There must be a support group out there somewhere for un-repentant Soft Focus lens junkies. Perhaps I could use a bit of support? Or perhaps not. Either way, the Madness continues unabated.
I've been looking specifically for first element focusing lenses.
Covering old ground, opticians designing and manufacturing "pictorialist" era lenses sometimes made them with configurable gaps between lens elements. This capability provided softness controls for when softness was desired.
I often stop and drool a bit when I see a full, original Dallmeyer casket set at local camera swaps or when I see a gorgeous Hermagis Eidoscope sitting on a vendors table. There's Serious Wonderfulness in those that I wish I had the time and tools to explore. These days I'm limited to miniature formats with digital sensors - ie: APS-C and Full Frame mirrorless.
Looking at SLR special purpose lenses, I find 35mm SLR specialty Soft Focus optics to be too strong and nearly uncontrollable. That certainly was the case of a Pentax 85mm f/2.2 where it was so difficult to control that I traded off against something else.
What I've been looking for, instead, are lenses with potentially gentler, more easily controlled levels of softness. Enter the first element focusers.
Normally, I've thought of lenses moving as a block or "unit" when effectuating a good focus. Until very recently, every single G. D. 35mm SLR manual focus lens I'd ever used were unit focusers. Moving the focusing ring moved the lens elements together and there was no convenient way of altering the gap between various element.
Only recently, as in the past couple years, I've stumbled upon first element focusing lenses. I found one, talked a bit about it with friends, who then turned me on to another, and another, and as I continued my research, yes, I found yet another.
Here's my current list of Miniature Format not made purposely as Soft Focus optics that actually could work well as in-camera Soft Focus photo-makers.
- Cosina Cosinon 55mm f/2.8 - m42 Tessar formula
- ISCO Iscotar 50mm f/2.8 - m42 Cooke Triplet
- Ricoh Riconar 55mm f/2.2 - Pentax K 4 element 4 group _not_ Dylite/APO Artar/203mm Ektar
- Steinheil Auto-Cassaron 50mm f/2.8 - m42 Cooke Triplet
To turn these into controllable soft focus lenses, here's the setup -
- Note the ffd (flange focalplane distance) of the lens, destination camera, and calculate the gap to be filled by a...
- Helicoid close focusing adapter this the shortest length measuring at or smaller than the gap calculated above
For instance, Sony E ffd is 18mm. M42 ffd is 45.5mm. The gap is 27.5mm. There's 17mm to 30mm close focus helicoid on the market that works well enough. If 17mm on the short length of the helicoid is intellectually un-inspiring, add a short m42 extension tube and you'll get closer to the correct combined 45.5mm ffd. No worries, though, as I've used m42 lenses on the helicoid I have without an extension tube and have been able to focus at infinity as well as get a little closer focus as a bonus.
Here's how to use the setup -
- For sharp work - first case
- Set the m42 focus ring on infinity
- Use the helicoid to focus the subject
- For soft work - second case
- Set the lens' focus ring at its closest setting
- Use the helicoid to focus on the subject
When using first element focusing lenses, in the first case the lens elements will be "squashed" together. It seems, based on what I've observed so far, that this is the designed point of maximum sharpness. The helicoid has turned the first element focuser into a unit focuser hereby.
In the second case, sticking with first element focusers, the first element is moved as far away from the other elements as the mechanical design (focus ring) allows. This introduces optical imperfections in both Cooke Triplet and Zeiss Tessar design lenses from what I can see.
What this means is that a first element focusing lens, used in concert with a helicoid adapter can be used in two ways - as a unit focusing sharp lens, or as a soft focus optic. In both cases the helicoid is being used to set the focus and the lens' traditional focusing ring is being used to define overall scene "sharpness."
Adding a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 (early) and a Steinheil 45mm f/2.8 m39 Paxette to the mix, here's what I see -
Sony A7 - Steinheil 45mm f/2.8 at f11
Comments ~
It should be obvious that focusing rings can be used as softness control on first element focusers when a helicoid adapter is deployed to effectuate the overall focus. The closer the lens focus, the more optical imperfections are introduced.
Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 - Unit Focuser
This lenses is nearly "modern lens" sharp from wide open in the center. It takes going to f/8 and below to clean a scene up across the field, as expected. If I were to gripe about anything, it's that the extreme corners never fully clean up, even at smallest apertures. Overall, the Tessar is gently lower contrasted compared to a modern optic, which I feel adds to a sense of beauty to an image.
It comes with a nice multi-bladed round aperture. The out of focus rendition is creamy smooth, even stopped down.
I think the copy I have is the "cat's meow", as _all_ the other 50mm Tessars I've owned over the years (nearly a dozen) weren't worth holding onto. This one's a "keeper." I finally begin to see what people have been trying to tell me for decades about Zeiss optics.
Cosina Cosinon 55mm f/2.8 - First Element Focuser
This has a Soviet-era "industrial" feel to the aperture ring, even coming from Japan. Having nothing to do with the aperture ring, I re-lubed the focusing threads and that part of the lens now moves "smooth as butter."
