Lenses with character

[jackal]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

hi there

 

bought an M8 recently and an M7 and am loving it

 

i purchased a mint noctilux as ive always wanted that lens and love its particular rendition

 

i also bought a pre-asph late 1960's 35mm lux.... super lightweight, tiny size and lovely glow and softness. Produces exquisite old-style images when opened up

 

i also purchased a 28mm ultron. Its plenty sharp enough but not particularly special but then its a widee lens (which i dont care for as much personally) and i couldnt refuse buying it as a friend sold it to me at a silly cheap price

 

next on the list is a 75 lux. I am just waiting for the right one to show up. I was thinking about getting a 90mm pre-asph cron which i have tested and it seemed very nice. Nice bokeh, plenty sharp anough for my needs even at F2.0 and a great length given that i have a 50mm already. Also its a wee bit lighter than the 75 lux which can help in certain situations.

 

My question is, anyone know of any other lenses which give interesting effects or more of that old-school soft glowing look ? I personally don't go for all this big sharpness thing.. trying to get away from that actually and the digital harshenss that i found with my old Nikon D200 system.

 

I am particularly interested in teh Zeiss lenses as I heard that some of them have a very appealing fingerprint. Is there any websites detailing teh zeiss lenses ? Maybe other CV glass might be worth a look like the Nokton ?

 

all opinions welcome

 

thanks

[bill vann]

after much swapping about i let go of a 35mm asph and got a version 4 pre, love it (gotten $$$$$), got the last version 50mm cron the 75 lux (gotten $$$$$$), 90mm cron last version. the 135 f4 tele elmar is a sleeper also and quite affordable.

 

 

 

i'm fond of the 28mm ultron also have a 12 and 15 CV, have had the 35 ultron and pancake II bothe excellent, the 50 nokton really special and the 90 apo nice images but at 3.5?? harder to control dof and a bit slow, thought it better down a stop or two where most of the leica and others mentioned were vg to excellent wide open.

 

the 21 asph is really so much better than the cv or pre asphs i've tried i've kept it.

 

also have the secon version tri elmar, a bit slow f4 but use it most of the time and think the quality is under rated. if pixel peeping it is a bit behind the asph (but so are my other pre-asph) but in actual print i'm more than happy.

 

bill

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[bradreiman]

i like the summarit 50. low rated lens that has a good, soft, old-school look to it and they are relatively cheap. i also have a canon 50 1.2 that has a unique signature...b

[jackal]

thanks for that

 

the 40mm nokton looks interesting as well

 

anyone else, particularly interested in Zeiss

 

or does everyone here just go out and but the newsest/sharpest leica lenses ?

[rosuna]

Try the new Zeiss Sonnar ZM 50mm f/1,5.

 

http://theonlinephotographer.blogspot.com/2006/06/new-zeiss-c-sonnar.html

[j. borger]

The Zeiss lenses (with perhaps the exception of the Sonnar) are the exact opposite of the Leica lenses you seem to like so much ... like the 35 pre-asph lux, 75 lux etc.

Some of the new Zeiss lenses have even higher contrast than the latest asph Leicas ............. far from an old school look!

If you want lenses with the character you describe.... look at lenses from 1950-1960 .... Leica or Canon

- 35 Summaron /3,5 LTM

- 50/3,5 Elmar LTM

- 50 Summitar

- 50 Collapsible summicron

- 50 pre-asph lux

- 50 rigid summicron

- Canon 25, 28, 35m 50, 85 in screwmount

[ericperlberg]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

hi there snip

My question is, anyone know of any other lenses which give interesting effects or more of that old-school soft glowing look ? I personally don't go for all this big sharpness thing.

snip

I am particularly interested in teh Zeiss lenses as I heard that some of them have a very appealing fingerprint. Is there any websites detailing teh zeiss lenses ? Maybe other CV glass might be worth a look like the Nokton ?

all opinions welcome

thanks

 

All this is dealt with on Sean Reid's site which costs (not very much given the glass you're willing to buy) to join but is the only set of serious comprehensive reviews that I"m aware of on these topics with your points of view (drawing over sharpness, alternative M mount or LTM lenses for M mount cameras). Sean also has some articles like this one at Luminous Landscape. Just do a website search for Sean Reid there.

[andit]

Hi Richard,

 

Out of personal experience, the cv40 Nokton produces the glowing images that you are looking for. It gives results that are almost similar to soft focus. Hope this helps a bit.

