80/1.9 has arrived!

vidio · January 05, 2019, 10:23:43 AM

UPS delivered the 80/1.9 today. Very very preliminary reactions. The weather in the northeast is awful and it is a dreary day. But below are my initial reactions taking a few shots wide open.

This is a heavy lens.
Very heavy.

The autofocus seems very accurate albeit not particularly fast and fairly loud when it turns the massive glass. Probably the loudest of any of the HB lenses. Maybe this will change over time as I used it out of a cold truck with just about 1 hour of warmup.

The images are beautiful to behold. This lens is very sharp in the zone of focus unlike some other fast lenses that have a bit of an overall softness. I shot wide open and it was very sharp with lots of micro contrast in focus area and with a nice soft background in the out of focus area.

The files are very malleable. That is exposure, color and sharpness can take adjustments well.

I have previously shot the Noctilux and thought this might be similar. But it is not. The Noct had an overall soft dreamy look even in the focus areas and a sometimes unpredictable background. That was nice but very challenging to actually work with. This lens is tack sharp in the focus area and then soft in the background. I worked mostly in low contrast light so cannot speak to how the background would look with bright lights, etc.

Chriscove · January 05, 2019, 10:49:50 AM

Thanks for the info! Curious to know if your have the 90 to compare in terms of AF spend, size and weight. Trying to decide between the 2.

Thanks,

vidio · January 05, 2019, 11:58:01 AM

Yes. I also have the 90 which I love. The 80 feels heavier but the form factor in the hand is very nice. I think the AF is a bit slower on the 80 and its noisier. The separation from the background is greater with the 80 as is to be expected and of course it is a faster lens so more useful in low light. A lot will depend on how close you are to the subject etc. I thought the 80mm size (63 equiv) might be odd but I am very much liking it. I've never shot 63 before (who really has?) but it is a nice compromise between the 90 (71) and a 65 (50). I had originally thought I was going to sell my 90 as I also have the 135 on order so I thought I would use 80 for portrait and 135 for tele. But not totally sure now. The 90 has a different quality to it than the 80. Can't quite define it. If I had to have only one though I think I'd take the 80. The fast lens does really make a difference. However if that is not as important the 90 is also an amazing lens.

Chriscove · January 05, 2019, 05:18:57 PM

Thanks I think I need both!!

tedtrimmer · January 05, 2019, 06:11:04 PM

I have G.A.S......

jng · January 05, 2019, 06:40:08 PM

Sounds great! I find myself coveting the new 80/1.9... Does the lens use diaphragm rounded blades and can you comment on the bokeh quality (and specifically the shape of out-of-focus highlights or bokeh balls) when the lens is stopped down? Thanks in advance...

John

vidio · January 05, 2019, 07:15:47 PM

I think it is pretty we'll documented that direct light bokeh balls will produce cats eye shaped bokeh balls in some circumstances. Some people like them and some don't. I have not seen them so far but I have not shot in light with direct lights shining into the lens. Everything I've shot has extremely smooth buttery bokeh. Maybe I'll try tomorrow and see if I can tell under what circumstances and at what aperture they appear. In some shots I've seen there is sometimes a combination of round and cats eye highlights.

jng · January 05, 2019, 07:33:16 PM

Thanks for this. By "cat eye" do you mean asymmetric toward the image periphery? Specifically I'm wondering whether the OOF highlights toward the center of the field are rounded or hexagonal when stopped down.

michael123 · January 06, 2019, 01:58:38 AM

Guys, can you post some pictures?

vidio · January 06, 2019, 05:15:16 AM

Quote from: jng on January 05, 2019, 07:33:16 PM
Thanks for this. By "cat eye" do you mean asymmetric toward the image periphery? Specifically I'm wondering whether the OOF highlights toward the center of the field are rounded or hexagonal when stopped down.

Based on just a very few shots looks round in the center, asymmetric (lemon shaped) towards the periphery. This is wide open and with max aperture set to full in the menu.

rent · January 06, 2019, 06:52:49 AM

Picture or it didn't happen!

Congrats on your new gear, and thanks for the initial report. Very much looking forward to some photos shot with this lens.

