LeadyGonzales - nice to see you here too :-)
Nice pictures!
The Helios 40-2 is a lens that I want :-) The Zeiss Biotar is a bit too expensive.
I have the Meyer Görlitz Trioplan 100mm f/2.8, but that lens has not the swirl effect what is very interessting for some images. And it is longer and not so fast.
I'll never sell mine even though I think it could be a tad sharper wide open. I need to get a hood. I can't wait to try video with it. Worth every penny.
I wish I would have grabbed one a few years ago before the prices went up so much and not as many available - if you like the Helios - take a look at the Trioplan 100/2.8 - much smaller & lighter and can sometimes be found at a reasonable price.
you are often angry about it. it often does not what you want. if light is bad it does not perform. it nearly always swirls like hell - even if you want a smooth bokeh. open it is only sharp in the middle.
.. but when everything is fine, it is great - like a diva.
Hi All, I have the later 40-2 and I love it very much. The color and contrast is so very good, especially off course the unique rendering of the out of focus area, and the skin tone too!. But one thing that bother me sometimes is it's sharpness.
And days ago I read somewhere in internet that the silver 40 version, is sharper than the 40-2.
Can you confirm that? I am glad if you could share the comparison photos (or should I make a new post?).
Many thanks.
My fav 85mm for portraits of all time was the 85mm F 1.5 Leica Summarex. The high amount of spherical abberation made it very nice for female portraits, but it did not have "excessive" softness in comparison to, say, a 135mm F 2.8 Canon SF lens.
I only shot it with film on M2 and M3 bodies, and I cannot recall what kind of background blur effects it produced compared to the Helios under discussion.(most of my portrait work with it was head and shoulders, not 3/4 body or larger) I wish some kind chap would mount one on an M9 and show us. If he had a Helios around adapted to a Canon FF, he could do a side by side comparison at F 1.5.
Finding decent images shot on digital with a Summarex seems illusive-I've searched many times, but only found one photographer in Italy using one extensively, and he mostly shoots it the way I used to, which means the background blur effects are not terribly discernable
From my readings, the versions that have a serial # starting with "000" & "00"
could be sharper then others due to these being made for politicians & factory workers/management, and therefor received personal attention.
Also it could be that some early silver versions were made on Zeiss equipment by Zeiss techs.
anscochrome wrote:
Finding decent images shot on digital with a Summarex seems illusive-I've searched many times, but only found one photographer in Italy using one extensively, and he mostly shoots it the way I used to, which means the background blur effects are not terribly discernable
:
