The aperture ring blunder is a combination of issues:  1) too close to the camera body, 2) recessed, 3) too skinny, 4) each stop has a very solid detent, 5) the metal actuator for Nikon bodies and 6) no rubber for improved grip. The little silver metal actuator gizmo for Nikon cameras lasted about 5 minutes. Thirty seconds with a jewelers screwdriver and it was gone. With the silver tab gone, now my fingers can be in the 6:00 / 12:00 position. Gripping the ring is still difficult, but I will master the “death-claw-scissors-grip”. I bet Steve Jobs had something to do with the design...

I should point out - for Nikon users this is a non-issue. They have auto aperture, so life is good for them. It’s only us adapter loving zealots who will bitch and moan about the adapter ring since we basically live and die by the ring due to stop-down metering. One other tiny difference - the aperture rings rotates in the opposite direction like all Nikon lenses.

PERFORMANCE

This part of Zeiss 50mm Makro-Planar will be updated during the next 6 months as I use the lens. To speed things along, this first group of images were taken about 2 hours after opening box.

Macro lenses are supposed to good with close subjects, so I decided to start with distant subject first. The first image was taken at F5.6 to see how the Zeiss macro did with an infinity focus test. Even the leaves on the distant trees are very

detailed. The Canon 1Ds Mark III has a very strong AA filter, so all the distant detail is really, really nice to see. The Canon 50mm F1.4 did not even come close (that lens has already been sold).

The next image was a simple shot to see if the tree would have a 3D-like appearance. The planar lens design has a reputation for rendering 3D-like images, so the second picture was intended to see how the lens did at F2.

The Zeiss 50mm Makro-Planar will be used mostly as a ‘walk-around’ lens, so basic images such as the tree are important to me. The distant trees are nicely blurred and the bokeh

is very ‘Zeiss’. Despite the overcast skies, all the greens have nice color separation.

The next image with garden lantern is a quasi macro test. The image was taken at F4 with the focus on the wick. This picture was intended to test the close-focus performance and the associated bokeh. The detail on the wick is excellent. I tried the Canon 50mm F2.5 Compact Macro on the Canon 1Ds Mark II a couple years ago and was not impressed due to its harshness. The Canon macro was sharp, but its contrast was too strong and the pictures lacked tonality. The Zeiss macro delivers detail without looking clinical or cold (more on this later). All these images

are full size and were not sharpened in Photoshop. They were processed Canon’s DPP software with the sharpening set to the mid point.

The image of the bird was a lucky shot. Our neighbor feeds the birds bread by hand, so the birds are very comfortable with humans. The picture was taken at F2 and the bird stuck around long enough that I could actually focus. The detail in the feathers is very good - especially considering that the picture was taken at F2.

The

final picture was to see how the Zeiss macro managed specular highlights in the bokeh. With the sunlight peaking through the leaves, it was good setting to see how the round highlights looked.

Keep in mind these are just very basic test shots to get a quick idea of the Zeiss 50mm Makro-Planar’s performance. Each Zeiss ZF has its MTF measured prior to leaving the factory, so the odds of getting a “bad copy” a pretty low. But it could happen and the only goal of these pictures is to make sure the lens is performing okay. Based on the detail presented in this images, I think the Zeiss 50mm macro arrived in fine condition. The next updates to this ongoing review will focus on specific aspects of the Zeiss 50mm Makro-Planar’s performance. With today’s poor light, it is difficult to gauge color and contrast.

COLOR, CONTRAST AND BOKEH

Today’s pictures focus on the 50mm’s bokeh (background blur). I had not intended to shoot with the Zeiss so soon, but on the way home from work the sunset looked promising.  The image to the left was taken at F4 and handheld. The white line running across the image is a dried weed laying on the ground. I have said this many times before in several other Zeiss / Contax reviews - the Zeiss lens due tend to produce double images in the bokeh. This picture was not selected for its great composition, it was selected as an extreme example illustrating the double image. The double is more noticeable because this image has had its levels pushed to great lengths in Photoshop CS3. Aside from testing bokeh, I also wanted to see how the lens managed color and micro contrast.

I have taken pictures at this open field (several miles from our house) with every lens for the past three or four years - and with 30 to 40 lenses. The Canon 1Ds, 1Ds Mark II, 1Ds Mark III, 5D, Nikon D300, Phase One P25 have all their “testing” at this location too. I know this location well and I know the colors. The blue sky (next page) is not a blue I see in Canon lenses. The last lens to show that hue was the Contax N 100mm F2.8 Makro-Sonnar. Taking a big leap of faith, I am guessing the Zeiss T* coatings on new Zeiss ZF’s are more similar to Contax N coatings than the coatings used on the earlier Contax RTS manual focus lenses. I always thought the Contax N 100mm Makro-Sonnar had great coloring, so if the 50mm ZF follows in the Contax N’s footsteps - that is a good thing. 

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