coodeville
Well-Known Member
Close call after what I just saw. The $99 Nikon lens is like a razor at f/8. Looks as sharp as my Planar does at the same f stop. Maybe even better?
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What's Sharper at f8? Zeiss 45mm Planar or Nikon 50mm f18
- Thread starter coodeville
- Start date
D
ddai
Michael,
According to Photodo testing. The two lenses are quite equal in contrast (0.91 vs 0.93), but Contax wins in the resolving power (0.62 vs 0.70). The sharpness is somehow subject to individual preference or eyesight. I personallly do not believe there is much difference between the two except for those subjective feeling's. Who can tell with normal bare eyes the 10, 20 or even 40 line pairs per millimeter? Who even cares the difference down to micrometers for circle of confusion if he is not to enlarge a half wall print?
I once made an 12" by 18" enlargement with Fuji Reala (claimed the finest negative) taken with Planar 45 with tripod in good light. You guest what? I need 'interpolation' (of the laser printer from the lab) to keep the color saturated. From this, I learn that use the right tools to do the right things. Don't go into the extreme!
Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8 Effective focal length: 51 Weighted MTF for 50 mm: f1,8 0,62, f2,8 0,78, f4 0,83, f8 0,86 Average Weighted MTF: 0,85 Grade: 4,4 Weighted MTF 10 lp/mm: 0,91 Weighted MTF 20 lp/mm: 0,82 Weighted MTF 40 lp/mm: 0,62
Contax Planar 45mm f/2.0 Effective focal length: 47 Weighted MTF for 45 mm: f2 0,71, f2,8 0,83, f4 0,88, f8 0,87 Average Weighted MTF: 0,87 Grade: 4,7 Weighted MTF 10 lp/mm: 0,93 Weighted MTF 20 lp/mm: 0,85 Weighted MTF 40 lp/mm: 0,70
According to Photodo testing. The two lenses are quite equal in contrast (0.91 vs 0.93), but Contax wins in the resolving power (0.62 vs 0.70). The sharpness is somehow subject to individual preference or eyesight. I personallly do not believe there is much difference between the two except for those subjective feeling's. Who can tell with normal bare eyes the 10, 20 or even 40 line pairs per millimeter? Who even cares the difference down to micrometers for circle of confusion if he is not to enlarge a half wall print?
I once made an 12" by 18" enlargement with Fuji Reala (claimed the finest negative) taken with Planar 45 with tripod in good light. You guest what? I need 'interpolation' (of the laser printer from the lab) to keep the color saturated. From this, I learn that use the right tools to do the right things. Don't go into the extreme!
Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8 Effective focal length: 51 Weighted MTF for 50 mm: f1,8 0,62, f2,8 0,78, f4 0,83, f8 0,86 Average Weighted MTF: 0,85 Grade: 4,4 Weighted MTF 10 lp/mm: 0,91 Weighted MTF 20 lp/mm: 0,82 Weighted MTF 40 lp/mm: 0,62
Contax Planar 45mm f/2.0 Effective focal length: 47 Weighted MTF for 45 mm: f2 0,71, f2,8 0,83, f4 0,88, f8 0,87 Average Weighted MTF: 0,87 Grade: 4,7 Weighted MTF 10 lp/mm: 0,93 Weighted MTF 20 lp/mm: 0,85 Weighted MTF 40 lp/mm: 0,70
rmiraniaolcom
Member
>>Close call after what I just saw. The $99 Nikon lens is like a razor at f/8. Looks as sharp as my Planar does at the same f stop. Maybe even better?<<
With all due respect, this is a silly comparison...I see inexperienced photographers do this all the time (and I was there once), compare a bunch of lenses' specs at f8, photograph a bunch of brick walls, and assume they get by fine using a zoom at f8 or f11 and not have to even sniff at a prime lens.
If all you're looking for is sharp brick walls, then great, use that Russian zoom or that sub $100 prime you picked up on eBay...but really, there are many more factors that make up an aesthetically pleasing image than sharpness and the results of resolution tests, as most people on this forum know.
