thanks for your advise. I always want to use shorter lens to minimize viewfinder blockage on M body, so without hood has its advantage. Will the Elnomaxim aperture ring turns together with hood, in the same manner like the 36mm Apollon ? While on the other hand I think it makes sense to keep the hood attached the as the lens is prone to flare.
I am also torn between purchasing a Voigtlander Heliar Classic and Elnomaxim, since voightlander build quality is much more solid than Ms optics. Both are character lens.
Juha Kannisto wrote:
Hi Mayasan,
I have lots of Elnomaxim albums here: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1818378/0#16305859
I personally like Elnomaxim a lot, it's one of my top favorite MS-Optics lenses. I think it's the wildest one I have as well, with the most extreme aberrations wide open. I love the glow it has. It's also quite decent with corner-to-corner sharpness when stopped down to f8, much better than Sonnetar 50/1.3 in that regard.
I picked it up 2nd hand from Map Camera in December 2023 and was surprised to find that the same copy had appeared so much in various places before.
In terms of handling, my copy has a little stiff focus, it requires a fair amount of torque to move the focus ring although it moves smoothly when enough force is applied. I think it may be a copy specific thing. Map Camera also mentioned this in their listing when I bought it and I haven't seen the same mentioned for other copies that have appeared there. My Sonnetar 50/1.3 focus ring moves with much lighter force and is very smooth. The only little niggle I have with my Sonnetar from handling perspective is that the aperture ring is a bit to easy to move accidentally while focusing, whereas I've not had that issue with my Elnomaxim.
I have only used my Elnomaxim with hood at all times so I can't really say if hood is necessary or not, but the lens flares quite easily and when shooting directly against sun there can be a whiteout effect on one or more of the corners, i.e. some of the corner areas may get washed out entirely becoming white. I don't know what causes that exactly. If I don't shoot against the sun it's never a problem though. I mainly like to use hoods as protection because I never use filters etc. I would think it's OK to use one without a hood as well.
I've never owned or shot with the ISM 50/1 so I can't really compare to that one. I think Sonnetar 50/1.3 is a bit more normal lens and less extreme in terms of aberrations vs. Elnomaxim, but I just happen too love the output from Elnomaxim wide open and I also enjoy using it stopped down to f8 so it gets more use than Sonnetar in my case. If the aberrations are too much, they can also be tamed down just by stopping it down a little bit. They disappear pretty fast when stopping down and are pretty much gone by f2.
I hope that helps...
Mayasan wrote:
Hi Junha, how does the Elnomaxim 55mm appeal to you so far? I am tempted by its ultra low 4 elements in 4 group configuration. from your album, this lens has most glowy images wide open out of those 50mm Ms optics lens lineup. How would rate it against Sonnetar 50mm f1.3 and ISM 50mm f1.0? I am fan of sonnetar f1.3 bokeh that has swirly & painterly drawing. I am not sure how the Elnomaxim draw for bokeh. Also in terms of build quality, size and handling, is the elmomaxim similar to sonnetar f1.3 ?
I met a copy of elnomaxim without hood. Do you find the hood necessary for your use?
Juha Kannisto wrote:
My recent outings with MS-Optics lenses:
April 4: A7CII & MS-Optics Vario-Petz 57/2: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jcqV9p46a4K8jCFeA
I used 3 diferent SA settings, 0 (neutral) for the first 11 shots, -2 (max SA undercorrection) for the next 32 shots and +2 (max SA overcorrection) for all the rest. Everything shot at f2 or f8.
