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The Bertele 50/2 is an improved re-edition of the original CZJ Sonnar lens and has been in the works for quite some time.

I have owned a pre-production version of this lens for a few weeks now. My copy is #003, and sports a beautiful semi-gloss black finish.

I'm not a reviewer and @BrianS has already published an excellent and detailed write-up as well as sample pictures on RFF, so I won't try to match his expertise on the subject.

Instead, I'll just share a few pictures here as well, as a token of appreciation for the Skyllaney team's efforts and dedication to developing a lens that is effectively a modern take on the classic Sonnars. For the avoidance of doubt, I have no commercial affiliation with Skyllaney, other than being a very satisfied customer.

Wide open on the M10P:

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Edited by Ecar
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And a few on the M10M, also @ f/2:

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On the M10P again, first two wide open and last @ f/5.6

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Both wide open on the M10P:

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I had seen that this was coming. Skyllaney are interesting innovators in this field, and their website is worth exploring. (They recently 6-bit coded my Summilux-M 75 and checked its calibration - they gave great service). I look forward to seeing how the company evolves.

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55 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I had seen that this was coming. Skyllaney are interesting innovators in this field, and their website is worth exploring. (They recently 6-bit coded my Summilux-M 75 and checked its calibration - they gave great service). I look forward to seeing how the company evolves.

Official release is probably a few months away but yes, I really hope they succeed. This lens is a labour of love and passion - and the first one they designed from the ground up, while staying true to the original Sonnar design. Modern glass and multi-coating increase overall image "clarity" and flare resistance. My copy is optimised for f/2 and, crucially, focus shift has virtually disappeared in real-life photography. Very tight manufacturing tolerances and an all-brass construction make it a joy to use, although I have made a couple of minor observations regarding cosmetics and haptics, which I hope they will take on board.

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53 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

Lovely post @Ecar. How does it compare - in your view - to Zunow and MS Sonnetar 1.1?

Thanks. Mmm..., interesting question, which took me off-guard as I was actually planning to pitch it against my original CZJ Sonnars and Zeiss Optons (and perhaps throwing a Nikkor 50/2 in the mix) at some point.

In a nutshell, and based on my experience with these lenses (but by no means an actual comparison) I'd say it's apples and oranges. Off the top of my head:
- while the 3 lenses are labelled "Sonnars", their optical designs are quite different.
- the Sonnetar and the Zunow are f/1.1 lenses - a huge difference vs the Bertele's f/2 in terms of optical design trade-offs.
- the Bertele is beautifully built (think Leica or the most recent CV lenses) and so is the Zunow (but its handling is rather dated), while the Sonnetar is clearly inferior in this area (aluminium construction and quirky haptics).
- the Bertele shows no real-life focus shift, has low vignetting and is relatively flare-resistant. If anything, at the same f-stop, the Bertele's rendering is somewhat closer to the Sonnetar (probably due to modern glass and MC), while the Zunow will produce lower-contrast, dreamy images, even when stopped down.

To oversimplify: the Bertele is the most usable for general, day-to-day photography, the Zunow shows "extreme character" and the Sonnetar is somewhere in-between. I know it's a bit crude, but I'm afraid I can't be more specific than that.

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Just a few more...

All wide open on the M10P ASC.

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  • 3 months later...

Some more :

 

 

 

 

 

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Some photos taken on the M10-P :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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50mm f2 Skyllaney Bertele on M10-P

 

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

I have also the good fortune to have a Bertele.  I very much like the color.  It is a smidge stronger than real but not in a bad way.  In a flattering way.  All shot on an M-9.

 

Here are some recent shots, random around where I live in NW Oregon  Ooops I cannot. You only allow snapshots.

 

Here are the links to Flickr, a best compromise:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by boojum
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  • 1 year later...

It's been a while.
Both on the M11 and wide open.

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A couple more. Again on the M11, 1st wide open and 2nd @ f/2.8.

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On 5/2/2023 at 7:38 PM, Ecar said:

...This lens is a labour of love and passion - and the first one they designed from the ground up, while staying true to the original Sonnar design. Modern glass and multi-coating increase overall image "clarity" and flare resistance. My copy is optimised for f/2 and, crucially, focus shift has virtually disappeared in real-life photography...

It had been quite a while (years!) since I had a look at Skyllaney's website. It was particularly interesting to note this extract about their 'Bertele' Sonnar re-design

..."The new design implements a pre-loaded reverse RF cam slope into the lens body that accurately translates the Sonnar formula’s native 52.4mm EFL to 51.6mm EFL, which the Leica camera expects to receive at the swing arm. When the lens goes below 1m, this slope can become non-linear because it’s rotating when focusing (something the LTM versions never did). Because the M bayonet always orientates the lens correctly on the M camera, misalignment for the non-linear slope becomes impossible."...

I wish I had paid more attention to the lens when I saw it last week...and perhaps even taken a few snaps with it!

Faascinating offering. I really should take out my own 50mm f2.0 / Contax II more often than I do...

Philip.

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1 hour ago, pippy said:

I wish I had paid more attention to the lens when I saw it last week...and perhaps even taken a few snaps with it!

All hope may not be lost. I'd wait a few more weeks/months. Something tells me a production version with an innovative approach to dealing with focus shift may be waiting in the wings.😉

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On the M11, both wide open (1st one perhaps @ f/2.8)

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  • 1 month later...

M11, wide open

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  • 1 month later...
Posted (edited)

Chris Andreyo, Managing Director & Head Engineer at Skyllaney Opto-Mechanics in Scotland, has published a peer-reviewed technical white paper on the unique Floating Lens Block (FLB) Technology which addresses focus shift in the upcoming UK made Omnar Bertele FLB 50mm f/2 Sonnar: https://skyllaney.com/floating-lens-block-technology/

Omnar lenses: https://omnarlenses.com/ 

 

Edited by Rollin
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