Canon 5DII, Canon EF 24 F1.4L II, 1/80, F3.5, ISO 100

Continuing the previous post, I am posting some pics of the beloved Serie 3. This Serie 3 is modified a bit. It got improved exhaust system, 18inch rims, customized interior, and improved sound speakers (still Harman Kardon anyway). The images projected by Serie 3 are young and dynamic and so does the owner, a young banker, travelling between Surabaya and Jakarta.

Canon 7D, Canon EF 24 F1.4L II, 1/40, F2.0, ISO 100

Canon 5DII, Canon EF 24 F1.4L II, 1/400, F2.0, ISO 1600

Canon 7D, Canon EF 24 F1.4L II, 1/50, F8.0, ISO 400

Canon 7D, Canon EF 24 F1.4L II, 1/125, F8.0, ISO 1250

Canon 7D, Canon EF 24 F1.4L II, 1/60, F8.0, ISO 160

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 24mm F1.4L II, 1/320, F2.0, ISO 500

My friends asked me to shoots their beloved BMWs. It was my first assignment shooting automobiles, but it was very fun, challenging, and fast paced – particularly on the rolling shots. This post is about the Serie 5. Next post will be about Serie 3.

Some learning points from this automobile photosession:

• Settings for rolling shots: AF Servo, Shutter speed around 1/125 for speed of 50-70kph. That’s the starting point. You can play around with shutter speed to get desired effect.
• In any possible way, shoot from lower side to get exaggerated effect of the car. Do not shoot from the upper side. For instance, try to shoot from driver’s view level.
• Shoot in the dawn or dusk. Never shoot on daylight.
• Black color creates a lot of reflections. Yellow color will normally deceive the metering system. Check the result if you rely on camera metering system.
• Clean up the cars. Dirts are visible.
• The devil is in the details. Try macro shooting for car components/interior on high noon.
• Shoot the side which receives the light. If the sun/light is from the east, then shoot from the east side of the car.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 24mm F1.4L II, 1/40, F3.5, ISO 100

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 24mm F1.4L II, 1/50, F2.8, ISO 100

Canon 7D, Canon EF 24mm F1.4L II, 1/125, F8.0, ISO 2000

Canon 7D, Canon EF 24mm F1.4L II, 1/125, F2.2, ISO 3200

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 24mm F1.4L II, 1/40, F2.8, ISO 100

This review is based on my real usage and I am not a pixelpeeper. If you are a fanboy and pixelpeeper, you can find other reviews which contain charts, sharpness test, etc etc all those boring stuffs.

I bought this lens for around IDR 5mln (ca USD 550) as a used item. Actually this was a brand new item because the previous owner won this lens from a competition and she sold it because she didn’t need it. The brand new from the shelves is about IDR 6.3mln (ca USD 700) so yeah, I made a good deal.

Image Quality

Image quality is superb. This lens is able to deliver different kind of look from Canon or Nikon. The colors are warmer with more contrast. The bokeh is also unique – I think because the design of the blades. There’s a hype of Carl Zeiss lenses out there, but I think it’s just a marketing gimmick. I am not saying that the look from CZ is superior that Canon or Nikon, but it’s just different. I think this is more about personal taste rather than merely color rendition.

Do you like the color rendition?

This lens is also tack sharp ONLY AFTER F.2.2 (some reviews say above F2.8). Below F2.2, the images are quite soft but still usable.

Tack sharp, isn't it?

F1.4. A bit soft, but very usable

F2.8. Sharp enough?

Flare control is terrible. It reminds me of my Canon 50mm F1.8 Mark II.

Great bokeh, but terrible flare control. See below flare

Focus Handling:

This lens is a MANUAL FOCUS lens and I already aware about this before I bought. Thus, I don’t think manual focus is a weakness.

