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If Leica goes liveview..

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Vivek

Guest
I have the ZM Sonnar 50/1.5, and the focus shift is easily detectable and can be compensated for with a little practice. when stopping down, leave the RF image slightly offset- stop a little bit on the close side. Stopping down shifts the focus towards infinity, past what the RF indicates.
That is a perfect example where live view is essential where you can check the focus *before* taking a shot and making the process fast.

FWIW, that particular example of a lens is not the fault of the RF but the lens' design and Zeiss' decision to make and sell it to the RF users!
 

cam

Active member
That is a perfect example where live view is essential where you can check the focus *before* taking a shot and making the process fast.

FWIW, that particular example of a lens is not the fault of the RF but the lens' design and Zeiss' decision to make and sell it to the RF users!
yes... and i got mine calibrated wide open for the R-D1 so shooting it on the M is ridiculous!

thank you, though, for reminding me to pull it out when Jono and his NEX visits.
 

KeithL

Well-known member
precisely.

which is why asking everyone's opinion on the subject is not going to make a difference on whether it will work for you or not.
Well, excuse me; surely the point of a forum is to share opinion.

Is it always like this here?

:ROTFL:
 

Brian S

New member
Focus shift with Sonnar formula lenses is well known, people buy them, Zeiss cannot make them fast enough to keep up with demand.

As with any piece of equipment, knowing how to use it is important.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Focus shift with Sonnar formula lenses is well known, people buy them, Zeiss cannot make them fast enough to keep up with demand.

As with any piece of equipment, knowing how to use it is important.
No arguments can be had against that. You know that, Brian. ;)
 

KeithL

Well-known member
Focus shift with Sonnar formula lenses is well known, people buy them, Zeiss cannot make them fast enough to keep up with demand.
QUOTE]

The Zeiss ZM Sonnar f1.5 is one of the reasons I'm considering buying into the M system, because of the quirks.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Borrow a set and try it (if you have not already done so), Keith. It is beginning to look like a slow news day at your place. ;)
 

KeithL

Well-known member
Borrow a set and try it (if you have not already done so), Keith. It is beginning to look like a slow news day at your place. ;)
Vivek, I'd rent, but unfortunately I've yet to find a Leica dealer who provides the service. Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Phase One, Mamiya, Sinar, Leaf...just a phone call away for same day rental, but Leica?

Why is it Leica seems to target 'sweater man' rather than working photographers?
 
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Godfrey

Well-known member
That is a perfect example where live view is essential where you can check the focus *before* taking a shot and making the process fast.

FWIW, that particular example of a lens is not the fault of the RF but the lens' design and Zeiss' decision to make and sell it to the RF users!
Getting precise focus is not necessarily faster with a lens that focus shifts using TTL viewing vs RF focusing. You go at it differently and learn how to focus it properly, then it is just as fast either way.

It takes time to go to full enlarge mode and/or use focus peaking. Learning how to see the best point of focus with focus peaking is also a learned skill. Over time, with any system, you learn how to do it quickly and easily.

You can only CONFIRM critical focus after the exposure is made anyway. No matter how critically you focused beforehand, it is what has been recorded which is significant.

Remember that I work with all three systems ... optical reflex, optical rf, electronic ttl. I find them all excellent, and all have their plusses and minuses for different situations. None is particularly faster than the other in use.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Vivek, I'd rent, but unfortunately I've yet to find a Leica dealer who provides the service. Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Phase One, Mamiya, Sinar, Leaf...just a phone call away for same day rental, but Leica?

Why is it Leica seems to target 'sweater man' rather than working photographers?
Well, borrowlenses.com rents Leica in the USA, but I don't think they service the UK.

I don't know that Leica targets "sweater man" rather than working photographers. Many working photographers wear sweaters too. All depends what you define to be a working photographer.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Getting precise focus is not necessarily faster with a lens that focus shifts using TTL viewing vs RF focusing. You go at it differently and learn how to focus it properly, then it is just as fast either way.

It takes time to go to full enlarge mode and/or use focus peaking. Learning how to see the best point of focus with focus peaking is also a learned skill. Over time, with any system, you learn how to do it quickly and easily.

You can only CONFIRM critical focus after the exposure is made anyway. No matter how critically you focused beforehand, it is what has been recorded which is significant.

