Yep, $205 SGD over here (which actually is slightly cheaper then what you paid, but still, quite a lot for a battery capacity wise Canon/Nikon/Sony would sell for $30-60).. The way I use rangefinders though, I think two will be enough.
Don't go testing the camera's weather sealing in those flood waters! Try to keep dry n safe
edwardkaraa wrote:
Allen, is that an actor? Nice shot.
Why yes it is and thanks.More great stuff from you Edward. Do you watch Criminal Minds? He is a famous Chicago actor and a very good one at that and a GREAT GUY.....
He was the guest of honor at a VIP event I was shooting. I usually shoot a fair amount of B&W for a few of my clients.
Peter, those look great. The water has a beautiful color to it and the Bavarian lifestyle certainly has its benefits!
Gary, really like the first one. Surprised you're not sick of seeing water?
Phil: in fact my friend across from me in the photos, she did order fried chicken with waffles. I went with pulled pork and just finished the leftovers for dinner tonight.
Joe, thanks for the comment on the Canon 35/2 vs. the ZM35/2.8. I forgot to include my opinions on this and basically agree with you. Sometimes the busier/harsher rendering of the Canon works for the wide open shots. The ZM has a smoother background rendering that at times seems a bit uninteresting.
A few from earlier last week with the Canon 50/1.4, Canon 35/2 and 28 Cron:
Gary, wow, flood looks pretty bad. The 50Lux pre ASPH set looks excellent! Nice pop and contrast.
Ron, yes Nikkor 10.5cm 2.5 is a Sonnar design. Love that B&W of your friend's son with the Canon 35/2. Dinner set with the Nippon Summilux is also excellent, very modern rendering. Looks like everyone had a great time out. Your pp with skin tones continue to amaze me and I'm not surprised of the lens's performance, especially in your hands. Makes me want to try a 50/1.4 FDn now P/s I think its not fair to put the older lenses next to a 28Cron, but nice comparison though
Edward, excellent sets with the Zeiss lenses. Really like #1 from first set, the ZM50P of the landscape and elephants, cowboy peddler and the 3D tree 85/2 still in Germany for calibration?
Joakim, 3 trains and a bus ride home? That would make my older son extremely happy! Excellent set with the ZM50P.
Allen, excellent shot, nicely framed and composed.
Phil, congrats on the CV 50/1.5. Excellent portrait. Wedding with Mono sounds like fun!
Adam, hope you get your M240 soon. Not a bad idea to get a spare battery while they are available.
Peter, fantastic starter set on this thread, beautiful! You put your new gear to good use and a well deserved glass of beer!
-------
Still getting acquainted with my prewar CZJ Sonnar 5cm 1.5. All wide open except #1 @ f/4
Thank you Phil, Ron, Allen, Joe, for your kind comments!
Phil: beautiful portrait!
Ron: very nice family candids. The colors are superb too. Yep, there are vineyards in Thailand, mostly in a few hilly areas. It's a recent industry though, but top French and Italian experts are hired, and the wine is actually quite good.
Gary: dramatic set, especially love the 1st shot.
Allen: Yep, I thought that must be him
Peter: beautiful nature set. The colors are gorgeous. And the last Kaese und Schinken shot is mouth watering!
Ron: very nice composition in the last set, and love the cool color balance and tones.
Joe: superb shots with the sonnar. Yep, mine is still at Zeiss. Shouldn't expect back before 1-2 weeks.
joe88 - My thoughts exactly! Great shots lately, I like the greens in your first photo with the Sonnar Jena.
Ron - The second and third shots look closer then the first, I like the third shot the best, to be honest. Which lens on third?
There's a reason why I'm bias. Lately the PSI has been really high here 400+ because of the forest fires the Indonesian government has been letting corporations start to "clear cut" the land to the south of us here in Singapore. So I'm really sick of seeing haze (leica glow), in real life, in photos, everywhere. Similar situation to what I'd assume Gary would be in. Hence me liking your comment "Gary, really like the first one. Surprised you're not sick of seeing water?"
