Top one shows focus fade from focus distance of less than a metre at f2 (focus is on notch in second post), and rear/front bokeh quality, and the focal plane on foliage as it passes across the axis.
A surprisingly delicate lens capable of great tonal subtlety, soft liquid tones wrapped in a relaxed high resolution/clarity delivery. It won't matter what others makers produce, these are image qualities not beholden to any kind of lens arms race. They are all doing something else, in any case. Voigtländers are never sharpness for the sake of it.
philip_pj wrote:
Top one shows focus fade from focus distance of less than a metre at f2 (focus is on notch in second post), and rear/front bokeh quality, and the focal plane on foliage as it passes across the axis.
A surprisingly delicate lens capable of great tonal subtlety, soft liquid tones wrapped in a relaxed high resolution/clarity delivery. It won't matter what others makers produce, these are image qualities not beholden to any kind of lens arms race. They are all doing something else, in any case. Voigtländers are never sharpness for the sake of it.
That's impressive. So far it seems at close distance we're in great shape, at mid distance we're in very good shape and at close to mid distance in low light we're in pretty good shape, too.
You have to watch the highlights if you ETTR, they don't come back easily, not so bad since they are a part of the formula, custom stretched across Sony's dynamic range.
F2.8 aperture rounding was a stroke of genius, it's very strong there and the extra DOF really helps. I'd say f2.8 is the default portrait aperture at the regular distances for such shots. If the subject has her face turned, one eye loses focus.
As you see in the fence post image, focus fade is rapid and noticeable. I shot image 3 (f9 here) at f2 and the rear bokeh made the front look lost, so if shooting close be aware. If they do a 35/2 they may not need the f2.8 'solution' due to more DOF.
Post is very easy - you make your moves only to find the lens knows best, the sliders find their way back to near their centred position. You find yourself at the end of post (3-5 mins on average) and then realise you didn't sharpen at all. This happens all the time..
'it seems at close distance we're in great shape, at mid distance we're in very good shape'
We're in very good shape everywhere, think of it as a normal lens with macro DNA. And see Fred's front page infinity images for the far away work. On the downside, a tiny magenta fringe enters next to ultra strong edges every so often, muted and small. I've seen maybe 3-4 of these, and they did not ruin the image. It's almost an illusion.
A lot of medium distance (stand off, maybe 5-8m) images do better at wider apertures if you have a cluttered background. People are shooting deep landscapes at f2-f2.8, which show this effect. I did a bunch of boats at f2.8 and f8 and liked the f2.8 better for this reason. You already have what you need in the near DOF envelope in such cases, and the light bokeh is almost a soft overlay.
Finally, the hit rate is boosted considerably. These kind of lenses (65/2, 110/2.5) 'look after you' in this respect, making good images from middling B compositions. Very important for travellers.
Some of the first photos taken with this little gem.
The only fault I can see so far is a bit more LoCa than I would like (having had a Lanthar 65 previously, it can spoil you), but it is easily manageable. I'd say it is in line with Loxia 85, or close to it.
Rendering however is very nice, I like it a lot. And bitingly sharp too.
You have to watch the highlights if you ETTR, they don't come back easily, not so bad since they are a part of the formula, custom stretched across Sony's dynamic range.
F2.8 aperture rounding was a stroke of genius, it's very strong there and the extra DOF really helps. I'd say f2.8 is the default portrait aperture at the regular distances for such shots. If the subject has her face turned, one eye loses focus.
As you see in the fence post image, focus fade is rapid and noticeable. I shot image 3 (f9 here) at f2 and the rear bokeh made the front look lost, so if shooting close be aware. If they do a 35/2 they may not need the f2.8 'solution' due to more DOF.
Post is very easy - you make your moves only to find the lens knows best, the sliders find their way back to near their centred position. You find yourself at the end of post (3-5 mins on average) and then realise you didn't sharpen at all. This happens all the time..
'it seems at close distance we're in great shape, at mid distance we're in very good shape'
We're in very good shape everywhere, think of it as a normal lens with macro DNA. And see Fred's front page infinity images for the far away work. On the downside, a tiny magenta fringe enters next to ultra strong edges every so often, muted and small. I've seen maybe 3-4 of these, and they did not ruin the image. It's almost an illusion.
