PM you... would suggest you call to double confirm the price before going down. Stocks are limited too...
ZM lenses ......
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PM you... would suggest you call to double confirm the price before going down. Stocks are limited too...
oh yes, i crazily poisoned myself by subscibing to steve huff's... lol... its cheaper than the zm 50 1.5 though but supposedly sharper!
I think on evilish bay you could possibly get it for < usd 600?
noodlehaus
New Member
Brand new on ebay, you can get it for USD 670 including shipping. That's roughly SGD 900. Cheaper but you'd have to wait and prepare for customs tax.
Recently I emailed Alex from Popflash for a quote on the Zeiss Zm 50mm f1.5 and was told this lens is not optimized for use on digital cameras... that's fine with me anyway but can anyone share why that's the case? :think:
NazgulKing
Senior Member
I think the issue is whether you are willing to be tolerant of the softness and a little lack of resolution on some of hte older lenses.
there are 2 versions of this lens.. one optimized for f2.8 and the latter version for f1.5
actually not a big problem. just focus and move slight in will fix the problem. but im particular about such stuff so I sent mine to Japan to calibrate to f1.5 knowing deep down that f2.8 will actually be more useful to be honest.
it is such that if you adjust to f1.5 then f2.8 will not be in focus.. until all the way after f4. your dealer mentioned digital because of the flatness of the sensor so even less forgiving. But i used mine ok with M9 without adjustment yet.
hope this helps and good luck with the lens
there are 2 versions of this lens.. one optimized for f2.8 and the latter version for f1.5
actually not a big problem. just focus and move slight in will fix the problem. but im particular about such stuff so I sent mine to Japan to calibrate to f1.5 knowing deep down that f2.8 will actually be more useful to be honest.
it is such that if you adjust to f1.5 then f2.8 will not be in focus.. until all the way after f4. your dealer mentioned digital because of the flatness of the sensor so even less forgiving. But i used mine ok with M9 without adjustment yet.
hope this helps and good luck with the lens
I sent mine to be optimized for f1.5 but hated it that way, it lost sharpness and was way too soft after optimization so I sent it back again to be reset to original factory settings. I should have it back next week!
In short, the C-Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM is a uniquely special lens!! Definitely not suited for everyone... :bigeyes:
Extracted from the website -
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.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/zeiss-m-mount.shtml
Extracted from the website -
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.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/zeiss-m-mount.shtml
I have the C-Sonnar for 2 years now and it is my favorite lens. I used it optimized for f2.8 for about about 18 months until I got convinced by some internet forum to get optimized for f1.5, that was a big mistake in my opinion.
When it is properly calibrated it is far from soft wide open.
This is @ f1.5
@f1.5
@f2.8
All photos on M8 and no sharpening applied (vignetting added in lightroom).
My ZM sonnar was also optimized for f2.8.
Mine is used on NEX5 so doesn't really matter which aperture it's optimized for
Max,
You found the f1.5 optimized one soft wide open? That's weird, i would have thought it will be sharper since the focus is nailed easier at f1.5.
My guess is that they messed up the optimization with my lens. Anyway, focus shift and softness are 2 completely different things.
hookonclassic
Senior Member
I have the C-Sonnar for 2 years now and it is my favorite lens. I used it optimized for f2.8 for about about 18 months until I got convinced by some internet forum to get optimized for f1.5, that was a big mistake in my opinion.
When it is properly calibrated it is far from soft wide open.
This is @ f1.5
@f1.5
@f2.8
All photos on M8 and no sharpening applied (vignetting added in lightroom).
Max...really nice example from this good lens...:thumbsup:
wongsan
Senior Member
I'm happy with my black c-sonnar after the f1.5 optimization. The last little India nite shoot was all on that lens.
However, I've swapped that lens with Ox for his chrome version as he wants a black version for his black M9 and MP. I've sent the chrome to Zeiss japan for optimization again last week.
Hopefully they will do a good job with it:dunno::sweat:
Fingers crossed Vince!
I can't wait to have mine back, I sent it at the beginning of September before going on holidays...
hookonclassic
Senior Member
I am still in search of a good condition original LTM war time CZJ Sonnar...:lovegrin:
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