Walking the Plank: Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar wins "Best of Breed" This column will award the Red Dog Journal—Best of Breed Award aperiodically to photographic products and technologies that I feel are overlooked by the industry, but are highly deserving of recognition. I have a bit of a backlog of awards to issue, so for the next three columns look out for a cascade of award activity. I am pleased to announce that the first Red Dog Journal—Best of Breed Award goes to Carl Zeiss for “Outstanding Optical Design” of its Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar lens. The Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar lens is a manual focus lens ported to a Nikon mount. Later this summer, it will also be available for the Canon mount in a “ZE” configuration. This is the only lens I am currently using with my Nikon D3x, and for good reason. The term “Macro Lens” is associated with this product, but it is a misnomer to say so. In my opinion, it should be called the “Zeiss ZF 2/50 Digital-Planar,” which would be more accurate in terms of its unique ability. It is the first retrofocus lens that I have used that is truly “digital capable.” As I have mentioned in a previous column, the “Achilles Heel” of digital photography has to be Chromatic Aberration (CA). It is resolution robbing. CA lateral color fringing in an image is really a form of distortion. It is like having three slightly unregistered images in the red, green, and blue color planes that do not line up. Without the color planes lining up exactly before RAW conversion of the Bayer Matrix, considerable distortion will occur and resolution will be lost in the microstructure of the image. Certain RAW conversion programs, such as Nikon Capture NX2, provide chromatic aberration removal before RAW conversion. And though NX2 does so admirably, I would argue from my own experiments that it does so at a price—rendering distortion in the microstructure of the image and loss of resolution because of it. The distortion is produced because the microstructure is not continuous in the correction, but is discreet and digital—and therefore, the math cannot get between the pixel cracks to get the correction perfectly right. My own consultation with some of the top RAW converter experts (the folks who actually write the programs) has resulted in a unanimous feeling from the experts that proper Bayer Matrix conversion cannot be done without artifacts and distortion of the microstructure when CA is present in the RAW image file. Extensive testing in my own work has confirmed this premise. The Nikon D3x brings the issue of chromatic aberration to the forefront. While CA was an annoyance with cameras of 12 mega pixels of resolution, it is devastating at 24 mega pixels. There simply is no point in having an ultra-high resolution camera without eliminating the chromatic aberration issues. The Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar does just that. For all practical purposes, it exhibits no chromatic aberration in images made with the Nikon D3x. With the proper RAW converter (the discussion of next month’s column), the image resolution is astonishing. In fact, it is so high that I would go out on a limb and say that the use of the ZF 2/50 with the D3X can produce more effective resolution (because of the lack of CA, and when used with a proper RAW converter) than many of the medium format backs are doing with significantly higher pixel counts and lenses that produce CA. Software cannot cure the chromatic aberration issues (in-camera or out-of-camera), and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. CA software correction is like using a “Band-Aid” for a hemorrhage. Don’t believe me? My suggestion is to rent a Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar lens and try it for yourself—I think you will be shocked at the improvement in the microstructure of your images.
But it is not just the lack of CA that makes the Zeiss ZF 2/50 such a jewel. If you look at Figure 1 (courtesy of Carl Zeiss), you will see a lens structure that is nearly symmetrical, and also physically as close as possible to the focal plane of the image sensor. Given that there is a lens box with a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera, which the lens must project through to get to the image sensor, this lens design is about as compact as can be made. The symmetrical structure of the lens allows most aberrations and distortions to cancel each other out as the image makes its way through the lens stack. This type of symmetry is why rangefinder camera lenses tend to be such jewels, but it is rare to see such design on a retrofocus lens for an SLR camera. Because of the symmetry in the ZF 2/50, it produces a very smooth bokeh fore and aft of the focal plane. Most retrofocus lenses have a much more jarring look to them as the image transitions fore and aft of the focal plane. The ZF 2/50 is creamy smooth and is a true artist’s lens. Is the lens perfect? The short answer is no. Since it does not use aspheric elements (which to me is good news!), the extreme corners are weak because of the more conventional spherical design. There is also some vignetting in the corners. And I would have appreciated a longer “throw” of the lens from infinity to 1-meter. But all of these minor issues are easy to overlook for the sake of the beautiful images it produces. The upshot is this: out of a boatload of other lenses that I tried with the D3x, the ZF 2/50 is the only lens that worked better when opened up, rather then stopped down. Typically, I would find a test lens that would have to be shot at f5.6 or even f8 before it would settle down enough to produce a usable image. It was a great surprise to me when I started to shoot the Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar, and I found myself opening up the image to f4. The image below, “My Backyard,” was shot with the ZF 2/50 at f4. The image only works properly because of it. (And yes, the image was shot literally in my backyard.) The f5.6 version of the same image did not have enough separation fore and aft of the focal plane to really get the image to look right. Since making this image, I have found the use of the ZF 2/50 at f4 quite common for my work.
