The Zuiko 50mm Bokeh Thread

[Sparrow]

 

[helen.HH]

Well Stewart , 'She' certainly makes a Carlsberg Tres EXCITING

Great Sexy Allure....
Tres more Sophisticated than most Beer 'Ads'...😀
Love it !

 

[Sparrow]

Well Stewart , 'She' certainly makes a Carlsberg Tres EXCITING

Great Sexy Allure....
Tres more Sophisticated than most Beer 'Ads'...😀
Love it !

Thanks Helen, like the avatar 😎

 

[sreed2006]

Okay, bokeh fans, we need empirical data.

Today, I took pictures with these lenses:

G.Zuiko 50/1.4 (Serial 667XXX)
Zuiko 50/1.8 made in Japan
Zuiko 50/2 Auto Macro
Zuiko 55/1.2
Zuiko 35-80/2.8 Zoom

Minolta 50/1.7 MD
Minolta 58/1.2 MC Rokkor
Minolta 58/1.4 MD

Vivitar 55/2.8 Macro (with Olympus OM mount)

Canon EF 24-105/4 L USM IS Zoom
Canon EF 50/1.4 USM
Canon EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 Zoom

For the Zuiko and Vivitar lenses, I took pictures with the lenses mounted on an OM-4Ti and on a Canon 5D Mark II (via an adapter).

The Canon EF-S was mounted on a Canon Rebel XSi.

For the Minolta lenses, I used a Minolta X-700 camera.

For film I used Fujicolor ISO 200, and the scanning was done by the CVS Pharmacy. They aren't the best scans, but they are good enough for these comparisons.

I tested the zooms at all the three focal lengths of the primes (50mm, 55mm, and 58mm). As with all zooms, the exact focal length achieved was an approximation based on what looked like the right number on the scale.

I stuck to whole f/stops from 4 and wider, up to the maximum aperture of each lens.

If you would like to see the results, they are in the gallery "Wide Apertures" at:

http://gallery.me.com/om1er

Flames, comments, and questions are welcome. Hopefully this can add some empirical data to the question of which lenses have the best Out Of Focus characteristics (bokeh).

I'll start off the discussion. I think the Zuiko 55/1.2 sucks at f/1.2 - it was the worst picture of the lot in my opinion. Further, the G.Zuiko 50/1.4 was my only lens for many years, I bought it in 1979, and it does mighty well against the competition.

 

[Armoured]

I'll start off the discussion. I think the Zuiko 55/1.2 sucks at f/1.2 - it was the worst picture of the lot in my opinion. Further, the G.Zuiko 50/1.4 was my only lens for many years, I bought it in 1979, and it does mighty well against the competition.

I haven't looked at these in detail, and I'm not a Bokeh nut, but from the pictures posted, the Zuiko 1.2 does look pretty harsh.

 

[sreed2006]

The picture I felt was the least pleasant was the one with the Zuiko 55/1.2 at f/1.2 mounted on Canon 5D Mark II.

The picture taken on film instead is not as bad, but still not a pleasant picture.

The Zuiko's competition, the Minolta Rokkor 58/1.2 at f/1.2, renders the playground equipment quite a bit more pleasantly, I think. The Rokkor lens is widely known for its bokeh, and can be modified to fit on Canon EOS cameras, but I just haven't had the heart to do that to such a nice lens.

Note: If you have the disk space and time, the gallery can be downloaded and the pictures examined at full resolution.

 

[gavinlg]

My 55mm 1.2 zuiko was good in good conditions (clean background) with bokeh but very very strange when you had anything slightly difficult (dappled light/leaves etc). It became very disturbingly jumpy and harsh.

 

[motion_runner]

50/1.2, wide open.

Frank

 

[jesse1dog]

Zuiko 1.8 50mm (japan not mij) fully open

Zuiko 1.8 50mm (japan not mij) fully open

You might wonder if he is friend or foe!

jesse

 

[Prest_400]

Get the 50mm 1.8 to a close focusing distance, and if it's in the mood, it will smooth everything. Like the dog and this woman. So creamy background!

It's quite curious. Sometimes at the minimum focusing distance it will render creamy background or harsh. I'm curious about what causes that variability.

 

[Roscoe]

Get the 50mm 1.8 to a close focusing distance, and if it's in the mood, it will smooth everything. Like the dog and this woman. So creamy background!

It's quite curious. Sometimes at the minimum focusing distance it will render creamy background or harsh. I'm curious about what causes that variability.

Subject...?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Bokeh with any lens is affected by distance and the aperture you use. Some lenses are harsh at some f-stops and smooth at others. Some are smooth at some distances and harsh at others, all in one lens!

 

[motion_runner]

Welcome

Welcome

Zuiko 50/1.2 at f 2.0

 

[defconfunk]

I've always liked the bokeh on my 50/1.8... I guess I'm not picky enough?

 

[Cron]

I like my new to me Zuiko 1,4/50 on Sony 5n

 

[maxwell1295]

I'm pretty happy with the bokeh of my 1.8. Happy enough that I don't feel the need to replace it with anything else.


Clothesline by alanabramsphotography, on Flickr


Birdhouse 2 by alanabramsphotography, on Flickr

 

[raphaelaaron]

Zuiko 50mm f1.4

 

[thereabouts]

Zuiko 1.4 silvernose at f1.4.

Sharpness isn't everything.

 

[teddy]

I have always liked 50mm lenses at F4, including the Zuiko 50. The only issue for me is that SLR lenses limit the beauty of bokeh because of fewer aperture blades.

OM Zuiko 50/1.8 (MiJ) @ F4 and Velvia 50

OM Zuiko 50/1.8 (MiJ) @ F4 and Ektar 100

OM Zuiko 50/1.8 (MiJ) @ F4 and Ektar 100

OM Zuiko 50/1.8 (MiJ) @ F4 and Ektar 100

OM Zuiko 50/1.8 (MiJ) @ F4 and Olympus e-520

OM Zuiko 50/1.8 (MiJ) @ F4 and Velvia 100

OM Zuiko 50/1.8 (MiJ) @ F4 and Acros 100

 

[Keith]

Lately I've been using my 50mm f1.2 on my M240 with an adapter. I'll never shell out the dosh for a Noctilux so this as near as I can get! 😀