Remember that I work with all three systems ... optical reflex, optical rf, electronic ttl. I find them all excellent, and all have their plusses and minuses for different situations. None is particularly faster than the other in use.
I have/use all the systems and even more than the ones you list. I am not sure if you have ever used a lens like the C-Sonnar. Not all Sonnars are made this way, thankfully. It is one lens I would not like to touch regardless of the system or the overhyped "rendering". Totally useless, to me, and not worth wasting my money on.
 

KeithL

Well-known member
Well, borrowlenses.com rents Leica in the USA, but I don't think they service the UK.
Godfrey, I'll probably end up buying the M9 and evaluating it thoroughly over a period of several months, really, it's the only way I'll ever know for sure.

It is, on paper at least, the nearest I've found that meets my need.

Thanks
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I have/use all the systems and even more than the ones you list. I am not sure if you have ever used a lens like the C-Sonnar. Not all Sonnars are made this way, thankfully. It is one lens I would not like to touch regardless of the system or the overhyped "rendering". Totally useless, to me, and not worth wasting my money on.
I don't know hat your riposte has anything to do with what I said.
I also use more than just these three viewing systems.
I've also used some other pretty weird lenses. Doesn't matter whether the Sonnar suits you or not.
 
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Godfrey

Well-known member
Godfrey, I'll probably end up buying the M9 and evaluating it thoroughly over a period of several months, really, it's the only way I'll ever know for sure.

It is, on paper at least, the nearest I've found that meets my need.

Thanks
You're welcome. And that is, indeed, the best way to learn and then know whether it suits your needs best.

I was very reluctant to spend the money for the M9 even knowing Leica Ms for a very long time. I thought about it for a year, started planning for it last Summer, etc. Coming off of a couple of years of the worst financial crunch I've been through in my lifetime, it seemed a massively expensive thing to spend money on and "just not important enough." However, working with it for just a week and some now, there is not one shred of doubt that it was worth every penny I paid for it and that it suits what I want to do with it beautifully. I expect to use it for a very long time.

I hope your experience is the same. :)
 
V

Vivek

Guest
?

Hey, Vivek, I don't know you from Adam, please don't presume to know me.
Not at all, Keith. That post might have been influenced by your mispelling or is it misspelling?

Regardless, my suggestion about the borrowing is serious and properly placed.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I don't know hat your riposte has anything to do with what I said.
I also use more than just these three viewing systems.
I've also used some other pretty weird lenses. Doesn't matter whether the Sonnar suits you or not.
Sonnars suit me alright but not that C-Sonnar. You may be interested to learn about its characteristics. It is not new.

FWIW, here is some related discussion prompted by Zeiss:

Flickr: Discussing Sony NEX-5N and Carl Zeiss C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM? in OFFICIAL Carl Zeiss Lenses Group

What I say there is consistent with what I say here. That lens is better used on a live view cam because of the aperture induced focus shift. It is not suitable for a RF cam.

(Addendum: The aperture induced focus shift is pretty rare. Especially, with small format lenses. The C-Sonnar stands out in this regard)

However, if Leica goes live view (the topic of this thread), then it may become useful. ;)
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Sonnars suit me alright but not that C-Sonnar. You may be interested to learn about its characteristics. It is not new.

FWIW, here is some related discussion prompted by Zeiss:

Flickr: Discussing Sony NEX-5N and Carl Zeiss C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM? in OFFICIAL Carl Zeiss Lenses Group

What I say there is consistent with what I say here. That lens is better used on a live view cam because of the aperture induced focus shift. It is not suitable for a RF cam.

(Addendum: The aperture induced focus shift is pretty rare. Especially, with small format lenses. The C-Sonnar stands out in this regard)

However, if Leica goes live view (the topic of this thread), then it may become useful. ;)
What you seem to fail to understand is that I have no interest in the Sonnar 50mm f/1.5's suitability, or not, for a rangefinder camera. I don't know why it is of such interest to you if you are not interested in the lens, as your previous message seemed to indicate.

A Telyt 400mm lens is also not suitable for rangefinder focusing. So what?
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Ha, in that case, I just remembered, again, that the topic of this thread is about live view.
 
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