Let me repeat: The Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar lens is a true artist’s lens. The downside for me has been that I am not accustomed to using a 50mm focal length lens. My last 15 years of fine art photography has been shot mainly with a 35mm focal length lens, which I find most versatile. Going to the 50mm focal length has been agonizing for me at times, and has resulted in me having to re-learn how to photograph. That said, I think the work I have been producing with it has been some of my best. For now, the Zeiss ZF 2/50 is the widest focal length lens that I can find that has essentially no chromatic aberration and an artistic draw to the lens. It is the lens that is the true image-maker in photography; so having the right lens is essential. Without this lens, I may very well have gone right back to film in order to use some of the fabulous rangefinder lenses available. And that is likely the ultimate solution for all of us—a digital rangefinder camera that works with all the amazing rangefinder lenses at full frame—no distortion, no CA. Come on Leica, where is that full frame M9?! The Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar has made me run out of excuses in terms of digital photography. I have the lens I need to get on with my work. Adapting to the 50mm focal length is not the easiest for me, especially when photographing in the West with our big panoramic vistas. But you do what you have to do! This lens is such a good performer that you have to fight for it—at least that is my feeling. Photographers have overlooked this lens for two reasons: first, because it is labeled as a macro lens. Most people buy macro lenses to take close-up photos of flowers and such. It never seems to occur to photographers that a macro lens might be a powerful lens for landscape work too—and it is. The second reason is that the Zeiss lens is a 50mm focal length lens, and many photographers think about that focal length as I did—it is just not wide enough for landscape work, and too dull for anything else. I have learned this is nonsense. Different at 50mm?—yes. But it just takes some creativity and some time to learn to see and shoot differently. At least that is my hope! I would like to thank Richard Schleuning, National Sales Manager at Carl Zeiss, Photo Division. Rich is one of the true heroes of our industry. If you ever have a chance to meet him at a trade show, be sure to say hello. Surprisingly, most photography companies do not make it easy for photography writers. Our questions are often unanswered, loaner equipment is scarce or non-existent—and if we dare say anything unkind about their beloved product, we are sent to the gulags to serve out the rest of our years. Rich is the exception. He is one of the kindest people I have met in the photo equipment industry, always responsive. He fully understands the difficulties of trying to balance image-making on the head of a pin—especially for fine art photography. Without Rich, I would have never come to know, understand, and really adore the ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar. Whether this is the right lens for you or your photography is something only you can determine. Have a go at it with a rental, and then buy. Test it to see what impact having essentially no chromatic aberration has on the microstructure of your image. Once you see for yourself how miserable CA distortion is within the microstructure of your image, I imagine you will not want to go back to shooting any lens that produces CA. All this goodness and resolution from the Zeiss ZF 2/50 Makro-Planar is simply wasted without the right RAW converter. Stay tuned, and next month I will reveal a little experimental converter that will blow your socks off, and at a price anyone can afford. For now, congratulations to Carl Zeiss for being the first winner of the Red Dog Journal—Best of Breed Award. --------------- |
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