What are the vintage 50mm looks
p.1 #1What are the vintage 50mm looks
I'm always using terms in my head when I see lens sample shots that make sense to me. Super generalized, but useful in categorizing things.
I'm always trying to generalize lens looks and it's a slippery slope. So naturally we should talk about it until we are throwing rhetorical tomatoes at each other. lol
Lens vibes - my list:
Contemporary or "Corrected" look: generally an aspherical lens, nearly no field curvature
Zeiss look: razor sharp center, great color saturation, but still some field curvature since it's a traditional all spherical element lens.
The Planar look: sharp, quick fall off, busier bokeh, think good 70s/80s Summicron
The Biotar/Helios: like the above but swirly (coma) and pronounced field curvature
Over-Corrected: this is a type of modern lens that sucks the life out of an image but has perfect sharpness at f1.11125 or something.
To me the rest comes down construction tolerances, glass fidelity, etc. Sometimes a lens is great because the elements were installed in very exacting positions and that's all.
Thoughts? Additions?
I'm always trying to generalize lens looks and it's a slippery slope. So naturally we should talk about it until we are throwing rhetorical tomatoes at each other. lol
Lens vibes - my list:
Contemporary or "Corrected" look: generally an aspherical lens, nearly no field curvature
Zeiss look: razor sharp center, great color saturation, but still some field curvature since it's a traditional all spherical element lens.
The Planar look: sharp, quick fall off, busier bokeh, think good 70s/80s Summicron
The Biotar/Helios: like the above but swirly (coma) and pronounced field curvature
Over-Corrected: this is a type of modern lens that sucks the life out of an image but has perfect sharpness at f1.11125 or something.
To me the rest comes down construction tolerances, glass fidelity, etc. Sometimes a lens is great because the elements were installed in very exacting positions and that's all.
Thoughts? Additions?
Oct 23, 2026 at 03:03 PM
p.1 #2What are the vintage 50mm looks
Lenses, much like life, cannot be made to fit into a set of standards. Whether I simply like them or not—that is enough for me.
Oct 24, 2026 at 02:19 AM
p.1 #3What are the vintage 50mm looks
ottokbre wrote:
The Planar look: sharp, quick fall off, busier bokeh, think good 70s/80s Summicron
Thoughts? Additions?
Here is a shot taken with a Zeiss Planar lens.
I can’t seem to find that "busier bokeh" — what am I doing wrong? 🤔
2000x2000 by Werner Wurst, on FlickrOct 24, 2026 at 03:11 AM