50mm Summilux and Sonnar

[adan]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Jerry, I suppose it depends.

 

If the OP wanted a direct substitute for the Summilux, then "a TOTALLY different lens than the 50 Summilux in the way it renders the image, or “draws” - may not be an advantage at all.

 

Are you saying that all photographers should think like you and prefer the same "look" that you do?

[Jerry_R]

Are you saying that all photographers should think like you and prefer the same "look" that you do?

No, I just assume, that many (not all) of M users, especially when migrating from analog, would prefer more analog look like - coming from Zeiss lenses or pre-ASPH Leica lenses.

 

I see mostly young digital generation, used to DSLRs - prefer more contrast, also sharper pictures.

[jezzicaz789]

The Zeiss Sonnar is designed to be an old-school lens - "dreamy" at f/1.5, better stopped down. If you want close to the APO performance cheap, look into the Voigtlander 50 f/1.5. Or a used Leica 50 f/1.4 pre-ASPH. Either will perform better than the Zeiss @ full aperture - unless you want the dreamy look - and will be even cheaper to boot.

 

Zeiss said the following to Luminous-Landscape Zeiss M-Mount Lenses regarding the Sonnar:

 

"The C-SONNAR T* 1.5/50 ZM is a very special lens; based on a classical lens design concept from the 1930´s. .... This lens ‘draws’ your subject in a fine, flattering manner and is therefore ideally suited for portraiture. It renders a sharpness that is slightly rounded, being less aggressive than in contemporary lens designs....This lens design exhibits some additional effects.... the best focus position in the object space can not be kept exactly constant for all f-stop settings [i.E. - FOCUS SHIFT].....The special features of the C-SONNAR T* 1.5/50 ZM are best used in emotional, artistic, narrative images, portraits or atmospheric landscapes. For documentation or technical subjects CARL ZEISS recommends to stop down the lens at least to f/5.6 or to use the PLANAR T* 2/50 ZM lens."

 

As the LL reviewer said - "Who buys an f/1.5 lens to use at f/5.6?"

 

Such a very amazing link!

Thanks you for the post.