Best,
Alex

Quote from: vidio on January 05, 2019, 10:23:43 AM
UPS delivered the 80/1.9 today. Very very preliminary reactions. The weather in the northeast is awful and it is a dreary day. But below are my initial reactions taking a few shots wide open.

This is a heavy lens.
Very heavy.

The autofocus seems very accurate albeit not particularly fast and fairly loud when it turns the massive glass. Probably the loudest of any of the HB lenses. Maybe this will change over time as I used it out of a cold truck with just about 1 hour of warmup.

The images are beautiful to behold. This lens is very sharp in the zone of focus unlike some other fast lenses that have a bit of an overall softness. I shot wide open and it was very sharp with lots of micro contrast in focus area and with a nice soft background in the out of focus area.

The files are very malleable. That is exposure, color and sharpness can take adjustments well.

I have previously shot the Noctilux and thought this might be similar. But it is not. The Noct had an overall soft dreamy look even in the focus areas and a sometimes unpredictable background. That was nice but very challenging to actually work with. This lens is tack sharp in the focus area and then soft in the background. I worked mostly in low contrast light so cannot speak to how the background would look with bright lights, etc.

jng · January 06, 2019, 07:34:43 AM

Thanks for the clarification. Can you take a few shots with the lens stopped down, say, to f/2.8? Or just stop down the lens and report how many aperture blades do you see and whether they are straight or rounded? Sorry to belabor this, but the reason I'm asking is that I when I (occasionally) shoot portraits I sometimes like to stop down a bit and would like to know the shape of the OOF highlights when shooting other than wide-open. And yes some images would be nice. Thanks again!

John

Quote from: vidio on January 06, 2019, 05:15:16 AM
Quote from: jng on January 05, 2019, 07:33:16 PM
Thanks for this. By "cat eye" do you mean asymmetric toward the image periphery? Specifically I'm wondering whether the OOF highlights toward the center of the field are rounded or hexagonal when stopped down.

Based on just a very few shots looks round in the center, asymmetric (lemon shaped) towards the periphery. This is wide open and with max aperture set to full in the menu.

sepiareverb · January 06, 2019, 08:52:02 AM

The 80 is darn close to a 450mm lens on an 8x10 camera, one of my favorites. Will likely order next week.

vidio · January 07, 2019, 11:43:24 AM

I did some tests today on the lens including the bokeh shots stopped down. I'm reluctant to share the link as they are not great photographs. All are handheld at auto ISO with minimal processing. But since I am one of the few people to have received the lens I feel an obligation to share with others. Again - these shots are not meant to indicate what the lens can achieve in terms of beauty. They're just some tests, mostly at 1.9 but some at various apertures with particular attention to the shape of the OOF highlights as requested.

https://acerra.smugmug.com/Projects/HB-8019-tests/

Quote from: jng on January 06, 2019, 07:34:43 AM
Thanks for the clarification. Can you take a few shots with the lens stopped down, say, to f/2.8? Or just stop down the lens and report how many aperture blades do you see and whether they are straight or rounded? Sorry to belabor this, but the reason I'm asking is that I when I (occasionally) shoot portraits I sometimes like to stop down a bit and would like to know the shape of the OOF highlights when shooting other than wide-open. And yes some images would be nice. Thanks again!

vidio · January 07, 2019, 12:05:04 PM

Forgot to mention a couple of things.

You can click on the "i" button beneath each photo to see aperture and other data.

Also - how about that weird star effect on the christmas lights at 1.9 Only happened that one time and only at 1.9. Took the same shot a minute later also at 1.9 and the stars were not there but the lights themselves disappeared to some degree. Say what? And of course the stars are not there at the other apertures but the lights are. Some interaction of shutter speed perhaps related to leaf shutter?.

Finally - this lens is heavy, I think I've said that. But when I went outdoors in the the cold I kept getting a "lens not detected" warning and had to pull the battery out to get it to recognize. I thought at first I might have a problem. But then I tried taking the lens off and putting it back on and things were fine. I am thinking that the lens might not have been seated exactly right and the cold air affected this in some way or maybe the weight of the lens hanging down as I walked pulled it off a bit. In any case a reseat fixed it.