Zeiss 100mm f2.0 ZE Makro-Planar: Initial Impressions

This summer, I treated myself to the Zeiss 100mm f2.0 ZE Makro-Planar Manual Focus lens.  This completes my "holy trinity" collection, as I have -- and absolutely love -- the Zeiss 25mm f2.0 and Zeiss 50mm f2.0, too.

As for my initial impressions of the lens:

Sharpness/Clarity:
It has state-of-the-art performance and is one of the sharpest lenses in the world.  This is one of the reason I was attracted to it.

For example, here is a photo that is completely unedited, sooc (straight-out-of-camera):

This image at full resolution is 5,616 x 3,744 pixels.

Did you happen to notice the bee in the center of the frame?

Just cropping the center, we get an idea of the sharpness of the lens:

I was roughly 5 feet away from the bee, yet without a tripod, I was able to get an in-focus shot which is clear enough to show tons of dust in the bee's wings!  This would even be a challenge for auto-focus lenses, especially in terms of yielding this level of clarity.

Color Rendition:
In short, I love the warm colors/temperatures that the Zeiss lenses tend to render.

Build:
The lens is entirely metal; no plastic, as is the case with all other Zeiss ZE and ZF lenses.  It feels like a tank and is heavier than Canon L series lenses.

Manual-Focus:
Aside from the price, for most people this is definitely the most off-putting feature of Zeiss ZE/ZF lenses.  I find that the lack of auto-focus makes photography more fun for me -- it makes me think about shots more, and it challenges me.  Sure, every once in a while I'll miss a shot, but I'm willing to make this sacrifice for all of the other benefits Zeiss lenses yield.

Nonetheless, I admit that this 100mm lens is more difficult to focus with than the Zeiss 25mm and Zeiss 50mm.  All 3 lenses have a very long throw, which is incredibly useful for manually focusing.  However, it's only due to the nature of the shots that makes the 100mm more difficult to focus properly.  For example, when shooting at 25mm, you are usually taking landscape photos.  Thus, it's easy to focus at infinity or near-infinity and have all of the landscape in focus.  At 50mm, you're often focusing on things up-close (a la macro shots) or landscapes -- pretty easy.  However, at 100mm, you're often focusing on things that are between 5 and 20 feet away, so you have a much smaller target/range for focusing properly.

Yet, the throw is buttery smooth, and it's enjoyable to use.  Plus, I've swapped out my internal focusing screen with the EG-S screen, which helps make focusing easier, and the Canon 5d Mark II allows for an focus-notification whereby the focus points light up and a beep will sound when I focus on something that is recognized as being in focus.  This helps a lot.

tl;dr
I love the Zeiss 100mm, it's insanely sharp, and I aim to use it much more than I was using my Canon 135mm f2.0L.

Panorama of Boston from the sky!

Okay, not quite "the sky," but I took a 24-shot panorama from Boston's Prudential Tower's Sky Walk, which is on the 50th floor.

Here is the picture at 3 different sizes:

1. Tiny (600 x 385 pixels wide):

2. Medium (6,000 x 3,853 pixels): click here for the picture (23 mbs)

3. Huge/Full-size (13,312 x 8549 pixels): click here for the picture (87 mbs)


The green area is the Boston Common (Park) and Public Garden.  My apartment is to the left of it, in the dark area (but before you see bright lights again).  You'll also notice:

• The capital at the edge of the Boston Common (green area)
• Hancock Tower (the big building in the center)
• Highway 90
• Highway 93
• The Hatch Shell (at the very left side)
• An airplane taking off

Producing Ultra-Sharp Images

A few months ago, I bought a Zeiss 50mm f/2.0 Makro-Planar T* ZE Lens. This lens is hailed as one of the sharpest lenses in the world, and it's strictly a manual focus lens (no automatic focus).

Over the past year or so, I've taken 1,000+ pics of the jewelry that Sheley makes and sells. It's a learning experience, but clearly it's desirable to take pics that are incredibly clear and sharp.

So, with my new lens, and my side-hobby task of taking pics for Sheley, I was lead to the quest to produce what I'll call "ultra-sharp" images. I use this technique whenever I can; not just for jewelry photos.

My approach is to:

• use a really sturdy tripod (my Benro A-1690)
• use my manual focus Zeiss 50mm lens
• I replaced my camera's internal focusing screen with the Eg-s screen, which assists my vision through the viewfinder by making the in-focus area appear very crisp and everything else really blurry
• use the LCD screen at 10x magnification to view the subject, to help focus
• use a remote shutter release (or put it on a 2-second timer) so that my pressing the shutter button doesn't shake the camera at all

Basically, it's an exciting process and requires much deliberation, patience, and carefulness for each shot. It's the closest I'll ever come to performing surgery.

