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[OM] Bokeh, shmokeh [was Heliar (Was: 50mm 1.8 (Re: Hoarding & Varimagni

Subject: [OM] Bokeh, shmokeh [was Heliar (Was: 50mm 1.8 (Re: Hoarding & Varimagni))]
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:21:30 -0800
On 1/24/2011 12:34 AM, Dawid Loubser wrote:
> I absolutely love printing negatives taken with the 50mm Heliar f/3.5 -
> I printed these two this week-end. Both shot wide open. All aspects of image 
> quality is extraordinary with this lens - I don't think I can go back to 
> using plasmat-design 50mm lenses anymore, it's just not the same...
>
> "Cowboy Passenger"
> http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/023/d/4/cowboy_passenger_by_philosomatographer-d37vorl.jpg
> (guess focus at min. focus distance, not a sharp image)

At the risk of digging my self deeper in a bokeh hole . . . You may well have 
different tastes, opinions than those 
expressed here, but at least I can hope to make what I'm talking about clearer.

This is overall a nice poem in tones of B&W. Still, the bokeh, while much 
better than a double-gauss 50 mm, is not 
really great.

To illustrate, here are simulated samples of the far ends small source 
highlight bokeh. 
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/tech/Lenses/Misc/Bokeh_Simulation.htm>

ULeft = really bad. If you don't think this is realistic, look at the top image 
here. 
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/tech/Lenses/Misc/5018bokeh.htm>

LLeft = not so bad, but still annoys me. If you look at the overhead lights on 
the left of "Cowboy Passenger", a couple 
brightish and one below them quite dim, you will see the same sort of slightly 
darker center, surrounded by a bright 
halo. On the bright ones, at least the halo has a soft edge. If it had really 
good bokeh, the edges of the other bright 
areas would also tail off more smoothly.

URight = Pretty perfect, a nice airy disk, bright in the middle and gently 
feathering off into invisibility. This is a 
good example, but comes at the price of softness in the focal plane. 
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/tech/Lenses/SIMA/pages/25__0114.htm>

LRight = Pretty darn good. Ain't gonna set off Moose bokeh detectors. 
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/tech/Lenses/SIMA/pages/26__0115.htm>

In between lies the land of variable bokeh that works well for many images. 
This is pretty darn good bokeh for a highly 
corrected lens that's very sharp in the focal plane. 
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/tech/Lenses/SIMA/pages/27__0116.htm>

Hmmm. That's pretty smooooth; maybe I don't need a 90/2, after all.* :-)

Nope, I don't know of a 50 mm with great bokeh. Guess I need to start a roll of 
film, file off the back of the CZJ 
Tessar or just use its center on the 300D as a start.

Moose

* Yes, I had the Kiron 100/2.8 before the 90/2 and informally compared them and 
others before selling my example of the 
90/2.
-- 
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