bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
Disclaimer: the following lens 'test' was done out of good humour, curiosity, and enthusiasm. I make no claims for my abilities as a photographer or technician.
Purpose: In August 2015 I found myself in the fortunate position to have 4 splendid 'normal' primes in my possession. I thought it might be interesting to compare the character of these four lenses.
Specifically, I wanted to examine the following:
o colour cast
o contrast
o bokeh
o overall IQ (highly subjective of course)
Method: I placed my Leica M 240 on a tripod approximately 2 meters from the grey card. Focus was on the bull's-eye on the card.
Cast of Characters:
Summary:
For those who just want to cut to the chase, here's the summary of my very unscientific test.
FIRST SET -- The Forest For The Trees
IMAGE #1: General Scenery (taken with Leica Summicron 50/2). Shot at F2.8, focus on grey card.
Not much point in posting the files from the other lenses, they all performed wonderfully. Nothing to see here folks, move along.
NEXT SET: CENTER CROPS AT F2.8
These images were all taken at F2.8, I apologize for my dirty patio glass.
IMAGE #2: Konica 50/2 Center Crop at 100%
IMAGE #3: Leica 50/2 Center Crop at 100%
IMAGE #4: Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH center crop at 100%
IMAGE #5: Pentax SMC 43mm F1.9 center crop at 100%
Obsevations: my patio glass is really dirty. That's the problem with using a bunch of great lenses on a wonderful camera like the M 240. You might see levels of detail that are unwelcome.
Note to self -- good idea to clean patio. Or next time use a badly-shimmed and hazy Jupiter-8 as my test lens.
THIRD SET: UPPER LH CORNER CROPS AT 100%
This was to examine the overall quality of the out-of-focus areas. Sorry about my inaccurate crops, they are ALMOST the same.
IMAGE #6: KONICA 50/2
IMAGE #7: Leica 50/2
IMAGE #8: Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH
IMAGE #9: Pentax 43mm F1.9
Observations: to borrow a phrase from Ken Rockwell, I used 'natural vegetation in a phased-lattice array'. The crops generally speak for themselves. The forest looks blurry when you shoot lenses at F2.8 from 10 meters away. Amazing!
That being said, the Konica and Summicron are virtually identical. The Konica SHOULD have a softer bokeh due to the 10-blade aperture, but I can't really see much difference. The Nokton ASPH has a wonderfully dreamy background, it looks very pleasant (to my eyes). The Pentax is a little busy -- that being said, it is known for having this quality. The Pentax renders in a more classic way, I'd say. Shot closer to F1.9 I think the Pentax would be smoother at the expense of contrast and resolution.
CONCLUSION: As Ken Rockwell says (always great to poke fun at KR), "there is no better lens on earth than the Leica Summicron-M 50/2." But wait! What about these other lenses? To borrow some of KR's hyperbole, "there is no better lens on earth than the Konica Hexanon 50/2." And also, "...than the Nokton 50/1.5", and "...than the Pentax SMC 43mm F1.9 Special".
They're all great. I think it's all down to personal taste. IMHO I think the Konica would really shine with a nice emulsion like Portra or Ektar. The Nokton and Pentax would be great for B+W. But all of these lenses are super. What did I expect?
Photography is a great hobby for me, but I have much to learn. I hope you have enjoyed this extremely inelegant 'Battle of the Fantastic Fifties!' as much as I have. If you'll excuse me, I think my wife is calling. Thanks for reading my post.
Purpose: In August 2015 I found myself in the fortunate position to have 4 splendid 'normal' primes in my possession. I thought it might be interesting to compare the character of these four lenses.
Specifically, I wanted to examine the following:
o colour cast
o contrast
o bokeh
o overall IQ (highly subjective of course)
Method: I placed my Leica M 240 on a tripod approximately 2 meters from the grey card. Focus was on the bull's-eye on the card.
