ZM 50/1.5 Sonnar available

[ferider]

The other day, when I was debating if or not to sell my Nikkor 50/1.4, I came across Vince's gallery, in particular

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/pho...=16210&what=allfields&name=vincec&name=vincec

(Hope the quote is OK here, Vince, this is a great photo)

and other shots he has there. And it convinced me to keep the lens
(in addition to the Canon 50/1.5). It has a very unique signature close up
and wide open. The only lens that I know behaves remotely similar
(but a bit less sharp) is the Canon 50/1.2.

Take this, of course, from a heavily GAS-impacted person ...

Roland.

 

[jano]

Yes, Sonnars 😉

Canon 50/1.5
Nikkor 50/2
Jupiter 8

(short that is)

And what about the original sonnar, uncoated? 😀 I had it for a few days before returning it because it had a nice nick in the front element and was advertised as clean and I paid a bit of a premium for that condition -- however, what a nice lens, not very big.

 

[vrgard]

The other day, when I was debating if or not to sell my Nikkor 50/1.4, I came across Vince's gallery, in particular

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/pho...=16210&what=allfields&name=vincec&name=vincec

(Hope the quote is OK here, Vince, this is a great photo)

and other shots he has there. And it convinced me to keep the lens
(in addition to the Canon 50/1.5). It has a very unique signature close up
and wide open. The only lens that I know behaves remotely similar
(but a bit less sharp) is the Canon 50/1.2.

Take this, of course, from a heavily GAS-impacted person ...

Roland.

Guess I didn't move fast enough, huh Roland? 😉

Oh well, at least the lens is staying with someone who will treasure it.

-Randy

 

[ferider]

There was one on sale on pnet for US 350.

BTW, when looking at ebay for the last few weeks, I noticed that
the cheapest way to buy an LTM Nikkor 50/1.4 or 50/2 seems to be
to wait for the correct Nicca + lens combo (and then sell the body).
For whatever reason they routinely go for much less then body and
lens are worth separately.

See for instance completed listings 320013193528, 280013892104, 320011271015, etc.

Roland.

 

[ferider]

Guess I didn't move fast enough, huh Roland? 😉

Oh well, at least the lens is staying with someone who will treasure it.

-Randy

Randy, have a few drinks with me, I might loosen up. Everything is negotiable 🙂

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

it convinced me to keep the lens
(in addition to the Canon 50/1.5). It has a very unique signature close up
and wide open. The only lens that I know behaves remotely similar
(but a bit less sharp) is the Canon 50/1.2.

I'm confused, are you saying that the Canon 50 f/1.2 behaves "similar" to the Canon 50 f/1.5 or the Nikon 50 f/1.4? If you mean the Canon 50 f/1.5, I couldn't disagree more, for the bokeh of the f/1.2 is rather harsher than the one of the f/1.5 -- I'm sayin', that's all.

 

[sirius]

Is there something special about a sonnar lens design?

 

[ferider]

I'm confused, are you saying that the Canon 50 f/1.2 behaves "similar" to the Canon 50 f/1.5 or the Nikon 50 f/1.4? If you mean the Canon 50 f/1.5, I couldn't disagree more, for the bokeh of the f/1.2 is rather harsher than the one of the f/1.5 -- I'm sayin', that's all.

No problem, Gabriel. No, I meant that the Nikkor 50/1.4 behaves somehow similar to the Canon 50/1.2. OOF circles and a certain flare behavior that seem similar to me. The Canon 50/1.5 to me behaves very similar to the original Sonnar or J-3.

Roland.

 

[vrgard]

There was one on sale on pnet for US 350.

BTW, when looking at ebay for the last few weeks, I noticed that
the cheapest way to buy an LTM Nikkor 50/1.4 or 50/2 seems to be
to wait for the correct Nicca + lens combo (and then sell the body).
For whatever reason they routinely go for much less then body and
lens are worth separately.

See for instance completed listings 320013193528, 280013892104, 320011271015, etc.

Roland.

Yep, and I saw one go for $255 on ebay the other day. And I agree that with your approach of buying a camera+lens as a cheaper alternative, albeit with a bit more effort involved. Perhaps I'll just ply you with a few beers and see if that frees up your lens...🙄

 

[jano]

Is there something special about a sonnar lens design?

To quote the Frenchman, "Yes, it's very naaaaas!" 😀

 

[wlewisiii]

Is there something special about a sonnar lens design?

Some of us feel that the asymmetrical lens designs (Cooke Triplet, Tessar, & Sonnar are all examples of them) have a different signature than symmetrical designs based on the Double Gaussian design. I personaly like the signature of these lenses which are similar to a greater or lesser extent - very sharp in the center then gently going softer in the corners while tending towards very pleasant bokeh. These lenses were all designed originally before lens coatings were available and, as such, were attempts to make viable fast lenses that didn't flare under nearly every light condition. A good condition uncoated pre-war Sonnar is still a very viable lens today.

An excellent way to taste test the Sonnar design is to get a decent condition Jupiter 8 50/2 lens for $20 or so. Then also get an Industar-61L/D at about the same price for a Tessar design.

William

 

[Justin Low]

Cosina has a couple of samples on their website: http://www.cosina.co.jp/seihin/co/c-s-50/akagi/index.html

 

[Avotius]

looks pretty good to me, the tones look something like what I want, a lens that is like the yashinon from the GSN but a little more contrasty, their models are ugly though...but im probably the only one here looking at the girls too and not just the signature of the lens 😉

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Here is a photo of a newly delivered ZM from photo.net mounted on R2A:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00HogZ&tag=


In general, the sonnar look is very appealing to me. I first loved it on the original Contax 50/1.5 sonnar (contax mount), just didn't like the camera.

Now I have the Canon 50/1.5 sonnar-design, and I really really like its bokeh. The photo below was taken with the Canon 50/1.5 ... not bad for old technology I think 😉

The only question now is whether GAS will compel me to waste money getting a Zeiss ZM to compare the with the Canon 😕

The power of Zeiss compels me ...
The power of Zeiss compels me ...
The power of Zeiss compels me ...

:angel:

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Tri-X 400TX pushed 800, Xtol 1+1

 

[Kyle]

I can't wait to see more examples of this lens. The more I think about it, the more it seems to make sense that I should just ditch the Canon 50/1.2 and the 50/2ZM and just use the 50/1.5ZM as my one 50.

 

[telenous]

From what I have seen so far I prefer the Planar. Trading it for the Sonnar lands you in territory familiar from past times when the Leica Summicron was the better lens but Summilux the faster. This is going to be a difficult choice for Zeiss fans.

 

[back alley]

i'm interested, not so much for faster but for the different look a sonnar can offer.

 

[telenous]

I know what you mean. It does have a different look (observation is based on what I have seen from the old Sonnar design). Great clarity and yet kind of soft, if that makes sense. But I find the Planar design to be sort of more three dimensional, as if the transition from sharpness to unsharpness is longer. Am I wrong to say this?

 

[Nachkebia]

Check this
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00HogZ&tag=