After posting 5-Frames with a Zeiss Otus 55mm sometime ago, a few people asked whether I’d mind sharing the results on other emulsions – so I thought ‘great idea!’, then got totally side tracked for a few years and forgot all about it. Thing is, good lenses have been able to out-resolve film for decades, so there’s really not that much point to this, except that it’s fun and it gives me an excuse to shoot film. So, here are some shots with the Zeiss Otus 55mm and Otus 85mm on several 35mm film emulsions.
Camera-wise, everything was shot on a Canon EOS 1V with EC-S screen for manual focus, and lens-wise it’s either the Otus 55mm or 85mm, noted under each shot.
I haven’t had much actual shooting time, so my subject matter has been limited to my family, city, and some random stuff around the house (flowers, anyone?), but it’s still been enjoyable. Images are mostly unprocessed, apart from a slight s-curve on the levels. I shot everything wide open, since virtually every 50mm and 85mm ever made gives great results stopped down.
I’ve made notes under each image, but here are some general thoughts:
- Film bokeh is really nice. It’s not just out of focus like digital – it’s blown-out and fuzzy like an over-cranked amp.
- A super-sharp lens on a super grainy film isn’t a complete waste of resolution. The results can be pretty cool.
- The bright, crisp, saturated nature of the Otus lenses made all the colour film stocks look more similar than expected.
- Not sure if anyone could tell that these were shot on good quality lenses if you didn’t tell them first, but I personally think that these images have a unique quality to them. Different even from my other Zeiss lenses.
If you’d like to know anything about a specific image, feel free to ask in the comments.
And if you’re wondering about the reference to owls in the title, the current Zeiss lineup of Batis, Milvus, Loxia, Touit and Otus lenses are all named after birds. Otus are named after owls, presumably for their brilliant eyesight, and the teeny tiny brain required to pay these prices for manual focus lenses.
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Oliver Lison on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
I used to have a Zeiss 1.4/50mm classic and I never could get a singe sharp frame out of it. It was frustrating and depressing. I have upgraded to Milvus 2/50mm and it was much better. I could not focus correctly because of high CA the classic exhibits.
Roger B on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
brian nicholls on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
Kelvin Ng on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
Zach B on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
Daniel Sigg on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
Cheers,
Daniel
Teddy on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
Marc Wick on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 24/05/2020
jeremystrange on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 25/05/2020
Leo Tam on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 25/05/2020
The Pro400H photos look a tad yellow? Is that from the scanning or were you in a field of yellow flowers or something?
Comment posted: 25/05/2020
Charlie on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 25/05/2020
Matthias on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 25/05/2020
The scanning is really a critical part of the process, especially on the qualitiy level you are showing here. I also go to labs for scanning and it's always a gamble. I had two rolls of Portra 160 (which easely has enough resolution for my Minolta MD lenses) shot with the same camera and lenses, scanned in the same lab within 4 weeks and have very different results. One is stellar, one just okay-ish
Thanks for sharing.
Matthias
QB on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 25/05/2020
eric on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 26/05/2020
Yeah, Velvia 50 ... the gem. Nothing does better than Velvia well exposed and focus precisely with great scans.
Tri-X, whaouuuuuu, such a greatest BW.
Bravo.
These Zeiss lens are razor sharp and family is very nice with those films rendering
Pete on Zeiss Otus 55mm and 85mm Lenses on 35mm Emulsions – Owls on Film – By Bent_Brent
Comment posted: 27/05/2020