- ISO: 200
- White Balance: AUTO
- File type: JPEG (24MP)
- Focus: Live View with peaking, 10x
- Metering: Advanced Multi-Pattern
- Post-Processing: none besides 100% crop
Cast of Characters:
- Konica Hexanon 50mm F2
- Leica Summicron 50mm F2 v5
- Nokton 50mm F1.5 ASPH (M-mount)
- Pentax SMC 43mm F1.9 LTM Special
Summary:
For those who just want to cut to the chase, here's the summary of my very unscientific test.
- It's easy to waste 2 hours of your morning fooling around with lenses and wait for the ambient light to cooperate.
- All of these lenses are excellent. Their excellence far exceeds my abilities as a photographer.
- Pixel-peeping can drive you temporarily insane (see #1 above).
- The Konica has a slightly warmer colour cast than the other lenses.
- The Leica is magnificent in every way. A great all-rounder.
- The Nokton is a fabulous performer at its price-point.
- The Pentax SMC is no slouch, but has a busier bokeh than the other lenses.
FIRST SET -- The Forest For The Trees
IMAGE #1: General Scenery (taken with Leica Summicron 50/2). Shot at F2.8, focus on grey card.
Not much point in posting the files from the other lenses, they all performed wonderfully. Nothing to see here folks, move along.
NEXT SET: CENTER CROPS AT F2.8
These images were all taken at F2.8, I apologize for my dirty patio glass.
IMAGE #2: Konica 50/2 Center Crop at 100%
IMAGE #3: Leica 50/2 Center Crop at 100%
IMAGE #4: Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH center crop at 100%
IMAGE #5: Pentax SMC 43mm F1.9 center crop at 100%
Obsevations: my patio glass is really dirty. That's the problem with using a bunch of great lenses on a wonderful camera like the M 240. You might see levels of detail that are unwelcome.
Note to self -- good idea to clean patio. Or next time use a badly-shimmed and hazy Jupiter-8 as my test lens.
THIRD SET: UPPER LH CORNER CROPS AT 100%
This was to examine the overall quality of the out-of-focus areas. Sorry about my inaccurate crops, they are ALMOST the same.
IMAGE #6: KONICA 50/2
IMAGE #7: Leica 50/2
IMAGE #8: Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH
IMAGE #9: Pentax 43mm F1.9
Observations: to borrow a phrase from Ken Rockwell, I used 'natural vegetation in a phased-lattice array'. The crops generally speak for themselves. The forest looks blurry when you shoot lenses at F2.8 from 10 meters away. Amazing!
That being said, the Konica and Summicron are virtually identical. The Konica SHOULD have a softer bokeh due to the 10-blade aperture, but I can't really see much difference. The Nokton ASPH has a wonderfully dreamy background, it looks very pleasant (to my eyes). The Pentax is a little busy -- that being said, it is known for having this quality. The Pentax renders in a more classic way, I'd say. Shot closer to F1.9 I think the Pentax would be smoother at the expense of contrast and resolution.
CONCLUSION: As Ken Rockwell says (always great to poke fun at KR), "there is no better lens on earth than the Leica Summicron-M 50/2." But wait! What about these other lenses? To borrow some of KR's hyperbole, "there is no better lens on earth than the Konica Hexanon 50/2." And also, "...than the Nokton 50/1.5", and "...than the Pentax SMC 43mm F1.9 Special".
They're all great. I think it's all down to personal taste. IMHO I think the Konica would really shine with a nice emulsion like Portra or Ektar. The Nokton and Pentax would be great for B+W. But all of these lenses are super. What did I expect?
Photography is a great hobby for me, but I have much to learn. I hope you have enjoyed this extremely inelegant 'Battle of the Fantastic Fifties!' as much as I have. If you'll excuse me, I think my wife is calling. Thanks for reading my post.
Kwesi
Well-known
What fun!
love your descriptions and observations.
love your descriptions and observations.
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
The Pentax SMC 43mm F1.9 LTM Special:
And Christopher Walken. Or is the the other way around?
And Christopher Walken. Or is the the other way around?
