subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 21 September 2019 57
Matt Jerrams
●Zeiss Planar T*45mm f/2
It wasn’t until 2012 that I bought
my fi rst digital camera, a Fujifi lm
X-Pro1. Upon release, there were
only three lenses available, so I
decided to scour the used-lens
market to see what I could adapt
for my needs. Back then, all
manual focus or obsolete glass
was pretty cheap, as the mirrorless
concept was still pretty new. I
managed to bag the Zeiss 45mm
f/2 Planar for a mere £80. You
see them on auction sites for well
over £300 today. With a crop
factor of 1.5x, the 45mm was
a portrait perfect 67.5mm. I
wouldn’t be telling the truth if I told
you I used it often. I really don’t,
but I still regard it as the sharpest
lens I own – and a few other
online bench testers remark that it
is one of the sharpest optics ever
manufactured. The problem lies
with manual focus – the adapters
feature a focus ring that is almost
flush to the camera body and it is
very tricky to be totally accurate,
even with a ‘focus assist’ feature.
There is no depth of fi eld indicator
either. Having said that, once you
get used to it, it’s worth persisting
with. It really does add a beautiful
warm colour palette in addition to
its extraordinary sharpness. I used
it very recently, for a picture of my
goddaughter in a cornfi eld. These
days it’s mainly attached to my
much-loved Contax G1.I’ve used this lens on so many
different camera bodies. It was
a regular feature on my Nikon
D300 and many other Nikon
DSLR cameras, but it now pairs
nicely with my Sony A7R. I also
love using it on Fujifi lm cameras,
where the vintage looks pair
perfectly with the style of the
Fujifi lm X-T cameras.
The lens does show its age
- the focus ring is lovely to
handle, although a little loose,
and the aperture ring is a little
stiff in places, but everything still
works, and this was reflected in
the price. Compared to a modern
lens, my 50mm f/1.4 lens
completely lacks contrast at
f/1.4, which makes the lack of
sharpness even worse. Throw in
some lens flare when shooting
into light and you’d wonder why
I love it so much – there is
certainly something to be said for
modern lens coatings! However,
at f/8 it can almost match the
sharpness of its modern
equivalent and is super-sharp.
But the reason I love the lens is
because of those flaws. I’ll shoot
at f/1.4 and use the washed-out
colours, soft images and lens
flares creatively. I’ll sometimes
even throw a set of extension
tubes on and use it as a macro
lens. This lens is fun because it
challenges me to shoot and think
differently, and that alone has
been worth a lot more than £80.couldn’t make it out and there was
defi nitely nothing noticeable in any
of my images. Cosmetic wear can
be a sign of rough use; however
my experience has often been
that this is simply a sign that the
lens has been used. Signifi cant
outer wear can suggest issues with
focus rings/element housing, but
this is something that would be
made known by a reputable
reseller. I think we can get a little
hung up on the exterior condition
of camera equipment and have
to remember that everything in
photography is simply a tool.
Ultimately, it’s the photographer
who produces the fi nal image.
Matt regards his
second-hand
Zeiss lens as the
sharpest optic
in his kitbag
Fujifilm X-Pro2,
1/1600sec at f/4,
ISO 320Richard’s lens
dates back to- He often
pairs it with
extension tubes
to create his
macro images
Sony A7R, 1/1000sec
at f/1.4, ISO 200
John wasn’t put off by cosmetic signs of wear or dust inside the barrel
when he bought his Zeiss lens Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 1/25sec at f/1.8, ISO 400© JOHN HARRISON
© MATT JERRAMS