Are lenses that are considered good for digital also good for film?

George Mann · Oct 8, 2020

blockend said:
Except for portraits, the bokeh obsession is lost on me. Extreme subject isolation for its own sake is not something I'm interested in.

I can't tell tell you how many pictures I have the have been ruined by this!

RalphLambrecht · Oct 11, 2020

George Mann said:
None of my Ai primes are lacking in quality.

Which camera's contain such sensors?

old Nikkors(AI and pre AI are top-quality lenses for film and digital)

Huss · Oct 11, 2020

George Mann said:
Not by me. I just don't like the rendition of most modern lenses.

What don't you like about the rendition of the images I posted? Serious question as it may help some decide on what to look for in lenses.

George Mann · Oct 11, 2020

Huss said:
What don't you like about the rendition of the images I posted? Serious question as it may help some decide on what to look for in lenses.

Well, this question can only be answered by personally comparing your lens to a lense design that I hold to be the standard in optimal vintage design.

That would be the Leitz or Nikkor 50mm F2 first released around 1964.

I find this lens design to have the most realistic rendition of all of the 50mm lenses I have used, as it is completely neutral and transparent, save for some rarely seen field curvature.

Huss · Oct 11, 2020

George Mann said:
Well, this question can only be answered by personally comparing your lens to a lense design that I hold to be the standard in optimal vintage design.

That would be the Leitz or Nikkor 50mm F2 first released around 1964.

I find this lens design to have the most realistic rendition of all of the 50mm lenses I have used, as it is completely neutral and transparent, save for some rarely seen field curvature.

That doesn't answer the question.

I asked what don't you like about the rendition of the images I posted in this thread.

I get some people having a favourite lens. Fortunately or unfortunately for me such a lens does not exist!

George Mann · Oct 11, 2020

Huss said:
That doesn't answer the question.

I asked what don't you like about the rendition of the images I posted in this thread.

I have not seen enough of this lens to form a strong opinion of it.

What I can see leans to the cold and sterile side, even though it achieves a high degree of technical performance.

E. von Hoegh · Oct 13, 2020

While I stand by my likes & dislikes regarding lenses, said ls & ds are really immaterial to this thread - because, as has been pointed out, the only real impediment to my photography is between my ears.
I've been looking a some Kodachromes I made in the early '70s, using a Kodak 35rf with an uncoated f:3.5 lens. My lightmeter then was a late '30s bakelite Weston.
No modern lens or technology would improve on those slides, or on any photograph I have made in the intervening (almost) fifty years.
P.s. still have that Kodak.

AgX · Oct 13, 2020

It all likely depends on the lens in question.

With the higher resolution of sensors the MTF's of lenses for digital capture needed to yield higher resolution.

Another aspect is the cover pane of sensors. If the lens is designed to bear negative correction so to say to counter abberrations introduced by that pane, a respective substitution filter should be used behind that lens, if that lens is used with film.

BradS · Oct 13, 2020

E. von Hoegh said:
.....I've been looking a some Kodachromes I made in the early '70s, using a Kodak 35rf with an uncoated f:3.5 lens. My lightmeter then was a late '30s bakelite Weston. No modern lens or technology would improve on those slides, or on any photograph I have made in the intervening (almost) fifty years.

I wish people could/would understand this..I mean really stop, think and fully understand the implications of this very true statement....but I suspect those who obsess about what is Best are not interested in photography so much as they are in having some sort of status that comes from having fine jewelry.

faberryman · Oct 13, 2020

blockend said:
However creative photography is not an exercise in data recovery, so absolute IQ is irrelevant to most users.

Lens quality is not what is holding your photography back. Reading lens reviews on the internet does not make you a better photographer.

George Mann · Oct 13, 2020

AgX said:
With the higher resolution of sensors the MTF's of lenses for digital capture needed to yield higher resolution.

So, is it your opinion that they have exceeded the resolution of ADOX CMS20?

AgX · Oct 13, 2020

My statement actually is a statement by Rodenstock.

George Mann · Oct 13, 2020

AgX said:
My statement actually is a statement by Rodenstock.

Which I have theorized is do to digital limitations/characteristics unrelated to the capabilities of film.

Are lenses that are considered good for digital also good for film?

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