Zeiss SOnnar ZM f 1.5, is it good.?

I have an original , pre war, sonnar for contax. I love the quality of images,

excellent sharpness around 5.6 and beautiful out of focus. At full aperture the

comma was collossal in the edges but it remained fine in the center which was

also great.

 

Now using a contax is a bit of a bore when you are used to shooting with the M6

buying a ZM would sort this issue.

 

So my questions are:

1) how good is the new sonnar ? Sharp ?

2) I've read reports of focus shift at full aperture , was this just a one off?

3) Does anyone has actually compared the old and the new sonnar?

 

Than you all! Laurent

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Jtyq

I have a IIA with that lens and it's very good for the period and respectable today, but they HAVE improved their formulas. I don't have the new M mount zeiss, but I used the 50/1.4 on the Kyocera/Yashica/Contax SLRs and it was better. It only makes sense -- I have 50mm Leica lenses from that same period and the current 50 and the current Leica 50 is sharper and higher contrast, especially wide open. I would expect a similar improvement from Zeiss.

I have a IIIa with the f/1.5 Opton Sonnar, as well as the new C-Sonnar ZM that I've used on an M2. I have not used either exhaustively or done any direct comparison tests. The new lens is not the same glass as the old; it's improved for better sharpness, contrast and fewer aberrations while retaining the "character" of the design. Some other fast lenses have a bit of focus shift at various apertures, and I understand both f1.5 Sonnars front-focus slightly at apertures wider than f2.8 or so. But because of the ZM lens's improved sharpness and contrast, this is more noticeable than with the older lens. At the widest apertures, you can lean forward a couple of inches after focusing on a close object, or refocus about 10% beyond. But you should research this issue and accept the lens characteristics before purchase.

Its a beautiful lens if you are looking for the sonnar look in your pictures, lenses like flavors are different for different people, like has been said its a improved glass formula from the vintage lens, if you are a sharpness freak it may not be for you at close up wide open situations, hope this helped, enjoy.

If you are after the vintage Sonnar look, then an older design Sonnar lens will do. Even an inexpensive J-3 can provide beautiful images if it has been adjusted to focus properly. Another option is the Canon 50mm/1.5 or even the Nikkor 50mm/2.0. If you have the money and you want a new lens, then the ZM 1.5 is an excellent choice.

Can anyone give a few links to pics shot with the ZM sonnar ? Thanks.

Go to flickr and enter the lens name to see Sonnar pics.

This is my favourite portrait lens, it has a softness mixed with high contrast and incredible in and out of focus passage, which is unique. The lens has been built in such a way to overlay some diffuse spherical aberration on images between f 1.5 and f4.0, with the focus (due to shift phenomenon) optimized for f 2.8. Here you will find some f2.8 portraits:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/sets/72157601234693316/

 

At f5.6 the lens starts behaving like a modern 50mm with impressive sharpness and very pleasing smoothness.

 

Here you will find test shots done at apertures from f 1.5 to f8.0:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/sets/72157600947495044/comments/

 

And here you will find several shots done between f5.6 and f8.0, where the lens rivals any modern sharp 50mm:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/sets/72157600916687014/