 

Andreas

[sean_reid]

All this is dealt with on Sean Reid's site which costs (not very much given the glass you're willing to buy) to join but is the only set of serious comprehensive reviews that I"m aware of on these topics with your points of view (drawing over sharpness, alternative M mount or LTM lenses for M mount cameras). Sean also has some articles like this one at Luminous Landscape. Just do a website search for Sean Reid there.

 

Thanks very much Eric, I was quietly thinking that but didn't post it. <G>

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[jackal]

ok thanks very much chaps

 

some good ideas and poniters there

 

 

the single coated Nokton definitely looks interesting

 

i won a 90mm summicron on ebay today so i will see how i get on with that. The 75 lux is a must have though.

[petermcwerner]

anyone else, particularly interested in Zeiss

or does everyone here just go out and but the newsest/sharpest leica lenses ?

 

I love some of the older lenses. See my pictures with the 20mm/4.0 Zeiss Flektogon, the 73mm/1.8 Hektor of 1938, or the 50mm/1.8/T2.0 Cooke Kinetal and the 90mm/4 Elmar. The 9.8mm/1.8 Kinoptik Tegea is another interesting lens.

[tobey bilek]

If you can find a clean Summarit, you will love it. Shade required.

 

Red scale 3.5 Elmar and Summitar.+ shades

 

To go really old look, Summar+ shade

[jackal]

wow .. the 73mm hektor looks great

thanks for that

will investigate the Summarit as well

[grantray]

I shoot with a Zeiss 50 Planar and have played with some of their other focal lengths. I don't think Zeiss is offering what you are looking for, to be honest, as they are generally on par with the Leica ASPH line albeit with that typical Zeiss across-the-frame sharpness.

 

Otherwise I'm shooting the 35 lux, 21 elmarit, and 90 cron- all pre-ASPH. Tamarkin and Photo Village are evilly close to me, so I've played with a few other lenses as well. The summarit has a great print, but watch out for the standard fungus and good luck, (seriously), finding a shade. 60's 50 lux's are sweet, as well as type II 28 elmarits. There might be metering issues with type I 28 elmarits when used with the M8, but I can't recall. Maybe someone who knows could chip in on that one? I've been tempted by older ltm's as well with have fantastic qualities, but wrangling ir-cut filters to them seems to be too much of a hassle at the moment.

 

-grant

[Guest flatfour]

I wish I could find an adaptor for my 1967 Contarex Planar 50mm so that I could use it on my M6. This in my opinion was the finest lens ever made - it's better than my 50mm Summicron at F2.

[gberger]

Heresy - - But I believe the 24mm 2.8 ASPH is in a league by itself. Once you quickly learn how to keep a primary subject (or subjects) in the immediate foreground, the DOF produces rersults that make you forget the "glow," or whatever. Projected, a 24mm slide shot at 5.6 on Astia is an eye-opener - - no pun intended.

 

Used at 2.8, IMO, the background bokek is unique.

[thomasw_]

If you can find a clean Summarit, you will love it.

 

 

This saying is worthy of careful consideration....and it conforms to my experience. Get a good one, though. I love its signature; you will get great bang for the buck with this lens!

[coolfonzies]

I am a huge fan of the 50mm Summitar. I think you can get one + an adapter and not break the bank. It's got an almost '3D' look. I'd love to see one used on the M8.

[luigi bertolotti]

I wish I could find an adaptor for my 1967 Contarex Planar 50mm so that I could use it on my M6. This in my opinion was the finest lens ever made - it's better than my 50mm Summicron at F2.

 

Do not forget to tell me, if it happens you find an adapter for Conterex Lenses... the Conterex BM is so strange that i think none has ever manufactured such a thing... do not forget that that exceptional Zeiss lenses DID NOT HAVE the aperture ring ! was activated internally by the front knob... I suspect this is a great problem for designing some kind of adapter... You have to make a tube with an aperture ring that couples with the mechanism you can see inside the BM of the lenses...mmhhh... a difficult task...anyway, the idea of using the Planar you quote, as well as the superb Distagon 18 is fascinating... wouldn't it be for that body-monster, I'd like to carry the Distagon 18 always with me.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[tom0511]

Very interesting thread.

 

I am also interested in lenses with a special character.

 

Can anyone working with those older lenses post some images?

 

Highly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Tom