People know what ultra-fast lenses do, and the Contax quality speaks for itself. Any shots on websites cetainly are not going to make or break anyones buyng decision regarding that particular lens. (Unless it is Guys famous cockpit shot regarding the CZ21/2.8 Dist )
I had an hour this evening when my 8 week old baby son went to sleep (oh the relief!) so I cobbled a page together.
To cut a long story short, I bought one of these brand new in March this year, but was made an offer I couldn't refuse almost immediately by a guy in Japan.
So I had the lens for about 1 week, and managed to get out for just two afternoons to take some test shots, before I sold it again.
It was immediately obvious that, irrespective of MTF charts, the lens is an extraordinary performer, offering resolution that clearly goes well beyond my 5D sensors' capabilities, even wide open. There was no noticeable CA, superb sharpness and, well, all the usual Zeiss qualities, but at their zenith. Comparing it to samples I've seen of the new Canon 50mm f1.2 recently, it is in a different league altogether.
For me the overall look of the images didn't quite match the beauty of the 85mm f1.2, but that was down to personal aesthetics and not technical reasons (and the 85mm f1.2 is my all time favourite lens).
Until Woody can get some proper shots up, here are a few of the test shots I took on those two afternoons. The pub and the boat were I think at f8, the others were all at f1.2. I've included 100% crops after each shot.
I nod in regarding to Matt and John Luke's descriptions above but I should add some comments here since this thread has shown great interests from folks for this unique lens. Therefore I would like to add my knowledge of this particular lens that I tested against some of the well known Zeiss Planar T* 1.7/50 and 1.4/50.
From my testing experiences with over twelve Contax Carl Zeiss Planar T* 1.2/85 and two 1.2/55 I must say the adapter thickness for these lens are crucial. With the proper thickness the CA is so well controlled at wide open f stop that you have not seen it with any such fast lens including the well respected and most recognizable of the Canon series lens, the EF 1.2/85. In many ways the Planar T* 1.2/55 100th Jahre reminded me so much of the 1.2/85 50th/60th Jahre in that it is the sharpest lens at wide open in its class in addition to its ability to control the chromatic aberration so well at wide open. Furthermore, this unique lens has very high micro and macro contrast. It is sharp at close up as well as at infinity distance.
The 1.2/55 100th Jahre and the 1.2/85 50th/60th are among my all time favorite lens. These lens are priceless and timeless.
Finally, I also would like to add some comments on the adapter issue with this lens. The high end Contax Carl Zeiss lens have very unique rear mount which is a lot stronger than the normal Zeiss lens. Therefore the rear fins are a bit longer and must require the mirror box of the Canon DSLR to be modified in order for the aperature stopping down properly. Recently I was able to perfect this technique.
Wyan, The pub and the boat were I think at f8, the others were all wide open at f1.2 - it doesn't get better than this really.
Son, you are right with regard to the adapter issue. I don't think the adapter I had at that time was right for the 55mm because it didn't quite achieve infinity focus. Thanks to your extensive studies we now know more about the importance of this issue.
I must have got lucky with my copy of the 5D though, as I have had no mirror issues at all with the 55mm f1.2, 85mm f1.2, 135mm f2, or any others.
Pham Minh Son wrote:
Finally, I also would like to add some comments on the adapter issue with this lens. The high end Contax Carl Zeiss lens have very unique rear mount which is a lot stronger than the normal Zeiss lens. Therefore the rear fins are a bit longer and must require the mirror box of the Canon DSLR to be modified in order for the aperature stopping down properly. Recently I was able to perfect this technique.
-Son
Good point Son. It was once believed the "fin" was an annoyance that would simply be milled down for use on Canon, but after much analysis of how these lenses work and their need for everything in the chain to be absolutely perfect tolerance-wise, it became clear that the fin was designed to prevent any verticle drooping, bayonet mount strain & wearing of those heavier Zeiss lenses. Of the Contax lenses I owned that werre finn'd, I never milled them as it just cleared the inside of my Canon mirror box and made a tiny marr inside my camera, but not to the point of it pushing the lens off parallel. If Son has a way to calculate and perfect the fin positioning, then I would have to agree with his treatment as being the way to go then.
