Zunow 5cm f1.1 at full aperture

[Vickko]

Here are some shots with my Zunow 5cm f1.1 at full aperture, night shooting. Some photos are cropped, so it doesn't show the edge performance of the lens.

But still interesting to see how the lens is doing at f1.1.

 

[KevinVH]

None of the pictures look really tack sharp, in colour it doesn't work for me, but I can imagine with Tri-X and a suiting subject, it can be nice..

 

[Highway 61]

Far from being sharp even in the center, and with very unpleasant CAs.

The Millenium Nikkor, being only 2/3 f-stops slower, would probably perform way better at f/1.4...

I once used an old Nikkor-Auto 50mm f/1.4 (non-Ai, early version with the triangular coupling prong) on a DSLR and it was truly excellent.

But the 50mm f/1.2 results always looked ugly to my eyes.

Mixed feelings about those rare and fairly expensive f/1.1 lenses of that era. As a result of the extra aperture you got shots as blurry as some which would have been made at f/2 with a Sonnar-type lens using a slower shutter speed , thus a bit borderline for hand held shooting...

 

[Vickko]

More Zunow photos, morning Oct 23, as wide as I could. Most are from f2.8 to f8, using M9 set to 50mm f1.4 coding.

The owl was hanging from a tree, in daylight, and measured about 2 inches high. I shot it at the closest distance for the lens.

Pumpkin is at f8 (I think)

This is a tiny rosebud, about 1/2 inch across, and photo is heavily cropped.

 

[enasniearth]

Zunou

Zunou

Every lens has a sweet spot ,
Back when this lens was made - films were slow and the 1.1 aperature made
Pictures possible in very low light .
The low light /shallow depth of field / sharp spot /
It's magic when it works in low light .

Sure the latest millenium multicoated nikkor at 1.4 is probably sharper .
The asph summilux 35 / 1.4 is superior in performance to the older
Summilux 35 / less contrast wide open / still sharp / people call it the mood lens --- I had one and regret selling it many years ago .

 

[VinceC]

The Millennium nikkor (same formula as the Olympic) is excellent wide open. So it its SLR relative the Auto-S 50/1.4. Without knowing the formula, the early SLR and Olympic versions of the lens appear to be quite similar with nearly identical performance. The dimensions of the glass and curves/diameters of the front and rear elements look to be identical.