As far as AF speed needs, I still have my GM 24-70 for when that occasion happens. But I expect TAP to improve firmware wise also. I also expect someone like Metabones to come out with something like it. This is a nice market to get into for these 3rd party developers so we may see Eye AF down the road if not sooner. Photokinia is weeks away. The TAP is nice but really you should use it mostly on center point right now. But if your using rear focus its pretty easy focus on center recompose and shoot with shutter. Focus won't change. So you can get it done. I also use AFC as that seems more accurate for the TAP. But again I think we have more coming in this focus anything type adapter.
If I had to generalize on lenses I would say the ZM has the most pop, saturation and 3D effect wide open( pure Zeiss look). On the CV 1.7 and FE 35 the CV maybe closer to it but it does not have nice colors and pop as the ZM plus bigger field curvature. The FE has a more lower contrast softer look at 1.4. That's good and bad depending on what your shooting and it don't kick into gear in corners till F8 again some field curvature there. I may look at my Big Bronco tests on the FE again but from memory it never does get that jump off the page look. It's a more neutral lense. But it does have ugly onion rings. It killed a shot of my grandson in front of Christmas lights. It was horrific at least to me, some folks are not bothered by that but with the new GM glass and this ZM I don't see near as bad onion rings. But again that has to bug you or don't change out for it.
You really have to find the balance in a lens that you like because none of them are perfect. The new 50 is a good example of 95 percent perfect in my mind.
GMPhotography wrote:
You really have to find the balance in a lens that you like because none of them are perfect
Truer words have rarely been spoken. I'm still not sold on the adapter solution, which still sounds like a work-in-progress. Instead of the ZM, I've been thinking of may be going with a two-lens solution by adding a used Loxia to my rx1r for the sunstars, which I value a lot.
You can still use a Hawk adapter or any fixed adapter until you feel more comfortable with the TAP which is really nice even right now. I consider it a option and even on manual focus with it you still can use the lens closer than the standard minimum of the lens itself. That's a big bonus as they are I believe .7 minimum focus. The Hawk adapter does extend for closer focusing. I just sold mine to Gregg. Great adapter too
I'm actually a bit surprised by this sudden love story here.
I looked at this lens numerous times because I really wanted it to be great on the A7 series. We had discussions about it in it's own thread. In the end I went for the FE 35/1.4 and later the RX1RII.
This lens sure has great qualities on any camera (colors, contrast,..), but suffers so much on the A7 sensors. On a Leica camera this lens is already fantastic wide open across the frame. You need to stop down to at least F5.6 - F8 on a stock A7.
I don't mind some softness at larger apertures, but the bokeh looks really nervous on the A7. Many examples in this thread also show it. Unpleasing double edged bokeh. This was the biggest deal breaker for me. It's worse than when using it on a Leica and the complete opposite of the 35/2 Sonnar on the RX1 cameras. The FE 35/1.4 is a lot smoother too.
Another problem is very strong field curvature on a stock sensor. There are examples of this in the ZM thread. Focusing on a mid-distance subject wide open results in background edges that are in focus.
The ZM also has really bad coma on the stock sensors. Especially the edges.
GMPhotography wrote:
If I had to generalize on lenses I would say the ZM has the most pop, saturation and 3D effect wide open( pure Zeiss look). On the CV 1.7 and FE 35 the CV maybe closer to it but it does not have nice colors and pop as the ZM plus bigger field curvature. The FE has a more lower contrast softer look at 1.4. That's good and bad depending on what your shooting and it don't kick into gear in corners till F8 again some field curvature there. I may look at my Big Bronco tests on the FE again but from memory it never does get that jump off the page look. It's a more neutral lense. But it does have ugly onion rings. It killed a shot of my grandson in front of Christmas lights. It was horrific at least to me, some folks are not bothered by that but with the new GM glass and this ZM I don't see near as bad onion rings. But again that has to bug you or don't change out for it.
You really have to find the balance in a lens that you like because none of them are perfect. The new 50 is a good example of 95 percent perfect in my mind. ...Show more →
Most definitely agree with this summary. I still have my CV35/1.7 and while I love the lens, it has a flatter color profile consistent with other CV lenses. Sharpeness is probably close but I believe the ZM is better overall. The CV is no slouch and I will have trouble giving up on this lens.
GMPhotography wrote:
Are you talking about the A7r II or another Sony. Need to be specific here as they are different .
All these tests Freds as well are on a A7r II
All the stock A7 cameras, also the A7RII.
The A7RII gives you much less color casts, but all other issues remain. The sensor cover glass is just too thick.
Look at the bokeh rendering alone... and then go to Leica galleries with this lens. You'll notice the difference.
Honestly I could care less about how it looks on a Leica , its a meaningless comparison to me because i won't shoot another Leica body. How it looks on the A7rII and not any other stock A7 is also meaningless. Hoe it looks on this body the A7rII is what i shoot and what I deliver files to for clients is all this is about for me. I see very slight double edge and its not bothering me. I don't see any onion rings like the FE 35mm
Look at this . This is the most disgusting onion rings i have ever seen and completely ruined the whole series of images of my grandson. Its ugly as hell FE 35mm 1.4
Jochenb wrote:
I'm actually a bit surprised by this sudden love story here.
Me too. Many have tried this lens over the past year or so on A7 cameras and posted samples showing some of the issues. It is certainly an incredible lens but it does suffer a bit on the A7 bodies. It comes down to your standards though and what you find acceptable. If you want the best out of it, Leica is the only way to go IMO.
Gary Clennan wrote:
Me too. Many have tried this lens over the past year or so on A7 cameras and posted samples showing some of the issues. It is certainly an incredible lens but it does suffer a bit on the A7 bodies. It comes down to your standards though and what you find acceptable. If you want the best out of it, Leica is the only way to go IMO.
Hi Gary,
Followed by the A7 series cameras with a Kolari modification. It does quite well on my A7rM V3 but it is somewhat unfortunate that it is subject on the camera to the edge and corner color issues requiring the usage of CornerFix or the Adobe equivalent. Though color is not so much an issue with the A7rII cameras, the lens still suffers without the Kolari mod.
Gary Clennan wrote:
Me too. Many have tried this lens over the past year or so on A7 cameras and posted samples showing some of the issues. It is certainly an incredible lens but it does suffer a bit on the A7 bodies. It comes down to your standards though and what you find acceptable. If you want the best out of it, Leica is the only way to go IMO.
Please stop with the A7 bodies you have to be specific as its confusing for others. Whatever happens on a A7 or A7r has no meaning on a A7rII. We have to be careful here
Here are some more samples comparing the ZM 35/1.4 with RX1RII at close and mid-distances. These are stress tests with some straight lines, bright highlights and foliage in the OOF area.
I really like the RX1RII rendering but frankly prefer the ZM most of the time even when being fair and comparing them at f/2. I see some hints of double line with straight structures but it does not really bother me as it's very rare. The edges also look very smooth to me at f/1.4. I absolutely love the look my images have on the A7RII.
RX1RII (Left), ZM (Right)
Same daylight WB for both.
The RX1RII was corrected for vignetting "in-camera".
GMPhotography wrote:
Please stop with the A7 bodies you have to be specific as its confusing for others. Whatever happens on a A7 or A7r has no meaning on a A7rII. We have to be careful here
Gary Clennan wrote:
This lens suffers on ALL A7 bodies.....
There is no color cast for one on the A7rII and I'm not seeing coma either. So Gary its different on different bodies why we should be careful. Outside the soft corners more on the wide side of the lens is where I see the only issue but at F6.3 the corners are great.
