Sharpness problems with my bessa r 35mm 2.5

[Dan]

Ive been trying to get my pictures sharper with my 35mm 2.5, ive gone to slide film, but am I going to have to get a leica lens to get the kinda sharpness that someone like alex webb gets in his pictures?


his:
<img src=http://www.magnumphotos.com/LowRes2/TR3/F/W/G/0/NYC28160.jpg>


mine:

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/ughhsloth/downtown.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

this was at 1/30th at f22

 

[the sloth]

his:

mine:

 

[aizan]

1/30? bump that shutter speed up a little!

 

[the sloth]

heres one with flash and this was focused on his face

the performance of the lens is still really poor

 

[the sloth]

I thought it was the scanner first, but I also print analog at school and they still looked horrible, even for 35mm.

Is there a problem with the bessa-r and its focusing or something like that? I thought I read something that some of the bessa-r cameras have a defect

 

[the sloth]

how can I tell for sure if the camera has a rangefinder calibration problem?

 

[bmattock]

how can I tell for sure if the camera has a rangefinder calibration problem?

Set up a series of objects at known distances - such as every ten feet from you. Take a photo focused on one of the objects (like in the middle). Use a tripod and a variety of f-stops to ensure the problem is not made worse by camera shake or better by depth-of-field covering the error up.

If the prints show a different focal point than the one you selected, then you have a rangefinder calibration problem - or the LENS is not in register, which is also possible. So try it with more than one lens, if you have one.

Somewhere around here, I have a thread for some third-party LTM lenses I tested a year or so back, when I lived in Albuquerque. The photos were all of my wife in our kitchen. One of them shows the focal point being on something behind her - but I was focusing on her face at the time. That lens was out of registration.

If you can find that thread and link, that's a good example.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[photodog]

Some thoughts: maybe a little camera shake as mentioned earlier, also f/22 usually isn't a good setting for optimum sharpness. Get the camera and lens checked by a repairman with collimator. Both the camera and the lens need to be checked.

Good luck.

 

[doubs43]

Not to step on Bill's toes but I'd use a ground glass and 10x loupe to check critical focus rather than burn film. First, check your rangefinder to make sure it's at coincidence when on infinity. Then check the ground glass to make sure the image is sharp at the film plane. Then you can try mid-range and close to minimum focus for the lens in question.

If your other lenses are sharp and the only one that isn't is the 35mm, I'd say it's a good chance that the lens isn't calibrated correctly for the rangefinder.

I hope you ID the problem and get it solved quickly.

Walker

 

[laptoprob]

Very true, The 35/2,5 Color Skopar is a terrific lens. Try it at full aperture with a short exposure or at f4 to f8. That area should cover the optimum performance of just about every lens.

good luck, Rob.

 

[Dave H]

hi,

a good focus test I use for all my camera / lens' is : a piece of lined A4 paper glued to a piece of card.

Set up the camera on a tripod (no camera shake), use the lens wide open (shallow DOF and fast shutter speed). Place the card at approx 45degrees to the line of sight of the camera and shoot a couple of frames with the card placed at its closest focus distance. Mark the line your focusing on so you can identify it on the print. It should be very easy to see on a print whether your focal point is bang on, long or short. If your lens / camera is focusing correctly close up and wide open and your pictures are still unsharp you've got a bigger problem !

Dave