Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [OM] ls-4000 resurrected

Subject: Re: [OM] ls-4000 resurrected
From: Wayne Shumaker <om3ti@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2019 06:36:24 -0700
At 1/10/2019 06:32 PM, Mike G wrote:

><<This list is expensive as I just purchased a CV 40/1.2 prompted by Mike 
><<Gordon's comment.
>
>Yikes, didn't mean to cost you a bundle.  The lens has its faults but is a 
>careful compromise.  

(warning, following are some philosophical musings... skip next paragraph)

Please don't feel guilty. It's a form of modern day zuikoholism. For which I am 
not looking for a cure. Perhaps the attraction of this lens is size and prior 
experience of using an OM-4Ti + lenses. Part of the photographic experience is 
the act of taking the picture. Just taking away autofocus changes the act of 
taking a picture. There is an undefinable Quality in that whole process, where 
the lens, the camera, all add. It all affects one's state of mind, and hence 
one's seeing. Is the scene arrived at the same with a different camera and lens?

I have not fully tested this lens. From FM, It appears that it does not have a 
completely flat field, focus shift is an issue, .... It's sweet spot is compact 
size and bokeh, and handling quality.

It seems all the new Sony lenses are big, and they use plastic to help lower 
weight and control balance, which is OK....but... In the attempt to achieve 
some perfect lens, in the world of tradeoffs, is not possible.

WayneS


>As summarized by Fred on FM:
>
>          "I really like this lens but itâ??s not for everyone. 
>
>           The CV 40/1.2 is a lens with distinctive character at wider 
> apertures. There is residual spherical aberration and below average color 
> correction for both lateral and axial CA. There is some field curvature and 
> focus shift is definitely an issue if not shooting at working aperture. At 
> mid distance, it's sharp even wide open at center with a noticeable fall-off 
> towards the mid-field and corners until about f/1.7. Out of focus transition 
> zone is a bit harsh and double-lining is bothersome.
>
> Coma is not well controlled at wider apertures but that's expected. It's 
> great at f/2.5 and outstanding at f/2.8 though. 
> Specular highlights show some outlining and onion pattern and cat-eyes are 
> present from mid-field to edges until about f/2. There is very slight 
> pincushion distortion.
>
> As I see it, Voigtlander designed two lenses in one: It's a character lens 
> with under-corrected color and spherical aberrations from f/1.2 until about 
> one stop down. Its optical design gives us a compact f/1.2 lens capable of 
> very pleasant out of focus rendering. At f/2.8 and smaller apertures, it acts 
> as a modern lens, capable of high resolution, contrast and color correction. 
> By f/4, it's as good as it gets across the field and stepping down further 
> does not significantly improve resolution except for the very corners which 
> still benefit slightly from f/5.6. (optimum). I would not hesitate using this 
> lens for landscapes starting at f/5.6.
>
> On the positive side, it's capable of smooth rendering even at mid-distances 
> and that's rare for a small fast lens. It also focuses very close and that 
> combined with the f/1.2 aperture, it just melts the background away. The CV 
> 40/1.2 is capable of high contrast images even at wide apertures. That's when 
> you know you are shooting with a modern lens.
>
> The 40mm focal length may seem odd at first but in fact it's very practical. 
> Basically, it acts as a normal lens that allows the environment to interact a 
> bit more with the subject, just like when youâ??re shooting with a 35mm lens. 
> It's a great one-lens solution.
>
> Just like with other Voigtlander lenses, the 10-straight aperture blades 
> yield beautiful sunstar rendering. Itâ??s possible to get defined 10-point 
> sunstars starting at f/2.8!
>
> Flare is also well-controlled even though I still see minor ghosting and 
> veiling in some of my images. Iâ??d say flare resistance is very good on this 
> Nokton.
>
> Finally, the biggest plus: Size. There were optical compromises to develop a 
> small and light f/1.2 lens but Voigtlander succeeded creating a lens capable 
> of lovely rendering. It's also an E-mount native, so expect to see all the 
> bells and whistles like EXIF transmission, focus auto-magnification, 
> auto-IBIS as well as aperture de-clicking for video work.
>
> Voigtlander knows it has something unique with the CV 40/1.2 and priced it 
> accordingly. It renders a special look being moderately wide while capable of 
> high amount of blur.
> One can get a lens capable of similar or higher blur but it won't match its 
> combination of IQ, wide focal length and size. On top of that one gets full 
> Sony E-mount native electronics."


>Don't forget about the focus shift.  If trying to focus in low light and 
>shooting at mid apertures use F2.8 to focus as stated in review.  The review 
>stated the handling is "gorgeous" and must agree.  

will do

>Oh, the CV 15/4,5 is small and nice but subject to MUCH sample variation with 
>soft corners.  If you get a good copy it is great.  CV lenses usually are 
>pretty good in QA but the whole industry needs an upgrade for these high res 
>sensors.  Sonnie was terrible until the GM series.
>MFT lenses are notoriously variable and no way to adjust.  One manufacturer is 
>reportedly working with Roger at Lensrentals to come up some solutions with 
>more adjustments added so can be fixed post production in a cost effective 
>manner.
>If a lens is not up to snuff, it is cheaper to throw out.  It is not 
>reassuring to know what they ship as "up to spec." 

Does this apply to the 12mm/5.6


>Enjoy the lens,
>Mike
>-- 
>_________________________________________________________________
>Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
>Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
>Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
-- 
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz