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Archive 2023 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX

  
 
weezintrumpete
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p.1 #1 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


I'm looking for a wide aperture (f2 or wider) 50mm - 55mm lens for the GFX, to give me somewhere between 40mm and 45mm equivalent in 35mm terms. I realize that Fuji doesn't make a lens like this yet (when is that 55mm 1.7 coming Fuji?) but I'm wondering whether anyone has had good success with an adapted 50mm - 55mm lens.

I have the Mitakon 65mm 1.4, which I love, but am looking for something a little wider to compliment it. The only adapted lens I've tried is the Minolta MD 50mm f/2 and while that works reasonably well, I'm finding some weird color coming out of it. It is fairly sharp at f/2, which is good.

So - to those of you that have experimented with adapting lenses to a GFX, is there a 50mm lens that works well, doesn't vignette too much, doesn't have any funky rendering and is sharp wide open?

I'm very curious about the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 II, as I could put that on my M9 as well.



Sep 06, 2023 at 11:34 AM
markhout
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p.1 #2 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


Same setup, same challenge here.

I have a bunch of FF 50mm lenses and will try them one by one. Need to find some time to do that and report back. However, for me 50-55mm may be too close to the 65mm Mita.

I am currently considering a Mamiya-Sekor C 45mm f2.8 N, which should meet your requirements - but am still on the fence as I am not keen on collecting a bunch of standard-ish lenses that I won't put to use.



Sep 06, 2023 at 11:45 AM
weezintrumpete
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p.1 #3 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


Thanks Mark.

A 50mm lens on the GFX will give a 39.5mm equivalent view, which is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm somewhat obsessed with the angle of view of the 40mm focal length, even if it is relatively close to the 65mm Mita.

I'm also looking for faster than f/2, so the Mamiya 45mm won't work for me, unfortunately. I've had that lens once before on my Mamiya ZD and it seemed fairly good otherwise!



Sep 06, 2023 at 12:15 PM
helimat
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p.1 #4 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


I tried the Rokkor 58/1.2 on GFX for just a couple of test shots, but from what I remember the coverage was pretty decent. And definitely faster than f/2, but closer to 45mm equivalent than 40mm.


Sep 06, 2023 at 12:23 PM
sputnik
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p.1 #5 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


I really like the Nikon 58/1.4G, but that is a polarizing lens even when used natively on Nikon bodies. So YMMV indeed.


Sep 06, 2023 at 12:31 PM
Steve Spencer
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p.1 #6 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


weezintrumpete wrote:
Thanks Mark.

A 50mm lens on the GFX will give a 39.5mm equivalent view, which is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm somewhat obsessed with the angle of view of the 40mm focal length, even if it is relatively close to the 65mm Mita.

I'm also looking for faster than f/2, so the Mamiya 45mm won't work for me, unfortunately. I've had that lens once before on my Mamiya ZD and it seemed fairly good otherwise!


I think if you love the 40mm angle of view, then a 55mm on 33 X 44 is the right choice. The diagonal of a 33 X 44 sensor is 55mm the traditional characterization of a normal lens is a focal length equal to the diagonal and whether you crop to 4 X 3 or squarer where the angle of view is that of a 40mm lens on FF 35mm or to 3 X 2 or a skinnier rectangle where the angle of view is like a 45mm FF 35mm lens, you will be getting pretty close to that angle of view you like. I think I recommended the Mamiya 55 f/2.8 in an earlier thread and I still think that can be a good choice.



Sep 06, 2023 at 01:05 PM
weezintrumpete
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p.1 #7 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


helimat wrote:
I tried the Rokkor 58/1.2 on GFX for just a couple of test shots, but from what I remember the coverage was pretty decent. And definitely faster than f/2, but closer to 45mm equivalent than 40mm.


That's an interesting choice. There's also the 58mm f/1.4 that I forgot about.

---------------------------------------------

sputnik wrote:
I really like the Nikon 58/1.4G, but that is a polarizing lens even when used natively on Nikon bodies. So YMMV indeed.


I've heard people like this lens on GFX if I remember correctly. Where does the polarization come from?

