jackal Posted May 10, 2007 Share #1 Posted May 10, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 10, 2007 Posted May 10, 2007 Hi jackal, Take a look here Lenses with character. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
bill vann Posted May 10, 2007 Share #2 Posted May 10, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradreiman Posted May 10, 2007 Share #3 Posted May 10, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackal Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted May 13, 2007 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 ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosuna Posted May 13, 2007 Share #5 Posted May 13, 2007 Try the new Zeiss Sonnar ZM 50mm f/1,5. http://theonlinephotographer.blogspot.com/2006/06/new-zeiss-c-sonnar.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. borger Posted May 13, 2007 Share #6 Posted May 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericperlberg Posted May 13, 2007 Share #7 Posted May 13, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) hi there snipMy 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted May 13, 2007 Share #8 Posted May 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted May 13, 2007 Share #9 Posted May 13, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackal Posted May 13, 2007 Author Share #10 Posted May 13, 2007 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
petermcwerner Posted May 15, 2007 Share #11 Posted May 15, 2007 anyone else, particularly interested in Zeissor 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted May 15, 2007 Share #12 Posted May 15, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackal Posted May 16, 2007 Author Share #13 Posted May 16, 2007 wow .. the 73mm hektor looks great thanks for that will investigate the Summarit as well Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grantray Posted May 17, 2007 Share #14 Posted May 17, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest flatfour Posted May 17, 2007 Share #15 Posted May 17, 2007 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gberger Posted May 18, 2007 Share #16 Posted May 18, 2007 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasw_ Posted May 18, 2007 Share #17 Posted May 18, 2007 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! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfonzies Posted June 15, 2007 Share #18 Posted June 15, 2007 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted June 16, 2007 Share #19 Posted June 16, 2007 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted June 27, 2007 Share #20 Posted June 27, 2007 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 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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