The 28-85mm Vario Sonnar: Overall rendering is smooth, not bitingly sharp, but sharp enough for most purposes. Colors are great: natural, with just the right amount of saturation. Contrast and flare handling is excellent. Like the 35-70 it has a modern look that's not clinical.
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 [email protected]
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 [email protected]?
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 85mm@f4
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 28mm@f11
28mm is the weakest focal length for this lens with lots of lateral CA near the edges and smearing. I'll skip the 35mm infinity test, as it's not much different from 28mm, it shows slightly better sharpness up to 7/8s of the image area than 28mm..
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 50mm@f11
At 50mm resolution things starts to improve near the edges, only in the far corners we can appreciate some drop-off in sharpness and lateral CA is greatly reduced, though still visible.
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 85mm@f8
At 85mm the resolution is at its best. Lateral CA is gone.
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 85mm@f4
Now, for this lens' strong point: portraiture. Colors are rich, bokeh is smooth, clarity is excellent, and 85mm@f4 just makes for great shots without completely obliterating out the background.
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 somewhere between 50-70mm wide open
All in all, a lens with some flaws at shorter focal lengths, although perfectly usable. At longer focal lengths it shines, providing smooth bokeh and pleasing rendering for portraits. This lens exhibits the famous Zeiss 3d pop, providing dimensionality to images.
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 [email protected]
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 [email protected]?
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 85mm@f4
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 28mm@f11
28mm is the weakest focal length for this lens with lots of lateral CA near the edges and smearing. I'll skip the 35mm infinity test, as it's not much different from 28mm, it shows slightly better sharpness up to 7/8s of the image area than 28mm..
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 50mm@f11
At 50mm resolution things starts to improve near the edges, only in the far corners we can appreciate some drop-off in sharpness and lateral CA is greatly reduced, though still visible.
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 85mm@f8
At 85mm the resolution is at its best. Lateral CA is gone.
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 85mm@f4
Now, for this lens' strong point: portraiture. Colors are rich, bokeh is smooth, clarity is excellent, and 85mm@f4 just makes for great shots without completely obliterating out the background.
Contax 28-85mm f3.4-4.0 somewhere between 50-70mm wide open
All in all, a lens with some flaws at shorter focal lengths, although perfectly usable. At longer focal lengths it shines, providing smooth bokeh and pleasing rendering for portraits. This lens exhibits the famous Zeiss 3d pop, providing dimensionality to images.
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