Why Choose Uncoated Lenses? My Experience with the Carl Zeiss Sonnar
Why Choose Uncoated Lenses? My Experience with the Carl Zeiss Sonnar
Diary
Why Choose Uncoated Lenses? My Experience with the Carl Zeiss Sonnar
“What is the difference between coated and uncoated lenses?” my friend asked. The short answer lies in contrast, sharpness, and flare resistance. Lens coating not only increases light transmission but also helps to filter out unnecessary light. So, does this put uncoated lenses at a significant disadvantage?
Well, it’s subjective. From a personal preference perspective, lower contrast can reveal more details, and the highlight bloom creates a certain artistic effect that appeals to my eye. I have long been intrigued by the Carl Zeiss Sonnar 5cm f/1.5 lens; its popularity was somewhat of a mystery to me until I took it for a spin on my Leica M10 Monochrom. There’s a certain charisma to an uncoated Sonnar lens.
Even at f/8, where I shot all these images, the highlight areas, such as the building walls, are blooming. The intense sunlight created silhouettes on the building, but thanks to the low contrast nature of the lens, it preserves the details so you can see the expressions of the people.
Unlike aspherical lenses, which naturally create high-contrast scenes, it takes a bit of editing to achieve the look you want. The strong light between two buildings just lay on this pedestrian crossing. I waited for an interesting subject to pass by, and I liked how the triangular shape of their legs created a repetitive pattern.
Guess how I got this shot? Hunting for poetic scenes is my aim. Using a Monochrome camera forced me to pay attention to minor details—things that appear super normal in our daily life but need magnification and curation to transform into photos that represent our style and beliefs. That’s the fun part of using a black-and-white-only camera. It’s nothing more than the pure enjoyment of light, texture, and the art of curation.
I wanted to post more about how I use different lenses to create certain kinds of moods and why we should try that. If you like this, comment and let me know. I would love to make more of these!
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hi. I’m reading with excitement your opinions of coated v uncoated lenses. The reason for reading and researching my near future use of uncoated came after watching a 1999 Dvd bought at a charity shop in which the photographer James Revilious gives the main reasons for using uncoated on his Leica. He explains how unlike coated lenses uncoated gave more details, more shades of silver or grey, less contrast etc. as you document.
I am producing black and white and colour digital seascape works, using Nikon cameras and lenses. I would like to have more grey’s and silvers, gradations to be more subtle but enhanced. Nikon produce good lenses and camera’s and I need to stick with them because of budget.
A Leica sonar is going to cost over a thousand pounds which is too far for me to travel. Have you any recommendations please.
oh by the way, if you haven’t already seen it, try and get hold of the dvd. James Revilious A World in Photographs banyak films for BBC
Thanks Michael, the BBC documentary about James Ravilious is truly remarkable. It inspired me a lot. Let’s talk soon!