A lot of medium distance (stand off, maybe 5-8m) images do better at wider apertures if you have a cluttered background. People are shooting deep landscapes at f2-f2.8, which show this effect. I did a bunch of boats at f2.8 and f8 and liked the f2.8 better for this reason. You already have what you need in the near DOF envelope in such cases, and the light bokeh is almost a soft overlay.
Finally, the hit rate is boosted considerably. These kind of lenses (65/2, 110/2.5) 'look after you' in this respect, making good images from middling B compositions. Very important for travellers. ...Show more →
When I said 'it seems at close distance we're in great shape, at mid distance we're in very good shape' I was referring to OOF rendering - I should have been more clear. To my eyes, I find the OOF rendering of the CV50 APO more pleasing than that of the 50mm APO Summicron-SL and the subject rendering equally as impressive - but that's merely my opinion.
Reassuring to hear. Been using the Sigma pretty much exclusively for a couple weeks now- absolutely love it. Apart from the AF which is... not great in low light (at least on my 1st Gen camera) but otherwise, I haven't been this jazzed about a lens since the 40/1.2. In very low light, and for moving subjects, I've been using the Sigma in MF, and am actually reasonably ok with the FBW implementation.
Are you still enjoying it?? Fred Miranda wrote:
Not as smooth as lenses like the Sigma 45/2.8C or CV 40-50mm f/1.2 at close/mid distance but the CV 50/2 APO's rendering is pleasant and neutral to my eyes. (Never harsh)
vdo1 wrote:
Once everyone gets his CV copy, Sony will announce either a 50/1.8 G with close focus, an updated 50/1.4 GM with fast AF, or a 50/1.2 GM.
I'll buy one or two of those, too (is close focus even an option in a 50mm? They all seem to sit around a 1.5 ft minimum focus distance). Yes, the AF of the Sony 1.4 ZA is slow-ish (faster than the CV50 APO, though) but they'll have to do something amazing to equal the rendering of the 50 1.4 ZA and the CV50 APO. I'm a 50mm guy, so I welcome any new and fantastic 50mm to the game.
saxguy wrote:
I'll buy one or two of those, too (is close focus even an option in a 50mm? They all seem to sit around a 1.5 ft minimum focus distance). Yes, the AF of the Sony 1.4 ZA is slow-ish (faster than the CV50 APO, though) but they'll have to do something amazing to equal the rendering of the 50 1.4 ZA and the CV50 APO. I'm a 50mm guy, so I welcome any new and fantastic 50mm to the game.
I don’t see why they couldn’t make a close focus one (let’s say x0.25 mag like FE 35 or Batis 40), especially since we already have an x1 macro in 50mm and it’s not particularly huge and/or heavy.
Dec 26, 2019 at 07:26 PM
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vdo1 wrote:
I don’t see why they couldn’t make a close focus one (let’s say x0.25 mag like FE 35 or Batis 40), especially since we already have an x1 macro in 50mm and it’s not particularly huge and/or heavy.
Well they have a 65 f/2 APO macro with .5X magnification, so making this one close to that big with similar magnification would have been fairly redundant don't you think? I think making this smaller with not as high of magnification makes sense given the 65 was already made.
saxguy wrote:
I'll buy one or two of those, too (is close focus even an option in a 50mm? They all seem to sit around a 1.5 ft minimum focus distance). Yes, the AF of the Sony 1.4 ZA is slow-ish (faster than the CV50 APO, though) but they'll have to do something amazing to equal the rendering of the 50 1.4 ZA and the CV50 APO. I'm a 50mm guy, so I welcome any new and fantastic 50mm to the game.
Burnett, the maritime surveyor, memorialised for his survey work on the D'Entrecasteau Channel. Lieutenant Thomas Burnett arrived at Hobart Town, Van Diemen’s Land on 6 January 1837 accompanying Captain Sir John Franklin who was taking up his appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of the colony. Burnett was drowned on 21 May 1837 when his whaler was knocked down by a squall in the South Port River.