Sample 1 -- The Penny

click here to view the full image!

The viewfinder is so sensitive that moving the camera's focusing ring the slightest amount I possibly can is the difference between "In God We Trust" being in focus versus "2010" being in focus.

Sample 2 -- Boston Skyline 1/2 mile away

click here to view the full image!

Notice how you can see each window with at least some detail. Pretty crazy considering the windows are half a mile away.

Sample 3 -- huge panorama of Boston from .8 miles away

click here to view the full image!

Sample 4 -- Sheley's Jewelry

click here to view the full image.

Unfortunately, images displayed on the web are rarely greater than 900 pixels in length, and are compressed greatly; thus, the increase in sharpness may often not even be discernible for images posted to the web. Oh well, it's been really fun for me to discover how to push my camera and lens to their limits.

In the meantime, I've become a huge fan of Zeiss, and I can easily understand why they're considered a world leader and pioneer for producing world-class optical equipment, from medical lenses, microscopes, camera lenses, etc.

Tips for buying a new camera and lens

I get asked this question pretty often, so here's my very short write-up.

Disclaimer: I'm just hitting the highlights and providing my own quick, generalized recommendations and tidbits about photography. It's better to exhaustively research equipment for your specific needs.

General Points

• Worry more about your choice of lens(es) than about the body

• Say you have $1.5k to spend. A $1,200 lens on a $300 body will produce better pictures than a $300 lens on a $1,200 body. Try to find some middle ground.

• You truly get what you pay for.

• The popular namebrands all generally make great products.

• Camera bodies:

Canon and Nikon are both excellent. There is no clear superior company. I prefer Canon. Sony is making some serious strides. Pentax currently has some ~$1,000 bodies that are more rugged than anything else at that price point, yet, SLRs are typically much more durable than you'd imagine. Instead of SLRs, mirrorless cameras are really nifty, too, as they kind of combine the best of both worlds: manual controls and lens interchangeability of SLRs, and compactness of point-and-shoots. Panasonic is currently leading this forefront.

• Whatever camera body namebrand you pick, plan to stick with it because you can't expect your lenses to work with other camera namebrands (e.g., Nikon lenses won't work with Canon bodies.)

• Lenses retain their value VERY well (and may increase in price over time), whereas camera bodies are like computers and degrade somewhat quickly (for example, I bought a new $455 lens from bhphotovideo.com. 3 years later, it was being sold for $490, and I sold it used on eBay for $460. At this moment, it sells on the same site for $579!)

• Cameras do not retain their value well: a entry-level camera body for $800 will sell for ~$250 used in 4 years.

• Used lenses are barely cheaper than new ones. So, unless you find some insane deal from craigslist or eBay, buy new.

• Buy from bhphotovideo.com -- they're 1 of the best companies I've ever experienced.

Lenses

• The key to buying a lens is to pick the focal length you want, then aim for the one with the largest aperture (smallest F/stop number). The aperture is the size of the diaphragm that lets in light. You want the biggest hole (smallest F/ number you can get), which means it let's in more light. This is good because it allows you to shoot in poorly lit conditions like when the sun is setting, and it also allows you the option of creating photos such that the background is nice and blurred out.

• Prime lenses (aka non-zoom lenses) are optically better than zoom lenses. This isn't to say that there aren't some amazing zoom lenses. For example, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L is a very nice and expensive zoom lens. Yet, at any focal length in that range, Canon makes a prime (non-zoom) lens that is optically superior than what the zoom can produce at that given focal length. Zooms are handy for fast-moving, unpredictable environments like wild life and sports scenarios. See http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Zoom-Vs-Prime-Lens.aspx for more info.

• Canon and Nikon/Nikkor make comparable, excellent lenses. Leica and Zeiss lenses are typically the best that exist. Sigma is a 3rd party manufacturer that makes some great lenses that are on par with Canon/Nikon. I haven't tried Tamron, but they're popular. A moderately-priced (~$700) wide-angle lens that is highly acclaimed is the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. As mentioned, non-zoom lenses have higher optical quality compared to their counterparts, but for wide-angle shots, zooms can be handy.

