Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/04/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]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 camera?s 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 isn?t an issue because of depth of field. I like a lens that ?just works? 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 you?re 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 couldn?t 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 Become a fan on Facebook 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 > >_______________________________________________ >Leica Users Group. >See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information