[rollei_list] Re: Hello again, and a lens question

  • From: Frank Dernie <Frank.Dernie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:18:29 +0000

Certainly the sonnar 50mm f1.5 was the best fast 50 in its time, and I am in 
agreement that it will have been designed to give the sharpest performance 
possible, but by modern standards it is not that sharp and it -does- have a 
quality that I think Matanle was trying to describe. Unfortunately we have lost 
this look nowadays in 50mm lenses since coating has been readily possible, 
probably because a planar type lens can be made sharper for less money once the 
flare problem is resolved.
I actually think your photograph illustrates this point well, a beautiful look.
Frank

On 12 Dec, 2009, at 01:49, CarlosMFreaza wrote:

> 2009/12/11 Stephen Attaway >
> To quote from Ivor Matanle: "The portrait of Mr Robert Cox was taken in 1974
>> to mark his fifty years of service to his company ... with a 50mm f1.5
>> uncoated Zeiss Sonnar, and shows perfectly the curious characteristic of
>> defined yet slightly unsharp detail that makes the optical quality of
>> classic lenses so attractive."
> 
> I tend to disagree with Ivor Matanle, the uncoated Zeiss Sonnar 1.5/50
> was designed to be a very sharp lens, in general lens designers look
> for lenses to produce an image as close to the real image as possible,
> it means aberrations free, sharp and the best  micro-contrast, except
> lenses for special purposes. It's true some old lenses produce
> pleasant images thanks to some no well corrected aberrations (I think
> about portraits specially), but they couldn't be the standard to
> obtain a good image.
> 
> This is a sample about a snapshot "portrait" taken with the uncoated
> Contax II Sonnar 1.5/50 _wide open_ f1.5 and 1/1250 sec shutter speed
> , I think the in focus areas show very good detail for a 71 years old
> uncoated lens despite a scanner not so good for 35mm :
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/itarfoto/3199809044/
> 
> Carlos
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