• lenses in the 15mm - 24mm range are ultra wide-angle and good for landscapes and interior shooting

• lenses in the 28mm - 50mm range are good for most general-purpose situations

• lenses in the 85mm - 100mm range are good for macro, portraits, and almost telephoto situations

• lenses in the 135mm - 400mm range are good for telephoto, long-away situations

Research

Obviously, you'll read user reviews of the equipment before you buy it. There is no shortage of online literature; however, I find the following resources particularly useful:

• BHPhotovideo's user reviews.
• fredmiranda.com's forums -- incredible community of hardcore photo gear heads.
• the-digital-picture.com's tools -- view actual comparison images taken w/ tons of camera/lenses setups.
• reddit.com/r/photography -- good, diverse community of photographers.
• lensrentals.com -- #1 source for renting lenses. (although, shipping is expensive.)
• calumet -- few locations in the USA. they rent lenses, sometimes cheaper than above.
• pixel-peeper.com -- view sample images that were taking w/ your equipment.
• dpreview -- good review/article site. so good that amazon bought them out in 2007.
• keh.com -- #1 source for buying used equipment. again, buying new is usually worth it.
• table of all canon SLRs and table of all nikon SLRs

Exact Buying Suggestions

To very specifically answer the question of "what to buy with $X money," this is what I'd recommend for the common person (i.e., one who isn't looking to specialize in only food photography or say airplane photography):

If you're willing to spend less than $1,000:

• lens: buy the Canon 50mm f/1.8 for ~$110
• body: spend the rest of the money on the best Canon body you can afford.

If you're willing to spend $1,000 - $2,000:

• lenses: buy 2 lenses: 1 somewhere in the 30mm - 50mm range, and 1 in the 85mm - 100mm range. I highly recommend the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for ~$450 and the Canon 100mm f/2.8 for ~$480.
• body: spend the rest on the best Canon body you can afford.

If you're willing to spend much more:

• body: buy a high-end full-frame body from Canon or Nikon (they currently cost $2,000+).
• lenses: spend the rest of the money on high-end lenses such as Canon L series lenses. I highly recommend the Canon 35mm f/1.4L and the Canon 135mm f/2.0L, but all Canon L series lenses are great. If you deem 135mm to be too long of a focal length, the Canon 85mm 1.2L and Canon 100mm f/2.8L are also highly acclaimed.  Alternatively, if you prefer wider-angle shots as opposed to telephoto, the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II L is a spectacular lens, too.  If you feel comfortable shooting in manual-focus mode, Zeiss makes manual-focus lenses for Canon and Nikon which often outperform anything Canon and Nikon can offer for a particular focal length.  Specifically, the Zeiss 25mm f/2.0 ZE, Zeiss 50mm f/2.0 ZE, and Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 ZE are world-class and unparalleled in performance.  I currently own the first two of these Zeiss lenses and enjoy them immensely!

If money is no object:

• please buy me a Leica body and/or some Leica and Zeiss lenses.

Other Accessories You Might Want to Eventually Buy

• Back-up batteries
• Filters (e.g,. polarizing, UV, ND, etc)
• Remote Shutter Release (they are as low as $5 and allow you to remotely press the shutter, which helps because it shakes the camera less than when touching the button. also very useful for long exposures)
• Good Tripod (at least $150. I highly recommend Benro A-1690 Travel Angel)
• Camera Backpack (I highly recommend the Lowepro Flipside 300)

General Starting Tips

• fully read your camera's manual
• take a LOT of pictures
• think about what you're trying to capture and convey
• learn to shoot in Av and Manual mode
• shoot in RAW mode
• get good/comfortable with a powerful photo editor (I recommend Lightroom)

travellin

i haven't updated in a while, but for record-keeping purposes, here are some highlights from the past 40 days:

1. kazi -- a good friend from the undergrad days -- visited me in boston.

back in 2006, we both visited boston together for what would be the first time for each of us. it won us over back then, and this visit was like the reunion.

• i housed kazi and showed him around boston.
• did a lot and had a good time.
• kazi landed a summer internship w/ my employer, and he'll be conducted research similar to mine.

2. i flew to dc for work purposes, again. i also extended the trip into a personal trip:

• visited my good friend, dan for a day:

• stayed w/ my good friend, g francis for a few days

g francis and i randomly decided to experiment w/ light painting photography one friday night. it ended up being a blast. we learned how to take long exposures and shine light onto subjects in the dark, thereby taking a complete additive approach to the lighting aspect.

this experience has motivated me to try night photography more:

3. visited brown's 3-day open-house event in rhode island.

amazing school and campus. founded in 1764, it's officially "old school."

