nikons/Canons/Minoltas etc. "

I've never used Zeiss lenses but I have seen some beautiful photos around here made by them. I found a guy on Flickr that uses an old 50mm f1.5 sonnar and he gets such lovely photos from it...

The 3D effect is rather nebulous. It's like the "leica glow". But I firmly believe there is some substance to these terms. It is not all just hype or these optics would not have stood the test of time like they have. Why else would the Summicron DR/rigid be voted the best lens for Black and White on this forum?

cheers

 

[LeicaTom]

.....actually I want to break into 5D

I heard that`s where all the models look like Raquel Welch 😀

Tom

PS: Try a Canon f1.5 50mm they are good for EVERYTHING.....

 

[Ororaro]

We are in the joking mood! Next there will be a 4D effect!

As some Canon fanboys like to call it: "Threedeeness".

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Here's my "try" at an example. Not sure how it will show on your particular monitor.

Canon 50/1.2 wide-open and 1/15th sec on the Bessa R2.

A combination of the light and the perspective. The low-contrast preserves shadow detail, and plays tricks with my eyes. Not sure about yours.

 

[payasam]

Pictures taken with the Summaron 35/3.5, of which I have had two, give an impression of what is called "roundedness" or "plasticity".

 

[FPjohn]

Tessar

Tessar

Hello:

It seems a characteristic associated with some older lenses especially Tessar like designs of which the Elmar is one.

yours
Frank

 

[nitrox1]

Brian, that is a seriously cool photograph. Nice job!

John

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Brian, that is a seriously cool photograph. Nice job!

John

Thankyou. We went to Colonial Williamsburg and Historic Jamestown in Virginia for Thanksgiving. It's an impressive place to visit, lots of people in costumes. They also rent costumes to the tourists, and lots of the kids dress up in period pieces.

> Actually no -- lenses do not "draw" they "project."

My Engineers made optics that could draw images. The optics were expensive, the tracking electronics were complex, and they used "LASERS". They used to draw the Lab emblem for demos. They "drew" the image very quickly with a fast refresh, you basically saw the image.

 

[gberger]

My only "3D" effect since I began in 1945 with a IIIc, has been with the current 50 Summilux ASPH - - - but, ONLY when the chromes are projected. Prints? No; Loupes? NO; Projection? Every Now And Then.

Reason? I haven't a clue. The apparent 3D slides were shot in not-too-bright light with F 1.4 to 2.8 of street and portrait subjects. Maybe one out of 100 chromes exhibit this so-called effect. Might be the Astia - -or the projection lens (SuperColorplan) or glass-mount problems. Who knows?