I have been playing with some of my old R glass on a D800E and as noted above, some of them like the 35mm Summicron have quite a bit curvature of fileld. I think it is a bit more obvious on a flat/plane sensor as opposed to the slight curve to film.
Of the older 35,50,90, Summicrons, the 50mm Summicron is still top of its class compared to the modern lenses made for digital, such as the Nikon 50mm f1.8 G lenses. Even comparing the 90mm Summicron to the 85mm f1.8 G Nikkor, the Nikkor is sharper across the field, but I think the Summicron produces more pleasant colour and tonality.
I don't have any wide Nikkors yet, but comparing the highly regarded 28mm Elmarit-R, second version with floating elements with the Leica 21-35mm zoom, the prime is probably sharper in the middle, but the zoom stays sharp out to the edges. Probably because the zoom is a more modern design. I haven't done the comparison of the 35mm Summicron to the 21-35mm using the D800E, but I tested them on film a few years back and once again the 21-35mm was the superior lens.
One hint I got from another forum was on a lens like the 28mm where there is a little curvature of field, is to focus using live view on the edge of the frame and let the DOF handle the middle. At f8, the 28mm Elmarit-R is pretty impressive on the D800E using this method. In use, for infinity scenes, I needed to focus just a hair before the infinity stop,
With all this playing around with my R lenses on the D800E, I have decided to keep just the high performers I would use for scenic work and use Nikkor AF for the rest, such as my kids sports. I have sold off my 180mm APOs (f2 and f3.4) and 90mm Summicron, the 28mm is now on Ebay and the 35mm Summicron will probably go to Ebay as well once my Nikon mount for it arrives.
The f5.6 and f8 images from the 28mm using the focus on the edge of frame method are here on skydrive as the full resolution D800E file, converted in LightRoom 4.3RC using the 28mm Elmarit profile.
21-35 an excellent lens in the middle of the range, but bad at wide angle. For the same reason I once refused Nikon 16-35/4, range 16-20 it is very sad regarding resolution all field of frame and appear inexplicable distortion of objects additional.
Worldinlens wrote:
21-35 an excellent lens in the middle of the range, but bad at wide angle. For the same reason I once refused Nikon 16-35/4, range 16-20 it is very sad regarding resolution all field of frame and appear inexplicable distortion of objects additional.
Elmarit 28 one of my true favorite lenses
My 21-35mm is pretty good in the 21mm range. I have a pretty stellar 19mm Elmarit-R that I compared it to it it fared well. I would use the 19mm on the D800E, but it would require some surgery to clear the mirror. I will probably just keep the 19mm and see how it looks on the new Leica M.
As for the 28mm Elmarit, it was one of my favorite lenses on film and the DMR. After getting the 21-35mm I sold my mint copy and started missing it. I then saw this one I now have fairly cheap on Ebay because of a broken R mount and decided to get it. With the D800E I bought a Nikon adapter for it and played around with it a bit. Once again, I decided just to stick with the 21-35mm. Somebody is going to get a deal on my 28mm. It is currently $15.50 and no reserve.
We may have different criteria of "quality" wide angle lens. Before I shoted on Z18 and Z21
I tried the 21-35 and it did not impress me at wide angle. But without a doubt, this is the best wide-angle zoom from Leica. R19/2.8, yes, you need to cut to avoid hitting the mirror on a full-frame Nikon cameras at the near infinity position
Worldinlens wrote:
We may have different criteria of "quality" wide angle lens. Before I shoted on Z18 and Z21
I tried the 21-35 and it did not impress me at wide angle. But without a doubt, this is the best wide-angle zoom from Leica. R19/2.8, yes, you need to cut to avoid hitting the mirror on a full-frame Nikon cameras at the near infinity position
I haven't had any experience with the modern Zeiss lenses. In the old style Contax SLR Zeiss, I think the Leica 19mm might have been better, with a better distortion to correct. I see Lightroom 4.3RC has lens corrections in it for the R lenses. I also have the Leica 16-21mm in the M and if I end up getting the new M or a M9, it will probably be the best solution for wide angles on a compact full frame package.
The reality of it for me is I don't tend to go as wide as 21mm on full frame and they were more useful to me when I was shooting the DMR on APS-H 1.3 crop.
robsteve wrote:
I haven't had any experience with the modern Zeiss lenses. In the old style Contax SLR Zeiss, I think the Leica 19mm might have been better, with a better distortion to correct. I see Lightroom 4.3RC has lens corrections in it for the R lenses. I also have the Leica 16-21mm in the M and if I end up getting the new M or a M9, it will probably be the best solution for wide angles on a compact full frame package.
Super wide angle lenses for M were always one of the best. And remains to this day. This is the advantage of small working distance. There is only a problem of a very large angle incidence of rays to the extreme corners on the sensor, it is not essential for the film. But as a rule, modern sensors excellent working with this.
Worldinlens wrote:
Thx, just finished the first extender
Was that a ROM extender prior to conversion? You might find the pre ROM APO ones a bit cheaper. I suspect once the new M that accepts R lenses comes out in a few months time, it will be had to find R lenses and accessories like the extenders at a reasonable price.
Now I have a two extenders: ROM and non-ROM. I needed them to understand the difference between modifications. I can say that non-ROM modify a bit easier.
robsteve wrote:
Was that a ROM extender prior to conversion? You might find the pre ROM APO ones a bit cheaper. I suspect once the new M that accepts R lenses comes out in a few months time, it will be had to find R lenses and accessories like the extenders at a reasonable price.
Though they were not willing to commit to this, Justin Stailey of Leica USA at Photo Plus was hinting that Leica may well come out with new M mount lenses substantially longer than 135mm that would be totally redesigned to be used with the new M. Justin wasn't revealing anything as to the focal lengths or anything else. Justin suggested that there would be no reason to bring back any of the R lenses or R designs for these lenses.
