My 35mm & 40mm combo did not make for the most efficient lens selection (being so close in focal length). So after weeks of research seeking the best 50mm for my needs, I came upon the Zeiss Sonnar. Based off of a 1929 design by Dr. Ludwig Bertele, this modern classic has already cemented my confidence in my 50 decision.
First, some test shots…
My favorite shot thus far, look at those beautiful tones! Shot @ 1.5 & 1/4000/sec
Why this lens?
You may know, there are countless options when shopping for a 50mm rangefinder lens. With almost a century of 50mm production it is not a hard thing to find on Ebay (especially if your willing to buy a LTM adapter). The last in the running, after filtering through online reviews, was the Voigtlander 50 1.2, Voigtlander 50 1.5, Leica Summicron 50 f2, and the Zeiss Sonnar 50 1.5. To keep it short, the 50 1.2 was too large, the 50 1.5 had unattractive bokeh/bokeh balls, and the Summicron was twice (or even 3x) the cost of the other lenses in question, and didn’t seem to offer an enhanced value (especially being 1 stop slower). So it was decided.
The Zeiss 50 1.5 Sonnar is compact, has a bright aperture, great build/construction, and most importantly beautiful image quality and out-of-focus rendering. The only issue was its infamous “focus shift” while shooting anything larger than 2.8. This means that a rangefinder used with this lens will be INACCURATE. Big problem. What changed my mind were two video reviews, one stating that adapting to the shift is not an issue (moving your body forward a smidge to account) or the other video, not seeing a noticeable enough shift at all to make it a problem. Either way, I figured that my Leica M9 was my vacation/passion/fun camera, so if I’m a little off on focus what’s the big deal!
To my surprise, so far I haven’t even noticed the issue. Every shot above is captured at 1.5 and I am speechless. I can presume that since this is in modern production, they may have updated and resolved some of its pre-existing issues. But on any note, you can definitely expect more posts to come, especially some portrait sessions.
Take care, stay warm Chicago -