Sharpest Apertures for C/V 35 PII and 50/2?

[photophorous]

Has anyone here done any testing to determine the sharpest apertures for the C/V 35 PII or the 50/2 Heliar, in the context of landscape shooting? Yeah, I know...that's a very specific question and I should go do some testing to figure this out on my own. I plan to. But, I don't have a lot of time, so I need to be efficient about it. If you have any experience doing deliberate testing to answer this kind of question, I'd like to hear about your methods as well as your results.

I ask because, I'm considering taking my RF kit on a backpacking trip and I'm just trying to get prepared. In the past I've always used SLRs and I wasn't as concerned about doing my best. Now that I have an RF, I've gotten a taste of how sharp and detail rich 35mm film can really be. So, I want to make the most of this situation.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[Sparrow]

A tripod is probably the way to get the most out of either lens; the 35mm LTM Skopar doesn’t to be that sensitive to aperture, I imagine the pII is the same.
In poor light I try to stay between 5.6 and 11, just through habit mainly, no experience of the 50

 

[photophorous]

Thanks for commenting, Stewart. I do plan to take a tripod and cable release.

Paul

 

[payasam]

Stewart is right on: a tripod brings out the best. While I do not know about these particular lenses, in general f/8 is the aperture at which lenses perform best. For landscape work, though, you may want more depth of field, and f/16 ought not to be noticeably inferior.

 

[markinlondon]

I did some lens testing when I was rationalising my outfit last year. The CV 35 PII was noticeably better at f8 than at wider apertures. I didn't test beyond f8 as I don't usually shoot stopped down further than that unless forced to by lighting conditions.

 

[photophorous]

Payasam and Mark, Thanks for commenting.

Most lenses seem to be sharpest around f8, and stopping down further introduces diffraction. Shooting landscapes (which I realize is not the norm for 35mm RF shooters), I'm going to want max DOF most of the time. I'm trying to figure out what is the best compromise between sharpness and DOF. Sometimes you can get a better shot at f11 than f16, even when max DOF is required. Just wondering if anyone has tested this or can offer some advice on testing methods. Maybe there is no good answer other than going out and shooting a few rolls. I guess I'll start at f8 and go up from there.

Thanks,
Paul

 

[Gid]

F8 on the 35 PII gives you from approx 8 feet to infinity using hyperfocal. F16 gives you 4 and a half feet to infinity. For the sake of 3 and a half feet, I'd stick to F8. On a 50 its the difference between approx 16 feet and 8 feet respectively - depends on whether that few feet is more important than lens performance.

 

[pau3]

Paul,
I did once a test comparing the 35/2.5 and the 35/1.2. The 35/2.5 was quite
good at the center at f4, but certainly not that good at the corners. At f8 the
best quality was achieved, center and corners, and also improving contrast.
At f11 the center was slightly worse, but much better than f5.6. I would say
that f8-f11 are the optimum apertures for the color skopar. I did the test for
close focussing distance (around 1m, with a newspaper) and at infinity.
Hope it helps,
Pau

 

[payasam]

As Gid says in numbers, f/8 with a 35 mm will give adequate depth of field for a landscape even with something in the foreground. It would be safe, though, to remember that your primary interest is the infinity mark on the lens barrel.

 

[photophorous]

Gid, Pau, & Payasam,

Thanks for your comments. I'm planning to do some very non-scientific testing this weekend, so maybe a week from now I'll have some results to share.

Paul

 

[mackigator]

I have the 50/2 Heliar and it definitely has a softer "classic" look when wide open, at least to my eye. Thus, my guess is a typical f5.6 - 8 range for the sweet spot of sharpness and contrast with decent light. I have not consciously experimented with the other end, f16. I like the lens a good bit and you can see some shots taken with it in my Flickr stream.

 

[manusrayus]

as the cosina pancake is not a leica which is better at open apertures like 1,4 2, 2,8 than other brands i would close down to 8 or even better 11 to get the best quality.at 16 or 22 quality goes down. to avoid for best results. a tripod is good, and of course d'ont forget the lens hood ! manr