IMO it\'s a bit pointless to worry about precise sharpness comparisons with the the 55/1.8 - both of these lenses are going to be tack sharp. And even if the 55 edges out the 50 in sharpness, that was never the criticism (at least for me) of the 55, rather the 55 never had the \"magic\" for me (i found it clinical) and this is what i\'m waiting to see about the 50. It\'s up for everyone to decide for themselves, at each focal length, what the priority is.
But the fact that the 55 may be slightly sharper at certain/all apertures at certain/all distances from center is hardly a concern of mine - the 50 is more than sharp enough.
Excellent piece! Could not agree more. I would also add that the \"magic\" lenses depend on the camera sensor/body that are being matched to. Recently some of my all time favorites/magic lenses, M 50 Nocti f/1.0, 75 Lux, 50 Cron DR changed in personality/magic when I put them on the A7rII to the point where I was very disappointed and moved these lenses on.
This is no doubt why the RX1rII is so successful having a lens matched to the sensor.
Very true Charles. Very fast film lenses like the Nocti you had really need to used on film if shot wide open. I don\'t know if you have seen this post on the lens rentals blog:
But, if you look at the first chart at f/1 even a 1mm piece of glass (like in a Kolari modified Sony A7 series or the Leica SL) is going to cripple the micro contrast in the *centre*. You really can\'t make the cover glass thin enough to allow shooting this lens wide open (and why get it if you don\'t use it wide open), so this lens really needs film.
Even your 75 Lux suffered a bit in the centre from the cover glass of an unmodified Sony A7--but just a bit and it probably won\'t be all that bad, but then you look at the second graph and see how the cover glass effects the edges and corners with even f/2 lenses by introducing extra astigmatism. These lenses have exit pupils closer to 50mm than 100mm. That is affecting you 75 Lux too and even your cron DR. It will be much less of a problem on those with a Kolari modification, but again there will still be a bit of diminished performance.
The bottom line is that although I love the Leica M lenses some real care has to be exercised in selecting them for the Sony camera. Lenses made for digital Leica have less of a problem as they are designed for a 1mm or so cover glass, so that can help. Others are slow and have longer exit pupils and are fine, but unfortunately some of these beautiful lenses (like those you had) can lose their magic.
Steve, thank you for the link to the article! Excellent read
With my A7r I did have it Kolari modified v1 and I still noticed a difference from my M9/M240 with 50 Nocti f/1.0, 75 Lux and 50 Cron DR. The one lens that appears to be fine, is the M 50 Cron IV and is now one of my favorites on the A7rII.
The camera body that I have had the least issues is the A7s adapting the M 50 Nocti f/1.0 and 75 Lux.
Some shots with A7s and M 50 Nocti f/1.0 @ f/1.0 with Phigment adapter. (No longer available now)
IMO it\'s a bit pointless to worry about precise sharpness comparisons with the the 55/1.8 - both of these lenses are going to be tack sharp. And even if the 55 edges out the 50 in sharpness, that was never the criticism (at least for me) of the 55, rather the 55 never had the \"magic\" for me (i found it clinical) and this is what i\'m waiting to see about the 50. It\'s up for everyone to decide for themselves, at each focal length, what the priority is.
But the fact that the 55 may be slightly sharper at certain/all apertures at certain/all distances from center is hardly a concern of mine - the 50 is more than sharp enough.
Excellent piece! Could not agree more. I would also add that the \"magic\" lenses depend on the camera sensor/body that are being matched to. Recently some of my all time favorites/magic lenses, M 50 Nocti f/1.0, 75 Lux, 50 Cron DR changed in personality/magic when I put them on the A7rII to the point where I was very disappointed and moved these lenses on.
This is no doubt why the RX1rII is so successful having a lens matched to the sensor.
Very true Charles. Very fast film lenses like the Nocti you had really need to used on film if shot wide open. I don\'t know if you have seen this post on the lens rentals blog:
But, if you look at the first chart at f/1 even a 1mm piece of glass (like in a Kolari modified Sony A7 series or the Leica SL) is going to cripple the micro contrast in the *centre*. You really can\'t make the cover glass thin enough to allow shooting this lens wide open (and why get it if you don\'t use it wide open), so this lens really needs film.
Even your 75 Lux suffered a bit in the centre from the cover glass of an unmodified Sony A7--but just a bit and it probably won\'t be all that bad, but then you look at the second graph and see how the cover glass effects the edges and corners with even f/2 lenses by introducing extra astigmatism. These lenses have exit pupils closer to 50mm than 100mm. That is affecting you 75 Lux too and even your cron DR. It will be much less of a problem on those with a Kolari modification, but again there will still be a bit of diminished performance.
The bottom line is that although I love the Leica M lenses some real care has to be exercised in selecting them for the Sony camera. Lenses made for digital Leica have less of a problem as they are designed for a 1mm or so cover glass, so that can help. Others are slow and have longer exit pupils and are fine, but unfortunately some of these beautiful lenses (like those you had) can lose their magic.
Steve, thank you for the link to the article! Excellent read
With my A7r I did have it Kolari modified v1 and I still noticed a difference from my M9/M240 with 50 Nocti f/1.0, 75 Lux and 50 Cron DR. The one lens that appears to be fine, is the M 50 Cron IV and is now one of my favorites on the A7rII.
The camera body that I have had the least issues is the A7s adapting the M 50 Nocti f/1.0 and 75 Lux.
Jul 20, 2016 at 07:16 AM
Previous versions of charles.K's message #13649715 « LensRentals: Planar T* FE 50/1.4 ZA is absolutely superb! »
