I actually really like the 40/1.2's OOF rendering. Depending on the scene, it can be structured at mid-distance and not very smooth towards the corners due to field curvature but we are being a bit too harsh on a f/1.2 lens.
The reality is that it's capable of very high contrast and resolution wide open at optimum distances. (and very good resolution even wide open at close distance with the help of an achromat lens). Yes, bokeh rendering is not low contrast, especially towards the corners but very few fast modern lenses can accomplish that.
Some info on the Marumi 58mm 3+ Achromat:
It provides a better range than the 5+ and addresses the weak distance of the lens. It's very light and small as well. I love it.
So, when shooting at MFD with the Marumi 3+, the lens focusing ring will be at 1m (which is already optimum)...changing the lens to infinity will let me focus all the way to 0.5m. So, the range is 0.35m until 0.5m while the lens will be at 1m until infinity. (optimum resolution)
PS: I can focus closer than 0.35 but that leaves the optimum range (<1m). However, stopping down to f/1.8 gets you to focus at around 0.25m with great IQ.
When brining only the 40/1.2 lens, it may be worth it to pack the Marumi 3+ achromat for higher IQ at close distance. (flowers, etc.). I bought mine from Amazon for $75.
zhangyue wrote:
Derek's test is a tough one. This is worst condition you'd expect for Bokeh shot None of lens I know will survive this test.
Michael, this kind of scenes are what I shoot most of the time. I find good lenses for this kind of shots to be: ZE Planar 1.4/50 @ f/2.5, ZM Biogon 2/35 @ f/3.2, Contax G28 @ f/4, Contax G45 @ f/2.8, Contax C/Y 2.8/28 @ f/4, ZE Distagon 2/35 @ f/3.2, Loxia 2.4/25 @ f/2.8, Loxia 2.4/85 @ f/3.2 and maybe even Sony 1.4/85 @ f/1.7 [all non-FE mount assuming they are used with camera modified to be suitable for the lens and required additional front lenses in place - NONE will work with standard A7 properly on scenes like this].
I would like Leica Summicron-M 1.4/50 ASPH's rendering on this kind of scene when closed down to somewhere between f/2 and f/2.8. The 50 ASPH has been yelling my name, but I don't have Kolari UT camera (or Leica M), so I'll have to skip, I doubt I can extract it's full potential with Kolari v2.
However no matter how good lens performs I end up sometimes enhancing the subject to background separation by adding light to subject (reflector/flash) and lowering overall exposure.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I actually really like the 40/1.2's OOF rendering. Depending on the scene, it can be structured at mid-distance and not very smooth towards the corners due to field curvature but we are being a bit too harsh on a f/1.2 lens.
I would love CV 40/1.2 if I would shoot something else than nature. For all kind of environmental portraits this lens would be superb (unless you shoot them in evergreen forest ...). I shoot so small number of portraits that I may end up skipping the lens even it's rendering on certain scenes is very appealing. Also I really like landscape rendering of CV 40/1.2. Maybe one day I get this lens anyways, so many nice features, even it's not much use in my normal scenes.
Fred Miranda wrote: Some info on the Marumi 58mm 3+ Achromat:
It provides a better range than the 5+ and addresses the weak distance of the lens. It's very light and small as well. I love it.
So, when shooting at MFD with the Marumi 3+, the lens focusing ring will be at 1m (which is already optimum)...changing the lens to infinity will let me focus all the way to 0.5m. So, the range is 0.35m until 0.5m while the lens will be at 1m until infinity. (optimum resolution)
PS: I can focus closer than 0.35 but that leaves the optimum range (<1m). However, stopping down to f/1.8 gets you to focus at around 0.25m with great IQ.
When brining only the 40/1.2 lens, it may be worth it to pack the Marumi 3+ achromat for higher IQ at close distance. (flowers, etc.). I bought mine from Amazon for $75....Show more →
Thanks Fred. I will order one (but over a local store). What about vignetting?
Here is one of those flowers shots near MFD. Without achromat but at f8.
(crosspost from voigtländer image thread)
Fred Miranda wrote: Some info on the Marumi 58mm 3+ Achromat:
It provides a better range than the 5+ and addresses the weak distance of the lens. It's very light and small as well. I love it.
So, when shooting at MFD with the Marumi 3+, the lens focusing ring will be at 1m (which is already optimum)...changing the lens to infinity will let me focus all the way to 0.5m. So, the range is 0.35m until 0.5m while the lens will be at 1m until infinity. (optimum resolution)
PS: I can focus closer than 0.35 but that leaves the optimum range (<1m). However, stopping down to f/1.8 gets you to focus at around 0.25m with great IQ.
