I’m afraid comparing the Zeiss 100 f/2 with the Leica 90 Summicron turned out to be a big boring no surprise for all of you. For me however, it was a very engaging experience.
Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100
As you can see in my
previous post, it is big and burly. I have other wide angle Zeiss ZE lenses, so I new exactly what to expect. But attaching it to the A7r via Metabones III makes one carry the lens, not the camera. They probably made the camera with plenty of stiffness and structure, but I just don’t feel comfortable walking with my hand on the grip. Instead I wrap my hand around the barrel with my thumb and forefinger against the flange.
The wonderful thing about the Zeiss is its close focus ability, down to 0.44m / 1:2. Subjects just beg for you to get close. It’s like the grasses are whispering to you, “Over here… Come closer.” It made me notice and seek out nature’s little details.
As we all know, sharpness is this lens’ strength. At f/2 the MTF is dead flat out to 17mm and the S/T lines walk on top of each other. F/4 is the same, just all the way out beyond 20mm. I have some boring rock veneer and bookcase images, but I will spare you that. There is absolutely nothing to see.
Comparing to the Leica, I give the sharpness edge to Zeiss until f/4, where the Leica’s “something” takes over and looks preferable, be it draw, micro-contrast, sharpness, whatever…?
The Zeiss did have slightly more CA and fringe. It’s impossible to for me to quantify that, other than in identical shots on a tripod specular highlights were cleaner with the Leica, and the observed purple / green color noted in the image below.
LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-M 90 mm f/2 ASPH
This has been a great learning experience. I have very little history with rangefinders, limited to an old Contax from my Grandfather that was stolen when I was in Grade 9. So I have never shot with a Leica, let alone a Leica lens. Never the less, I mounted the 90 Summicron on the A7r via our friend Novoflex and instantly bonded. Size, weight, position of the aperture ring, feel of the focus ring; all felt just right.
I did initially fumble trying to find the focus ring because most DSLR rings are much further out. After an hour or so it became natural. On the A7r this lens handles beautifully. I could wax on forever about this lens, but you all would just here blah blah blah. I’ll put it this way: Wherever the Zeiss shouts, the Leica just blends in and becomes part of you. Instead of feeling I was out photographing in the woods as with the Zeiss, the Leica felt like I was enjoying the woods and happened to have an inconspicuous camera with me. Marvelous. [Blah blah blah…]
One interesting thing I noticed about the A7r and metering. In almost all cases the Leica images were darker. Sometimes the camera would choose identical shutter speeds, and sometimes it would choose a faster shutter speed when the Leica was mounted. In either case though, the Leica images were consistently darker. I’m not sure if this is due to vignetting effects or color or something else. The Zeiss has more vignetting, while the Leica is warmer. The difference did not diminish at higher f-stops, so I doubt it was only vignetting. Here are two images shot at f/4. No exposure bias in either case, yet the camera chose 1/10” with the Leica and 1/5” with the Zeiss.
As you can probably tell, I fell in love with the 90 Summicron. I don’t know if I can wait for Sony to release an 85…
Oops, I mean
Dave
PS: Some of the Leica f-stops while outside are guesses on my part. Apparently I need to take better notes!