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
porktaco
Well-known
i'd actually be interested in the IMAGE 1 comparison shots of all four. i'm particularly curious about OOF rendering up to about halfway to the frame edge from the focal spot. we always look at corners (corner case!) but when i look at photos i tend to look at the central areas more even if just by accident.
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
Thanks for your input. I will be adding a few more sample images today to hopefully illustrate your point.
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
ADDENDUM
Or
"A Case In Which The Author Finds Himself To Have Way Too Much Free Time"
The weather straightened out and the sky became uniformly grey and dreary. Perfect for more lens testing!
This time the M 240 was placed on a tripod about 1.5M from the subject. Settings on the camera were the same as last time. I forgot to mention that the lens profile was 'MANUAL' and the generalized '50mm F2' profile was selected throughout.
Due to the lack of a colour test chart, I used my daughter's art project. When in doubt -- improvise!
Again, no edits besides re-sizing and cropping. Here we go!
SET #1: General Subject at F4
Image #1 -- Konica 50/2
Image #2 -- Leica 50/2
Image #3 -- Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH
Image #4 -- Pentax 43mm F1.9
SET #2: Center Crop, lenses shot wide open
Image #5 -- Konica 50/2 at F2.0
Image #6 -- Leica 50/2 at F2.0
Image #7 -- Nokton 50/1.5 at F1.5
Image #8 -- Pentax 43/1.9 at F1.9
Note: the Pentax 43mm F1.9 was shot a few centimeters closer to the canvas in order to account for framing differences.
Summary: the Author gleaned several important insights during these tests, including...
1. Busywork can really make the day fly by quickly.
2. Patio glass doesn't clean itself.
3. Crayons looks really neat when they're melted together.
4. The Leica 50/2 is still a fantastic lens.
5. The Konica 50/2 has a tiny bit more contrast than the Leica.
6. The Nokton 50/1.5 is also a great lens. What is there to complain about?
7. The Pentax (when re-framed) has superb resolution at F1.9, very impressive.
Now I SWEAR that's it. No more sample images. I'm done.
Or
"A Case In Which The Author Finds Himself To Have Way Too Much Free Time"
The weather straightened out and the sky became uniformly grey and dreary. Perfect for more lens testing!
This time the M 240 was placed on a tripod about 1.5M from the subject. Settings on the camera were the same as last time. I forgot to mention that the lens profile was 'MANUAL' and the generalized '50mm F2' profile was selected throughout.
Due to the lack of a colour test chart, I used my daughter's art project. When in doubt -- improvise!
Again, no edits besides re-sizing and cropping. Here we go!
SET #1: General Subject at F4
Image #1 -- Konica 50/2
Image #2 -- Leica 50/2
Image #3 -- Nokton 50/1.5 ASPH
Image #4 -- Pentax 43mm F1.9
SET #2: Center Crop, lenses shot wide open
Image #5 -- Konica 50/2 at F2.0
Image #6 -- Leica 50/2 at F2.0
Image #7 -- Nokton 50/1.5 at F1.5
Image #8 -- Pentax 43/1.9 at F1.9
Note: the Pentax 43mm F1.9 was shot a few centimeters closer to the canvas in order to account for framing differences.
Summary: the Author gleaned several important insights during these tests, including...
1. Busywork can really make the day fly by quickly.
2. Patio glass doesn't clean itself.
3. Crayons looks really neat when they're melted together.
4. The Leica 50/2 is still a fantastic lens.
5. The Konica 50/2 has a tiny bit more contrast than the Leica.
6. The Nokton 50/1.5 is also a great lens. What is there to complain about?
7. The Pentax (when re-framed) has superb resolution at F1.9, very impressive.
Now I SWEAR that's it. No more sample images. I'm done.
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
BTW, I thought I should mention that the native JPEG files on my computer look FAR better than the uploaded and mushy / compressed files in this thread. If they didn't take up so much bandwidth I'd figure out a way to park the 24MP files somewhere in the Ether. But my upload speeds are not very fast, and I have patio glass to clean.
pechelman
resu deretsiger
love your prose and not taking yourself too seriously.
also love the comparisons.
