Can someone post some 100% crops from this lens on an A7R or A7R2 - hard to believe an old lens like this can resolve anywhere near the 36 or 42MP of modern sensors...
znikon5 wrote:
Can someone post some 100% crops from this lens on an A7R or A7R2 - hard to believe an old lens like this can resolve anywhere near the 36 or 42MP of modern sensors...
Just uploaded some quick crops from this pic (tho this is after processing):
Center:
Corner:
top Edge:
I just got this lens recently. I like it. It loses to primes at 100% pixel peeping, especially at 35mm, but is close enough that it seems to me that the advantage of flexible framing and its excellent drawing style makes it a fine choice still and a bargain. Only real issue for me is that it is fiddly to use with polarizing filters and needs stopping down for best results away from center.
The above crop is at its weakest focal length--closer to 35mm if I recall correctly.
znikon5 wrote:
Can someone post some 100% crops from this lens on an A7R or A7R2 - hard to believe an old lens like this can resolve anywhere near the 36 or 42MP of modern sensors...
I've only had the pleasure of yearning after the lens, but not being able to budget for it (I'm know it's inexpensive; it's just...priorities...), so I can't give your crops. Still, I took a moment to map on the the same chart the Vario-Sonnar at 50mm compared to the Zeiss Milivus 50mm f/1.4 in terms of the MTF's from the Zeiss datasheets. Now, we must grant that we're comparing f/3.4 to f/1.4 and f/8 to f/4, but nevertheless, the zoom makes an excellent showing for (1) a decades old lens and (2) a zoom in the middle of its range.
edit: note that even at f/3.4, it's contrast for 10lppm and 20lppm are both equal to/slightly better than the Milivus at f/4 in the center of the image. That's...crazy good.
MA, and the balance of the MTF is different to a top prime. With lower 10 lpmm you get less edginess, and so the super detail surprises the eye more in scenes with high texture, a look helped a lot by IBIS. Color in contrast is personal but the zoom has a gorgeous palette IMO. It picks apart tones of commonly seen colors very well indeed and is very smooth at it. So, it is good in poor light.
Very low CA even by modern standards of the same class of lens - Nikon's $2400 24-70/2.8 VR actually *needs* s/w correction for CA. It weighs 1070 grams, against 475 grams for the CY.
CY has no outer frame fall-off either so every scene looks more authentic in image space. So it covers a lot of ground, and even has a 'macro' and nice bokeh. They made stacks of them, tens of thousands of copies..which is why I miss few opportunities to suggest Zeiss should revive this design in a new age barrel and Loxia theme rings, add 2-3 APD elements and make a fortune from Sony users.
philip_pj wrote:
MA, and the balance of the MTF is different to a top prime.
Yep. Quite a different rendering, while still incredibly competitive with modern designs!
I barely made it before sunrise to Fremont Saddle this morning to catch the first rays hitting Weaver's Needle. Hiking in pitch black uphill over an extremely rocky trail for over an hour was worth the view. Canon 6D with Contax 35-70/3.4 Vario-Sonnar.
this lens really is special. It really is a steal at $400, even at $1000 it would be a deal imo. If one doesn't need AF, i don't know which lens would beat this?
here is a shot from the south rim of the grand canyon from last august with my old A7r which i have since sold for a Contax RX SLR
Agree 100%. I’m excited to compare this lens with the Contax 35-135 Vario-Sonnar that should be delivered in a couple days. If it compares favorably, I will pair it with my Canon 16-35/4L and have the perfect landscape combo.
As an owner of the 35-70/3,4, I'm surprised to learn today it was designed by a young Lothar Koelsch, who left Zeiss to eventually head optical design at Leica. He was succeeded by Peter Karbe and became an independent consultant, ready to design any lens for cash. I keep wondering if companies like Zhongyi asked people like Koelsch to design for them.
'however, before abandon Zeiss, he was able to leave the mark in history: in fact, his projects are the most celebrated Zeiss Vario-Sonnar modern, namely the 28-85/3.3-4, the 35-70/3.4 and the 80-200/4, lenses'
From marco's piece. Any wonder Leica wanted him, and he did some great APO telephotos for them. He left CZ in 1986, by the look of it, so these are 30 plus year old designs.
