Isco-Gottingen Edixa-Iscotar 2.8/50, some character in BW

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

I've got this lens out of curiosity and of some tender attraction to triplets. Long time ago I read this review which showed the lens to be not that shiny. I agree in some extent, but I also discovered some of its attractive sides.

First of them consists in a "shorter" relationship of the sensor to the light, which results in some simplier and "organic" look the lens is capable to deliver. Second, its glow gives some retro effect which is pretty appealing after a simple conversion to BW. If one seeks sharpness, that costs nothing, but if one likes variety of optic experiences, that may go for an expression of "pictorial" style.

The lens has evident quirks, one of which is pretty annoying: it has a considerable focus breathing. So that once focused with the lens wide open you need to refocus even at f4, just at the next step of the aperture ring.

The lens has also a strange way of iris automation. With the switch A/M put to A you may screw in a conventional release cable to a dedicated hole on the barrel and thus make the iris jump to the preset value. I have no idea how that could work with original Edixa camera. Just that it gives a bit of steampunk feeling.

The lens has some mysterious variety of IQ at f2.8-f4. My first test returned very glowy images at these apertures. Only at f5.6 the glow passed away, and the image got simply sharp. A second set of shots resulted in a pretty slight glow, even if light conditions were more difficult.

Here is a couple of shots from the second test series, taken on Sony Nex, with autocontrast applied and then contrast boosted a bit more.

#1 At f2.8

#2 At f5.6

Here are the same unprocessed shots, which still show quite a nice detail and little glow

#3 At f2.8

#4 At f5.6

Here is a shot from the first test series. The glow is really strong, dipping the scene in some milky sauce. But a simple BW conversion gives a pretty nice transformation, a kind of soft 3D pop-up, as to say.

#5 At f2.8, unprocessed

#6 The previous just desaturated

Going on with BW, I discovered it to show the lens from its best side.

#7 At f2.8, unprocessed except a simple colour desaturation. Not the sharpest, but neither glowy. A mystery.

#8 At f4, unprocessed except a simple colour desaturation. There is some character, to my eye.

#9 Just another BW conversion of a wide open unprocessed shot. The corners (even with APS-C) are typically soft for a triplet, but the general feeling is rather pleasing to my taste. The focus is on the lower number "3"

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

I like b&w!

arri · Joined: 13 Jul 2014 Posts: 95

Good results

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Thank you, fellows!

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Here is another couple of shots from this lens

#1

#2

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

#1 is glorious!

alex ph · Joined: 16 Mar 2013 Posts: 1674

Visualopsins, glad you like it!