Best lenses for infinity shooting, 100-150mm length?

danfromm · Joined: 04 Sep 2011 Posts: 595

Ian, thanks for addressing my concerns about your shooting technique and for posting more shots. I don't see the Pancolar shot as much better than the others.

Your distance shots look as though the air wasn't perfectly clear. I have a couple of lenses with considerable reach -- the longest I use on 35 mm is a 700/8 Questar -- and have always found them very susceptible to atmospherics. With the Q700 early morning, before haze has had time to accumulate, and immediately after a rain are the best times to shoot.

You said you shoot at f/22. This may be a mistake. The best resolution possible at f/22 is around 70 lp/mm, and that's at nil contrast. I understand, perhaps incorrectly, that digicams' sensors can't capture more than 70 lp/mm. If I'm mistaken, don't hit me, just tell me what to believe about them. Shooting at a larger aperture will improve resolution at the sensor, whether the sensor can take full advantage of the gain or not, and will improve contrast at the sensor. This last will help the sensor capture as much detail as it can. Try the experiment of shooting at f/11 or f/8. One of digital's big advantages over film is that this kind of experimentation costs only time, and little of that.

With film there's a well-validated rule of thumb to the effect that at standard viewing distance (10") the lowest resolution in a print that will be perceived as sharp is around 8 lp/mm. If you do the arithmetic, you'll see that a perfect capture at f/22 can't be enlarged much more that 8x. Are you asking too much of your equipment? I mean, there's a limit to what a small sensor can do.

Finally, there's the very real possibility that the adapter(s) you use to hang lenses in front of your NEX won't let you focus to infinity. Will they let you focus through infinity? Or were those shots taken with every lens on its infinity stop? If with every lens at its infinity stop, its time to take out a micrometer and measure the adapter's thickness.

Cheers,

Dan

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Thanks for the info Dan, much appreciated. I think light and atmospherics have a lot of effect in such cases. The two Panos I shot today were about 2pm, just after it had stopped raining, it was actually pretty clear.

I am finding that I am shooting these lenses at the infinity stop, perhaps the adapter is a tad too thick, I will have to try some M42 lenses instead of these Exakta ones to take the adapter out of the equation.

I might indeed be asking too much of the NEX's sensor, but a camera with a larger sensor such as a 5DMK2 or P645D is out of the question on my budget, it's a case of eeking the most out of the NEX as it's all I can afford atm.

I will indeed try shooting at f8-f11. Will I actually lose a lot in dof or not all that much?

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

I think we may have an answer here.

With a small sensor (like 35mm, and more so with APS-C, etc.),

At f/22 there will certainly be serious problems with diffraction.

I have always heard that with APS-C sensors the optimum resolution was at more like f/5.6 than f/8, regardless of the lens used, and it rapidly deteriorated below that.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Thanks Luis.

Tomorrow, weather permitting I will delve deeper into this issue.

I will take the Topcor 3.5/135 and shoot the same distant subject at each aperture from 3.5 to 22 and present the results with 100% crops and we shall hopefully see what is going on with sharpness at different apertures.

luisalegria · Expire: 2018-01-18

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

I think the values this gives are rather generous for digital pixel peeping, but give it a try.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

These were done last week with the Topcor 200mm, I forget whether f8 or f11 but they are sharper.

This one was with the Topcor 135, I forget the aperture, either f8 or f11 I think:

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

what is the body?

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

NEX-3.

Here is a wider one I did today with the Pancolar.

tikkathree · Expire: 2012-12-28

Ian these are startlingly different results. Why they hardly look like the same place!
Laughing

bonc · Joined: 19 Jan 2012 Posts: 17 Location: The Netherlands

I don't know if it's the best, but I'm surely amazed by this lens at infinity.

This one is either at F/2 or F/2.8 ( I think the first one)...

This one is at F/5.8

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Those results are impressively sharp bonc, thanks for sharing!

Here is last of series I did yesterday with Pancolar, must try again with larger aperture:

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

The nex sensors are finicky at infinity.

I have 6 or more 135s and am really not satisfied with any of them--none can reach the crispness of my nikkor ais 180ED or my good 90s. I also have a very nice pentax 150, but it also is not up to snuff on the nex.

Lens performance on the nex is unique to the nex in many ways.

Basically the canon LTM 135/3.5 is better than any low cost 135 on the nex--I think--could be wrong of course. However it is not better than the sony 55210 at 135mm, which is a disappointment.

For this reason I may someday own the lecia M 135 APO, which is the sharpest 135 ever made, supposedly.

full
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6081/6084138185_b2abe7a71e_o.jpg

that's the canon

these are cheap: I paid 57USD at keh

your first topcor 200 looks good. I can tell nothing from the PP'd shots about sharpness.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

That's good info to know, what lenses have you found perform best on the NEX? Not necessarily 135mms, anything above 50mm.

I need to get out again with some decent light and shoot with different apertures, see how much effect diffraction is having.

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Hmm, I have a Micro-Nikkor 55, I'll have to try that out.

Between 50 and 135 I am lacking a bit, I have a Mamiya 1.8/85, CZJ Cardinar 4/100, Meyer Orestor 2.8/100, Miranda 2.8/105, Tokina 4/100, Ross Xpress 3.5/100, Ross Xpress 4/127 plus a few enlarger lenses such as Rodenstock Rodagon 4/90, Schneider Componon-S 5.6/100, Industar-11U 5.6/110 and Ross Resolux 4.5/90.

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

I have a mid 70's 3.5, only tried it a couple of times so far.

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

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

Ian: I almost hate to ask, but why do you stop down so far?