Testing Meyer-Optik Görlitz Domiplan 50mm/2.8

[miran]

As mentioned in another thread, I got this lens just to see what all the fuss is about. The Domiplan 50mm/2.8 is reportedly one the worst normal lenses ever produced but I just had to see for myself how true this claim is. So what did I find out? Well, yes, it's pretty bad, no question about it. Is it the worst ever? Well, just about everything about it is so bad, it's hard to think of a lens that could be worse. Really, it's terrible. But it's not useless! With some work you can definitely use it for artistic purposes. Or something.

Now a word of warning. If you have a Domiplan that is sharp and generally performs well but just needs a clean or servicing, never ever take the rear element out! It's held in place by three little screws that are used to fine tune the centering of the lens (or whatever). Image quality is extremely sensitive to the tiniest adjustment of these screws. If you need to open the lens, you can reach every part without removing the rear element from its carrier. So don't touch the little screws!

If on the other hand your Domiplan sucks beyond belief, then likely a previous owner took the rear element out and put it back without adjusting it properly (or even reversed). Without proper equipment it's difficult if not impossible to get it completely right, but with some trial and error you can get it at least acceptably centered.

Mine predicatably came with a stuck aperture. Also there was some dust inside, or possibly a slight hint of fungus. Fixing that was simple (you just need a lot of patience reassembling the aperture blades), except for the adjusting of the three little screws that I took out not knowing this was unnecessary. I don't know how close to perfect I got them adjusted, but I think it's pretty close. I get very good sharpness in the center at wide open, but there is quite a lot of glow and the sharp area is very small. Borders and corners are very soft.

Mechanically I think it's a pretty OK lens. It feels solid enough, focus is smooth and the aperture ring has good enough click stops. The only problem is there's no A/M switch, so if the adapter doesn't depress the aperture pin, you're stuck wide open. Another con is the MFD which at 75cm is pretty bad. You can use a short extension tube to get closer but it's fiddly to screw this on and off all the time.

Other than that I think it's a lens that can well be used creatively. I wouldn't exactly recommend it to anyone but if you think you could use a challenge, well there you go. I'll probably take it out a few more times for fun and to see how it does in different light conditions.

Here are a few images from a short walk in rain, fog and mud. I used a Lens Turbo on Sony NEX-6. All photos are at wide open at f/2.8 as my adapter doesn't push in the aperture pin (next time I'll go out with a normal adapter that does allow me to close the aperture). Close ups are with a short extension tube. This is not a "formal" test, so all photos are processed to taste (exposure, contrast, sharpen, black&white).

The lens itself:


1.
NEX6_0004_0245 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

2.
NEX6_0004_0247 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

3.
NEX6_0004_0252 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

4.
NEX6_0004_0254 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

5.
NEX6_0004_0260 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

6.
NEX6_0004_0264 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

7.
NEX6_0004_0268 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

8.
NEX6_0004_0276 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

9.
NEX6_0004_0279 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

10.
NEX6_0004_0284 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

The last one I took in order to demonstrate how this lens is definitely not suitable for landscapes because of the extremely soft edges but for some reason the image was picked up for Flickr's Explore and it ended up being by far the most popular photo I ever uploaded.

[spleenone]

Really fine performer. It´s tessar design, isn´t it?
I would be interested how would suits such CZJ Tessar chrome 50/2.8 which I have at home. At least I got film body on which I can give a try.

[blotafton]

The close-ups look sweet. That's its strength.

[wolan]

[tb_a]

Very nice presentation. Well done!

[iangreenhalgh1]

[miran]

Thanks all.

Yes, it's a very simple triplet. I also have the Tessar 50/2.8 which I intend to take out a couple of times. But I can tell without any test that the Tessar is way better than the Domiplan.

[TrueLoveOne]

For what it is, a mass-produced, low-budget triplet, it's not a bad performer.

This was many people's standard lens, it came with their cheap DDR camera. Many, many priceless memories were captured with a Domiplan lens!
It has been burned down all over the internet, but let's be honest: you managed to create some very nice pictures with it. It ain't that bad at all...... but do keep in mind what it is.

