p.157 #2 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
shelt wrote:
I'm actually shocked by this. I just sold my ZM 50 Planar, which is a close relative of the G45 (I've never had the G45). The ZM 50/2 was very sharp to the edges on a crop sensor, but had progressively weak midfield and poor corners at f/4 and wider on my a7. The center was always sharp and contrasty, but the overall frame sharpness didn't come close to the FE 55 until f/5.6 or f/8, and even then wasn't as sharp and contrasty as the FE 55. The FE 55 OTOH, is shockingly sharp across most of the frame at f/1.8, has very good corners at f/1.8, and only gets better from there. From f/2.8 on it's just amazing. I've never seen such performance at all apertures from any largish aperture lens, and throw in a very smooth bokeh with great Zeiss rendering and it's in pretty rarified territory.
I'd love to see an aperture comparison of the G45 and FE 55. I wish I had some ZM 50 side by sides to post, but it's gone now...Show more →
The center of the G45 is very comparable to the FE 55. I haven't looked at the borders or corners yet. I was mainly testing at infinity and mainly looking at aharpness. What I did find was that when manual focusing the FE55 for longer distance subjects, it is very hard to get optimal resolution whereas it was quite easy with the G45. The contrast from the G45 made it much easier to nail the manual focus. The FE 55 seems to meters much more warmly on the A7R, and maybe that was throwing off my ability to manual focus. In any case, the G45 is more of a curiosity. The 55 is obviously more versatile, due to its AF.
When I find time again, I'll test them more thoroughly again. I was primarily testing my FE35 on the A7R vs the 24/1.8 on the NEX7, and most of my attention was on that. I had some more time left before the light was gone so I threw on the G45 to compare with the FE 55. I'm going to test the G45 vs FE55 again and G90 vs Nikkor 85/1.4 this weekend.
p.157 #3 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
I mounted my Distagon using a M42 adapter and threaded PVC pipe. Not very elegant
but it works. The aperture is adjusted by a stiff wire connected to the aperture lever.
Hope this helps. ?zz=1">
p.157 #4 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sflxn wrote:
The center of the G45 is very comparable to the FE 55. I haven't looked at the borders or corners yet. I was mainly testing at infinity and mainly looking at aharpness. What I did find was that when manual focusing the FE55 for longer distance subjects, it is very hard to get optimal resolution whereas it was quite easy with the G45. The contrast from the G45 made it much easier to nail the manual focus. The FE 55 seems to meters much more warmly on the A7R, and maybe that was throwing off my ability to manual focus. In any case, the G45 is more of a curiosity. The 55 is obviously more versatile, due to its AF.
When I find time again, I'll test them more thoroughly again. I was primarily testing my FE35 on the A7R vs the 24/1.8 on the NEX7, and most of my attention was on that. I had some more time left before the light was gone so I threw on the G45 to compare with the FE 55. I'm going to test the G45 vs FE55 again and G90 vs Nikkor 85/1.4 this weekend....Show more →
Great, thanks! I'm definitely sold on the FE 55, but very curious how the g45 compares to it in the mid-zones and corners, especially at wider apertures. Regarding the FE 35, I did some comparisons with my 35 Lux FLE. In short, the FE 35 is better at 2.8 and 3.5 in the edges and corners, but then the Lux tightens up rapidly and surpasses it in sharpness and contrast from ~f/4 on. Under landscape conditions (infinity and f/5.6-f/8), the Lux is noticeably better. However, for the price, I still think the FE 35 is a great lens!
p.157 #5 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
sflxn wrote:
The center of the G45 is very comparable to the FE 55. I haven't looked at the borders or corners yet.
I think you will find the G45 will fall off in the corners versus the ZM50. The G45 has the old school center sharpness like some of the Leica M lenses. The ZM50 sacrificed some of that central sharpness for the field, and the FE seems to take it to the next level, as far as sharpness in the field/corners at wider apertures..
p.157 #6 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
I picked up a Zuiko OM 35mm f2.8 from eBay this morning. From my recollection of the bygone film days, this lens performed on par with the superb Zuiko 24mm f2.8 and 50mm f3.5 lenses... so hopefully my memory is correct on this one.
p.157 #7 · What is your most recent (alt) lens purchase?
cherubino wrote:
I mounted my Distagon using a M42 adapter and threaded PVC pipe. Not very elegant
but it works. The aperture is adjusted by a stiff wire connected to the aperture lever.
Hope this helps.
Thanks cherubino.
I've seen one or two other conversions like this on the web. Would love to see some samples. Have you used it on a FF body as well?
Not sure whether it makes too much sense for me to go down that path. I did some tests by holding the lens flat against some thin extension tubes (with a M42 Adapter as a flange). It appears that it should be possible to get infinity focus on a 5D II without mirror collisions. Also, it does cover the whole image circle - though it appears to be a bit soft in the corners at open apertures.
