Laminin wrote:
"2) The OM50 and OM55 are prety much the same. The 55mm is radioactive and thus sometimes a bit yellow. Not a problem."
No. Only the 55/1.2 with a chrome front ring have radioactive glass, not the later samples with a black front. On film, the Zuiko 50/1.2 is miles ahead of the older 55/1.2. Just because the lens cross-sections look similar doesn't mean that they are "prety much the same": specifically, the radii at the cemented surfaces of the fourth lens group are different. All 55/1.2 are single coated, whereas the 50/1.2 are obviously multicoated.
Oh oh. I missed that there are later non active 55/1.2 OMs. Sorry.
When I say they are pretty much the same I base that not on the differences found at the cemented surface of the fourth group but from the result. Having owned both I didn't find much of a difference in the images.
They are both soft, flary, vignetting and show the same very pronounced rings around background OOF highlights. I may have missed something?
Zeiss 50mm F2.0 (macro and vastly superior to whats being mentioned here imo)
try one.
That's democracy. All are right, nobody is right.
Well it would be very nice to test all the 50mm, and I would like too, but for sure I've got to decide where to start.
Most of my lens are Contax Zeiss, I know very well they are superb. The New 50/F2 Macro (for sure excellent) is not on my list .. at the moment. But thanks for suggestion. Did you compare it directly with one of the f1.2?
mawz wrote:
Great lens. But it can't do f1.2 which is what the OP wants.
Yes, indeed. The Zeiss ZF 50/2.0 Makro, is probably better than all those other lenses from f2.0 to f16 (notice the lack of unnecessary hyperbole). I would personally recommend it to anyone, but as suggested its not much good at f1.2 or f1.4.
On a bod with an autodiaphram/autoaperture a 1.2 lens would be great in dim settings where you'd shoot at F2 but see a brighter image thru the VF...
as an alt lens with manual aperture where you'd shoot F2 to create an image better than it would be at F1.2, a much cheaper F1.4 lens at F2 be much more cost-effective and likely a way to get better images as there are many more better 1.4 lenses than 1.2 lenses.
A vote for the OM 50mm f1.2 or the 55mm f1.2 - good bang for $$$.
But unless you plan on saving half $1200 the Canon 50mm f1.2 L goes for, the Canon really is one of the best lenses available in f1.2 for Canon. AF is underestimated when it comes to large aperture lenses.
The Rokkor is wonderful, but has mirror clearance issues on the 5D - not so on the 1-series. If you are using a crop body or a 1Ds Series, go for the rokkor. If you are on a 5D, the OM's are hard to beat.
I agree with Jonas B that the 50/1.2 is not the best lens, and the oof highlights don't look too pleasant. However, on my (film based) pictures taken at full aperture, the 50/1.2 is indeed much better than the older 55/1.2 both with respect to contrast and resolution.
Edit: sorry, my cut-and-past approach strips off all the necessary spaces to view the tables as they should look like.
I agree with Jonas B that the 50/1.2 is not the best lens, and the oof highlights don't look too pleasant. However, on my (film based) pictures taken at full aperture, the 50/1.2 is indeed much better than the older 55/1.2 both with respect to contrast and resolution.
Edit: sorry, my cut-and-past approach strips off all the necessary spaces to view the tables as they should look like. ...Show more →
Thank you very much for the info. A lot of votes also for Olympus then..
jay tieger wrote:
as an alt lens with manual aperture where you'd shoot F2 to create an image better than it would be at F1.2, a much cheaper F1.4 lens at F2 be much more cost-effective and likely a way to get better images as there are many more better 1.4 lenses than 1.2 lenses.
This is similar to the point I was making earlier. With the lenses the OP already has, the ONLY reason to buy an f1.2 lens is to use it at f1.2, If you're not using it there, most of the f1.4 lenses (clearly including the OP's existing lenses) will be better and certainly more cost effective.
And if you are using an f1.2 lens at f1.2 most of the frame will most likely be OOF, so the character of the OOF or bokeh of the lens becomes particularly important -- potentially (at least to some) more important that the absolute sharpness of the lens wide open. Small differences in sharpness at f1.2 is probably less important than an unpleasant bokeh.
I further agree with Laminin that the bokeh on the Oly f1.2 lenses really isn't too pleasant, and I would dismiss them on that point alone -- regardless of how sharp they are or aren't.
alexandre wrote:
Point. Which leaves us Pentax and Rokkor as good-looking-bokeh, sharp, and 3-figure-priced options.
Bingo, and the Pentax is the only one (of these two) that fits the OPs requirements (unshaved mirror). Not only that, but it is probably the sharpest 50-ish 1.2 lens around (in one test it beat the Contax 55/1.2 and the 50L came last). Not the best lens overall, IMO, but I think it is the best choice for the OP.
cogitech wrote:
Bingo, and the Pentax is the only one (of these two) that fits the OPs requirements (unshaved mirror). Not only that, but it is probably the sharpest 50-ish 1.2 lens around (in one test it beat the Contax 55/1.2 and the 50L came last). Not the best lens overall, IMO, but I think it is the best choice for the OP.
Thanks Cogitech, I agree completely, infact are some months I'm looking for, but very few offers and not in Europe.
If anybody is selling a Rokkor 58/1.2 please let me know. I don't care if it is unconverted or converted, but I would prefer one with a metal grip. Please pm with whatever you have available. Thanks
I've tried them all, including the Rokkor 58/1.2. The one I kept is the Zuiko 50/1.2. I posted my results where I found the Zuiko 50/1.2 sharper than the Rokkor 58/1.2 wide open, with much less loCA. I also found the Zuiko 50/1.2 to have truer colors, better flare resistance, less distortion, and better full frame sharpness consistency. Better yet, the Zuiko doesn't required mirror shaving, or extreme adaptation. Just be sure to buy a high quality black adapter, or you will see ghosting/flare from the reflective metal adapter.
