old/ modern look? CV lenses

[wblati]

I have been reading a lot from people describing lenses to have a old/ modern look - I have a 35mm f1.7 Ultron and like the images I have produced but don't really know why. Thanks.

 

[rover]

My opinion is that the the CV lenses in general all produce a modern, sharp and contrasty image.... except for the 35 Ultron which I do really like too. I think it produces a more vintage sharp but less contrasty image.

 

[ferider]

Old/New look is mostly meaningless over-simplification, and different people mean different things with it.

Primarily there is macro contrast, micro contrast, resolution in the center and in the corners, OOF rendering and distortion; all that at different f-stops and different focus distances. There is also different types of flare which generally reduce contrast.

There are old lenses with very high macro contrast (for example the Orion 28/6), and modern lenses with quite low resolution, but very high micro contrast, and therefore very pleasant rendering (for example the Color Skopar 28/3.5, the 6 element Summicron 35/2, or the R Summilux 35/1.4).

The Ultron is very high resolution when closed down a bit, and also good contrast. See for instance Sean Reid's recent reviews of 35mm lenses. It is a bit prone to flare wide open which gives it lower contrast at f1.7. It is low distortion, and has very nice OOF, which is maybe why you like it.

Best,

Roland.

 

[jsrockit]

I'd call them more modern...to simplify matters. Perhaps the SC models are not though... they are more old style IMHO.

 

[filmfan]

I love my Ultron 35mm lens. It can look vintage soft at f/2 and f/1.7, but from f/2.8 and above it looks more modern sharp, without ever actually being modern sharp.
Also, the overall low contrast helps a lot when pushing film, for film gets too contrasty very quickly when pushed.
I however did not like my Skopar 35mm f/2.5. I tried to like it, but just could not. I loved the size, but could not get into the overly modern look (this is probably due to shooting BW film exclusively... if I shot color, I would still own it).

 

[lawrence]

I love my Ultron 35mm lens. It can look vintage soft at f/2 and f/1.7, but from f/2.8 and above it looks more modern sharp, without ever actually being modern sharp.
Also, the overall low contrast helps a lot when pushing film, for film gets too contrasty very quickly when pushed.
I however did not like my Skopar 35mm f/2.5. I tried to like it, but just could not. I loved the size, but could not get into the overly modern look (this is probably due to shooting BW film exclusively... if I shot color, I would still own it).

I found exactly the same. The Ultron is modern but not too modern.

 

[le vrai rdu]

i love modern look 🙂