Zeiss DSLR TEST

[Evin Grant]

Sharpness and resolution are not the same thing, if you look at the airy disc created by lenses that have very high acuity you see that high contrast line definition actually reduces subtle textural rendering ability. This is why lenses that draw softer often times still have plenty of detail. Especially on a high res sensor that can make up for some acuity loss by simple oversampling. This is also the reason that many older large format film camera lenses seem like such poor performers when tested optically but produce stunning super high resolution images on 4x5 and 8x10 film.

 

[Antoine Fabi]

Sharpness and resolution are not the same thing, if you look at the airy disc created by lenses that have very high acuity you see that high contrast line definition actually reduces subtle textural rendering ability. This is why lenses that draw softer often times still have plenty of detail. Especially on a high res sensor that can make up for some acuity loss by simple oversampling. This is also the reason that many older large format film camera lenses seem like such poor performers when tested optically but produce stunning super high resolution images on 4x5 and 8x10 film.

E-X-A-C-T-L-Y

I thought i was the only one to see that...

Evin, you precisely described the images that old Canon FDs deliver.

A little "smoother" looking than my Zeiss ZFs, but with incredible, as much subtle textural rendering ability.


Antoine

 

[James Brundige]

My personal opinion though is that the ZFs although very nice are not noticeably sharper than the equivalent condition Nikon AIS still primes for a much higher premium. Also the AIS 85mm f1.4 Nikkor is definately a superior lens to the Zeiss 85 wide open at least in my limited comparisons.

When I first got my R1, I worked hard to collect a set of Nikon AIS primes, only to discover that a new Nikon 17-35 zoom looked better than all of them. I need to test more in the 28-70 mm range. Comments?

 

[Antoine Fabi]

James,

The Nikon 28-70 f2.8 is a GREAT lense

Very usable at f2.8

I've used it with my R1 and it looks beautifull.

Almost perfect for documentary.

Antoine