Test of various lenses (Vintage vs Voigtlander)

[kye]

I just realised I didn't include my Industar 50mm F3.5....

I did include it in yet another test though, so here you go:

 

[kye]

And to elaborate on the earlier points I was making about what can be done in post, here's a test I did earlier today where I very quickly did some basic adjustments to the 12-35mm in trying to match it to the Cosmicar, Yashica, and Helios.

Things to note:

• the sun was in and out of clouds, so the lighting was changing all the time.  this doesn't make it a "proper" lens test, but in real life lenses change between apertures (as you'll see from below) and besides, you never shoot the same subject from the same angle with two different lenses and then cut them together, so as long as the adjustments are within the natural variation of shots, then it's fine.
• the 12-35 actually required sharpening to match the Cosmicar at F1.9.  Whoever said that vintage lenses couldn't be sharp wide open doesn't know anything.  Besides, I find the 12-35mm F2.8 to be soft wide-open anyway - yet another reason to be disappointed at a lens that is the FF equivalent of the 24-70mm F5.6 😕 
• the Cosmicar is really difficult to match due to its barrel distortion and vignetting characteristics
• one of these shots shows the differences between the 12-35mm with and without the Tiffen BPM 1/8 filter on it - but the light changed between shooting those shots so I had to play with levels in post.  This is naturally a difficult thing to do as a diffusion filter lowers local contrast, but grading footage also changes contrast, so you know, whatever... 🙂 

"Matching" 12-35 to Cosmicar:

"Matching" 12-35 to Yashica:

The Yashica sharpens right up between f2.8 and f3.3 (half a stop) and doesn't really lose much DoF in the change, which is how I shoot with it.  That's why I'm matching the 12-35 to the Yashica at F3.3.

No filter vs Tiffen BPM 1/8:

"Matching" 12-35 to Helios (44M):

I foolishly forgot to shoot the Helios at F5.6, which would be the same DoF as the 12-35mm at F2.8, so here I put it next to the F4 shot.  Obviously the ability to open up the Helios past F5.6 and get more background separation is a huge advantage, and is where the lens itself really starts revealing its lovely characteristics.

Fun fun.

[Andrew Reid]

On 12/29/2021 at 9:42 AM, kye said:

I'm contemplating investing in a vintage lens set, maybe FDs, maybe Rokkors, maybe something else, but figured I'd take stock of what I have and see what I can see.

First I'll post the images in case they're of interest to anyone, then digest them in future posts.

Test was GH5 in 400Mbps 4K ALL-I mode, Cine-D, Daylight WB, put onto a 1080p timeline.  I tested all lenses wide open (typically around F2) and at F5.6 (all lenses were closed down some by then).  I also did a 2X punch-in for each lens, because I like to use the 2X digital zoom function to grab quick shots, which also functions as a proxy for shooting 4K (although that doesn't matter so much unless you're doing VFX).

Test setup had some depth, some glare, some sharp detail in the background, but nothing too outrageous..

Lenses..

Nice little test. If you want an upgrade from that Cosmicar try the Zeiss Tevidon 25mm F1.4. Covers full sensor and has all of the c-mount appeal for around $100.

[PannySVHS]

Mounting Tevidons has been a challenge to me. I got a whole set in C-mount.  Except the 100m, which I dont have at all unfortunately.:) Of my lenses only the 35mm fits on my S1 with the C-mount to L-mount adapter. None of them goes beyond 2m with my Mft adapter. On my S1 I have to use some spacing with a bit of tape. The 35mm is a little wonder lens, covering S35.

They sell C-mounts on Ebay, which you exchange with the original Tevidon bayonets/mounts. Then you have to go from there with an adapter from C-mount to your desired mount. I was hoping my C-mount variants of Tevidon lenses would fit well already. So there is still a challenge ahead from me, giving the exchange mounts a go and finding the right C-mount adapter to go with it. Instead on could also mount the C-mount to mft adapter by screwing it on the body of the lens, after the original Tevidon mount has been taken off. Would love some more Tevidon love and FOOTAGE with them from you guys.:)

One interesting thing encountered me with my Angie 75mm C-mount lens. It gave me super flat and hazy images when I took some portraits of people. But some dedicated RAW love in rawtherapee gave me some of the most exiting colours with it. My native Oly 45mm 1.8 on the other hand didnt during another location.