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Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

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Comparison of fast 50's
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 12:01 pm
Post subject: Comparison of fast 50's
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 12:01 pm
Post subject: Comparison of fast 50's
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Out of curiosity I've compared all of my super fast SLR and RF 50mm lenses fully open on my Ricoh GXR-M in order to check primarily the different out of focus rendering (bokeh).

All pictures taken under same conditions always fully open with indirect flash light (Ricoh GF-1) used. Focus point was the red rose in the center. All pictures treated exactly the same way during conversion in LR6.

Minolta MC Rokkor-PG F1.4 (version MC-X, 7L/5G)



Minolta MD Rokkor F1.4 (version MD-II, 7L/6G)



Minolta AF F1.4



Minolta MC Rokkor-PG 58mm/F1.2 (version MC II)



Pentax Super-Takumar F1.4



Pentax-K SMC F1.2



Voigtlander Nokton Aspherical F1.5 M39/LTM



Jupiter-3 F1.5 M39/LTM



Still not sure which one I like most. Finally it's purely a matter of taste. Wink

Comments are welcome.

Last edited by tb_a on Thu Feb 16, 2017 12:11 pm; edited 2 times in total


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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 12:10 pm
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 12:10 pm
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I would say Voigtlander Nokton. Smooth bokeh and at the same time it seems like it has good sharpness and contrast.


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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 12:14 pm
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 12:14 pm
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miran wrote:
I would say Voigtlander Nokton. Smooth bokeh and at the same time it seems like it has good sharpness and contrast.


Well, in terms of sharpness and contrast I'm on your side. However, the bokeh of the two F1.2 lenses is not bad either.
Also the Minolta MD and AF lenses did a extremely good job. IMHO the share the same optical construction.


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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:10 pm
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Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:10 pm
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I am negatively impressed with Nokton's bokeh which is rather inexpressive and messy. Especially compared to all Minoltas and the Takumar. This is something I did not expect as I always regarded Nokton as a model lens. Though I have never had one. I have a Takumar, and it seemed to me more sharp than charming. In your samples its contrast is as good as the bokeh for me.

And thank you for sharing. It's really instructive.


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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 4:47 am
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 4:47 am
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alex ph wrote:
I am negatively impressed with Nokton's bokeh which is rather inexpressive and messy. Especially compared to all Minoltas and the Takumar. This is something I did not expect as I always regarded Nokton as a model lens. Though I have never had one. I have a Takumar, and it seemed to me more sharp than charming. In your samples its contrast is as good as the bokeh for me.


Well, you have to bear in mind that the Nokton was (besides the J-3) the slowest lens in this test. So technically this lens has a little disadvantage compared to the others and the chosen background and the arrangement was really nasty on purpose.
Normally I am rather impressed by the Nokton's smooth and creamy bokeh and it's overall performance. I still believe that it's my best 50mm lens at all. Anyway, IMHO all of the tested lenses have their individual merits.
However, I still have to check and compare all my other (slower) fifties. Wink
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