Another test, with the attendant caveats that usually accompany my not-so-careful tests: I was a bit rushed for today’s session, and didn’t want to take too much of this kid’s time, so I only have one comparison. I shot similar frames with the Zeiss 100/2 ZF.2, the Nikkor 105/2.5, and the Nikkor 70-200 VR (v.1). I tried to match focal lengths and framing as close as possible, but the guy moved in between, so there are minor differences. So I overlayed the files and cropped in a little bit tighter, to roughly equalize the framing. The high-res files are therefore only 3200 pixels. These were all shot at f/4. The huge caveat here is that I had enough DOF at f/4 to get the eyes in good focus even if my precise focal plane had a bit of variance, which I’m sure it did. Best I could do.
I kept the processing simpler this time, no skin retouching beyond zapping a couple of minor blemishes. I applied a bit of (exactly the same amount) of sharpening and Clarity in LR3 before exporting to PS. I did the same final sharpening to each large file in PS, then converted to 8-bit and sRGB before saving. I downsized to 800 pixels, and those small files got a round of mild web sharpening that the big files didn’t get.
Gary Clennan wrote:
That's why we have kids - right? Test subjects. I vote for A=Zeiss, B=70-200mm, C=105mm. Great results you got with all those lenses regardless!
dj dunzie wrote:
This is tough because the first one has more focus towards the nose, the next two further back... so A appears to be sharper overall.
That's very true, unfortunately, which is a huge problem with this test. I was hoping it wouldn't be totally useless, because we could still look at the 800-pixel versions and judge the overall character of the images, but that may not be true. This the hardest part of such a test....all I can do is focus as carefully as possible either by my eye or by the green dot confirmation. In this case I took several shots each with the Zeiss and the Nikkor 105, and chose the "best" (sharpest at the eyes) frame of each to my eye. I messed up on the aperture with the 70-200 at first and consequently only had one frame with that lens at f/4. It was sharp, though.
I'll let this go for a bit. It's already pretty clear though, that there won't be consensus.
I am planning ONE more test, but probably won't have time this week. But I want to shoot someone with the specific intention of testing these lenses, rather than hijacking a regular session. I'll do inside and outside, 2.8, 4, and 5.6 or so.
I like B the best. The color and contrast are quite nice. I like the exposure of A the best. But I dislike the bokeh of lens A. C has the worst exposure, color and contrast.
afm901 wrote:
I like B the best. The color and contrast are quite nice. I like the exposure of A the best. But I dislike the bokeh of lens A. C has the worst exposure, color and contrast.
S-
dude , these exposures are within tenths of a stop of each other
