Mitch Alland wrote:
Never shot with the ZM-50/1.5, but wonder whether it's more a matter of having bright highlights and points of bright light in the background that is the culprit here, rather than the inherent bokeh characteristics of this lens. Almost any lens, Noctilux included, will get excited into weird bokeh when shot this way. Would be interesting to see some shots wide open agains a background without bright light.
Edward's images are prime examples of traditional 50mm Sonnar background rendering. It doesn't just have to be specular lightbulbs, as it will happen to some degree with anything bright. But the more specular the light source, the more pronounced it becomes, with the wide open blur disks exhibiting a hard edge transition. As Edward noted, stopping down a bit will tame the lens somewhat. When the background is more muted, the Sonnar typically renders a more 'rounded' rendition, retaining some shape to the out of focus objects, compared to other lenses, like the Lux ASPH that go for a smooth, gaussian blur.
Sorry, these aren't really such compelling images...
rscheffler wrote:
René - interestingly complementary images. Has the strong Franc scared away all the EU tourists?
xwing15 wrote:
thanks Ron :-) not so far. hope not deter all guests. because it is really beautiful here in Switzerland. later do with some pictures advertising.
I've always enjoyed my visits to Switzerland. Looking forward to more of your photos.
Mitch Alland wrote:
Never shot with the ZM-50/1.5, but wonder whether it's more a matter of having bright highlights and points of bright light in the background that is the culprit here, rather than the inherent bokeh characteristics of this lens. Almost any lens, Noctilux included, will get excited into weird bokeh when shot this way. Would be interesting to see some shots wide open agains a background without bright light.
Both sonnar and noctilux are character lenses. They have visible defects than can be estheticaly pleasing, that you have to take into consideration while shooting as they may detract the attention from the subject. More neutral lenses like the planar and summilux will allow you to concentrate on the subject without worrying about the lens.
Edward - Yes, I had the Noctilux f/1.0. I found the focus throw much too long for anything involving movement; the lens too heavy and blocking too much of the viewfinder; the bokeh when shooting lights to "blobular" (to coin a word) ; and too difficult to hit focus when shooting at 1-2m at full aperture — but often liked the color rendition (that was on film). After three years I sold it for $2,400 (the price I had bought it for new), only to find that I could have realized twice that price six months later.
Somewhat similar story on the Summilux-75, but this lens was even more difficult to hit focus for a portrait at f/1.4; and, believe it or not, I found the bokeh "too creamy" — it stood out too much in a series of photographs shot with other lenses. I had bought a perfect, mint condition used lens in Tokyo for only US$1,600. I sold it at the same time as the Noctilux for what I had paid — and its price shot up similarly six months later.
In essence, I replaced both lenses with the Summilux-50 pre-ASPH — a lens that I like a lot. Not everyone loves the Noctilux. While I've seen beautiful shots with the Noctilux, it seems to me that, judging by photos one seest, some people buy it only because they think it must be "the best" because it's now so expensive.
Mitch, to be honest, I never liked the rendering of the noctilux. Too many aberrations for such an expensive lens. It also forces one's style into working for the lens not with it, if you see what I mean. The lux 75 is a different story. I love the drawing style from the photos online. The lux 50 is probably the smoothest and best lens ever for the M. It's definitely the better choice.
René - nice find, they're like twins.
Gary - excellent! Never mind the WB, looks good. It's supposed to be cold, or?
Mitch - great character.
Werner - you're on a roll with the abstracts.
Here's one from me at sunset, with the Nikkor 5cm/1.4 Sonnar while sitting at the computer when noticed the sunlight on the frost. But the problem with grabbing the M is of course, close focus... then remembered that the Nikkor will focus to somewhere around 1-1.5 feet, uncoupled. Fine with the EVF. Nice bring out the Sonnar, too.
P.S. the window is dirty - it's not on the sensor.
I kind of like the 50/1. Sure, it's imperfect and adds a fair amount of its signature to images, if used at or near wide open. The little I've used one, I was kind of surprised how reasonable it was stopped down, or at wider apertures towards infinity. Of course, to shoot most things stopped down, there are a lot of other 50mm options. I've seen them selling around $5,000 US recently. I wonder if the market is softening a bit?
Love that shot Ron and beautiful landscapes as always Gary I've been running around trying to get a car so haven't had much chance to shoot. I was really lucky to get a 28 cron big thanks to Charles , can't wait to really put it to the test on my next holiday. Here's some more pics from my previous trip, it's also been fun working on the small m8 files.
René - lovely details and tonality. I take it the hamburger is a prop, but looks impressive.
Rocky - awesome set and amazing scenery!
Gary - beautiful. I didn't realize you still had the ZM18. BTW, what shutter speed range were you using for these?
FWIW, somewhat inspired by the recent tripod discussions here, I took a closer look at options that would suit my needs. I've gotten by with an ancient, really heavy aluminum Manfrotto 055, for many years, so am hoping something smaller and lighter will help inspire me to actually take a tripod on some walks for those less than ideal hand held situations that call for deeper depth of field, etc.
I decided on one from FLM, which I had never heard of until browsing B&H and finding some reviews. Coincidentally, I learned afterwards that they make Leica's Traveler Tripod and some of Leica's ball heads, but that had no influence on my decision. Rather, the gear appears to be made to high quality and the company is an interesting example of a small business competing alongside industry giants. FLM Canada is the US/Canada distributor and has compiled a list of links to reviews and seems to be a one-man operation. Yet, Ari was very fast to reply to messages and extremely helpful answering questions, even over the weekend. It seems FLM have positioned themselves in the Gitzo/RRS realm of quality and capabilities, while remaining fairly price competitive compared to the Asian alternatives. I suppose they could be considered a step between the two.
Sorry, I don't mean to make this sound like an ad for then company! Rather, I was puzzled by their relative obscurity, and thought others here might be interested too. Diving into tripod research was a bit daunting with all the options now available, and trying to figure out what would be a good buy for the dollar. Not necessarily the cheapest, but rather a good value. I should receive the gear later in the week and will report back, if anyone is interested in knowing how it goes.
rirakuma, with those kid's super red cheeks, were they cold at all? They look happy either way Wonderful set btw. I'll make it to that part of the world one of these days.
Cool window shots Ron. Our darn double insulated windows kill any frost action here. even though it's 8F out lol
chrislee wrote:
rirakuma, with those kid's super red cheeks, were they cold at all? They look happy either way Wonderful set btw. I'll make it to that part of the world one of these days.
Cool window shots Ron. Our darn double insulated windows kill any frost action here. even though it's 8F out lol
Yes it was very cold there. Manang was the last village where I saw kids, I was told most of the residents moved to the lower areas in winter. That girls was really cute, her brothers were pinching her cheeks and she was still laughing
, can't wait to really put it to the test on my next holiday. Here's some more pics from my previous trip, it's also been fun working on the small m8 files.
Wonderful set btw. I'll make it to that part of the world one of these days. 
