pbraymond
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jimmuller wrote:
I would love to see some direct comparisons. If you don't want to post them publicly or they aren't MFNG, send me a message offline. (jimmuller @ rcn . com)
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Thank you both for replying. Technical details like "... bokeh, sharpness, spherical aberrations and contrast..." are real of course but only if visible. Purple fringe on a white object isn't good. A family portrait in which the people in the center are in focus but those on the edges aren't is just an amateur picture. I'm not sure I'd recognize spherical aberration unless the image content.made it obvious. Those technical details don't jump out at me unless botched (which I do often enough). Maybe the ability to use f/1.4 or even f/1.2 instead of f/8 is great if those wide apertures work okay. In the old days that was all about getting enough light.
The aesthetic effect of an image is a different matter. DOF, yes by intent. Bokeh balls with 6 edges or 7 or 9 or none? If the image is composed well that won't matter except to another photographer who looks for details like that.
I asked because I'm always musing about whether to spring for a Z-mount AF lens. Other than the luxury of AF, would a new (expensive!) 50mm f/1.2 S (for example) be that much better than my faithful MF 50mm f/1.4 for most of the pics I take? Maybe wide open or facing the sun. At f/2.8 would the color rendition or contrast be noticeably better with a new lens? Probably not that I could see, or not enough that a finished image would be aesthetically preferable.
When I read reviews of modern lenses my reaction is usually "Really?" That's why I'm curious about what contributors to this thread have to say. The great images tell me y'all know what you are doing. If you had two 50's for a particular shot, would you have reason choose one over the other except to post in this MF thread? I wouldn't, but then, I don't have those choices. Like Leighton I have 5 lenses, 3 of which I've used for half a century so I know what they can do and I have to live within their limitations. None are redundant because they cover different lengths. I choose one for the image I'm trying to get, not because I think one will provide better color rendition or less spherical aberration or better bokeh. Composition takes more thought which point-AF-click would discourage, a win for MF. If I can't see any improvements with a new lens, then it's not a win. But I might just be deluding myself.
Sorry about the length. This is a fun subject for me and pertinent to a MF thread. I haven't been able to get out with my camera for some days so this is a substitute for it....Show more →
Like most here, I'm usually concerned with light, composition, and things that are unique to the scene before me. I don't usually carry overlapping lenses, so I just use whatever I have with me for the shot.
I'm not much of a detailed tester other than lens quality control when I first buy it (and if I have return privileges), but I have some general opinions (shooting from the hip here at lunchtime):
1. There are differences among lenses, even from the same era. Some are easy to tell like bokeh, LoCA, distortion.
2. Biggest differences I see between modern lenses and older ones are wide open sharpness performance, flare resistance, and spherical aberration.
3. Even stopped down, I believe that many of the good modern lenses outperform many of the good older lenses, and I see this even at f8, especially with the wider angle lenses.
4. The accuracy and speed of AF these days also contribute to more consistency in focus being spot on, further contributing to an IQ difference.
How much of this matters depends on the photographer. At smallish web sizes probably not much other than hard to fix issues like flare etc. Distortion and contrast and saturation can probably be processed to be a non-issue for web view.
For me, I shoot MFNG because it's a nice tactile experience, and because of the fun atmosphere here on this thread. But in fast paced situations (back button focus and recompose gives me much of the control of MF with much faster focus acquisition), when I feel the need to cover as many focal lengths possible with minimum gear (yes, I'm one of those photographers with focal length FOMO at times), or inclement weather where lens changes are not preferred, I'll use my modern AF zooms which perform very well! I recommend trying out one of the modern Z lenses; if you buy used, you can essentially "rent" them pretty cheaply. The 50mm f1.8S is a piece to try.
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