lct Posted March 15, 2014 Share #21 Posted March 15, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've bought mine new 6 months ago. It is oltimized for 2.8 Which serial number is yours? Just curious. Mine is 159339**. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 15, 2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Hi lct, Take a look here Zeiss Sonnar T 50mm f1.5 opinions?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
keithlaban.co.uk Posted March 15, 2014 Share #22 Posted March 15, 2014 Or is it a crap shoot? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 15, 2014 Share #23 Posted March 15, 2014 Or early stock? I would ask your dealer to check before shipping to be sure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithlaban.co.uk Posted March 15, 2014 Share #24 Posted March 15, 2014 I'd prefer to hear it from the horse's mouth. Has anyone asked the question of Zeiss? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
struene Posted March 15, 2014 Share #25 Posted March 15, 2014 Hallo, as far as I know, the Sonnar is and was always delivered optimized for f2.8, which is the best allround optimization. The confusion comes from a statement (cant find it now) from Zeiss, in which they admit the existance of the design caused focusshift and offer a free optimization for f1.5, if desired, directly after the purchase. Thats all. They never shipped from factory with an f1.5 optimization. Google ZEiss 50 1.5 sonnar and focus shift, read all those threads, theories and articles and you will find it. As far as i am concerned: I use the 50 exactly as a poster above, as my people and portrait lens, for "intimate" storytelling. The creamy strong bokeh and the gentle wide open sharpness makes it perfect for that purpose (while still beeing perfectly sharp closed down). Besides that i use "cleaner" 35mm lens for allround everything else: traveling, street, reportage, live and places... ...my 28mm comes out very, very rarely for wide scenes, when i want a landscape or scene to be a tic more dramatic. I wouldn t bother to buy it a second time. Maybe someting cheaper and darker like a Voigtländer 28 3.5, but that lens is hard to find.. 35 and 50mm are just perfect for Rangefinders. schöne Grüße, Johann 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 15, 2014 Share #26 Posted March 15, 2014 I won't repeat at nauseam that my 2014 sample is natively optimized for f/1.5. For those interested, see what Roger Hicks wrote on the topic in 2007: Roger Hicks - Sonar first look Aside from asking Zeiss themselves, it could be interesting to check out if samples optimized for f/2.8 have a groove in the flange for 6 bit coding or not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
horosu Posted March 15, 2014 Share #27 Posted March 15, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Which serial number is yours? Just curious. Mine is 159339**. Mine is 15604389. That might explain the difference in optimisations. And it has the coding groove in place 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart D Posted March 15, 2014 Share #28 Posted March 15, 2014 An answer to the question about the current "optimization" from Zeiss might be of interest: When used with live view on a Leica M240 or adapted to a CSC camera, the unavoidable focus shift of the C-Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM plays no role at all. Here are some details about this special lens: The C Sonnar T* 1.5/50 ZM is a very special lens; based on a classical lens design concept from the 1930´s. The additional letter “C” in the name of the lens expresses this designation. This lens design helps to achieve pictures with a special artistic touch. 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, but at the same time not soft in its rendition. Many famous portraits of glamorous and prominent people during the 1930´s used this technique to great effect. These images are characterized by portraying the person in a shining, nearly celestial way. This effect is very well balanced and not exaggerated; therefore many viewers see it in a subconscious way. The trained observer, however, understands the underlining technique and enjoys the results. This lens design exhibits some additional effects, which should be understood to achieve the maximum benefit from the C Sonnar T* 1.5/50 ZM: Because of the above mentioned classical characteristic of the lens the best focus position in the object space can not be kept exactly constant for all f-stop settings. The passionate photographer might notice a slightly closer best focus in his pictures than expected. When stopping down the lens to f/2.8 or smaller this effect is minimized, so the focus position will be as expected. In order to balance the performance at full speed and other f-stop settings the lens is adjusted with above described characteristic. 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. Out of factory, the C-Sonnar always comes with an adjustment of its flange focal distance to be the best compromize regarding its focus shift at all f-stops and taking distances. For most applications, this is the perfect adjustment for 95% of our users. If the C-Sonnar should just be used at f/1.5 and closer distances, a different adjustment of its FFD could be considered. So please do some practical tests with your M-mount camera body (the rangefinder adjustment of the camera body is also essential) before considering an individual adjustment of your lens. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