I take it on the original grey card shots, the sun poked through some branches and created the hot spots on those 2 lenses? The exposure, based off the background and dirty glass (thanks for not cleaning it by the way
) looks identical.
also love the comparisons.
I take it on the original grey card shots, the sun poked through some branches and created the hot spots on those 2 lenses? The exposure, based off the background and dirty glass (thanks for not cleaning it by the way
) looks identical.pagpow
Well-known
Thanks for doing this, bobby_novatron. It seems to me there are visible differences in color saturation and contrast that survive the compression, etc. Do I see focusing differences in the center crops of the color shots? or am I smoking something?
I greatly appreciate the precision of the technical language you used and the conclusions that precision that language allowed you to reach, particularly about patio glass and its lack of auto-cleaning function, but I am somewhat disappointed you did not show the bokeh of shots taken with the Chistopher Walken.
Giorgio
I greatly appreciate the precision of the technical language you used and the conclusions that precision that language allowed you to reach, particularly about patio glass and its lack of auto-cleaning function, but I am somewhat disappointed you did not show the bokeh of shots taken with the Chistopher Walken.
Giorgio
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
love your prose and not taking yourself too seriously.
also love the comparisons.
I take it on the original grey card shots, the sun poked through some branches and created the hot spots on those 2 lenses? The exposure, based off the background and dirty glass (thanks for not cleaning it by the way
Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, the clouds shifted and the sun was shining briefly during the 'grey card' photos.
Of course, as soon as I put my camera away, the sky became completely grey and homogeneous.
Aristophanes
Well-known
That copy of the Leica 50/2 compared to the Pentax 43/1.9 wide open and cropped looks mushy.
The Pentax has the most nervous bokeh but what a sharpie. That's the tradeoff I suspect.
The Pentax has the most nervous bokeh but what a sharpie. That's the tradeoff I suspect.
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
Thanks for doing this, bobby_novatron. It seems to me there are visible differences in color saturation and contrast that survive the compression, etc. Do I see focusing differences in the center crops of the color shots? or am I smoking something?
I greatly appreciate the precision of the technical language you used and the conclusions that precision that language allowed you to reach, particularly about patio glass and its lack of auto-cleaning function, but I am somewhat disappointed you did not show the bokeh of shots taken with the Chistopher Walken.
Giorgio
I tried to search Google for 'Christopher Walken + camera' or 'Christopher Walken + Leica' but I came up empty-handed. Even the power of the Google cannot pierce Walken's opaque armor.
Yes, there are differences in saturation and contrast, especially in the crayon photos. I think that despite the high (and unwanted) JPEG compression the subtle differences of these lenses still are apparent. I take full responsibility for any focusing errors, although there could be some focusing plane changes due to the F-stop variations.
That's sounding way too serious and technical, I think I'll go eat some pie now.
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
I noticed a difference with the Summicron 50/2 as well. The 'mushy' appearance could be due to focusing errors on my part. I think there is a difference in the so-called 'micro-contrast' with the Leica ... IMHO the Leica captures more gradations than the other lenses.
And yes, I'm noticing that the Pentax is really sharp. Very sharp, in fact. The bokeh is a little bit agitated, I agree. Still a great performer though. Even shot wide-open at F1.9 the Pentax has excellent color and contrast.
Katie
Established
But did the glass get cleaned yet? Seriously!!
I'm liking that hexanon more and more...
I'm liking that hexanon more and more...
uhoh7
Veteran
I would love to see the Pentax v cron f/4 at infinity with evenly distanced details across the frame, like from a hill over a town.
It reminds me of the contax 45, crazy sharp but harsh bokeh.
TY so much, I was not aware of the lens!
It reminds me of the contax 45, crazy sharp but harsh bokeh.
TY so much, I was not aware of the lens!