Plena?

[bressong]

ai 135/3.5 full open

round in corner

[bressong]

ai 135/3.5 @D850 full frame ,no crop, full open

[bressong]

another interesting copy report

I have Jupiter 37AM 135/3.5 Sonnar with 15blades aperture , it is round in any stop

D850 full frame no crop, full open

[bressong]

then when I decrese the aperture a little, roughly at F4.5

magic comes, I can call it "f4.5 Plena"

[Michael Erlewine]

My Plena has shipped from B&H, right on time. Should be a day or so and I will be able to check it out.

[Michael Erlewine]

I received my “Plena” and had to try it out for the round bokeh.

And that it does, really well.

It is sharp enough but not sharp like the Z 105mm S MC is sharp and does not stack as well as it might. My guess is it’s not made for stacking, but rather for single shots or what I call ‘short stacks’, stacks of only a few shots.  Too many artifacts, unless there is something wrong with the lens. I will see.

However, soft bokeh it does in spades. And has lots of light.

Of course, I am just getting started.

It's a masterpiece of a lens. I just don't know how to use it yet. Maybe not for focus stacking.

[MILLIREHM]

Maybe everyone knows already but the new 135 f/1,8 lens does not combine with the Z teleconverters - I had not realized this before today

[Michael Erlewine]

Yes, no teleconvert, which is fine by me. Hard to mess with this kind of lens, IMO.

Here are a couple more shots, the first a single shot, which is what the lens is designed for.

And the second a short stack, about four shots stacked.

Of course I can send it back to B&H, but so far it is way too interesting for that. I may just do single shots with it.  What are your thoughts?

And I still have some Christmas lights in there, which is not usual for me, just to see how the bokeh is.

[aerobat]

I like the second where the vase comes out well and Michael I do the same with my xmas lights ;-)

[Michael Erlewine]

Here is a question. By accedent I had ISO at 640 and forgot about it when I took this shot that had three colored lights in it to test for bokeh. The three lights came out barred or stripped when nothing was in their way. And here is a shot with the same lights at ISO 64, which is normal. What caused this?

[Birna Rørslett]

Shutter speed ... The power to the lights flicker at mains frequency, probably 60 Hz.

At 640 ISO shutter speed was short enough to capture 2 or 3 cycles separately, at 64 ISO with a slower speed everything would -- literally-- be blurred.

[Michael Erlewine]

Shutter speed ... The power to the lights flicker at mains frequency, probably 60 Hz.

So, adjust the shutter speed. I never shoot at this ISO anyway. Just freaked me out. Yet, since you are the lens master, IMO, I believe you would really like this lens. Here is just a dirt simple shot with it.

I am, for the moment, abandoning focus stacking, This lens might revert me back to single-shot photography.

[MILLIREHM]

It is sharp enough but not sharp like the Z 105mm S MC is sharp and does not stack as well as it might. My guess is it’s not made for stacking, but rather for single shots or what I call ‘short stacks’, stacks of only a few shots.  Too many artifacts, unless there is something wrong with the lens. I will see.

However, soft bokeh it does in spades. And has lots of light.

Of course, I am just getting started.

It's a masterpiece of a lens. I just don't know how to use it yet. Maybe not for focus stacking.

Well it is designed for portrait photography and such like, so it is should not be as razor sharp as a Micro Nikkor lens. I am not experienced with stacking and what it lacks there in comparison but this had definitely not been the main focus of design

[bressong]

I received my “Plena” and had to try it out for the round bokeh.

And that it does, really well.

It is sharp enough but not sharp like the Z 105mm S MC is sharp and does not stack as well as it might. My guess is it’s not made for stacking, but rather for single shots or what I call ‘short stacks’, stacks of only a few shots.  Too many artifacts, unless there is something wrong with the lens. I will see.

However, soft bokeh it does in spades. And has lots of light.

Of course, I am just getting started.

It's a masterpiece of a lens. I just don't know how to use it yet. Maybe not for focus stacking.

looks sharp enough as a new lens

[Michael Erlewine]

looks sharp enough as a new lens

well, you must know how it is. With a new lens we check to see what it can do and what it can't do easily. The Plena can do a lot, yet it's stunning quality is the huge image circle and the abundance of light and the fact that it is clear and sharp to the edges of the fram. THAT is not something I am used do. It is remarkable and makes me want to take photos of everything and anything. LOL.