CA with fast 180mm prime lenses

[diddy]

Hi,
I bought the Carl Zeiss Jena Sonnar 180mm 2.8 MC some years ago. A real gem of a lens, apart from the weight. The weight is actually the main reason why I hardly ever use it. Now I thought I should find some lighter alternative and if a suitable candidate was found, sell the CZJ. So I got the Nikkor 180mm 2.8 ED - a marvelous lens as well - sharp, relatively light, but CA wide open. I sold it. Then I had a look at the Tamron 180mm 2.5. A fantastic lens as well - but CA wide open. I have been doing some (unscientific) tests and tried to shoot the CZJ in the same situations as where i got CA with those other lenses wide open and the pictures didn't show any CA.
So, does somebody have a similar experience? Is the CZJ really that well corrected that CA hardly ever shows up?
I know CA can be corrected in post processing, but I am that kind of person that rather does no post processing at all - just tries to get the picture right in the first place.
Best regards,
Diddy

[std]

You are lucky then

I had an MC 2.8/200 Sonnar which had very pronounced CA until you close it to f3.5
Also had 2.8/200 Cannon nFD which was sharper but even worst with strong CA up to f 5.6
You should try the new CA correction tool of Lightroom 4.1 it should work very well.
Unfortunately i do not own those lenses to confirm.

[DanielT74]

If you want to pay more, try the Leica APO-Telyt 180/3.4. It is apochromatically corrected and should not show much CA at all. A very very nice lens, one of the bargains in the Leica R-mount line up.

[diddy]

@std: Thanks for your feedback. Basically one scene were I would see the CA with the Tamron and Nikon was a white blossom against the blue sky. The CZJ handled this well. Maybe I just have to use the lens a bit more to encounter CA.
@DanielT74: Thanks for suggestion. Leica is a bit too pricey for my liking ... plus it would be another adapter to add.

[soborodin]

I think the best choice would be the lens Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 180mm f/2.8 C/Y

It's really great lens with min CA!

And see also comarison list of 180mm prime lenses

[Attila]

[francotirador]

Diddy, The 5-element Sonnar design is naturally CA, CZJ has the least and if you have the MC works better even in backlight that the Zebra. Better than that lens, only as the Leica Apo 180 3.5. But I do think not have the best bokeh of all as the CZJ.
Gretings.

[diddy]

Thanks all for your feedback! Seems like I will hang on my CZJ for a bit longer then

[Attila]

[Esox lucius]

Voigtländer SL 180mm f/4 APO Lanthar, no lateral or longitudinal chromatic aberration at all, regardless of aperture used.

[diddy]

Thanks for pointing this out - I never heard about this lens.

[Esox lucius]

Very rare (perhaps only about 1,000 made in Nikon mount) and expensive, sells for 800 on eBay if you find one

[feanolas]

There are two versions of the Canon 2.8/200, the old one with classical focusing and the new one with internal focusing. The first is available in both breech lock and FDn mounts and is recognizable at the much larger barrel.
I found out that the old design has way less CA then the IF version. I was really choked by the amount of CA of the IF version, I thought I had a bad exemplar, but others experience match mine.
So I would recommend the old version, which can be found much cheaper then the IF !

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

[stevemark]

On my 24 MP Sony A900 I use both the CZJ Sonnar 180mm 1:2.8 (built 1953), the Sony 2.8/70-200mm G and the Minolta AF 2.8/200 mm APO G HS. While the Sonnar is not bad at all - especially for portraits - the 70-200G has less CAs, and the 2.8/200 APO has less again (less than both the Sonnar and the Sony 2.8/70-200G).

The Minolta 2.8/200 is a true gem (as the current Zeiss ZA 1.8/135mm which was calculated by Sony engineers); i have published some 100% crops from the extreme corners at various apertures:

Minolta AF 2.8/200 APO: 100% crops at f2.8, f5.6 and f11

EDIT: don't know why the link is dead; just go to the artaphot.ch website and check "Minolta/Sony lens reviews" => "Minolta AF 2.8/200mm APO"



The Zeiss Sonnar 180mm 1:2.8 has about the same image as the older Minolta AF 2.8/80-200 G APO zoom. Here's a comparison between Minolta AF 2.8/200 APO, 2.8/80-200 APO and Minolta/Sony 2.8/70-200 G SSM:

MinAF 2.8/200 APO vs MinAF 28/80-200 APO vs Sony/Minolta AF 2.8/70-200 APO G SSM

EDIT: same problem here - just check "Lens comparisons" => "A900: Minolta AF 2.8/200 APO, 2.8/80-200 APO, 2.8/70-200 APO G (D) SSM"


Shortly I will publish a review of the Sonnar, using my Sony A900. For time being: Check the new information on the Zeiss Biotar 7.5cm 1:1.5

Stephan

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[Sunny Boaz]

[Swappo]

+1 on the Voigtländer 180/4.
Very lightweight and small, I always bring it when I need to travel light.
Perfect walkabout lens paired with a normal and a wide angel lens.

The drawback is ofcourse that it is quite slow, but the small size and weight has to come with some price.
But I think that F4 is enough for most of the time.

The Tamron SP 180/2.5 is a great lens also, wonderful handling but as said, it has great amount of CA wide open.
From what I've read, this is less of a problem when the lens is used with film.