4. visited santa barbara, california for 5 days for a conference.

on the way to and from airport, i took some pics.

google is so nice

last week or so, i casually posted my "top 100" pics on picasa web albums, which i rarely use. to my surprise, one night i started receiving tons of foreign language comments on my pics. nobody even knows about my picasa web albums, so i figured this must be spam. when i woke up the next morning, i had ~30 more comments/email notifications, most of which were in foreign languages. "what in the world is going on here?" i then noticed that 2 of my pics made google picasa web's main page, amongst the thumbnail images!

i'm not sure how long it'll be featured, but it's been about 5 days so far. check it out: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/explore# we all know that google gets tons of web traffic. well, it's still been a wake-up call to me as to how much they really get; my featured pic(s) is usually just 1 of the 12. yet, within 5 days my 100 picture have received roughly 250,000 views, with the highest pics receiving over 20,000 views. how crazy is that!

i know my pics aren't phenomenal or anything, but it's still been cool to see tons of strangers from all of the world say "nice picture!" in so many different languages.

solo road trip to new hampshire and vermont

first, if you're viewing this from facebook, please go to my blog to see the original posting; facebook fails to import videos, so go to http://omggetthis.blogspot.com

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two weekends ago, i took a solo 3-day road trip to new hampshire and vermont. yea, that was a while ago, but before it got any longer, i just wanted to document it here. to most of my friends, this trip is old news.

as for new content, i finally uploaded a video of my trip:


i didn't take video clips too often; i mainly just took tons of pics. below are 3 albums, 1 for each successive day:
(1)

new hampshire foliage - day 1 - 10/10/09

(2)

vermont foliage - day 2 - 10/11/09

(3)

vermont foliage drive home - day 3

basically, i woke up super early on saturday. i drove to new hampshire and explored the white mountains. that day, i saw 4 waterfalls, went on some mini-hikes into the woods, and went to 2-3 state parks. very late at night i arrived at my remote, sketchy hostel that was located about 2 hours away from civilization. (i stayed there because it was perfectly en route to my path to vermont for the next day).

the hostel was the most interesting and unique hostel at which i've ever stayed. i arrived there after 9pm, and after driving on gravel and dirt roads for a while, i finally found it at the end of a 1-mile-long dead-end road. upon entering the hostel, i was greeted by a hippie. the house was really decked-out and well-groomed. but, everything was organic. yep, i quickly learned why my 18-person shared room was called the "yoga room" -- there were no mattresses, but only 18 yoga mats on the floor. after having been awake and driving for the entire day, lying down on that yoga mat was far from comfortable. oh, the bathroom looked amazing. seriously. it was probably the nicest shower i've ever been in, including nice hotels. however, the toilet, which although nice looking, was actually rigged-up like an outhouse. there was a long chute down somewhere, and there was a nearby bucket of woodchunks and instructions to use 1 cup of woodchucks per bathroom visit. as i read the sign that stated urination was encouraged outdoors, i quickly wondered what type of place have i got myself into.

anyway, it was definitely an interesting place, and the hippie owner offered chai tea and cookies. i had none.

sunday, i drove down to the border b/w new hampshire and vermont, to see the longest covered bridge in the nation. i explored some nearby areas then drove all the way up through vermont's green mountains. like new hampshire, everything was really pretty. i had never seen leaves that looked like this. even when the skies were overcast, the roads appeared to be lit due to the radiating, saturated tree leaves. i saw 2 waterfalls on sunday and went on a hike. at one time, i slipped and fell a few feet down a bank. if i slid further, well, it was pretty much a 180-degree cliff that dropped a long ways until a river. it was fun though. sunday night, i was exhausted, and i checked in early at 6pm into the next hostel.

this hostel was also interesting, but for brevity, i'll just say it was really well set-up and was owned by (2) 25-year olds. very impressive. they even fully owned and operated a restaurant and bar within the hostel, with the help of their sister and friend. very professional and good.

by the time i went to sleep on sunday -- day 2 -- i could see orange leaves everytime i closed my eyes. for this reason, i decided to not explore much on monday. instead of heading further north up until being a few miles shy of canada, i decided to just head home. yet, even though my eyes had been over-saturated by the leaves, i still couldn't resist pulling off the road several times to take pics, of barns, rivers, and trees. the drive home ended up taking many hours.

it was a very fun, unforgettable trip.

it was the best of times, it was the...

i haven't blogged in a month.

basically, the past 4 weeks has been possibly the hardest time of my life since february 10 years ago -- the time with 3 funerals. i won't go into details because nobody wants a sob story and there's no sense in whining. i'll just mention 1 of the elements that has occurred: i'm not graduating this quarter. let's just say i did a lot of work -- more than the average student -- but my adviser didn't like my writing style, so i have to rewrite my 40 page report. this hopefully won't affect my starting date at MIT.

on the upside, i've started my 1.5 months of "vacation!":

1. resign from being a UCLA student
2. visit seattle (BP and brian)
3. visit berkeley/san francisco (kazi)
4. leave LA
5. househunt in boston for a week
6. fly to indonesia for 16 days!!

i took tons of pics, some follow for each respective section:
1. ucla:



2. seattle




3. berkeley / san francisco




also, i'm getting into panoramic pictures. i took some of the golden gate bridge, and i'm going to do some of LA before i leave here.

please do the poll on the right.