When brining only the 40/1.2 lens, it may be worth it to pack the Marumi 3+ achromat for higher IQ at close distance. (flowers, etc.). I bought mine from Amazon for $75....Show more →
For those looking for the 40 1.2 in Canada, I was recently able to buy one from Camtech in Montreal (great to deal with) and saw one sitting on the shelf in Broadway Camera (Richmond BC) last weekend.
JohnDizzo15 wrote:
Weather finally getting really nice. Some snaps from yesterday while messing around in the backyard.
Great shots! Question about the distance though... With f/1.2 to get the entire person in focus, how far are you from them? Setting it at infinity and doing MFD? Thanks for any advice. Still getting the hang of MF on moving subjects...
Fred Miranda wrote: Some info on the Marumi 58mm 3+ Achromat:
It provides a better range than the 5+ and addresses the weak distance of the lens. It's very light and small as well. I love it.
So, when shooting at MFD with the Marumi 3+, the lens focusing ring will be at 1m (which is already optimum)...changing the lens to infinity will let me focus all the way to 0.5m. So, the range is 0.35m until 0.5m while the lens will be at 1m until infinity. (optimum resolution)
PS: I can focus closer than 0.35 but that leaves the optimum range (<1m). However, stopping down to f/1.8 gets you to focus at around 0.25m with great IQ.
When brining only the 40/1.2 lens, it may be worth it to pack the Marumi 3+ achromat for higher IQ at close distance. (flowers, etc.). I bought mine from Amazon for $75....Show more →
I'm not finding this on Amazon - at least in this price range. It's available from a seller in the UK for $89 - with a long lag in shipping. This is the only link I could find. Any others? Maybe I'm not looking for the right product?
Samuli Vahonen wrote:
Phillip, David, Derek, Jochen, Martin - thanks for comments.
Derek's aperture series was super useful. Super nice rendering of the subject, but way too much contrast in boke and specially corners are way too ugly/rough.
Once in a lifetime there would be non-Zeiss lens which focus plane rendering seems truly enjoyable (for me based on samples). But then it seems that in my "main usage scenario" boke is pretty awful. Focus shift etc. behaviour problems I could deal with, but high contrast boke and rough corner boke there just is no wayaround.
Plan B initiated: ordered 58mm +3 close-up, which was recommended for CV 1.2/40 as well, but I'll use it for Zeiss ZE 1.4/50, which I love very much but would prefer same rendering style for close-ups which it has at medium distances. I try to survice summer 2018 with combo of Loxia 25, Zeiss ZE 1.4/50 and Loxia 85. Maybe sometimes Loxia 25, 35mm (either ZA 1.4/35 or ZM 2/35) and Loxia 85, just wish that I would not hate shooting with 35mm so much.
Samuli -- I wish you could like the Loxia 35 a little more. It is still my favorite 35 for outdoor shooting. I hope to catch the beginning of the rhododendron season before leaving for CA -- the L35 is terrific for intermediate distance large shrub and surroundings -- plus color is gorgeous in hazy sun and bright overcast (gloom). I wish the CV 40/1.2 would work for me, but it seems not -- I'm preferring my clunky Canon 35/1.4L to what I've seen here from the 40. I'm thinking of trying the Zony 35/2.8 at some point -- wish it was f/2. No perfect 35!
Etherton wrote:
Great shots! Question about the distance though... With f/1.2 to get the entire person in focus, how far are you from them? Setting it at infinity and doing MFD? Thanks for any advice. Still getting the hang of MF on moving subjects...
Thanks for the kind words, @Etherton.
I’m probably not the best person to give advice or metrics on shooting distances in MF with the lens though as I am one of the weirdos shooting the M mount version with the TAP in AF.
If I had to guess though, I’d say around 6-7 feet (in portrait orientation) for a full-body of a grown adult and then cut in half for my 5 year old. With regard to infinity, I believe just a touch back from what it’s at on the lens is what has been found to be optimal.
Gunzorro wrote:
Samuli -- I wish you could like the Loxia 35 a little more. It is still my favorite 35 for outdoor shooting. I hope to catch the beginning of the rhododendron season before leaving for CA -- the L35 is terrific for intermediate distance large shrub and surroundings -- plus color is gorgeous in hazy sun and bright overcast (gloom). I wish the CV 40/1.2 would work for me, but it seems not -- I'm preferring my clunky Canon 35/1.4L to what I've seen here from the 40.
Jim, I like Loxia 35 - one of the best rendering styles of any lens (on apertures it works well). But as I have ZM 2/35 (+Kolari v2 +3000mm front lens) I feel no need for Loxia 35 as ZM 2/35 is ~1/3 stop better in my use, I would gain only EXIF-info, which would be nice, but not worth the effort for selling etc... Also I hate 35mm focal length; all bad features of wide angle, but it also doesn't have longer lens benefits - this field of view and features coming with it just don't fit to my "artistic" "eye".
