Sonnar followup

L

ljsegil

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It has been several weeks since the Zeiss ZM 50mm f/1.5 was the center of controversy regarding its performance when wide open. I would like to hear from the Sonnar users as far as how they feel about the performance of the lens in their hands. Is it still a dog that can't be focused? Are wide open closeup shots unacceptably soft? Or is the lens perhaps the artistic wonder that Zeiss claims?
Please pass on your thoughts and experience with the Sonnar, the rest of us can benefit from your judgements.
LJS
 
As far as I understood it was the other way around.

But, this lens was made for a certain look. For sharpness there is the Planar.
 
other way 'round?

like:
"the c-sonnar is a focus that can't be dogged"?

honestly, i still cannot find anything wrong with this lens.
cheers & nice weekend to everyone

sebastian
 
:)

No, I understood the C-Sonnar was optimized to focus for medium to close distances wide open, or am I wrong?
 
dog/focus

dog/focus

Focused on his right eye. 1 meter, f 1.5, R-D1 1/45 ISO 800.

The plane of focus looks to me as though it's a couple of cm in front of the eye, but for this picture it doesn't bother me. The human face is flatter and some wide-open shots at the same distance focussed on the eye are not in sharp focus on the face. Shots where the face is in focus have what I think is a nice look to them.
 

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I am currently extensively testing a Zeiss Sample of the 50mm 1.5, in comparison to my Planar f2 which I've been using since mid 2005.

Imaging characteristics are quite interesting to say it mildly. Quite an lens.

So far, focus shift at wide apetures and close distances is predictible and consistent, in practice, its easy to adapt. Bokeh, SOFA, etc is superlative.

More info about how these lens compare directly later, Aloha.
 
Interesting imaging characteristics and predictable focus shift is what I'm counting on...I took a leap of faith 30 minutes ago and ordered one from B&H!

John
 
Whether the focus shift is seen as a problem or not - Zeiss should say it more clearly on their website, what the characteristics of this lens are. The general information that ZM lenses have a reduced focus shift does not apply to the C-sonnar.
 
what i find the strangest of all is that on the zeiss website they call the 50/1.5 the photojournalist's lens.

i have it, love it so far and like that it's a bit different from most 50's.

works for me.

joe
 
just bought me the sonnar this afternoon.
here is a quick test shot i took just after leaving the shop. (f/1.5)

my M8 is already in love :D

i will post a lot more photos over the weekend cause i intend it to be a Sonnar weekend ;)

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Jerome
 
Jerome, great shot at f/1.5. Love it's sharpness, contrast and OOF quality. Does anyone expect the focus shift issues with film to differ from digital? Specifically, does anyone think that film curl within the rails contributes to the focus shift issue? The few shots I've seen with digital cameras using the lens don't seen the least bit out of focus and I would think given the crop factor, it would be more noticable. This is a lens I'm curious about and I wonder if it would be a compliment to the super sharp 50/1.4 Summilux asph.?
 
Aloha, no I don't think the film curl comes into play here. I've shot on separate bodies, and when you do a bracketed set of frames, you can see the focus shift forward as the f-stop comes closer to full open.
 
weather was awfull today , rain , windy and cold :bang:

hopefully tomorow should be better :)

but manage to take a few more test shots, just test nothing really artistic ...

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jerome
 
What aperture did you shoot these new ones at Jerome? I tried to look at the EXIF info in PS, but it wasnt there. You did shoot them on M8 right?

-Mitch
 
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