Dawid wrote:
> Ken, I feel this way about mine too (also a very late model 50/1.4).
> I have a couple of images at f/1.4 which, when looking at the print,
> it is simply unbelievable that it was taken at f/1.4. Not just sharpness,
> but evenness of illumination, etc. also.
>
Moose's comments got me to thinking and I did pull out a couple of slides
taken with my old Silvernosed 50/1.4. I still believe that the old one is
sharper in the center but the corners were another story. Gary Reese and I
had discussed this at length several years ago and he concurred with my
opinion--but we also felt that just like the 100/2.8, there were multiple
generations and fine-tunings along the way. The old 50/1.4 was probably
ultimately a little sharper, but only at specific apertures (F5.6-F11). I
DID get rid of the lens, after all and swore off 50mm lenses for years and
ignored all of you pontificating about the superiority of this generation of
the lens.
The only reason I got this lens was because of event work where I'm running
up to limits with F2.8 lenses and needed the extra oomph for some of the
shots. The focal length is still wrong for me, but the extra stop or two
(with outstanding image-quality results to go along with it) is worth some
inconvenience. I was just pleasantly surprised at how good the lens is at
essentially all apertures--a trait not very common.
Oh, one thing which I also noted about the old version of the lens is the
3D'ness of the images which I'm not seeing to the same extent with the new
one--yet. The old one gives images what appears to be a high-pass filter
effect.
I looked at a couple of scans last night (computer was attached to my
battery backup system), and determined that the lens was fully capable of
resolving to the limits of the film and scanner. Not shabby at all and
really only a couple of my lenses will do that with any form of regularity.
However, I did spot some lens flare issues which I didn't expect to see from
a mega-multi-coated wonderpiece.
So, in a couple of weeks I'll be passing probably up to 20 rolls of Fujifilm
Press 800 through an OM body or two at this big annual shindig. Lot's of
grip and grins, live event stage production, etc. The E-1 will be pressed
into big action as always, but will probably be nearly 100% flash work,
while all the ambient light shots will be film. Stage lighting and digital
just don't mix well--the film shots are in an entirely different league.
AG
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|