Zeiss M lenses- utility of 1/3 click stops

[Film dino]

Has anyone found that this facility on the new Zeiss Ikon M lenses significantly enhances exposure accuracy? When shooting slides I find that bracketing in half-stops usually gives me one or two keepers, as far as exposure is concerned. For the record I don't own any 35mm Zeiss lens, old or new.

 

[hth]

Not to really answer your question, but I shot slide film in my M2 and half click stop lenses and did not notice any problems. Is the M shutter even accurate enough for this to be a big issue? Maybe a camera with electronically controlled shutter like the M7 or Hexar RF could benefit more from it?

/Håkan

 

[tetrisattack]

The 1/3rd stop exposure increment isn't very useful with negatives or cameras with mechanical shutters. It's somewhat useful when shooting slides with an R2A/R3A because it solves the dilemma wherein you want to underexpose a little to add punch, but a half-stop loses you too much shadow detail.

Ultimately 1/3rd-stop aperture clicks would be most useful for a camera with a high-precision shutter but narrow dynamic range, like an RD-1 or, dare I say it, a digital Ikon. 😱

 

[phototone]

You can set any lens in-between the click stops. I don't see the 1/3 click-stop feature as a "feature" at all.

 

[Doug]

Agree with phototone... I guess it's a marketing-motivated move to give the impression of greater precision. Might even be a drawback, making it a little harder to count clicks as you open up 3 or 4 stops... 🙂

 

[Roger Hicks]

+/- 1/3 is neither here nor there, but +/- 2/3 is the perfect bracket. At +/- 2/3 stop you are ALWAYS within 1/3 stop of perfect unless you are really incompetent at metering (think about it/do the sums). This to me is one of the strongest arguments for ZI lenses.

Check the Photo School at www.rogerandfrances.com for more on this topic.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[jlw]

Z-I has said that they've designed these lenses keeping digital camera applications in mind, and the ability to vary exposures in 1/3-stop increments is very useful with a digital camera.

While it's true that you can set any lens to in-between apertures, the click stops would make it easier to be repeatable with this.

 

[tetrisattack]

While it's true that you can set any lens to in-between apertures, the click stops would make it easier to be repeatable with this.

And to further emphasize this, I'll add that the click stops on the 50 planar are very hard to set to intermediate values, they are quite springy and smooth.

To speculate even more, you'd need 1/3rd stop accuracy to get a solid, even exposure on a digital camera whose manual shutter speeds were only offered in full-stop increments (unless the hypothetical digital ikon had a stepless shutter dial...)

 

[Film dino]

+/- 1/3 is neither here nor there, but +/- 2/3 is the perfect bracket. At +/- 2/3 stop you are ALWAYS within 1/3 stop of perfect unless you are really incompetent at metering (think about it/do the sums...........
Cheers,

Roger

Thanks Roger for this particular insight; seems so logical when it's pointed out.
David

 

[StuartR]

The one thing that bothered me a little bit about it when I played with a zm lens was that because you have the 1/3 stops, you DON'T have the half stops. I just found the half stops were easier and quicker to calculate in my head, so I missed them when they weren't there. Plus, I occasionally use my leica as a meter when I am shooting a meterless camera at the same time. Since I am very familiar with the leica's metering pattern, I can use it to accurately meter a scene and then transfer the same info to a meterless camera, be it a 4x5, or my M3...only having 1/3rd stop reading would add extra math....and I hate math. The lenses themselves are great though, and I am seriously considering possibly maybe taking a look at testing with the possible intent to rent to own the 21mm biogon.

 

[Roger Hicks]

It's only 1/6 stop different if you don't take the easy way out and set the aperture between the two. Think of it as 'half stop and a barely perceptible bit less' and 'half stop and a barely perceptible bit more'. For my money, quite a lot of gain for very little disadvantage.

Cheers,

Roger