This CZ ZE is equipped with chip (from the manufacturer) which can provide focus confirmation and metering (including for TTL flash). I found however, the focus confirmation of my copy is a bit unreliable and inconsistent. Not surprising because this is a third party chip. Canon does not offer official manual focusing screen for Canon 7D (they have for 5D and xxD however) because 7D uses special kind of focusing screen. Third party manufacturers (such as Katzeye) offer focusing screen for 7D but the viewfinder will be slightly darker and need professional service to attach the focusing screen. Not to mention that third party focusing screen will void the warranty. Luckily the viewfinder of 7D is bright so manual focus under daylight is not a big problem (one can use deeper DoF – above F4 – to cover focusing issues) and the focus confirmation chips work around 50-60%.  I believe if I can get a  good manual focusing screen for 7D, I can improve the focus rate significantly.

Nice colors, but it is out of focus (and still usable)

In addition to the above, someone posted in fotografer.net forum about calibrating focus for Carl Zeiss 50mm Planar T* F1.4 ZE which can be summarized as below:

• Use AF Micro-Adjustment feature.
• Calibrate with one way focus rotation for accurate result.
• Use tripod for consistent distance.
• Stop WHEN the beep, NOT AFTER the beep.

I found that micro adjustment worked well and now I have approximately 60-70% accurate focus confirmation. Nevertheless, in my opinion it is much better getting Manual Focusing Screen instead of relying on the chip. Out of focus images are really frustating.

Update: 24 April 2011. I found out that 7D viewfinder is optimized for auto-focus. As such, it is very bright but it gives less than optimum indication of DoF and has less indication of when focus is achieved. No wonder the ZE chip is a bit inaccurate with 7D. Manual focusing screen is the best option for Canon 7D.]

Update: 5 June 2011. Few weeks ago I got my manual focusing screen from Katzeye Optics. Since 7D is not designed for user-changeable focusing screen, professional help is highly recommended. I had the Canon service guy to install it and it worked perfectly. I think I can get about 90% focus now. Katzeye focusing screens are not cheap, but they are worth the price. Don’t waste your time relying on the focus confirmation chip. Get a manual focusing screen and manual focusing is a breeze.

One thing to remember is about focus shift. As the characteristic of this lens (this is not manufacturing error), change of aperture (let’s say from F2.8 to be F4.0) will shift focus and the photographer will need to refocus.

Auto Exposure mode also works well with the lens. This lens’ chip can deliver accurate metering for 7D.

Next big question then, why bother with manual focus lens?

First, manual lenses are arguably sharper than auto-focus lenses. This is because manual focus lenses involve lesser moving elements than auto-focus lenses.

Second,  manual focus will slow down the photo-taking process, and will give longer time to think about composition, exposure, here to focus, and most importantly: to enjoy photography. It is true that auto-focus lenses are more convenient and versatile, but you know, not all instant things are good.

Third, the focusing ring is very smooth and it brings the feeling of accuracy.

Fourth, manual focuses lenses will shine for video making (not really relevant).

Even in the low light situation, I can get focus (thanks to 7D bright viewfinder)

Build Quality:

First class. Metal body and very smooth focusing ring. However this lens is not fully weather sealed since there is no rubber gasket in the lens mount.

Overall Conclusion:

I bought this lens to get different kind of look, like typical European lenses produced and I think this lens can deliver it. It is also TACK SHARP (after F2.2). The build quality is also awesome (this put most L-lenses to shame). For the price, I think the price is fair enough.

In my opinion, the reasons for buying Carl Zeiss lenses are 1) getting different look and color rendition; and 2) great build quality which is made to last. I believe this is more about personal taste or preference –  which in my opinion also, well priced by Carl Zeiss.

If you heard the “legendary” image quality of Carl Zeiss, I think it’s just myth. Canon or Nikon lenses are actually terrific and some of the lenses are above Carl Zeiss (for instance TS-E and 135mm for sharpness, 100mm macro for versatility, 24mm for sharpness and versatility, and so on).

Terrific colors, isn't it?

See more samples here (exclusively taken with CZ).