| sent on December 22, 2017
Pros: Resolve to every diaphragm, bokeh, micro-contrast, plasticity and three-dimensionality of the subjects, construction and optics materials
Cons: The aperture ring, miserable plastic lens cap, sometimes excessive contrast to control
Opinion: The Zeiss Planar 50mm/2 ZM is one of those optics that leave you dumbfounded. I'm not kidding, so it happened to me. I personally use only the 50mm, so I was looking for my Leica M3 a normal of excellence, that had a good power resolvent on all the aperture, without problems of front/back focus, that had its character and its history. I have always loved the Zeiss lenses, so complex but poetic, with that bokeh sometimes nervous, excessive, that deny a strong and decisive character. I had read that this Planar for Leica M was second only to the APO-Summicron, optics from about 7000 euros, and that far exceeded the previous Summicron. This of course will never change a comma the quality of the photos that we'll shoot, thank God is still the photographer to prejudice this point. But let's go to optics. I start with the negatives. I'm not crazy about the fact that the aperture ring is threaded only in part and therefore is not the maximum comfort in management, and also I would have preferred that it was close to the graft and not around the front glass. But you get used to it, and after a few months the whole thing simply becomes "normal". Let's move on to the countless positives. Shooting at film The result is surprising. This Planar maintains a very high resolvent power consistently on all the diaphragms, so in layman's terms it is of an impressive sharpness. But it is also sweet, delicate, so behind an aggressive character reveals an artistic bokeh made of many bold and refined brushstrokes. And that's exactly what I've always loved about the Zeiss Planar. It is a highly professional perspective that in the right hands becomes a wonderful chisel with which to create magical works. At the opening this Planar gives emotions: slightly close shadows in the outskirts of the frame offering a slight vignetting only where necessary: the areas of light, even if at the edges, will not be touched. This allows for amazing portraits, crepuscular, fascinating. The sharpness is also impressive at the edges (to be clear with a Trix 400 pulled to 1600 ASA you will have an incredible detail). The areas out of focus detach from the subject in a pleasant and homogeneous, breaking only where some element is the impulsive character of this optics, and then will find space the wonderful brushstrokes that I talked about before. The three-dimensionality and plasticity of this optics are at the highest level: In some cases it is expected only that the subject exits the frame. I conclude by advising this point to all those who are looking for a professional glass, that does not make jokes, that guarantees the highest quality at every opening, but that does not overlook the creative and artistic side of the painter who houses in every photographer. Nowadays it is fashionable to fish for poor optics finding "character" where instead there are only aberrations and qualitative limits. The real character is seen in optics like these, optics that bring out the launch character of the photographer. If I were to describe this Zeiss Planar with only one adjective I would say "elegant". Elegant for how it is presented, for its constructive quality and sweetness of use, elegant for its character, a little ' high and noble, elegant for as it allows to tell the world, with its "mood" almost elegiac and brooding. A good photograph needs a good photographer but also good tools: I do not know any creative who uses cheap products when he is dedicated to the creation of his own works. And in photography The discourse does not change. |
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