The soap bubble bokeh look-defocused highlights with hard, bright edges-is most visible when working at a wide aperture and with some direct light hitting your background. It delivers the sharpest photos at f/8 and f/11, but the character that defines the lens at wide apertures is no longer apparent. The lens scores better at f/5.6, netting excellent results at the center that soften as you look toward the frame's edges. See How We Test Cameras and Lenses See How We Test Cameras and Lenses Sony a7R IV, f/2.8, 1/1,600-second, ISO 100Īt f/4, the soft focus look is gone and the central sharpness is good, even with a 60MP sensor camera. Detail shines through under the point of focus, but everything that is in focus shows a soft halo. Sony a7R IV, f/2.8, 1/400-second, ISO 100Īt f/2.8, the lens captures photos with a glowing, soft focus effect. With this type of lens, real-world results are more important than lab tests, but I did run our standard Imatest resolution tests. I paired the Sony E mount edition of the Trioplan II with the full-frame a7R IV for evaluation. You can always net closer focus by adding extension tubes between the lens and camera, but you'll lose the ability to focus on distance subjects when doing so. Highlights remain circular when stopped down the 15-blade aperture forms a perfect circle all the way down through the minimum f/22 setting.įocus is available to about 3 feet (0.9m), fine for some close-up work and portraits, but by no means macro, netting magnification around 1:8.6 life-size. You'll want to use the lens wide open to get the most dramatic bokeh. The aperture control ring is at the front of the barrel. A high-resolution EVF and frame magnification help a lot. I paired it with a mirrorless camera and found manual focus to be no big challenge. The ring turns smoothly and has a very long focus throw, about 330 degrees of rotation, to move from the close-up distance to infinity. Sony a7R IV, f/2.8, 1/2,500-second, ISO 100Įverything is mechanical, including the focus system. The optics feature modern anti-reflective coatings, but there's no anti-smudge protection or any sort of weather protection. A metal hood is included, giving some protection from flare and stray thumbprints for those times you're not using filters. The front element supports 52mm threaded filters. The SLR version of the lens comes in around 3.3 by 2.1 inches (HD), while mirrorless lenses are a little bit longer, around 4.5 inches, necessary to keep the lens optics the same distance from the image sensor, regardless of camera system. There's no electronic communication with the camera, so you need to enter the focal length in a menu to activate IBIS if your camera has it, and trigger focus magnification manually. Regardless of which mount you opt for, you'll get a lens with a black anodized aluminum barrel and all manual controls. M cameras don't include frame lines for the 100mm focal length, so the EVF nets accurate framing too. You'll need to add a Visoflex EVF to your digital M to set focus. It's not coupled, though, so you won't be able to set focus via an optical viewfinder. There's also a version for Leica M rangefinders. Canon RF, Canon EOS M, and Nikon Z systems don't get their own versions, but can use any SLR edition with an appropriate adapter. The popular mirrorless systems are supported, too-versions of the lens are available for Fujifilm X, Leica L, Micro Four Thirds, and Sony E cameras. For SLRs you can get it for Canon EF, Nikon F, and Pentax K digital and film cameras, as well M42 thread mount film bodies. It covers full-frame sensors and is available in a number of lens mounts. Warranty, information, and quality assurance cards are there too, each with a photo taken with the lens printed on the reverse side. It's a hinged, piano black case with the Meyer Optik Görlitz logo in silver on the top, and a plush interior. To reinforce its premium position, the lens ships in an oversized presentation box. The $999 price is in line with similar manual focus lenses from other German brands like Voigtländer and Zeiss, but a lot less than you'll pay for a new lens from Leica. While it's possible to seek out vintage lenses that net similar results, or even go the DIY route and make your own, neither is a proper substitute for a new, well-engineered lens. It's good news for fans of the Trioplan look. PetaPixel's reporting goes into more detail for photographers interested in reading about the fall and rebirth of the brand. Today it's under new ownership, German firm OPC Optics, and has gone from crowdfunding to photo retail. In recent years the brand re-emerged as a Kickstarter darling, only to fall shy of promises and dissolve.
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