Hi,
There is a reason Leica S lenses are expensive…
That said, i guess the Planar 80 can give pretty good performance. I have only used the Hasselblad Planar 80/2.8 and it can deliver very good image quality. That said, my initial impression of that lens was not that good and I would expect the Contax lens to be quite similar.
Samples f/4, f/8, f/16:
http://echophoto.dnsalias.net/ekr/Articles/Shoots/BernardSamples/CastleShoot/Planar_80/ http://echophoto.dnsalias.net/ekr/Articles/Shoots/BernardSamples/Planar80/I would expect good central sharpness and some weakness in the outer image area. That said, my Planar 80/2.8 works mostly pretty well. Mostly I shoot it at f/11, that compensates a bit for field curvature and masks focusing errors.
So, I would say that the old planars can deliver pretty good image quality at their best. No doubt, the Leica-S lenses are better, question is how they work for you.
Personally, I have used a Phase One P45+ with Hasselblad lenses but switched to a Sony A7rII with Canon zooms. The few comparisons I made, the Sony A7rII always came out on top. So, personally I would guess that I would prefer a high MP 24x36 mm over a 39 MP MFD DSLR.
Best regards
Erik
Trying to find alternative to Leica Lenses due to High Cost. Are these lenses just as good as Leica S lenses. I know I would need an adaptor
Thank you
Main use for portraits and walk around lens
