Dj, you know I love the Zeiss but your 2.8 is clearly out of focus. The f/4 looks to be in focus, but it looks horrible, the AI-S that is. I think you have a bad copy
OK tried another go and again allowed the camera to meter in aperture priority (the Nikkor meters noticeably darker at the same manual settings).
I think maybe focus could have been better on the flower test with the Nikkor so please disregard. Maybe a little misleading as a result.
Here's f2.8 with a thrilling subject material. Closer this time but you can still see the difference in color transition, contrast and sharpness. Focus is nailed this time I'm fairly convinced with both lenses.
I'll let you guess which is which (again 100% crops at the focus point):
Dude, I think there is something seriously wrong with your copy of the Nikkor. Not only is not nearly as sharp as it should be, it's also looking like the contrast is really reduced.
Todd Adamson wrote:
I do believe you just called Jammy and Ryan princesses.
My eyes have been forged into mean weapons of ruthless analyzing by seven years in fiery art school hell. 5 years later I have less nightmares about it all, that's good.
Really though, I think it's mostly visual education and training your eye. There was a point I could tell who did a painting by the brush stroke style. Not so much now.
lbloom wrote:
I think you can. IIRC, the ZF(.1) 100 has half-stop aperture clicks.
Not that you need click-stops to use intermediate apertures. I often shoot between clicks with my Nikkors. It won't be possible to select an ultra-precise f-stop, but that's rarely necessary.
lbloom wrote:
I think you can. IIRC, the ZF(.1) 100 has half-stop aperture clicks.
Yes, although the display and exif don't necessarily record the actual 1/2 stop... it shows f2* for both f2 and f2.5, etc... it adjusts the shutter speed in aperture priority to meter the half stops, but doesn't record the precise aperture.
... and (thanks to Todd for prompting me to check) I've suddenly become depressed to learn my 105/f2.5 AI-S lens that I've owned only since early summer (and bought from my dealer, no less) has a nice coating of fungus taking shape on an inner element. What are the odds they'd take it back?
Thanks Gary... looks like a 90 day return policy and I am JUST within that window right now. Time to go visit... I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the inside of the lens before purchasing - although again it is only on pixel peeping you really see the effects. It's fairly well-coated now. I doubt fungus grows that fast.
Anyway, thanks. Wouldn't mind seeing if they have another clean version of the lens to be honest...
Todd
I have not really taken the time to go through the entire thread, but I don't think it's a useless exercise, thanks for sharing. It should make everyone think a little longer about lens performance, value, and reality in the resulting pictures.
BTW, I only got the second pair guessed correctly, must mean I should not spend my $$$ on a Zeiss for now
Not only is not nearly as sharp as it should be, it's also looking like the contrast is really reduced.