And so we come to the final part of our little test. Rather than showing full frames, this time around I’ll be presenting pairs of 100% crops to show how each lens handles fine details at two different apertures. The portion of the frame I’ve chosen was the focal point of the shot (obviously) and close to the center of the frame; it was about 1.7m from the camera. Just for reference, here’s what the full shot looks like:

The original intent was to look at the transition to out-of-focus, not fine detail, hence the off-center subject. Dead center would have been better, I suppose, but what are you going to do? I took two exposures with each lens, one at f/5.6 and 1/250, and another at f/11 and 1/60 – each pair will be posted in that order. As always, click for the full-size version.

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There’s some pretty significant sharpening of the image when the FED is stopped down. Contrast improves somewhat at the smaller aperture as well (the lighting was shifting quickly, so there is some unfortunate variability in that regard, but nonetheless I think the contrast is affected by the aperture here). The overall image is still relatively soft, even at f/11.

The always-bright I-26 demonstrates sharpness at f/5.6 that the FED only manages at f/11, while the I-26 stopped down is considerably sharper still. Contrast appears to be more stable across the range with this lens.

The I-50/fake Elmar demonstrates an odd side-effect of the damaged front element here: the lens is sharper at the wider aperture, while stopped down – with more light being forced through the worst of the damage at the center – it degrades into a soft, glowy, low contrast mush. No one in their right mind would expect any sort of sharpness from a lens this badly damaged, but I included it here for the sake of being thorough.

Once again the Jupiter-8 shines. Not only is it sharper than the others – with the sole exception perhaps of the I-26 stopped down – but it is more consistent across the range as well, both in terms of sharpness and contrast, particularly in the fine textural details on the lamp.

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So there you have it. A rather unscientific test, I admit, but one that hopefully offers a few insights into how these lenses perform. Please note, of course, that individual examples will vary, depending on a whole host of factors. This test is in no way intended to be definitive.

It seems appropriate to offer some conclusions. The Jupiter-8 is the winner in my eyes, inasmuch as it offers the greatest range of consistent capability in a variety of conditions. I was impressed with how well the Industar-26 performed in many cases, however. The FED lens, being the oldest of the four tested, unsurprisingly did not provide the level of sharpness or contrast that the I-26 and the J-8 did. It does offer a pleasant look, though, one that none of my other LTM lenses can replicate; I shot several rolls with it after I did this test and I was quite pleased with the results. As for the I-50/fake Elmar, well, it never had a chance, really. Still, it might see occasional use wide open as a portrait lens or to do soft-focus still-lifes or something. It was free, after all, so there’s hardly a downside.

Right now the FED is mounted to my FED-2 – the compactness is really nice – but I’m sure the Jupiter-8 will be on there fairly often as well. I feel like I should use the I-26 more, but it’s hard to justify when the J-8 is available.

As always, Your Humble Filmosaur is happy to hear your comments, criticisms, and personal experiences (at least relative to photography – this ain’t a therapy session).

Shot #4:

This is a torture test for any lens: shooting almost straight into the sun without a lens hood. Each lens was set to f/4, with the shutter at 1/30 (exposed for the shaded area of the trunk). The point of focus was the near trunk of the river birch. The setting sun was just above the top edge of the frame, partially obscured by branches but still very bright.

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The FED shows off some semi-swirly bokeh in the background. This may not be to everyone’s taste, but I rather like it; it’s quite different from any other lens I have. Contrast is moderate, and the center sharpness remains reasonably good despite the direct backlighting, though some softening on the edges of the trunks is visible.

The brighter I-26 presents a considerably more neutral image here; while it appears to be rather low contrast, this is most likely due more to the slight overexposure tendency as applied in this particular scene than anything else. Bokeh is more natural and softer than above, and the sharpness again remains more consistent across the frame.

Massive glow was expected here, and rightly so; the damage to the front element of the I-50 throws the bright backlighting everywhere. The bokeh is not very attractive, especially on the right side, and contrast is predictably low, but it’s still better than what I expected from the lens given its condition.

The differences between the J-8 and the other non-damaged lenses are not major, but they add up. Contrast is slightly better, especially in the small details, and the light is better controlled (look at the edges of the trunk in the center foreground, where the light is pushing through the loose bark). The result is a crisper image overall, though not to modern levels. Bokeh is soft and pleasant, though to my eye it lacks the visual interest of the FED.

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In the fifth and final part of this series, we will look at fine detail in 100% crops shot at two different aperture settings.

Shot #3:

We now move to a smaller aperture – f/8 – to see how performance changes as the lens is stopped down. This is where one generally expects lens characteristics to become less distinct and a greater uniformity in the images to emerge. Shutter was at 1/30 for this series. The point of focus was the trunk of the tree on the right side of the frame, roughly 7m away. The sun was to the left at almost a right angle to the camera, with the light-colored leaves of the tree in the foreground brightly lit by direct sunlight, while the spruces in the background are dark and backlit. Again, apologies for the fogging on the upper right edge.

The FED shows moderate contrast and reasonably good detail in across the frame, though as before the corners do show some softening (look at the plants in the lower right).

The brighter I-26 seems to have similar sharpness but shows some improvement over the FED lens in the corners, producing a more uniformly-resolved image.

The I-50/fake Elmar develops very low contrast and tons of glow when stopped down, presumably due to the light being forced through the worst part of the damaged front element. Surprisingly, however, the resolution is otherwise acceptable. In specific circumstances, this softness and glow could be used to good effect.

Once again, the Jupiter-8 produces a solid image. It is not pin-sharp – it seems more or less on par with the I-26 – but it has a bit more contrast than wither the I-26 or the FED, and it seems to offer a bit more detail in the heavily backlit branches in the background.

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The next post will show what happens when the lenses are put to one of the more difficult tests: shooting into the sun.