Can you explain this? On the M9, this lens shifted more than any other lens I've used...and by large amounts.
john_s
Well-known
A lot of them were made optimized at f2.8. I had one for a couple of weeks and it's the only lens I've ever had that had enough focus shift to cause serious out of focus pictures. At least if you have one optimized for f1.5 the corrections would all be in the same direction (stepping backwards with smaller apertures).
I would add that it's hard to know how old stock in a shop is even if it's unused. It's a pity that Zeiss are unable to give the serial numbers of the two versions.
I would add that it's hard to know how old stock in a shop is even if it's unused. It's a pity that Zeiss are unable to give the serial numbers of the two versions.
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thomasw_
Well-known
Hey it is only a small backward 2-3 inch lean....and only when shooting at f2-4 at a close distance. It doesn't take much practice to master the technique But, of course, YMMV....I'm referring here to my copy which is optimized for wide open f1,5 use.
Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner
Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner
Richard G
Veteran
mfogiel's test indicated troublesome focus shift with the f1.5 optimised version that he had, making it difficult to focus at f2.8 and f4. My 1.5 optimised version is slightly front focussed, shifting to slightly back focussed as it is opened up, so that from a practical point of view the focus shift is irrelevant for almost all situations. See my test referred to in the post above http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00aKSW.
swmlon
Established
OK, so I guess the best thing to do is just to buy it and try it out and learn to get used to the characteristics of the lens before deciding whether I'd need to optimise it for 1.5 if needs be.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know how much it would cost (within EU) to get the lens optimised if it was purchased 2nd hand or out of warrenty?
Out of curiosity, does anyone know how much it would cost (within EU) to get the lens optimised if it was purchased 2nd hand or out of warrenty?
TheGodParticle
Well-known
i bought one, second hand that was optimized for 1.5 and have a certificate from Zeiss stating it has been optimized for 1.5 so i dont think all the focus shift rumors are just rumors.
i chose it over the 50 lux asph and im lovin every picture it gives me on my m9
some sample pictures where precise focusing at 1.5 is clearly shown
i chose it over the 50 lux asph and im lovin every picture it gives me on my m9
some sample pictures where precise focusing at 1.5 is clearly shown
EdwardKaraa
Well-known
As far as I understand, if optimized for 2.8, the focus will shift about 2-3 cm forward at MFD wide open, which can be easily compensated for, for example by focusing on the rear eye instead of at the front eye in a portrait. Stopped down a bit, the shift backwards should be less important and DOF should compensate for it. When you say large amounts, I would suppose there was an unfortunate combination of focus shift and lens miscalibration which is not so uncommon.