Lenses, lenses and more lenses

[GrahamS]

This is a follow on to a thread that I posted yesterday here:http://www.photographytoday.net/forums/ ... 898#p12498.
The question that required an answer was "How would the Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35mm f2.5 M42 mount lens perform in front of the sensor of a Nikon D700 camera?" M42 lenses cannot be adapted to a Nikon F mount camera and still focus to infinity unless an adaptor containing an optical element is used because of the incompatible lens flange to film plane distance (back focus distance). This element, even if made to a high standard, will have an effect on the image. If used with an adaptor without an optical element, the lens will not acheive infinity focus, but will have a maximum focussing distance of around two metres (six feet). The images posted below, taken with the CZJ Flektogon, were taken with an adaptor without the focus correction element. For this reason, all of the subjects are less than two metres from the camera.

Having said all that, lens comparison images viewed on a PC monitor from a website post are not of a high enough quality or resolution to truly allow comparisons. All one can get from such an exercise is a general impression of the character of a particular lens, provided all of the image files used in the comparison have been taken with the same camera and processed with the same parameters.

The following images were all taken on a Nikon D700, processed from the RAW files with only minor brightness adjustment in order to get them all looking the same density. The images are all taken at f8, using a tripod and mirror up remote shutter release.

Here 'ya go:

35mm f2.5 Flektogon @f8 No optic adaptor


35mm f2.8 Nikkor Ai @ f8


50mm f1.4 AF-D Nikkor @ f8


AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 G ED VR @ 50mm


35mm f2.8 Ai Nikkor @ f8


35mm f2.5 Flektogon @ f8 no optic adaptor


For my money, you have to go a long way to beat the 24-85mm AF-S ED VR. Which is as it should be, considering all of the advances in lens design and manufacture that have been achieved and used in it's production. The primes may have slightly less curvilinear distortion, but this is corrected in post editing anyway, unless the Jpg files are used, which are corrected in-camera.

And by the way, that's damn good Vodka!

[titrisol]

Great thread, as long as focusing is close M42/PK lenses can fit nikons.
I liked your comparison of the K5 to the D700 better; Nikons have always been great ,even though I'm highly invested in Pentax (tons of glass)

Like you mentioned; cameras, sensors, lenses, photographers have limitations and learning to use those limits or to play around them is very important; I see a lot of young people that think that a new camera will overcome those limits; thus kicking the can in learning

[melek]

I like the part about the vodka.

[Julio1fer]

Hard to evaluate the lenses, all of these are more than good enough. I like the Flektogon in Exakta mount, though. If it is close in M42 it cannot be too bad.

[GrahamS]

Hard to evaluate the lenses, all of these are more than good enough. I like the Flektogon in Exakta mount, though. If it is close in M42 it cannot be too bad.

Julio, a CZJ Flektogon is a Flektogon, no matter what mount it has. I use mine on my Pentax K5.

[PFMcFarland]

What I find interesting is the FOV difference between the 50mm and 24-85mm Nikkors.

PF

[GrahamS]

Phil, I have just made a comparison of the Nikon primes and the 24-85 zoom at the same FL settings, and the zoom has a much greater FOV at most focal lengths compared to the primes. I will post some of the images here tomorrow.