Summicron 50/2 vs Soviet lenses: Battle of the Bourgeois Proletarians

[wolves3012]

Thanks Anthony for sharing your experience. I feel now I must get one too 😉
Are good samples hard to find?

Ron, mine was just a random Ebay purchase (cheap) a few years ago so I can't really comment on present supply. I think mine was NOS, not sure but it's immaculate.

EDIT: Just found item no. 111747783486 (no connection to seller and mine was UK purchased)

 

[uhoh7]

you must be testing close range performance. 🙂

 

[Ron (Netherlands)]

Ron, mine was just a random Ebay purchase (cheap) a few years ago so I can't really comment on present supply. I think mine was NOS, not sure but it's immaculate.

EDIT: Just found item no. 111747783486 (no connection to seller and mine was UK purchased)

Thanks you Anthony, I'll have a look - btw would this work on a Contax IIa ?(its the only cam I have on which it would fit)

 

[bobby_novatron]

As I mentioned earlier in this thread there are some caveats to this 'test'.

1. Live View isn't perfect. I tried the best I could, but even with careful scrutiny of the M 240's screen the focal plane differed between the lenses.

2. I did the test purely out of my own curiosity and enjoyment. If people have issues with my methodology (i.e. the test is 'pointless') then they have a different view of things -- and that is OK. I invite others to set up their own testing area and try the same thing I did. It's surprisingly hard to get the consistency that one needs in these kinds of comparisons.

3. Although the Summicron is better, the FSU lenses aren't terrible by any means. The Soviet Union was known for producing high-quality engineering (just not on a regular basis) and their lens designs are decent. I'm quite fond of the J-8 and the J-3. The Helios-103 is definitely one of my favourite lenses for digital or film.

4. Even though the test revealed focal plane issues, another thing to note is the colour-cast or overall colour palette of the lens. One thing that was consistent in my test was the light source -- and particularly the white balance. When scrolling through the various image samples, it's plain to see what kind of colour rendering each lens delivers. Same for contrast.

 

[wolves3012]

Thanks you Anthony, I'll have a look - btw would this work on a Contax IIa ?(its the only cam I have on which it would fit)

Ron, I can't advise on that, sorry. I know there are certain issues with compatibility between Contax/Kiev bodies and lenses but I have no idea if this is one of them. Hopefully someone else will give us an answer!

 

[wolves3012]

2. I did the test purely out of my own curiosity and enjoyment. If people have issues with my methodology (i.e. the test is 'pointless') then they have a different view of things -- and that is OK. I invite others to set up their own testing area and try the same thing I did. It's surprisingly hard to get the consistency that one needs in these kinds of comparisons.

Well, professional testing of this nature is beyond most of us in terms of the equipment needed. Yes, there may be some caveats but I, for one, applaud your efforts and found it a useful contribution.

 

[bobby_novatron]

Thanks you Anthony, I'll have a look - btw would this work on a Contax IIa ?(its the only cam I have on which it would fit)

FWIW I have used the Helios-103 on my Contax IIa with no problems.

 

[bobby_novatron]

wolves3012 -- thanks for your kind words and input. I may be posting more results (shot at F8 for sharpness + consistency) if I get around to it.

 

[Fotohuis]

It is a lot of work. Even digital but when doing analogue incl. professional photo prints and then do the scan even much more work. Apart from the fact of the test charts, alignment, parallel to the camera which I did with an universal laser tool. Well you can check also the distance then in mm. 😉

 

[raid]

Thank you the test! This is quite interesting.
I did such a test years ago with film cameras, so it was more difficult to control aspects of the lens comparisons. It is still useful to compare your results with my results at Roland's smugmug website.

https://ferider.smugmug.com/Technical/Raids-50mm-Tests

 

[Kent]

Correct focussing is more important than the performance of a lens in tests like this, I'm afraid.

With those (kind of) lab tests it's also essential that the conditions can be reproduced 100%.
Since we as amateurs cannot guarantee that, it is crucial to shoot at least a series of 10 to 20 pictures with each lens (perhaps with slight refocussing) and then take the best one.

No offence meant. It's always a lot of work to do those tests.

 

[ForestCap]

Correct focussing is more important than the performance of a lens in tests like this, I'm afraid.

With those (kind of) lab tests it's also essential that the conditions can be reproduced 100%.
Since we as amateurs cannot guarantee that, it is crucial to shoot at least a series of 10 to 20 pictures with each lens (perhaps with slight refocussing) and then take the best one.

No offence meant. It's always a lot of work to do those tests.

I agree and at the same time appreciate OP's effort.

I did a test of some manual lenses for my olympus m4/3 digital camera last year. The camera has Live View, and one can select a small portion in the framing area, center or corner, for 10x zoom-in. It helps a lot when checking corner sharpness at large aperture (shallow DOF) since sometimes the corner unsharpness is caused by out of focus. So I usually focus on an object at center, take shots, then with the help of Live View, focus on an object at corner, take shots. Of course shooting at a far enough distance can help with this issue, but I'm usually too lazy to leave my messy desk.

 

[Fotohuis]

I have an Oly m4/3 digital camera, my only digital one but I especially did my test with an analogue R.F. camera. Indeed live view and then 10x zoom in.

The "problem" with my M7 is that it is used with W.A. lenses and has the 0,58 finder. Putting a 85mm J-9 on it is on the edge what is possible and even when using an original Leica LTM-M adapter questionable for the right focus. The Summarit 75mm I especially bought for this camera, apart from my 50-28-21 Leica- and 15mm- (C.V.) lenses.