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brainiac
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 p.2 #7 · Canon 35L vs Zeiss, etc? | |
As a matter of fact I was just talking to a ballet photographer yesterday who was trading his 200 f1.8 for the new f2 version. I asked him if he expects the new lens to have the same magic, and he got a bit nervous. Every photographer I have met who has ever used the 200 f1.8 in anger says the same thing. The best lens ever made, bar none. In my view it is the Zeiss 21 of telephotos. I have used and owned the Zeiss CY 200 f2 and Leica 180 f2. I rate the 200 f1.8 above both of those, and even the very particular Leicaphiles mention the 180 f2 in hushed tones, implying it is the best SLR lens Leica has ever made.
The 200 f1.8 I used to take this picture is quite bashed up, with many visible imperfections on the front element, and some stuff inside. I don't think mine is special at all.
As regards the Zeiss 35 f1.4, I have three, two are as new serviced recently by Zeiss, and one has fairly scuffed up elements. They can all do this:
http://cyberphotographer.com/5D/CZ351.4/0805.jpg
That's a 5D in-camera JPEG, colour-balanced and recompressed, by the way.
However, it is a floating element design, and I think they can get into a state which needs servicing, if they are dropped or abused.
As regards manual focus, I would have no qualms about getting this shot spot on with the 35 f1.4. It has a very nice manual focus action. I would just shoot liberally while continuing to seek best focus. Most would be usable, and one or two would come out like this. With subject movement, and photographer movement, and 21 megapixels, even the 200 f1.8 will not be absolutely spot on every time. Most will be better than good enough and quite a few will be exceptional. I often manually focus the 200 f1.8, sometimes with liveview. I can't quite remember, but I suspect that this was a manually focussed shot via liveview's x10 setting. Servo AF would probably have nailed it just as well, but I don't like having composition forced by focus point position - a problem on the 1Ds3 with its fewer selectable focus points.
What these two lenses have in common with the Zeiss 21, which in my view makes them all stable mates, is that they have a veridical, limpid portrayal of 3D, a quality which I think is a practically a Zeiss trademark. It doesn't feel like a picture, the photographer and the medium sort of disappear, and you are left with the slightly unnerving feeling that you are looking through an open window at the thing itself. That's what I look for in a lens.
Edited by brainiac on Jun 28, 2008 at 01:08 PM GMT
Edited on Jun 28, 2008 at 08:08 AM
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| Jun 28, 2008 at 06:25 AM |
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