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Zeiss 1.5 Sonnar photos/review


Torgian

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This is just a quick and dirty, non scientific review of the Sonnar for those who are looking a purchasing this lens.

 

First off, my copy is optimized at 2.8 it seems. I'm sure by now the majority of you know about the focus shift that this particular lens has.

 

First picture, taken at f 1,5. Notice how soft the man's face is. The focus point for this picture was his nose.

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In this picture, I nudged the focus ring slightly towards infinity. Now he is in much more focus.

 

 

The next two are just to give you an idea of the BOKEH! This lens is quite BOKEH!licious. (Sorry, I can't help exclaiming that right now for some reason. hah :) )

 

In these, the first picture was focused on the steamer, and in the second, the espresso pressurizer. I don't know the technical terms for these, so there you go.

 

Interesting note, I had attempted to focus on these dead-on in the range finder. They were both within a few feet of me, about 3 - 4 feet away. Because if their roundish shapes though, it's hard to tell if they are slightly out of focus or not, at least to me.

 

 

 

This is a picture of my friend at her job, cropped and converted to black and white with Silverlite. Taken at 1.5; I think you'll agree that it's quite a nice photo. Focus point was the left side of her ear when I took this, so it looks like I nailed the focus on her eyes quite well.

 

 

Overall, I'm quite happy with this lens. I have other photos that I took on the street, and I noticed the focus shift on several of them when taken at 1,5. However, when I changed my focus point to the ear or around that area, the focus would be bang on. Most of my street photos I take at f,4 or f,8 for that depth of field though, for the sake of zone focusing, so this focus shift becomes moot.

 

With soft edged objects, this focus shift almost seems to become a non-issue.

 

However, I must say that the Summilux appears to be a bit sharper. I think that sharpness can be quite helpful in street photography. Still, the Zeiss Sonnar is still plenty sharp, and for the money (1,200 US) it delivers IQ that is nearly as good as the Lux.

 

I'll probably get a Summilux in the future, when its more financially feasible. However, I can easily see this Zeiss being the go-to lens for portraits, or if I simply want a slightly softer look on my street photos.

Edited by Torgian
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I need to take more test shots. I've noticed that there is little to no focus shift in some situations.

 

Either way, loving this lens.

 

As for the bokeh, I do like it a lot; However, I feel like the summilux's bokeh is creamier. In some photos I've taken, the bokeh was a bit harsh, but that's really just nitpicking.

 

Overall, it's time to practice more. I'm moving to Japan tomorrow, and will have a whole 12 hours where I will need to force myself to stay awake. Guess I'll be doing some street photography!

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Glad to hear you are enjoying the C-Sonnar. I am just getting acquainted. Third roll today, this time colour, previously FP4+. Delighted with what I have seen so far. May even tempt me into buying a Zeiss 35 too, instead of a 'cron or Nokton.

 

I too would really like the 50lux Asph from what I have seen of it, but at the moment its a bit too pricey.

 

Julian

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yeah the Lux is really nice, but expensive. I honestly don't know if I will ever buy it.

 

I have the 35mm Biogon from Zeiss. Very nice lens.

 

You can have 3 Zeiss lenses for the price of a Summilux. You already have the 35 and a fast 50.

You could go wider with the 2.8/25 Biogon or longer with the 4.0/85 Tele-Tessar, I have both and they are excellent lenses.

 

Interestingly, almost all of my Leica lenses have needed to go back to Leica for warranty adjustment or repair.

I have never had to send back any of the 4 ZM lenses I have owned for repairs (although I did have the 50 C-Sonnar optimised for 1.5).

Edited by MarkP
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Why don't you get Zeiss to adjust your C-Sonnar so it's optimised to f/1.5? Mine was already done when I bought it, it is just wonderful wide open and I have to admit that I couldn't be bothered faffing about trying to bump it a smidgen if it was optimised to f/2.8.:o

 

Pete.

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I'd rather keep it optimized at 2.8 since I use 4.0 - 8 fairly often for street photography. I only use 1.5 in low light and the focus shift is easily compensated for.

 

Thats pretty much the same for me, regularly use it at 2.8 - 5.6, occasionally wider for low light. The 2.8 optimisation works best for me too. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Re optimization, makes sense to me to optimize the lens at the f-stop you use most for portraiture, f/2.8 for me. This lens is quite special close-up at f/2.8, enough depth of field to place both eyes in focus but still with lovely bokeh. YMMV.

 

I've liked this lens on every M body, digi or film, I've used. I bought it when it first was released and recently had Zeiss overhaul it out of excess caution. I wish I had the means to acquire the 85mm Sonnar as well, which would be short tele heaven ...

 

If you want lovely bokeh with a ZM 35, I suggest the C-Biogon f/2.8, although I have the "regular" Biogon f/2. For some reason the smaller 35mm at f/2.8 melts away the background like the C-Sonnar, at least to my eye.

 

However, I must say that the Summilux appears to be a bit sharper. I think that sharpness can be quite helpful in street photography. Still, the Zeiss Sonnar is still plenty sharp, and for the money (1,200 US) it delivers IQ that is nearly as good as the Lux.

 

I'll probably get a Summilux in the future, when its more financially feasible. However, I can easily see this Zeiss being the go-to lens for portraits, or if I simply want a slightly softer look on my street photos.

 

I have a 'Lux and use the C-Sonnar more often for portraits. Go figure. I like the 'Lux for club-shooting, especially, and urban/land scapes, other things. More than I need a lens to be.

Edited by mctuomey
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The ZM Sonnar is my favorite 50 for portraits with the Summilux pre-asph v2 but the latter is bulkier and has a longer focus throw so it tends to remain at home i'm afraid. The Summilux asph is too sharp for less than perfect skins to my tastes and those of my relatives who don't like it much generally. Focus shift remains an issue with the Sonnar at other apertures than the optimized one though, for those who don't have an EVF at least.

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