What I really hoped from this thread topic's lens was to be "long" 35mm, with which I maybe could survive from FOV point of view. It's said somewhere on this thread that it's actually 43mm,and I'm fine fine G45, which is 46mm lens = high change I would be able to tolerate the FOV. If we finally would get availability in Europe I could order one copy just to try it. I'm thinking that maybe I could shoot the difficult boke scenes with Loxia 25&85 and therefore avoid the pitfall of CV 1.2/40 rendering and just use it in forest scenes where it most likely would work:
1) scenes w/ high ratio between subject and background distances + easy homogeneous backgrounds [these scenes usually are easy to post process with masks are easy to draw vs. complex multi-distance boke/transferzone areas which are NOT easy to draw]
2) far distance boke shots
3) landscapes and "all sharp non-landscape distance shots"
It's only 1000EUR or so, would be easy to test it if there would be actual availability.
Damn, how difficult it can be to make simple yes or no decision Please post more photos with close-up lens and make my decision easier, or harder...
Gunzorro wrote:
I'm thinking of trying the Zony 35/2.8 at some point -- wish it was f/2. No perfect 35!
Don't. Most awful lens on top of universe unless you only shoot landscapes or all your boke scenes are shoot with very simple backgrounds. Boke will pretty damn awful in most of your scenes (and mine). Also focus plane is not as nice as it's with your Loxia 35, I can't see any reason why you would use FE 2.8/35 instead of Loxia 35. I wrote something way back in FE-thread beginning, I hope link works as with forum archiving linking has become nightmare: link.
Samuli Vahonen wrote:
Jim, I like Loxia 35 - one of the best rendering styles of any lens (on apertures it works well). But as I have ZM 2/35 (+Kolari v2 +3000mm front lens) I feel no need for Loxia 35 as ZM 2/35 is ~1/3 stop better in my use, I would gain only EXIF-info, which would be nice, but not worth the effort for selling etc... Also I hate 35mm focal length; all bad features of wide angle, but it also doesn't have longer lens benefits - this field of view and features coming with it just don't fit to my "artistic" "eye".
What I really hoped from this thread topic's lens was to be "long" 35mm, with which I maybe could survive from FOV point of view. It's said somewhere on this thread that it's actually 43mm,and I'm fine fine G45, which is 46mm lens = high change I would be able to tolerate the FOV. If we finally would get availability in Europe I could order one copy just to try it. I'm thinking that maybe I could shoot the difficult boke scenes with Loxia 25&85 and therefore avoid the pitfall of CV 1.2/40 rendering and just use it in forest scenes where it most likely would work:
1) scenes w/ high ratio between subject and background distances + easy homogeneous backgrounds [these scenes usually are easy to post process with masks are easy to draw vs. complex multi-distance boke/transferzone areas which are NOT easy to draw]
2) far distance boke shots
3) landscapes and "all sharp non-landscape distance shots"
It's only 1000EUR or so, would be easy to test it if there would be actual availability.
Damn, how difficult it can be to make simple yes or no decision Please post more photos with close-up lens and make my decision easier, or harder...
Don't. Most awful lens on top of universe unless you only shoot landscapes or all your boke scenes are shoot with very simple backgrounds. Boke will pretty damn awful in most of your scenes (and mine). Also focus plane is not as nice as it's with your Loxia 35, I can't see any reason why you would use FE 2.8/35 instead of Loxia 35. I wrote something way back in FE-thread beginning, I hope link works as with forum archiving linking has become nightmare: link.
Thanks so much for your response and advice. I'd forgotten that you like the Loxia, and that you already have a similar performing lens on hand that satisfies you. I didn't realize that you prefer not to use 35mm AOV as a rule -- your 35mm shots are always excellent.
I suppose I'll forget the Zony 35/2.8. It was just to add, not replace the Loxia. I was just hoping for an all-around AF lens in this focal length. I've got the Canon 35L for when I want AF, and I like the imaging very much as an alternative to Loxia 35, and I can use on my Canon bodies. Great to have both lenses. The search continues . . .
ylimehajile wrote:
I'm not finding this on Amazon - at least in this price range. It's available from a seller in the UK for $89 - with a long lag in shipping. This is the only link I could find. Any others? Maybe I'm not looking for the right product?
I paid $75 (prime) last week. I looks like the dealer sold them all (Amazon)
I usually anticipate the subject having already focusing on it. When things start moving, I take multiple shots from the focused spot. Most of the time, I get a frame that is sharp.
None of lens I know will survive this test.