It comes with 5 aperture blades, so caution needs be exercised when considering out of focus rendition and specular highlights. Stopped down a scene can feel "choppy" in the out of focus regions compared with, say, the Tessar or Steinheil Paxette.
More contrast than the CZJTessar stopped down. Like the Ricoh 55mm, this Cheap as Chips lens is shockingly sharp
when stopped down and could easily be a dual purpose soft/sharp daily
carry lens. Yields a "modern" looking image at f/8 and f/11.
Quite lovely "pictorialist" qualities at f/2.8, f/4, and leaning perhaps toward f/5.6. This becomes an interesting option for creating "pictorialist" effects in-camera on miniature formats.
Nearly give-away priced in the marketplace. Pretty interesting "find", this one. The optic was also sold under the Porst, Casenar, and Reuvenon labels. I wouldn't pay more than 10Euro/12USD for any of the branded versions.
ISCO Iscotar 50mm f/2.8 - First Element Focuser
Not many aperture blades, so I need to be careful with specular
highlights when stopped down. Sharpens up across most of the field as the
aperture drops, but never really cleans up the extreme edges.
Wide open and at f/4 the lens could work well in rendering young skin in a
"pictorialist" manner. Focus on infinity, however, shows
the intrusion of the first element as a strong circle of distortion about 3/4s the way out on the field.
Widely available in the marketplace for not a lot of money. Overall, an interesting lens, perhaps, but not the most flexible optic in the Toy Box. I wouldn't pay more than 20Euro/25USD for one.
Ricoh Riconar 55mm f/2.2 - First Element Focuser
This is in Pentax K-mount. I can't use it on my little helicoid setup, even though this is first element focuser. Fortunately, there are optical imperfections at f2.2, f2.8, and f4 which can be useful at any subject distance. This lens can be used in a "pictorialist" manner for portraiture all the way out to landscape.
Not many aperture blades, so there's the usual caution of watching the specular highlights when stopped down. However, however, however... from f/5.6 and below the lens shows a surprising (to me, at least) level of sharpness that, frankly, bowled me over when I first saw it. Like the Cosina Cosinon 55mm Tessar, this 4 element 4 group Strange Design lens is sharp enough when used properly for me to consider using it as a dual purpose soft/sharp optic. It's really that good.
I find these widely available in the marketplace for around 20Euro/25USD. For the kind of soft focus work I'm looking to implement, this is really quite a good lens.
Steinheil Auto-Cassaron 50mm f/2.8 - First Element Focuser
Typical of the Steinheil I've experienced, there's softness and then there's a beautiful underlying sharpness. The softness is more prominent in the optic at wider apertures.
Stopping down sort of/kind of cleans up the veiling softness in the Auto-Cassaron, but never in a modern sense. So I'll put this down to having been designed as a lower contrast, sharp at the point of focus optic. I've seen this in other Steinheil lenses, which is why I mention the potential purpose design aspect to the veiling/lower contrast.
Having written all that, I have two friends who say their Steinheil give crisp/clear images. One even says his is the sharpest lens he's ever seen in the format he wants covered. Makes me wonder if there's something about the Steinheil I own. Or perhaps there's a certain variability in Steinheil optics, which I would doubt, knowing the long history of optics design and manufacturing the company had. Frankly, I'm stumped.
One caution, however, is that like with the ISCO, using the focusing ring to control softness level can lead to a dreaded distortion circle for subjects nearer to infinity than not when using the softest setting.
OK. I lied. Another caution is that there are fewer aperture blades in this lens than in its sister 45mm m39 Paxette. Specular highlights quickly go wonky, so care needs be taken to avoid the ick.
Steinheil Cassarit 45mm f/2.8 - Unit Focuser
There's Steinheil veiling softness and then there's the beautiful Steinheil underlying sharpness, which never really subsides at lower multi-bladed very round apertures. As I wrote somewhere above, friends' Steinheils are sharp sharp sharp. Not sure what's going on with the Steinheil I have, but this 45mm, the 50mm Auto-Cassaron, and a 135mm Culminar f/4.5 all show similar behavior.
Still, even with the discrepancies in different people's experiences, I LOVE this lens. Gorgeous round aperture. Super light. Super small. I took this lens to Italy with me last winter for it's Soft Focus "pictorialist" qualities (see: Napoli and Rome). I can feel the infinity energies of the "pictorialist" potential pushing outward into the cosmos beyond the moon of the fantastic sky... er... I'd better stop now...
Summary ~
If I were to "grade" the lenses, I'd say the Steinheil are like Hermagis Eidoscope-like smooth in the way they render. The Ricoh and Cosina are Dallmeyer-Bergheim-like gorgeous. For soft focus work I just wish these two, Ricoh and Cosina, had round apertures, then things would be perfect. But, there's little perfection in life, right? The Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar... on the other hand... ah... that CZJT... even though it has zero soft focus capability... I must be in heaven... I'm up to my armpits in lenses I never thought I'd find for miniature formats...
