[Leica] Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5

[Chris Crawford]

I used to have one. It has neat bokeh, but it has several issues that made
me leave it at home in favor of a 50 Summicron most of the time.

The Sonnar has serious focus shift. That means if you focus so that your
camera¹s rangefinder shows proper focus, the actual focus point may not
match the RF at some apertures. Some of them were calibrated to be
accurate at f2.8, as was mine. Used wide open, it front focuses several
inches. Others were calibrated for f1.5, and used at smaller apertures it
back focuses. Stop down a lot, and this isn¹t an issue because of depth of
field.

I like a lens that Œjust works¹ at al apertures. The Summicron does that,
the Sonnar does not.

The other issue is even stopped down, the Sonnar is not sharp at the
edges. In the center it is very sharp. The Summicron I had was uniformly
sharp across the whole image. It was just a better lens for my work.

The Sonnar is cool for some things, like portraits, as long as you¹re
aware of the focus issues. The focus shift is NOT an internet rumor, it is
real. I tested mine and it is VERY real. If you can deal with that and can
afford to buy a lens you will not use for most things, then get one.

I sold mine after I realized that in three years, I had used it just four
times aside from testing it for focus accuracy. I couldn¹t afford to keep
a lens that I never use.

-- 
Chris Crawford
Fine Art Photography
Fort Wayne, Indiana
260-437-8990

http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com  My portfolio

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-Crawford/48229272798
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On 4/12/15, 10:41 PM, "Leo Wesson" <leowesson at gmail.com> wrote:

>Anyone using this lens?  Thoughts?
>
>Leo Wesson
>Photographer/Videographer
>817.733.9157
>www.leowesson.com
>
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