---------------------------------------------

Steve Spencer wrote:
I think if you love the 40mm angle of view, then a 55mm on 33 X 44 is the right choice. The diagonal of a 33 X 44 sensor is 55mm the traditional characterization of a normal lens is a focal length equal to the diagonal and whether you crop to 4 X 3 or squarer where the angle of view is that of a 40mm lens on FF 35mm or to 3 X 2 or a skinnier rectangle where the angle of view is like a 45mm FF 35mm lens, you will be getting pretty close to that
...Show more

That's a great point Steve, thanks! Makes a lot of sense in a way I didn't think about before. I had been using the equivalency calculator (here: https://mmcalc.com/) which gave me the impression that 50mm is what I was looking for. Interesting, thanks!




Sep 06, 2023 at 01:38 PM
MAubrey
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p.1 #8 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


It'd be an expensive combo, but a Hasselblad 80mm f/2.8 Planar with a Metabones .71x Speedbooster will give you a 57mm f/2, but you'll definitely not need to worry about coverage the way you would with adapting FF lenses.


Sep 06, 2023 at 01:46 PM
sputnik
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p.1 #9 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


Regarding the Nikon 58/1.4; half of the people love it for its rendering and half of the people think it’s soft wide open and therefore over priced (it’s come down a lot since launch). It does suffer from chromatic aberration when shooting in to the light in high contrast.

My take is that you need to learn how it behaves. Below, say 2 meters or so it shines at f./2-2.5. Over 2 meters it shines wide open. Also it’s really good stopped down which most people seem to forget.

I love it as a wider portrait lens but also for landscapes, cityscspes and detail shots.



Sep 06, 2023 at 01:58 PM
dave unwin
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p.1 #10 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


The Sigma 50mm f1.4 art is pretty good from memory. Not quite as sharp as the 40mm f1.4 but slightly less vignetting. AF with the Fringer adapter was very good.

Don't rule out the GF 50mm f3.5 either. Apart from not being f2, it's a brilliant lens IMO.



Sep 06, 2023 at 02:18 PM
CVickery
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p.1 #11 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


I have a Tokina Opera 50mm f1.4 in EF mount that works reasonably well. Here's a test shot w/o to show the vignetting. Don't use it to judge sharpness since it's exported from the thumbnail.





Profile applied

  GFX 50S    50.0 mm f/1.4 lens    50mm    f/1.4    1/110s    100 ISO    0.0 EV  







No profile applied




Sep 06, 2023 at 03:19 PM
freaklikeme
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p.1 #12 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


weezintrumpete wrote:
I've heard people like this lens on GFX if I remember correctly. Where does the polarization come from?


It has a beautifully flawed wide open draw with some undercorrected SA and it takes a couple of stops to get to the "clean" objective performance some people look for from wide open in their fast 50s. It's also fairly even across the frame, even when the resolution isn't peak, with relatively low vignetting and decently flat field, so it doesn't do much to help centrally framed subjects pop the way, for example, the Summilux-M 50 ASPH, with its high central resolution, steep fall off at the edges and corners, and high vignetting would.

That's on the 135 format, anyway. On the GFX, you get the steep fall off and heavy vignetting, so while the central area is no higher in resolution, relative to the outer frame, it pops. It's a great lens, in my estimation. I went with the 85/1.4G because I preferred the focal length on the GFX, but performance-wise, I would've been happy with either.

If you're looking for a lens to replace the Mitakon, I think it'd be a great choice. I also think the Rokkor 58 would be a great choice. It was easy for me to drop both the Mitakon and Irix 45, since they were giant lenses that barely covered the sensor better than the good 135 format lenses. If you're planning to keep the 65, I'd look for some different characteristics. In 135 format lenses, I'd look at the ZE MP 50/2. It's got the best across the frame coverage from a quality perspective of any of 50ish lenses I tried, though it vignettes heavily close focused. If you don't mind taking on an absolute beast that does mechanically vignette a bit in the corners, the Sigma 40/1.4 is capable of some breathtaking results. It draws exactly the way people who don't appreciate old-school charm in fast lenses want them to draw.

