Steve Spencer wrote:
ecarlino, thanks for these shots with lots of different focus and background distances, and in general challenging backgrounds. Putting these shot together with yours from yesterday here is my take. The GM has terrific bokeh. Strengths, IMO, include nice lower contrast bokeh, good transition from in focus to out of focus that is smooth and relatively quick, general soft rendering to the bokeh without just enough character to make it interesting. Bokeh balls are excellent until the edge of the frame and into the corners when they start to squish into ovals. Almost no onion rings in the bokeh circles. Weakness: pretty minor; the squished bokeh balls in the corners and right at the edges; reduced micro contrast weakness 3-D effect (I think). Bokeh is typical of the better Minolta lenses.
The Batis has fairly good bokeh but it has a lot of character that you may or may not like. Strengths: Very good 3-D effect or at least I think I see that. Generally low double outlining. I see very little of that at almost any distance. Weaknesses: High contrast (some may see this as a strength); somewhat swirly at times--we can see that in the last shots; Bokeh balls that are squished with strong onion rings. Bokeh similar to some other Zeiss lenses.
Steve,
I\'m starting to develop the same impression in terms of different styles. Frankly, I\'m relieved that the Batis has as good of Bokeh in pretty difficult situations as it does, because i considered that its only possible weakness. Some lenses are an \"all the time bad bokeh\" or \"wow, that is really distracting\" - for me, the Batis is neither, but there are certain situations where you\'ll notice it. The GM has a consistently pleasing, if not perfect, bokeh/rendition (but there\'s that minor detail of the \'costs\' in dollars and pounds).
It is supposed to finally be sunny in Chicago this week and I\'m hoping to get downtown to do some city/architecture comparisons. Then, I\'m going to have to weigh the pros/cons of each and to the extent that the GM comes out ahead in a direct comparison, then it gets really difficult for me because then i have to apply additional factors (price, mass, AF speed/noise) and evaluate whether any advantages in IQ/rendering style outweigh the significant costs. I\'m trying to keep an open mind during the process.....
I think both lenses will be in high demand as they both have plenty of strengths that will fit certain users perfectly.
Apr 10, 2016 at 04:00 PM
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