I'm all for using a variety of interesting tools to make interesting pictures, including pinhole and plastic cameras that are worlds away from pricey Zeiss lenses. But I have to say that having used the both Nikon 50mm lenses and the 45mm f2 Planar, there is simply no comparison. Bokeh, microcontrast, tonality, whatever buzzwords you want to use, the Planar totally destroys just about every Nikon prime in existence, certainly for the kinds of pictures I like to take.
With all due respect, this is a silly comparison...I see inexperienced photographers do this all the time (and I was there once), compare a bunch of lenses' specs at f8, photograph a bunch of brick walls, and assume they get by fine using a zoom at f8 or f11 and not have to even sniff at a prime lens.
If all you're looking for is sharp brick walls, then great, use that Russian zoom or that sub $100 prime you picked up on eBay...but really, there are many more factors that make up an aesthetically pleasing image than sharpness and the results of resolution tests, as most people on this forum know.
I'm all for using a variety of interesting tools to make interesting pictures, including pinhole and plastic cameras that are worlds away from pricey Zeiss lenses. But I have to say that having used the both Nikon 50mm lenses and the 45mm f2 Planar, there is simply no comparison. Bokeh, microcontrast, tonality, whatever buzzwords you want to use, the Planar totally destroys just about every Nikon prime in existence, certainly for the kinds of pictures I like to take.
Hello, are we not comparing a rangefinder lens to an SLR lens? There's NO COMPARISON. As a matter of fact, the Planar 45mm 2.0 is sharper than the Hasselblad Zeiss 80mm planar in LPPM. The Rangefinder lens will win every time due to the optical purity of not having to design around a mirror box. In addition, the Planar 50mm f/1.4 (SLR) is still sharper than the Nikkor or Cannon or the Leitz. Pop photogaraphy did a test some years ago and the Zeiss was the overall winner. LPPM is the standard and the only lens that surpasses the Planar is the Makro Planar, of course.
K
kaisern
>=20 >=20 >=20 > I think it is generally true that a lens design for range finder system i= s > easier to design and usually better than the lens of same focal range for= SLR > but not always. In some Leica literature they did mention some R lenses > outperform the M lenses of same or similar focal range. It is depending = on > the actual optical design, technology able to be implemented at the time = the > lens is designed or made or the development of optical glass. Brgds/kais= ern >=20 >=20
A
aristharcus
I have and use both the Planar 45mm f/2 and the Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8. The Nikkor is one of the best lenses from Nikon, but the problem is that the Planar is the definition itself of "the normal lens". Plato would define it "the ideal normal lens"
Cheers, L. Argüelles
Cheers, L. Argüelles
C
cyberstudio
I just got a wonderful 12" x 18" enlargment from the Planar, with that kind of medium-format-like tonality and microcontrast. I start wondering if it is the magic of the lens, or the magic of the digital printer like David said ?
C
cyberstudio
Let me tell you my gut feeling: I want to put that Planar on a digital body such as a Nikon D100, or better still, Contax just makes us a digital G3, although that's the most unlikely to happen...
As it now is, doesn't the $99 Nikkor look not so bad ? As great as the 45/2 Planar might be, it is stuck in the film era.
You must understand the design philosophy of Nikkor and Carl Zeiss. Nikon's philosophy is to make the best camera for the photojournalist. So their lenses are optimized for wide open performance and extreme contrast. Get that shot, and make it look good in the news. Bokeh is not high on a photojournalist's priority list, although a handful of Nikkors have great bokeh. Others are awful. Nikon evolved with age but to this day you can still see their philosophy is well and alive. If you are not doing something similar to a photojournalist, there is no point of using anything Nikon. After all, it is just matching the right tool to the right photographer !
As it now is, doesn't the $99 Nikkor look not so bad ? As great as the 45/2 Planar might be, it is stuck in the film era.
You must understand the design philosophy of Nikkor and Carl Zeiss. Nikon's philosophy is to make the best camera for the photojournalist. So their lenses are optimized for wide open performance and extreme contrast. Get that shot, and make it look good in the news. Bokeh is not high on a photojournalist's priority list, although a handful of Nikkors have great bokeh. Others are awful. Nikon evolved with age but to this day you can still see their philosophy is well and alive. If you are not doing something similar to a photojournalist, there is no point of using anything Nikon. After all, it is just matching the right tool to the right photographer !