Ron, This is easy, the first one is Biogon, those Bokeh are signature of Biogon and a bunch of Leica Summicrons' especially close to corner. Hope I don't get burned! I look forward to see more from you. I am not surprised you will find RX1 has very good 35mm there. But, last week, I handle it again at sony store and really can't love it any how. I want to see how you like/dislike it in addition to IQ. But I also handled A99 and RX100, NEX7, NEX6. A99 is a ugly camera and really missed NEX7 after handle one again. I will see how NEX7n going before go to FUJI side.
Edward, Very nice set. Look that cat eyes. The first portrait also nice.
Airfrog, you captured te moment.
Andy, the 2nd one is really nice.
Here are a bunch get inspired by street spirit of this thread. from FL St, Augustine.
Edit: Ron, you answer too quickly. I am not cheating, we post it at the same time or I am writing at the time you post.
Ron, I know nothing of the ZM range, am totally ignorant, but residual SA is maybe intended for other subject matter? I took a look at the Biogon's chart, it is obviously superb.
That first shot is a tough test. Oh, a water nozzle, I wondered what it was.
I am becoming a little irrational about the RX1, I want one because it just seems to make fine images much of the time, in a lot of different hands. I am always looking for an edge, after doing this a long time. It's not perfect, I am not keen on the bolt on EVF. See if you can find its weaknesses for us ;-) And any comments from experienced shooters are always of interest, look forward to your review.
It is better close up and at short distances - MFD-20m say - but no one has yet done a decent comparo with other high end lenses for much different distances and apertures. From the RX1 MTF chart (computed but still indicative), it ought to be killer at f8 at its ideal focal distance at least.
philip_pj wrote:
Ron, I know nothing of the ZM range, am totally ignorant, but residual SA is maybe intended for other subject matter? I took a look at the Biogon's chart, it is obviously superb.
superb in resolution at infinity. i've rarely seen any non-landscape shots with it that i enjoyed the rendering of. i sincerely doubt it was one of the zeiss lenses designed for pleasing portraits.
Allen, that's a nice shot with Attitude!
Zhangyue, beautiful street shots. What lens?
Ron, thank you very much for the comparison. I think the ZM is front focusing as you say. Mine does that too, and I believe it is usually calibrated for 2.8 as it has a minimal but clear focus shift. I usually shoot it slightly back focused at f/2. This said, except for the first shot, I prefer the ZM rendering. The first shot is the worst case scenario of ugly bokeh. I have seen similar photos before and I avoid shooting this way.
sebboh wrote:
superb in resolution at infinity. i've rarely seen any non-landscape shots with it that i enjoyed the rendering of. i sincerely doubt it was one of the zeiss lenses designed for pleasing portraits.
I somewhat agree with the above, with some reservations. I believe the Biogon is designed for excellent performance at infinity, and as a very sharp reportage lens, with an extended DOF and well defined bokeh. It definitely is not designed for pleasing portraits. The Planar 50 and especially the C-Sonnar are much better in this respect.
Edward, I like the b&w set with the Sonnar and the second one is a favorite where the cat in the corner really makes the photo for me. Also good examples of what the Biogon can do.
Allen, great framing in the photo of the two women in the café.
Michael, I like the last one from St Augustine.
as far as the 35/2 ZM Biogon goes, I like the bokeh. Nervous/sketchy OoF is my cup of tea though; I <3 tessars and several other lenses other people think have terrible OoF rendition. the RX-1 looks fantastic though! back to the biogon; optimized for mid aperture and mid distance definitely sounds like the typical ZM characteristic. they do make great general purpose lenses for this reason.
Thanks guys. I'll try to be as definitive as possible. But that will likely have to wait a few weeks until I can get the RX1 back and also find a time in Andrew's busy schedule for a meet-up. In the meantime, I'll do my best with the 3 35s I have on-hand.
Michael - I believe you! Interesting variety from the streets of St. Augustine.
Edward - very nice examples from the 35/2. I agree with your summary. Unless someone's looking for specific rendering characteristics, the ZM is going to be a good all around lens, just as pretty much any decent lens nowadays. It's just us here on these boards splitting hairs that probably notice these subtleties.
Philip - the RX1 is a pretty impressive package. It's not perfect and suffers from a bit of the NEX UI of somewhat cramped controls. I realize Sony was going for as small a package as possible, but if they'd have made it 1cm longer and taller, with a better thumb rest, it would fit my hands much more comfortably. IMO, the M camera size is about the perfect proportion because I can rest all of my righthand fingers on the body. None slip off the bottom, etc. The only thing Leica needs to do for future digital Ms is make them thinner. Might be difficult though due to the sensor package thickness. Instead of typing this I should be out shooting right now but we'll see how the Sonnar lens fares at various distances. After only about 20 shots yesterday, some inside at quite close distances, my feeling is the lens has a very clear and well rounded rendering at such ranges. If you're primarily a 35mm lens shooter, this could be a very difficult camera to resist, primarily because of the Sonnar lens.
I forgot I do have some recent M9 images to contribute. Last Saturday my longtime friend Rob Skeoch of the Rangefinder Store hosted a photographers' meet-up at his store/studio. Rob also runs Big Camera Workshops, an online shop dedicated to larger formats and B&W materials, and I think most of those attending were more from the large format side. Some interesting images were shared and I did the following with the 21 Lux, other than the first one with the 28 Cron:
An RX1 in action:
That's Rob on the right flipping through photos:
One attendee brought a Widelux:
Showing and discussing photos:
Tim, the guy in the gray sweater at right, brought these interesting prints:
From a bit of a distance, you'd think they're photos of moons and planets, but instead they're fossils in rocks captured at extremely close range with a circular fisheye lens - very neat effect!
Another fellow showed photos printed on various types of expired B&W papers. The sepia photo in hand here was from 1960s paper stock and had a cool fogged quality to it:
Dominik was a late arrival with a very impressive portfolio of large Epson 4800 prints from various cameras ranging from large format B&W scans to Pentax 645D, Sigma DP2M and Panasonic GH3.
Thanks so much Ron, for the real world look at RX1 usage. I will investigate the little Sony grip thingy at some stage. And the Gariz (think it is called) half case for a better grab at the body and the eye candy factor.
I often shoot in places that really demand three things: great high ISO output (therefore exc wide open or near to it, therefore top class bokeh, one thing leads to another), small and indiscreet form factor and silent/low vibe operation. The one eye operation looks pretty good too, helps to see what is going on around you. cheers.
Thank you very much Jabber, Allen for the compliments
Jabber, the first shot is really difficult but the exposure, framing and PP are flawless. Love the snake shot too.
Allen, very nice band shots. There is some noise visible but it's not distracting. In fact I personally do not mind noise and I think it looks natural in low light.
zhangyue, love the concert shot
airfrogusmc, love the symmetry and contrast of shot #2
Jabberwockt, that cathedral shot is great, also like the mood and dramatic lighting of the candle shots
edward, the first shot in B&W is great, I love the sense of empty space behind him
Ron, that looks like a good time. I appreciate the strobes used to boost ambient. I just ordered a Series 8 dark red filter from Rob yesterday, always a great guy to deal with.
Jabberwockt (pt 2), I like the lines and strong shadows in your sepia shot
But that will likely have to wait a few weeks until I can get the RX1 back and also find a time in Andrew's busy schedule for a meet-up. In the meantime, I'll do my best with the 3 35s I have on-hand.