As a now former Fuji owner, this is my best advice:

1. Finding "equivalent" focal lengths to the 135 format is an okay guide. Steve already pointed out the only real equivalency is the mathematical normal, in that every format has one and the industry uses that as a line between teles and wides. I'd worry less about finding equivalencies and more about finding lenses you like.

2. Get at least one lens made to cover the sensor or larger. Not too long ago, you started a thread wondering how one could get the kind of draw you see in old large format photos. Those lenses are designed to have very even resolution across the frame, but never really high in the little details, even stopped down to f/16 and beyond where they were typically used. Most of those design cues were moved forward in the medium format lenses, with increases in overall resolution (still not high, but even) to achieve the same look on smaller, more demanding formats. A Pentax or Mamiya 645 35mm or 45mm stopped down to f/5.6 or 8 will get you closer to those results than any 135 format lens will on the camera.



Sep 06, 2023 at 06:09 PM
weezintrumpete
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p.1 #13 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


sputnik wrote:
Regarding the Nikon 58/1.4; half of the people love it for its rendering and half of the people think it’s soft wide open and therefore over priced (it’s come down a lot since launch). It does suffer from chromatic aberration when shooting in to the light in high contrast.

My take is that you need to learn how it behaves. Below, say 2 meters or so it shines at f./2-2.5. Over 2 meters it shines wide open. Also it’s really good stopped down which most people seem to forget.

I love it as a wider portrait lens but also for landscapes,
...Show more

Thanks for that! I'll look into it more.

---------------------------------------------

dave unwin wrote:
The Sigma 50mm f1.4 art is pretty good from memory. Not quite as sharp as the 40mm f1.4 but slightly less vignetting. AF with the Fringer adapter was very good.

Don't rule out the GF 50mm f3.5 either. Apart from not being f2, it's a brilliant lens IMO.


I'm actually very interested in the GF 50mm 3.5, but for other reasons. I hear it's a fantastic lens.

---------------------------------------------

freaklikeme wrote:
It has a beautifully flawed wide open draw with some undercorrected SA and it takes a couple of stops to get to the "clean" objective performance some people look for from wide open in their fast 50s. It's also fairly even across the frame, even when the resolution isn't peak, with relatively low vignetting and decently flat field, so it doesn't do much to help centrally framed subjects pop the way, for example, the Summilux-M 50 ASPH, with its high central resolution, steep fall off at the edges and corners, and high vignetting would.

That's on the 135 format, anyway. On
...Show more

Thank you! Interesting notes on the Nikon 58mm, that makes a lot of sense to me. I'm looking to supplement the Mitakon, not replace it. My ultimate goal actually goes back to that "large format" thread I created. I'm looking for two lenses that can give me some of what large format can do. One lens for the insane shallow depth of field of large format (the Mitakon) and one for a slightly wider "normal" field of view that can give some good depth of field falloff, but would be used for more static scenes that don't "require" as shallow depth of field. I'm heavily influenced by Alec Soth's work lately, both his portraits and his scenes.

Some examples from Alec Soth:

What I want to use the Mitakon for:
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/alec-soth-rebecca-1

What I want to use a slightly wider lens for:
https://alecsoth.com/photography/media/pages/projects/broken-manual/1684282169-1551319080/2008_08zl0215-f.jpg

I think the upcoming GF 55mm might actually give me both in one lens to a certain extent, but I'm waiting to see what it will be like.



Edited on Sep 06, 2023 at 10:40 PM · View previous versions



Sep 06, 2023 at 06:38 PM
jakelindsay
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p.1 #14 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


Olympus 50mm 1.4 is ridiculously cool.


Sep 06, 2023 at 10:14 PM
gyoung143
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p.1 #15 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX




gunmetal wrote:
Olympus 50mm 1.4 is ridiculously cool.

I was dissapointed with that when I had an OM-1, lots of light fall off at 1.4, which didn't go till f/4, and that was on 35mm film!

Gerry



Sep 07, 2023 at 03:23 AM
Makten
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p.1 #16 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


I would wait for the GF 55 that should be announced at the 12:th of september.

