90mm shootout: CZ Sonnar, Soligor, Sigma, Elmarit, Elmar-C

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

Lenses tested
At these point I don't want to divulge them in order not to influence the discussion. Suffice it to say that the group is pretty diverse: there are RF lenses, SLR lenses and macros in it. All of them are priced within reason, but cost more than a student's lunch. I will slowly reveal more information over the course of this thread.

Testing goals
I'm curious how these lenses perform as a general purpose tele. Obviously, macro lenses will be more useful at large magnifications, but that's not part of this test.

Testing procedure
I've never done much lens testing because done properly ("scientifically"), it's boring work for very little practical benefit. Who cares if lens A is sharper than B on the test chart shot at 3m @ f1.8, when I'll be using A and B mostly to shoot landscapes at infinity and f8. On the other hand, just presenting images shot with the lens gives little ground for comparison as other factors (such as light) will have more impact.

I've decided to solve this problem by shooting scenes that I would typically shoot with a 90mm lens and how I would typically shoot them (i.e. aperture used) , while making sure that light and exposure for each lens are as close as possible. So far I came up with the following list of test scenes:

Close-up

Landscape

Portrait

Perhaps, I add some more shots if the results will be inconclusive. At this point I don't know how this will end-up. I've used some of these lenses extensively, some not that much, but I like all of them. So far I've shot only close-up. I'll present the results in the next message.

EDIT. The lens Id's in alphabetical order: (different from the order in test shots)

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

Close-up

The close focusing ability of these lenses is very different. RF lenses focus to 1m, while macros go much closer than that. This was shot on Olympus E-PL1 at ~1m and f8. The focus is on the text near the bold N on the card. White balance was set using gray card and Pany 20mm pancake, so that not to give advantage to any of the contestants.

All pictures are straight out of camera jpegs. Some would argue that I should have shot RAW, but E-PL1 is its own best RAW converter, so I don't see a point in RAW. Next test will be a landscape shot in RAW on NEX.

Apparently in reality lens #2 is slightly longer than 90mm written on the barrel. I didn't bother cropping and aligning. Click on the shot to get access to full size images.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

SonicScot · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:38 am Post subject:

Can I have No2 please? Razz

enliten · Expire: 2014-07-03

#1 has the least rounded aperture Smile

TBH I can't really pick any fault with any of these lenses for this first test. Each are sharp enough for this application / test.

-Ben

izvar · Joined: 17 Feb 2011 Posts: 252 Location: Moldova

Bille · Joined: 03 Jan 2013 Posts: 381

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3462 Location: Northern Ireland

SonicScot · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 1:14 pm Post subject:

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

SonicScot

twinquartz · Expire: 2013-10-29

There is something with resolution and/or contrast that I like in #3.

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

As said, differences are subtle, and I can't see anything objectively relevant. But, if I had to choose based only on these I'd go for 3.

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

Portrait test @f4

Since the weather is crap, I've postponed the landscape shootout and did a portrait test instead. Thankfully my father has an infinite patience and let me flash him to no end while he worked.

Since the slowest lens in this test is f4, all of these are @f4. I've also shot faster lenses at f2.8, but I'll show the results at a later time. The distance is about 3m. The camera is E-PL1 again, WB was set to E-PL1's "flash" preset. All the pictures are straight out of camera jpegs, no PP whatsoever.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

std · Joined: 09 Feb 2010 Posts: 1826 Location: Bulgaria

Looks like the #3 is the best here Smile

Anyways they are all very close - if i had to choose i would weight the lenses by oof rendering, flare resistance, wide open performance and size/weight.

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

Here's the next installment of my series. This is a landscape test on NEX-5. All shots are @f8, the focus was set on the clock-tower, WB was set to NEX "cloudy" preset. This is straight import of RAW into Lightroom 4.3 with default lightroom settings. No further PP, click on the picture (twice) to get access to full resolution files.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

In a couple of days I'll name the lenses and we can have a guessing game, but I encourage you to comment prior to that as well.

JohnBar · Joined: 21 Jun 2012 Posts: 581 Location: Liverpool

In particular reference to the first set, but also to the others

Its the lighting which is the winner Smile

Good lighting can make even a poor lens shine

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4060 Location: Charleston

Aperture used are equalizing. Still no lens IDs? Based on one thing I see, I'll guess #1 lens is Vivitar or Tokina 90/2.5.

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

I certainly agree that with good lenses the lighting is the biggest difference maker. Keep in mind that it's north German winter here, it was not easy to find half-decently lit scene with some colors, it's uniform greyness most of the time. The lighting on the last shot is great by our winter standards, but just OK otherwise.

I don't think that apertures used is a huge equalizer. I have saved the portraits @f2.8 (for the lenses that go to f2.8 ) , will post them after the guessing game since that would automatically reveal one slower lens in this test. Perhaps test chart testing would show bigger differences in the corners wide open, the differences that you see is what you can expect in practice.

The lens Id's in alphabetical order:

Let the guessing game begin.

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

I can only say that #4 is not the Zeiss Sonnar or Leitz Elmar-C (and I also guess not the Elmarit) due the low contrast.
Are all copies in a good shape?
Sadly I don't know the Komine and the Sigma

I need some more sample pics at 2-3m distance to check the bokeh.

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

At f8 differences are going to be minimal so the test isn't that revealing.

fermy · Joined: 17 Feb 2012 Posts: 1974

Well, there were f4 potraits, and I'll post f2.8 as well in due course. That being said, what sort of practical test would you like to have? My only condition is that this must be a type of shot that you would normally take with a 90mm lens.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

I never get much insight from this sort of test, I always have to use a lens for a while to get a feel for it.

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

Your portraits do not tell alot about the lenses.
Is it possible to have the portraits with some kind of background blur/high lights/different distances?
The landscapes are ok, they tell about color, contrast and sharpness.
I may miss some info, do they focus on infinity or hyper focal?