I've noticed that the ZF 50 has a kind of glow when shot wide open. It is some kind of smudge / soft filter kind of effect. This 'glow' can be detected on the white bottle caps.
I've noticed that the ZF 50 has a kind of glow when shot wide open. It is some kind of smudge / soft filter kind of effect. This 'glow' can be detected on the white bottle caps.
If you like the effect, then its a "Signature" of the lens design. If you don't, then its a defect!
Seriously though, I do believe I have heard others mention this look with certain Zeiss lenses when shot wide open. I have seen it to a much worse effect with many other lenses and its basically a combination of lens abberations and veiling glare when shot wide open I believe.
weekh wrote:
I've noticed that the ZF 50 has a kind of glow when shot wide open. It is some kind of smudge / soft filter kind of effect. This 'glow' can be detected on the white bottle caps.
This has been discussed before. There's really nothing new here, and not all that much to it. At worst, it seems to occur situationally when wide open (and only when wide open). So if you like that effect, you can manipulate the shot to create it.
I've no complaint about this glow. In fact I liked it for the 'special effect'.
I'm just checking if this is the signature of the lens or it only occurs to my copy.
I have a (ab)used Nikkor 55 f1.2 that does this wide open. I am a relative amateur with not much experience with this kind of glass- I had attributed it to possibly the lens having been dropped by a previous owner, so it's really interesting to me to see and hear about other lenses with this behavior.
It's not a pleasant effect for me. It seems that this effect is being caused by two or more elements or groups not aligning correctly. Maybe I should post some pics and start a thread of my own to see if my lens is bad, or if this is to be expected?
My Super-Tak 50/1.4 and Zuiko 50/1.4 both show this, but differently. The Zuiko seems to be more of a simple "soft" look whereas the Tak seems to actually add "glow" in a more interesting way.
You've likely all seen this too many times, so sorry, but look how the Tak seems to "pull the light" around objects. Look at my daughter's pinky finger, for instance:
While this certainly can be used in an artistic way, it is ultimately a weakness of the lens. I see this both as a reason to keep the Tak but also a reason to own a fast 50 that doesn't do it, because I don't always want that look. I'm happy to say the Rokkor 58/1.2 does not exhibit this effect, even wide open.
All the 50mm I used and tested had their strenght and weakness. Shoot some time with this lens and you will see that the glow is rather occasional, maybe the back light does the trick here.