No adapted lens is gonna give you a flat field and reasonably low vignetting at that focal length and speed, because designing a lens with an unnecessarily large image circle gives a huge penalty in weight, size and cost. Which means the manufacturers of course don't do that for no reason.
However, if you mostly shoot at very close range, the image circle of many lenses will have grown enough. That is also how most decent looking samples are shot, which can fool you into thinking lenses have "perfect coverage" even if they are completely useless at a bit longer range.



Sep 07, 2023 at 03:58 AM
kenbennett
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p.1 #17 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


weezintrumpete wrote:
So - to those of you that have experimented with adapting lenses to a GFX, is there a 50mm lens that works well, doesn't vignette too much, doesn't have any funky rendering and is sharp wide open?


Well, I love the output from my ~1970 Canon 50mm f/1.4 FD SSC lens, but it doesn't meet any of your four criteria Sounds like you'll need to wait for that 55mm Fuji lens.



Sep 07, 2023 at 01:28 PM
cbass
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p.1 #18 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


Does it have to be 50mm and not 55 or 58 mm?

I think the suggestion to wait for the Fuji release is the best if you are looking for the best performance at the wide apertures.

The best performing old lens I have at f/1.4 is my Summilux-R 50. However, this one has a strong vignette, and the corners are behind the competition. The Summilux-R E60 or the Summilux-M 50 ASPH improved the corner performance. However, with the latter offerings they will cost you more than just waiting for Fuji's offering and will still always be designed for 35mm. I don't think they would make sense financially unless you own them already.

My Zenitar 50 f/1.7 although only 1.7 and not 1.4 actually dethrones the Summilux. Sort of. I say sort of because it vignettes much less and has better coverage of the larger image circle. The Summilux at 1.7 is sharper in the center than the Zenitar but only is a very narrow range in the center. Moving away from center the Summilux starts to fall off quickly while the Zenitar maintains performance into the corners much better. These lenses start to reach an excellent level of performance by f/2.8-f/4, but then you can just buy a GFX lens with that aperture. I still need to test how the Zenitar does corner to corner at f/8.

As suggested the Sigma Art 50 f/1.4 might do better being a modern lens or even an Otus 55, but I am not sure how they cover the larger image circle and again you are looking at a high cost so may as well wait for the Fuji offering if you are going to spend that much money.



Sep 07, 2023 at 06:44 PM
weezintrumpete
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p.1 #19 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


Makten wrote:
I would wait for the GF 55 that should be announced at the 12:th of september.

No adapted lens is gonna give you a flat field and reasonably low vignetting at that focal length and speed, because designing a lens with an unnecessarily large image circle gives a huge penalty in weight, size and cost. Which means the manufacturers of course don't do that for no reason.
However, if you mostly shoot at very close range, the image circle of many lenses will have grown enough. That is also how most decent looking samples are shot, which can fool you
...Show more

Yeah, this is seeming like the case the more I think about it. The Fuji 55mm could actually replace the Mitakon and serve as the "one lens to do it all", at least for the use-cases I have.

---------------------------------------------

cbass wrote:
Does it have to be 50mm and not 55 or 58 mm?

I think the suggestion to wait for the Fuji release is the best if you are looking for the best performance at the wide apertures.

The best performing old lens I have at f/1.4 is my Summilux-R 50. However, this one has a strong vignette, and the corners are behind the competition. The Summilux-R E60 or the Summilux-M 50 ASPH improved the corner performance. However, with the latter offerings they will cost you more than just waiting for Fuji's offering and will still always be designed for 35mm. I don't
...Show more

50mm or 55mm would be fine, I think. But I'm with you that the better of the full frame lenses are going to be costly, and I might as well wait to see where the Fuji 55mm lands price-wise. I can't imagine it will be cheap!



Sep 07, 2023 at 07:20 PM
j.liam
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p.1 #20 · Wide aperture 50mm lens for GFX


The Nikkor 50/1.2 AIS, a special and unique lens in its own right would be a beautiful choice but have no idea if its image circle would be large enough.


Sep 07, 2023 at 07:52 PM
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