Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f1.5 OR Voigtlander 50mm f2.0 APO, helppp...

[JoshuaR]

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4 hours ago, Brilliant Observer said:

Splendid! Thanks for sharing.

Glad to help. I think it's really about whether you like the old-school look, and I do. I'm now fantasizing about getting a 28 Summaron. It seems to me that 28 Summaron + 50 Sonnar would be a kind of dream team.

[Ouroboros]

On 4/29/2023 at 2:05 AM, JoshuaRothman said:

Glad to help. I think it's really about whether you like the old-school look, and I do. I'm now fantasizing about getting a 28 Summaron. It seems to me that 28 Summaron + 50 Sonnar would be a kind of dream team.

I have both the 28mm summaron-m and the ZM c-sonar.  They are quite different, the summaron-m is sharp in the centre from wide open with a strong vignette.  The c-sonnar is not a critically ‘sharp’ lens at any aperture setting, although perfectly sharp enough at f5.6-8 for most practical purposes. It is a lens best suited for portraits.  
If you want to complement the c-sonnar with a 28mm, the 28mm summicron asph, which I also have, is arguably a better option than the summaron-m.

The c-sonnar and 28mm summicron asph will give you a reasonably compact and fast pair of complementary and versatile lenses, both with beautiful gentle transition to out of focus at maximum apertures.

If I want to pair my 28mm summaron-m with anything, it is with my Voigtlander 40mm f2.8 Heliar asph or my 50mm f2.8 elmar-m.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Ouroboros

[costa43]

The APO besides a little vignetting wide open is perfect optically. The Zeiss is a character lens at wider apertures, is infamous for its focus shift but imo produces more interesting images in the right hands.

 

I own the APO, a couple of sample shots below on the m9m and M9p

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Edited July 9, 2023 by costa43