the sonnar has arrived.....finally

[kross]

got the lens today after a long wait because the lens was sent to zeiss for f1.5 focus calibration. i guess the lens has already traveled the globe.... from japan to states to germany then back to states and finally landed here in singapore... phew... if it has a krisflyer card, there would be a free ticket to claim already!😀

here's sharing my joy.... after the long wait. sexy isn't it? 😛

gonna bring it out this weekend for a spin!

rgds,

 

[Tom A]

You will enjoy it. In spite of having a multitude of 50's - the one that gets the most use is my C-Sonnar 50f1.5. It has a very good rendition in bl/w - a kind of "lush" look in the shadow details that my other 50's lack.
Mine is an early one and I have no idea if it is "optimized" for f1.5 or f2.8 - but I have never seen a shot at either f-stop were I could blame the lens for lack of performance or noticed a focus-shift!

 

[kross]

Thank you Thomas. And great shot. I just love the image it produces especially b&w portrait. I got it from Tony too.

Thank you Tom. I specifically wanted it to focus calibrate at f1.5 coz I shoot wide open when ever I can with any given fast lens. I like to play around with shallow dof and am a "bokeholic". The sonnar is perfect for all that and more, the unexplainable character. 🙂

 

[kross]

some wide open test shots with fuji reala.... all shots unsharpened.
hope i can finish a b&w roll by this week... so far, this lens rocks! 😀

 

[back alley]

from my zm sonnar 50/1.5, on the rd1...taken yesterday.

 

[mfogiel]

Get yourself a lens shade asap...
Here's one of my latest favourites:

 

[kross]

Joe, Marek, great shots with the sonnar.

Marek, I have the original hood (not photographed here) but I would like to hear some c sonnar users' feedback on not using the hood. Any apparent effect if the hood isn't used? I prefer not to as it blocks a wee bit of my m6 view finder and I'll be using it mostly for available light shooting. From what I read, this lens is fairly resistant to flare.

 

[mfogiel]

It is better to use the hood, this lens is not as flare free as other smaller aperture lenses in the ZM line, and also the contrast wide open is low, so, particularly with colour, you should use the hood.

 

[fadeawaybfa]

Hi everyone !
I brought a c sonnar last month,I have two questions that how to know the lens is the 1st version or 2nd version? And how to optimized for f1,5 ? My lens' number is 15601032.

 

[mfogiel]

You have to put it on a tripod, focus to 1m and do a series of shots at different apertures, then you will know... but most were optimized for f 2.8

 

[kshapero]

You will enjoy it. In spite of having a multitude of 50's - the one that gets the most use is my C-Sonnar 50f1.5. It has a very good rendition in bl/w - a kind of "lush" look in the shadow details that my other 50's lack.
Mine is an early one and I have no idea if it is "optimized" for f1.5 or f2.8 - but I have never seen a shot at either f-stop were I could blame the lens for lack of performance or noticed a focus-shift!

I also have no idea what my Sonnar is optimized for. But I could not be happier with its results.

 

[thomasw_]

Fadeawaybfa---> No way to know with the serial no. Send it to your dealer or Zeiss, they can do the adjustment or get it adjusted.

Kross: re hood. I agree with Marek that using the hood does help with contrast in general and especially at f1,5. That is an objective fact. However I understand your love of the small, compact design of this lens. So the question can be 'to what extent can you afford to lose a little contrast' in certain shooting situations? You can always add it in PS if you digitize your negs; in wet printing this can be done with the right filter, too. But does shooting w/o the hood create unuseable negatives; so far in my experience I would say it hasn't. Marek is also right that this lens is not as flare resistant as other ZM lenses like the 35/2 or 50/2 -- both of which I shot w/o a shade most of the time -- yet the c sonnar is still very resistant to flare as lenses go. I shoot with the shade most of the time because I want that extra bit of contrast wide-open, but when I haven't used one, it hasn't been that big of a loss in most images. The lens is remarkable and very forgiving despite its reputation for being hard to manage wide open.

 

[fadeawaybfa]

Fadeawaybfa---> No way to know with the serial no. Send it to your dealer or Zeiss, they can do the adjustment or get it adjusted.

Tks! I decide to do nothing with it, I think I can manage about the 50mm missing at the f1.5
Like you picture BTW!