DubilUC
Member
I wouldn't rush into the decision. When I bought this lens I was sure i would want it optimized for 1.4 to shoot it wide open the whole time, but the more I've shot with this lens, the more I find I prefer 2.5-4.0 for close up shots anyway. At this aperture, you get a bitingly sharp in focus region, with plenty of background blur still. And don't expect that the bokeh on a lens is necessarily 'best' wide open. The old 'king of bokeh' 35mm summicron v4 has nicer bokeh at 2.8-4.0 than it does wide open. I think for close up work the same can be said for the zm sonnar. The bgs are smoother and more buttery stopped down a little, wheras wide open tends to be a little noisier and harsher (and you lose a LOT of sharpness between 1.5-2.0). And if its low light, or i want a dreamy look, i find it easier to focus a little closer to infinity than it is to focus a bit in front of the object. In the case of faces, just focus on the ears instead of the eyes.. buts its rare you ever need to do this..
