Summicron 35v3 vs Biogon-C

[dfoo]

I received a Summicron 35v3 in the mail last night so afer shooting a few test shots I decided to run a few tests against a Biogon-C at f2.8/f4/f5.6. Despite rumors to that the v3 is soft, I found it is actually quite sharp, even wide open! The biogon-C is definitely sharper at f2.8, but not much. At f4 and f5.6 I cannot really see much of a difference. The sharpness also might be attributed to a slight misfocus, I'd need to run another test to be sure. Unfortunately, I don't have PS on this machine so I cannot post crops, although I'll do so later.

 

[dfoo]

Couple of test shots from last night. The first is wide open, the second is I think f2.8 or f4. Both shot on Eastman XX.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnewhook/4483531629/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnewhook/4483531595/

 

[dfoo]

Summicron v3 is left. Biogon-C is right. Both are shot @f2.8 1/8 second. These are straight from the scanner. They were 100% crops in photoshop, downsized somewhat bicubic sharper for posting on flickr. A bigger image is available in the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnewhook/4495418176/

 

[fbf]

Well, at least at 2.8, the biogon is much sharper than the v3 to my eye.
Both are great lens though.

 

[dfoo]

Yes, agreed. At f4+ the difference is negligible. At f2 the summicron wins hands down!

 

[ferider]

Did you use a tripod ? If not, may I suggest to use a faster shutter speed for resolution comparison ?

Thanks,

Roland.

 

[dfoo]

I used a big honkin tripod. The summicron may have been misfocused (I wasn't using my M3 for the comparison, but rather the Ikon), but I suspect it was not.

 

[dfoo]

That is the full summicron v3 shot, btw. Its interesting too, the summicron is slightly wider than the biogon-C.

I would have shot another summicron test after I compared the results, except by that time the beer was all gone! 😀

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnewhook/4494841059/

 

[ferider]

Cool. Good beer, too 🙂

 

[ampguy]

looks to me like your v3 needs adjustment

looks to me like your v3 needs adjustment

did you bracket focusing, use a tripod, or is this a raid/roland type of test procedure here?

Summicron v3 is left. Biogon-C is right. Both are shot @f2.8 1/8 second. These are straight from the scanner. They were 100% crops in photoshop, downsized somewhat bicubic sharper for posting on flickr. A bigger image is available in the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mnewhook/4495418176/

 

[dfoo]

I put the camera on a big heavy tripod, focused the lens and took one picture at each aperture. So, no I didn't bracket focus 🙂

 

[ampguy]

Ok

Ok

So not to rub it in or anything, but you didn't necessarily focus the lens here. You moved the focus ring around until the RF sort of looked right in the VF and then took the photo, with the lens at some arbitrary setting.

I put the camera on a big heavy tripod, focused the lens and took one picture at each aperture. So, no I didn't bracket focus 🙂

 

[Turtle]

ampguy, you are correct in that focus bracketing is required for stringent testing; however, you are also making the assumption that the V3 is out of alignment and the biogon is not and that should the biogon show as sharper, there must be some error with the alignment of the V3. Is it possible that this test is representative?

I think most people would have expected this result without seeing the pictures. Slower computer designed lens against older faster one from three or four decades ago....

 

[ampguy]

Yes, it is possible

Yes, it is possible

that this Biogon 35/2 is sharper than this Cron V3, but there are not other targets in front of, on, or behind the bottle label that indicate if either lens could have been focused sharper at this crop.

Furthermore, the crop between the two images is not of the same magnification.

The V3 may not be out of alignment, but the focus barrel may not be in an optimal position. At 100+% crops, a partial rotation of the focus ring won't necessarily register any change in the VR/RF patch, but can change the results on the film/sensor.

ampguy, you are correct in that focus bracketing is required for stringent testing; however, you are also making the assumption that the V3 is out of alignment and the biogon is not and that should the biogon show as sharper, there must be some error with the alignment of the V3. Is it possible that this test is representative?

I think most people would have expected this result without seeing the pictures. Slower computer designed lens against older faster one from three or four decades ago....

 

[dfoo]

The crops are not of the same magnification because, as I said, the focal length of the lenses is not quite the same 🙂 They are identical sized crops of the same sized full-frame scan of the 35mm film.

I might redo the summicron v3 shots with some focus bracketing. This time, however, I'll probably use a different type of beer!

 

[ampguy]

Ok

Ok

The most common feedback I got on my focus shift tests was to have something stepless in the image that was in front of and behind the target focused on.

For example a ruler with some contrast points or dots every cm or so so if a dot in front of or behind the front beer label were in focus it would give some indication of where the actual focus of the lens was.

The crops are not of the same magnification because, as I said, the focal length of the lenses is not quite the same 🙂 They are identical sized crops of the same sized full-frame scan of the 35mm film.

I might redo the summicron v3 shots with some focus bracketing. This time, however, I'll probably use a different type of beer!