Adam - I moved somewhat between the first (50mm) and the last two images. The third image is the 28 Cron. I agree with Peter that for general landscape use (natural and urban) I prefer the perfection of modern glass. The Canons are actually really good stopped down, which is typically how I would use them in such situations, but for the scene of the tree, it was dark and I wanted a bit of separation from the background. I did a bit more urban exploration yesterday around town and came to the conclusion that while the Canon lenses perform very well stopped down, there is a difference in color rendering and micro contrast compared to Leica glass. I'll probably use the Canons more for available light people photos.
That's unfortunate about the poor air quality... I can't imagine having to deal with that on a daily basis. The closest perhaps was during several trips to Taiwan where it was typically very hazy on the west cost, hardly ever seeing the blue sky. But that was 'just' smog and not directly the result of forest fires.
WeeSin - very nice - great color! I really like the last three. I'm struck at how clean the 28 Cron file looks. On the M9 it vignettes even when stopped down a fair amount, yet your M240 example doesn't show any. Was it specially processed?
Phil, yes it was sunset but the light was blocked from direct view.
Gary, another nice set at the waterfall. 21SEM B&W looks good! If you like the Sonnar look, you might want to add one of these Contax CZ lenses to your collection. I use my Contax RF lenses with an Amadeo Contax to ltm adapter which works great.
Wee Sin, excellent set and congrats on your M240.
Ron, I like the rendering on the red gate shot. Interesting OOF rendering on the 2nd 35/2 shot.
muc_marlin wrote:
joe : do you get this look, feel from the sonar without post processing?
Hehe, Peter, the Sonnar look is quite distinct, like fine German beer, you can't fake it? Actually, these older lenses are quite low in contrast but these CZ Sonnars (I have three so far) resolves quite well. I added contrast, clariy and minor tweaking in post but otherwise colors from the lens seems nice. Main concern with these older uncoated lenses is flare which as Ron mentioned, can make colors washed out.
Here is a sample dng out of camera. Quite good in my opinion for a lens > 80 years old?
Yes, Joe and I are on a Sonnar spree. Well, more so Joe. Just received my Amedeo adapter today and gave the 50/1.5 a spin. My copy is an Opton (made in West Germany) and is coated.
A few initial observations... the coatings probably make a pretty big difference because I tried scenes with some bright sky as backlight and the lens held contrast reasonably well. Better than I expected in many situations. Bokeh character is in-line with Sonnars from this era but I think it's somewhat less extreme than the Nikkor 5cm/1.4. I don't have a ZM50/1.5 for direct comparison, but based on some web shots from it, I would guess the ZM is slightly smoother with its OOF specular highlight rendering. Compared to the Nikkor, the Opton doesn't melt into absolute gooey SA glow wide open, though it still has SA glow that will add a slight halo-edge to high contrast transitions. Nor does it seem as susceptible to extreme purple fringing like the Nikkor against very bright backgrounds. Stopped down one stop, the hard ring edges soften but the lens doesn't have the dramatic pick-up in contrast the Nikkor has. The Opton seems to have a relatively small central sweet spot. Stopping down to f/11 seems to give the best across-frame performance. This isn't a lens I'd want to use for technical purposes. Interestingly, the Canon 50/1.4, which isn't a Sonnar design, is much better than the Nikkor or Sonnar for predictability and control. Stopped down around f/8 it's pretty close to modern glass for across-frame sharpness. So... for me, the 50/1.5 Summarit, 5cm/1.4 Nikkor and 50/1.5 Zeiss-Opton Sonnar are more or less bokeh effect lenses that also can work well for people/portraiture. The Canon can do this as well, or sit in the camp of more technically proficient lenses.
So, where to start?
These are pretty much unprocessed. WB adjustment and maybe slight curves for some. Zeiss-Opton 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar, all without a lens hood:
And sorry if I hurt your eyes with the following These were given slightly more processing.
Biggest hassle with the lens is again ~1m MFD and because it sits in a Contax RF to Leica focus helical adapter that was probably made based on the actual Contax RF focus helical, the focus direction is the wrong way.