John,
I calculated it with the adapter that is being used on these lens. Thus it just allow your aperature fin to move through for proper stopping down.
jjlphoto wrote:
How did you find one brand new? Wow! That was the find of the centruy.
Well in fact I had three brand new ones this year which were released by a private collector, but I couldn't afford to keep one as a new Canon 600mm f4L IS became available to me at well below normal UK prices, and the only way to afford it was to sell all three 55mm f1.2s on.
As I'm primarily into nature photography the 600mm was going to be a better investment.
I do regret not being able to keep one though, the performance as you can see is something else. I just hope I get the opportunity to acquire another one I can actually keep hold of in the future.
deshojo wrote:
Wyan, The pub and the boat were I think at f8, the others were all wide open at f1.2 - it doesn't get better than this really.
Son, you are right with regard to the adapter issue. I don't think the adapter I had at that time was right for the 55mm because it didn't quite achieve infinity focus. Thanks to your extensive studies we now know more about the importance of this issue.
I must have got lucky with my copy of the 5D though, as I have had no mirror issues at all with the 55mm f1.2, 85mm f1.2, 135mm f2, or any others.
Josef,
I had made an extensive test of Zeiss Planar T* 1.2/85 versus the Canon EF 1.2/85 long ago but I am having a hard time retrieving the archive threads. Perhaps someone here had save it and point the thread to us.
Basically in the tests I shown the importance of adapter thickness and the comparison of these two lens for the first time at their optimal performance based on the proper adapter thickness and a large quantity of copies (12 Zeiss Planar T* 1.2/85 and 3 sharp Canon EF 1.2/85)
I hesitate to say this, given the emotions that some may have wrapped up in this, but am I the only one who finds the Zeiss 55/1.2's bokeh a bit distracting? I recall the Zeiss 85/1.2 as having fantastic bokeh, from the images posted here, but the 55 doesn't do it for me. It is fantastically sharp though.
It is a matter of taste. I do not know if the blades were redesigned in the 55/1.2 60th Jahre model or not. I do know the aperture blades on the 85/1.2 changed from the 50th to the 60th Anniversary Edition. The early ones have the large J shape at the tip, and although give that distinctive Zeiss look, some find it a bit harsh. The later one has a slighty smoother tip resulting in smoother more generic bokeh. That was due to the Japan style of aperture blade design, and Zeiss probably relied more heavily on Yashica's input on that edition.
carstenw wrote:
I hesitate to say this, given the emotions that some may have wrapped up in this, but am I the only one who finds the Zeiss 55/1.2's bokeh a bit distracting? I recall the Zeiss 85/1.2 as having fantastic bokeh, from the images posted here, but the 55 doesn't do it for me. It is fantastically sharp though.
I agree that it is not as pleasing as the 85/1.2, and I wonder if this is due to over-corrected spherical aberration.
If I recall correctly, over-correction of SA leads to a softer foreground blur, but harsher background blur, the opposite being true of under-correction.
It may be that in order to achieve the extraordinary sharpness at f1.2, this design decision was needed.
Perhaps others with a better understanding of lens design might like to comment.
The MSRP of Planar T* 1.2/55mm was 450,000 Yen in Japan around 2000,
the actual street price varied from Y350,000 to Y400,000. Remember that
around 2000 yen was much stronger (about Y100 for one US$) than today's,
so the answer to jjlphoto is $3,500 to $4,000.
The 55mm/F1.2 has slight flare at its widest aperture, and sometime has
double line bokeh depending on distance to the subject and background.
However it has the unique quality to show purely transparent colour of
the things, though it does not show this ability well with DSLRs, I think.
)
as a new Canon 600mm f4L IS became available to me at well below normal UK prices, and the only way to afford it was to sell all three 55mm f1.2s on.