Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!
SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

Carl Zeiss Jena Prakticar 1.4/50 experience
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Tue Nov 28, 2017 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mine is very soft at 1.4. It has been suggested to me that it's not supposed to be like that. But others here says it's normal.



PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Definitely not normal, is the glass clean?


PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The glass is clean but yellowed. No sign of tinkering. And it looks great at f/2.8. Just stepping down to f/2 makes a big improvement.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Still strange. See right side obviously worst then left.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Both sides are equal when looking at more samples, I'd say it's because the right side is a bit closer in this sample.
I made this post earlier: Prakticar vs Planar http://forum.mflenses.com/zeiss-battle-prakticar-vs-planar-t78092.html


PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 1:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
did you try using hood? Prakticar big front glass sticks out and attracts much of stray light thus inclined to produce glow. Hood helps.


PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 3:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Pancolart wrote:
did you try using hood? Prakticar big front glass sticks out and attracts much of stray light thus inclined to produce glow. Hood helps.


No hood, it's worth a try. I never feel the need to use hoods normally, maybe this one lens is the exception.


PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A hood won't help a faulty lens. Looks to me like there is quite a bit of coma present that shouldn't be there.


PostPosted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here is a few of my quick test samples I took this afternoon. http://www.abload.de/gallery.php?key=sIiLh4g5

No PP, no sharpening, neutral base curve and minor exposure correction. An old crop camera and no lenshood were used.

Mind you, the samples were taken with the second optical version of Prakticar 50/1.4.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Just for the reference, adding sample wide-open shots from a CZJ Prakticar 50/1.4 ver II on a FF camera.

No PP, no sharpening, neutral base curve, no exposure correction and no lenshood were used.




Just a note, this lens tends to loosen its screws over time. So you end up with a wobbly top part of the lens. Tightening the bottom screws fixes the issue.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Last two shots seem typical to me of F1.4 50's when shot wide open. It usually clears immediately by F2.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for posting! Looks very similar to mine.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
blotafton wrote:
Thanks for posting! Looks very similar to mine.

You are welcome. The Prakticar 50/1.4 performance doesn't really correspond to its price.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I notice that the softness / glow brought by this lens (V.1) wide open varies quite considerably depending on the subject (presence of many small details or, on the contraty, large surfaces) and on the light character. Here are some samples at f1.4, taken with Sony Nex, with autocontrast applied.

#1 The already discussed glow is well pronounced under strong light, even though it is not unpleasant to my eye, and it's pretty sharp anyway


#2 Softer light reduces glow and softness, leaving a good balance between in-focus sharpness and bokeh


#3 Shots in the shade (and of larger surfaces) are just sharp, with some residual effects


#4 Here is the same shot unprocessed, besides resizing : still not that soft/glowy as in contrast light


#5 And even in counterlight it looks good, and note no visible fringing


PostPosted: Mon Mar 08, 2021 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
alex ph wrote:
I notice that the softness / glow brought by this lens (V.1) wide open varies quite considerably depending on the subject (presence of many small details or, on the contraty, large surfaces) and on the light character. Here are some samples at f1.4, taken with Sony Nex, with autocontrast applied.


That excludes, of course, the by far worst part of the FF image Wink Most 1.4/50mm lenses are pretty useable t f1.4 using 12MP or even 16 MP APS-C cameras.

alex ph wrote:

#1 The already discussed glow is well pronounced under strong light, even though it is not unpleasant to my eye,
...
#5 And even in counterlight it looks good, and note no visible fringing


Both observations you made (strong spherical aberrations / coma, and low CAs) are consistent with the use of glass with lower nD and higher Abbe number.

S


PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nice shots,

by the way, I have difficulties getting the dedicated Praktica PB-Nikon Z adapter anywhere here in Germany. I have found some in US shops which are aspecial orders and nothing local or in China (Ebay). I have several PB-EOS adapters but these don't fix the lens firmly due to the design and I would prefer to get the dedicated one. Any experience?

Thanks in advance and best regards M.


PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 4:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
PB->Sony E + Sony E->Nikon Z. Not the best but you can use all Sony E adapters with the Sony E->Nikon Z.


PostPosted: Tue Mar 09, 2021 10:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Stephan, I am certainly planning to put it on Sony FF. Very curious of the lens' behaviour. For the moment I am pretty much enchanted of its rendering. Looks like a kind of affordable Leika to me. Your comment about the glass type goes beyond my knowledge and stimulates my curiosity to know more. Is there an accessible (not too techie) source which explains the optical glass compositions?

Max, thank you for the appreciation. Why wouldn't you get a Chinese adapter from ebay? My experience with them for Sony E-mount (including noname ones) varies from good to excellent. In the worst case you require refund and buy another one, which you get after some waiting.


PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2021 6:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Many thanks for Your suggestions. I would like to get the dedicated PB-NZ Adapter and can wait until it appears on the market. Another idea was to make one from two different adapters by myself, e.g. take EOS-NZ and screw on it the top bayonet from PB-NEX. However, I've checked the holes for screws and these may be different even for the same producer. I will stay with PB->EOS and EOS->NZ combination, which I don't like but I already have.

As for the versions of the subject and different glass used in it, there is a very good german site dedicated to DDR lenses (in German, but google can translate it):

https://zeissikonveb.de/start/objektive/normalobjektive/prakticar%201%2C4.html

The first version of this lens was very expensive in the production and had some thorium glass, so it was replaced in the 1984 with another one. However, both have elements with n above 1.7. The thorium glass SSK11 has n=1.75638 ( Abbe = 52.9 ) and it was replaced with the LaSK3 with n=1.73444 ( Abbe = 51.98 ) in the second version which was also patented (these numbers are from the document scan from the above Internet page). It also follows from the same document that this heavy crown glass SSK11 was imported to DDR.

This page has also the scans of the original CZJ production docs for both versions of 50/1,4, just scroll it down. Three lenses seems to have the highest refractive index in the first version of the lens: the front (the first), the second and the last one in the cemented doublet. Moreover, all other lens elements have n>1.7.

The next version of the prakticar 50/1,4 has only two elements with n>1.7. Other elements are close to 1.7 but below it.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 11, 2021 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Is not it the one you are looking for? Although I acknowledge, this adapter is around 10 times more expensive than the one for Sony E-mount, massively available.

I've read this very interesting page on fast Pancolars branded as Prakticars. The same author asserts there was a fast f1.4 Oreston too!


PostPosted: Fri Mar 12, 2021 3:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
alex ph wrote:
Is not it the one you are looking for? Although I acknowledge, this adapter is around 10 times more expensive than the one for Sony E-mount, massively available.

I've read this very interesting page on fast Pancolars branded as Prakticars. The same author asserts there was a fast f1.4 Oreston too!

Never see any Pentaconar F1.4 floating around. I will add this to my shopping list! Like 1 small


PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
alex ph wrote:
Is not it the one you are looking for? Although I acknowledge, this adapter is around 10 times more expensive than the one for Sony E-mount, massively available.


Thank You very much for suggestion, I haven't seen this. You are also right about the price. I think, I'll wait a little, the price should drop if the alternative solutions will be available. We will see.


PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2021 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I posted here some samples taken with Prakticar 1.4/50 wide open in soft light, which adds a point to the disscussion on its glowy (or not too much) performance.


PostPosted: Tue May 25, 2021 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here are some new shots from a forest.







Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
Goto page Previous  1, 2
Page 2 of 2