The color and contrast in tonight’s pictures has been fun to work with in Photoshop. The Zeiss 50mm has plenty of micro contrast, so with some quick levels editing in Photoshop CS3 it is very easy to get the image to pop. I feel that micro contrast enhances the gradients and creates a broader range of color. These qualities are buried in the file and it takes some finesse in Photoshop to bring that pop to the surface. Whether a Canon, Leica or Contax lens - my Photoshop editing is the same general process. With the Canon “L” lenses it is more difficult to get that pop. A good Zeiss lens with high micro contrast always seems to blossom more than a Canon lens. Just my $.02.

The Zeiss 50mm Makro-Planar ZF images are very sharp.  There is no disputing the lens’ sharpness or resolving powers. It does an excellent job of slicing through the Canon 1Ds Mark III’s axis of evil - the AA filter! Other than setting the sharpness slider to the midpoint in the Canon DPP software, these files have NOT been sharpen in Photoshop.

While the AA filter is frustrating, the Canon 1Ds Mark III probably deserves some credit due to its 14-bit files. The color gradients hold up well, even under extreme adjustments and editing in Photoshop. It is very to quantify the value of 14-bit raw files. One of the key differences I found in the

Phase One P25 files (which are 16-bits) was how the highlights blew - they seemed more film-like than the blown highlights from the Canon 1Ds Mark II (12-bits). The Phase One blown highlights had gentler roll-off, so the blown highlight blended smoother and looked more analog. The Canon 1Ds Mark III has similar results. The Zeiss T* coatings also play a role too, so again, it is difficult to isolate results and site clear cause-and-effect relationships.

This sunset picture was just for the the fun of it. Some late afternoon clouds began to form, so the evening’s sunset worked out to be pretty good. We don’t have mountains or golden beaches in Dallas, so clouds are a big deal! There are countless versions of this scene in the Texas photo gallery (click here to go to the galleries) with many different lenses. The sunset image does not reveal anything special about the Zeiss macro, but it does show that the Makro-Planar is capable of taking a general landscape image without too much fuss.

I noted my complaints about the aperture ring earlier in the review, and it is worth mentioning again. The aperture ring is difficult to grip, it rotates in the ‘wrong direction’ and my fingers have to be the raised grooves to get a decent grip on the aperture ring. The grip pads are located on the 9:00 and 3:00 position, so either your hand arched over the lens, or arched under the lens - with a scissor pinch grip on the aperture ring. It is very uncomfortable and stopping down the aperture results in considerable camera movement and shake. Maintaining critical focus while shooting handheld is all but impossible. Changing the aperture is very disruptive to the shooting process.

This final image from today was also just for the fun of it. The sun was blocked behind the metal bars and did not cause any flare. However, in a couple other versions of the same shots where was some minor flare in the shape of a pie piece. I think every lens at this location has product some type of flare, ghosting or veiling, so the flare was not a big surprise. I was shooting with a 2-stop graduated filter, so the flare may have been caused or worsened by the filter. That is all for now...

UPDATE - OCTOBER 1, 2008

I am headed into the sixth month with the Zeiss 50mm F2 Makro-Planar ZF and alot has happened since the initial purchase back in May of this year. At Photokina 2008 Zeiss announced the release of the new Zeiss lenses in the ZE mount (click for press release). The ZE mount supports auto-aperture, focus confirmation and EXIF data. And Canon announced the long awaited 5D Mark II with 21 MP (click here for press release). The 50mm F2 Makro-Planar is not yet available in the ZE mount, but I have faith it will be and expect an announcement around PMA 2009 (February). When available, the 50mm F2 Makro-Planar ZE is on my “must buy” list.

The 50mm F2 ZF has been mostly used for product shots and has performed well in that role. The 50mm F2 ZF will get its first real opportunity for outdoor shooting during a trip to the New England area for the changing of the leaves later this fall. The 50mm F2 ZF has not seen as much use as walk-around lens because the aperture ring is poorly located and too small. And it turns the wrong way, though, Nikon owners would disagree. The new 50mm F1.4 Planar and 85mm F1.4 Planar ZE’s the aperture ring is removed. Aperture it set using the control dial on the Canon EF body. In a word - YEAH! The lens is nicely sized, the focus ring turns easily and seeing focus is fairly easy. With aperture control moved to the camera, I will use the 50mm F2 ZE (assuming it is released) much more often. With the ZF version I have difficulty stopping down the aperture quickly. And during the stop-down process focus is usually lost. I also have a Zeiss 100mm F2 Makro-Planar ZF and have the exact same issue with that lens. Canon owners have had to wait a long time for the ZE mount, but in the end, I think Canon will have the best implementation since aperture is controlled via the camera body.

A couple new images have been added to the review. I will post a more thorough follow-up around November.