struene Posted March 15, 2014 Share #29 Posted March 15, 2014 Hallo, in this Flickr-Thread: Flickr: Discussing 1,5 or 2,8 Optimized focus? in ZM C Sonnar 50mm User "Gliderboy" showes the reply, Zeiss gave him to the question of optimizaiton: There is a lot of misinformation on the web regarding the Sonnar C focus shift issue. I emailed Zeiss and got the following reply in November 2009. So straight from the horse's mouth: "Thanks for your request. Out of factory, the C-Sonnar is always adjusted for minimal focus shift at f/2.8 at all taking distances. Except at close distances at f/1.5, this is the best compromise for 90% of our users. Depending on the tolerances of the rangefinder of your camera, you might recognize a small amount of focus shift at f/1.5 and closer distances. So we strongly recommend to do individual tests with your camera and lens, before you decide to change the flange focal adjustment of your lens. You can always send it to us for individual adjustment. Within warranty time, this service will be free of charge. Best Regards Bertram Hönlinger" my Sonnar i from ~2012 and is optimized for 2.8... Maybe your lens is optimized for f2.8 but together with your camera it seems to be f1.5? i.e. due to film vs. Sensor optimiziation or to the addition of tolerances? schöne Grüße, Johann 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
struene Posted March 15, 2014 Share #30 Posted March 15, 2014 Peter Schön, well known for his photograhpes from the caucasus region (Flickr: S_Peter's Photostream) writes in this Thread: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113800 at Nr. 14: "I bought mine one year ago from Zeiss directly (after testing it) and it is definitely optimized for f/2.8. Also Zeiss Germany confirmed this. I love the lens, I shot it 90% of the time, and would not trade if for anything (I sold my M8 and Biogon 2/35, it just did not compare to M6+Sonnar. Not because of film vs digital, but because of the lens). I learned how to compensate, too, my initial questions was more curiousity than a real necessity. I keep shooting M6 + Sonnar C then. " schöne Grüße, Johann 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGodParticle/Hari Posted March 15, 2014 Share #31 Posted March 15, 2014 (edited) Pictures speak louder than words in some cases. Here is a letter from Zeiss Oberkochen confirming my lens has been optimized for f1.5 AS AN EXCEPTION TO THE STANDARD optimization setting for the ZM Sonnar 50/1.5 http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0094009/photos/dementedjesus/13172984973/ Edited March 15, 2014 by TheGodParticle 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 15, 2014 Share #32 Posted March 15, 2014 I don't read German sorry. Anything later than 2009? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGodParticle/Hari Posted March 15, 2014 Share #33 Posted March 15, 2014 I don't read German sorry. Anything later than 2009? If you're referring to the letter I just shared here: - it's from Sep 2011. - I gave you the gist of the letter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 15, 2014 Share #34 Posted March 15, 2014 Thank you. Do you recall the year of manufacture or the serial number of this lens? Was the calibration for f/1.5 (or 2.8?) native then? Just curious. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGodParticle/Hari Posted March 15, 2014 Share #35 Posted March 15, 2014 Thank you. Do you recall the year of manufacture or the serial number of this lens? Was the calibration for f/1.5 (or 2.8?) native then? Just curious. De Nada. Native calibration was for f2.8 Lens serial number is on the letter : 15600844 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGodParticle/Hari Posted March 15, 2014 Share #36 Posted March 15, 2014 Pictures speak louder than words in some cases. Here is a letter from Zeiss Oberkochen confirming my lens has been optimized for f1.5 AS AN EXCEPTION TO THE STANDARD optimization setting for the ZM Sonnar 50/1.5 http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0094009/photos/dementedjesus/13172984973/ Updated link to the letter: http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0096009/photos/dementedjesus/13175438185/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted March 15, 2014 Share #37 Posted March 15, 2014 My 1.5/50 ZM C-Sonnar (sn1560288, similar to that of TGP) was bought new in 2011, optimised for f2.8. I immediately sent it to Zeiss for f1.5 optimisation. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torgian Posted March 16, 2014 Share #38 Posted March 16, 2014 I'm actually re-considering the Zeiss 1.4, mostly due to cost. Although I'm gonna be trying out a summilux asph 1.4 50mm on Monday. Then I'm probably gonna get GAS. Sigh. Still, as my only 50mm, I'm not sure the Zeiss will be a good choice. Although I do shoot with quite a bit of low light. Would moving my head back or forth an inch help with that focus shift? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
horosu Posted March 16, 2014 Share #39 Posted March 16, 2014 When using the optical viewfinder try focusing on something farther back, for instance on the ears (at f 1.5): you'll get the eyes in perfect focus. At f2 and above, there's no need to compensate. On the other hand, if you have the M240 just use the EVF and everything will be fine. I'm actually re-considering the Zeiss 1.4, mostly due to cost. Although I'm gonna be trying out a summilux asph 1.4 50mm on Monday. Then I'm probably gonna get GAS. Sigh. Still, as my only 50mm, I'm not sure the Zeiss will be a good choice. Although I do shoot with quite a bit of low light. Would moving my head back or forth an inch help with that focus shift? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torgian Posted March 16, 2014 Share #40 Posted March 16, 2014 Eh, I hate EVF's. It's one of the reasons I got a Leica instead of a mirror less like a sony or olympus... That's a good idea though, with focusing at the ears... I do kinda like the way the Zeiss isn't as clean and sharp at 1.5 for portraits like the Leica is though. But damn that 1.4 Summilux is a dreamy piece of lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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