We're all lost in perfect corner performance, sharpness, creamy bokeh and so on that we forget lenses like these.

And quite frankly it is great to see something else!
Like a great photographer once said : "sharpness is a bourgeois concept."

You can't expect a Lada Niva to perform like a BMW X5 but that does not mean it can't be a fun drive!

Cheers, René!

[Sjak]

[miran]

Mine came with a Praktica camera that looks like it's working just fine. I'll put a film through it for sure and I suspect it'll produce acceptable results.

[Pancolart]

[Eddie46]

Oh! Those Trees in the Mist! Nice.

[miran]

[miran]

[jamaeolus]

I had one of these. It was TERRIBLE. It was all plastic. It FELT cheap. The aperture didn't work, it was stuck wide open and was very very soft. I pitched it. I may have to see if I can find a cheap example of an older version just to play with.

[Sjak]

At least, older versions are made of metal And the zebra-version at least looks cool when mounted

Shouldnt be too difficult to find one, probably the cheapest way is buying a used Exakta with one on it. Proably something like 10-25 euro will suffice.

[miran]

[Sjak]

[Lloydy]

I got one on Practika from a charity shop earlier this year, I didn't want the camera particularly, and the lens comes with it's awful reputation. But they were virtually mint condition and very cheap, and I was curious about the Domiplan, so I bought it.

And I've got to say, the Domiplan's reputation is probably right, it's a strange beast. As someone has already said, it's OK at close range, but not great, not good enough to redeem its poor distance performance. I took a lot of pictures at the Museum of Iron, all on a tripod, the first series focused on the fountain and the second focused on the modern building over the historic furnace. This is the best of the bunch and this is the f8 picture focused on the fountain. It's not good.



The close up of the rose is one stop down, and not bad at all. This is straight out of the camera, both pic's are. This picture scrubs up nicely in Photoshop, but it should be better from the camera.


I'm not impressed with it. It might be OK on the Practika with film? But on the A6000 it has no redeeming features, it lacks sharpness which isn't as big a problem as we generally think - if the lens has other characteristics that make it unique. The Domiplan doesn't.

[miran]

@Sjak: Nice. Thanks for sharing.

@Lloydy: Perhaps try adjusting the rear element as I suggested in the first post. I suppose it will never be very good but I'm guessing many copies are worse than they need to be because of a poorly centered rear element.

[Sjak]

Thanks Miran!

I have to admit that shooting more distant objects (at or near infinity-focus) gets pretty challenging on mine too. But maybe that was (in part) due to the fact that I had to push the lever in order to close the aperture? I forgot that half of the time. On the Exa, the lever is on top of the shutter-button, so the aperture closes down when taking the actual picture and is full open when focusing through the viewfinder. On a mirrorless with live-view, there is no need for this.

On the other hand, the statue/fountain was also beyond 10 metres and does not show any such issue That specific shot convinced me this lens is not the total rubbish that is so often said of it. Possibly later versions had lower QC?

[Lloydy]

[miran]

Second outing with this lens, this time on a normal adapter without focal reducer (camera again NEX-6), but it can close the aperture. At small size images look ok but at close examination they're quite bad, even closed down to f/11 and on a crop sensor camera. But the lens is quite resistant to lens flare which is a bit of a surprise.

1. sharpness test at f/11. Center is ok, corners not so much:
NEX6_0004_0313 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

2. with short extension tube, lots of glow in the strong sun:
NEX6_0004_0309 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

3. f/16
NEX6_0004_0320 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

4. f/8 or so
NEX6_0004_0323 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

5.
NEX6_0004_0331 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

6.
NEX6_0004_0335 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

That's it for a while I guess. I can't imagine I'll take this lens out again any time soon.

And the lens itself:

Meyer-Optik Görlitz Domiplan 50mm/2.8 by Miran Amon, on Flickr

[dr.volkan]

[miran]

Wow! Well done!