-incredible and dramatic detail, contrast, colors, resolution, sharpness. beats everything else in those categories. -comparitively cheap, for quality produced, compared to Leica, Canon''''s ''''L'''' series, and Nikon''''s ''''ED'''' lenses, and will take sharper photos than any of them!

no manual focus ring :)

i waited till i shot 20 rolls with this lens to give an opinion. and here it is. this is a special lens. I own alot of sharp lenses, and this is the SHAPREST of all of them. I own two other 50mm primes (canon and contax, both 50 1.4''''s) and this lens is sharper than those! It''''s not just a matter of resolving more detail than the other two (which it does), but the images themselves are very, very sharp. for the sake of comparison... Leica owners often talk about the Summicron 50 as being a smooth lens. Wonderful background blur, lots of grey tones, a rounded quality to the images (I''''ve seen photos taken with Leica to support all of this) and a generally smooth without sacrificing fine detail. The only thing the G45 has in common with the Summicron, is the part about fine detail. Everything else is completely different. This lens is sharp!!! Contrast is VERY DRAMATIC, deep blacks and eye popping whites. Subjects have a hard look to them, with well defined outlines, more "square", more hit you over the head 3D. Colors POP OUT at you! Objects seem to levitate off the print, instead of coexisting with it. It''''s like, Leica is Mozart, where Contax is Beethoven. There''''s greatness in both, but aside from that commonality, they are VERY different forms of art. This lens creates very, very dramatic photos. Contrast is exceptionally high. Backgrounds don''''t blur so smoothly, instead out of focus areas tend to have a "haunting" look. Vaporlike, but visible and obvious (which can make them distracting, or mood enhancing.) There''''s nothing smooth or subtle about this lens. It makes every little thing stand out. That may not always be preferable, or desired. It''''s hard to quantify this lens in terms of "bad" or "good" Any lens, in the right hands, can be a good lens for the right application. I''''ve taken photos with an Olympus Stylus Epic that are incredible, that would have lost something, had I used any other lens. I toss up between using this, and my Contax 50mm. They''''re close, but the G45 is noticably sharper (the 50 being no slouch there), the colors are stronger, textures pop out more, contrast is stronger, objects really stand out. The 50 paints colors a little more smoothly, and tends to get ''''inside'''' people a little better. I shoot alot of portraits, which makes that last point important. T

Customer Service

never used. good warranty, though

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too many to list.

Beatifuls colors.

Anyone

The 45 mm planar is the best objective i have used. Very sharp from f 2 to 16.

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nikon 50 al 1,8; nikon 50 af 1,8; nikon 50 1,4 afd; pentax 50 1,4 af; tessar 45 2,8.

Optical performance Low price

Wish it is even more compact

Optically fantasic! I generally don''t like using lenses at large apertures and at f/2 the shallow DOF makes focusing accuracy very important for the "sharpness" or the "look" of your picutre. I typically use it at f stops smaller than f/4. When set on tripod and use f/8 or f/11, the results are truly astounding, genuinely comparable to MF primes if not enlarged too much.

Customer Service

none needed

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Canon 50 f1.4, f1.8, Medium format''s standard lenses

Tack sharp, wonderfully built, has never let me down.

tends to evoke envious troll postings from users of lesser optics

Without doubt the best "normal" lens you can get for 35mm cameras. Build quality, fit and finish are all high above the average. I can''t see how anyone can honestly find a fault with this lens and if they don''t get excellent results, the fault is more likely to be found with the user and not the lens.

Customer Service

Never a problem. All the service technicians I have dealt with have been top notch and incredibly helpful

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Zeiss 50/f1.4 SLR lens

SHARP! Very very good color and with very high 3D feeling

Huh, I didn''t like the standard range, that was a problem to me.

SHARP! Very warm and pleasing color! The outcoming picture looks very 3D! Despite what people says, I really find the lens the very best among the whole series! Initially the standard range is the range that I used least, since I like using either the 21 (or 28) or the 90. In most cases the 45 lens was in my backpack, but I just didn''t need to pick it out. So after owning the set for 3 to 4 months, I found the 45 to be a total waste, so I pushed myself to use it: I brought nothing else out, just the G2 and the 45! After times of experiments, now I know better how to use this lens, and I really like the outcoming quality! Even an absolutely normal family picture, with two oldies holding a dog between them, could tell how great this lens performs!

Customer Service

None needed

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Nikon MF 50 F1.4, a very old one.

The G2 90,28,&45mm - sharp, sharper and sharpest!! Use their lens hoods.

None with the lenses. Would like to see a G3 body however.

For a 35mm lens, they don''t get much sharper than this. I don''t know about the medium format comparison (it''s still a 35mm negative). The results from this G2 system has made me happy with the decision not to go Leica M6 when I was in the market for a small, ''professional results'' camera system. Leica is a proven winner but their lenses are rediculously expensive. I also have the 28 & 90 mm. Extremely happy with both. Just because it''s a small set-up it still pays to mono or tripod it for even better results. Still in love with the my Canon ''L'' lenses and EOS1V.

Customer Service

not used

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Have had the opportunity to try some Leica M6 and Konica Hexar demo''s.

Optics, shadow detail, lack of flare, size, even-handedness of colour rendition, bokeh, etc.

None, apart from a slight disappointment that it''s not a stop faster :-(

It is entirely true what others write about this lens - it is quite simply breathtaking in every regard, although the extra stop to f1.4 would have been nice. I cannot find fault optically, it makes a mockery of my old Canon L 28-70/2.8L and 50mm, 85mm Canon lenses. I thought the L-glass was special but it was humbled by the G-series - throughout - I also have the 28/2.8 and the 90/2.8, although I find the 28 and 45 the better lenses. As for the medium format comparison, I''d say that this lens is capable, with sympathetic development and careful printing, of enlargements which provide most of the benefits of MF. I have also the Bronica ETRSi and a Mamiya 7, and I''d say that this lens is probably sharper than the 80/4 and certainly a fair bit sharper than the 75/2.8 Bronica, although we are really splitting hairs with that comparison. On Kodachrome 25, tripod mounted shots can be mistaken for MF-sized negs when printed.

Customer Service

Not used.

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Mamiya 7-II with 80/4 Bronica ETRSi with 75/2.8 Canon EOS 5 with various glass, L and non-L

Very sharp images are produced by this lense at all aperatures. Color, and contrast are by far the best I have ever experienced. Shadow detail, color transition and bokeh are better in this lense than any other normal prime I have shot with.

None.

This lense is as good as any other normal prime ever made, including medium format glass. Although I do not usually grab this lense for portraits, the bokeh of this lense has produced some of the nicest portraits I have ever shot. This lense remains sharp from edge to edge even at f/2. One of the best lenses at reproducing eye-popping colors without the use of a polarizer. As far as value is concerned, this is IMO, the best value in the entire photographic universe.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 50/1.8 & 50/1.4 Mamiya 80/2.8(normal for medium format)

Top notch quality, contrast

NA !

Incredible quality and shadow details. You simply forget the other lenses, even L series from Canon. Really pleased with results in all conditions.

Customer Service

Never used

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90mm for G1&G2 - Canon lenses (mostly zooms)

A superb normal lens. Incredible sharpness, contrast, & color rendition (although I shoot mostly black & white). Good bokeh. Also very well-constructed.

None.

One of the best normal lenses available in the 35mm format. Another optical jewel in the Carl Zeiss crown.

Customer Service

None needed.

Similar Products Used:

Other G-series (21, 28, & 90). Old Contax RF lenses. Various Contax SLR, Nikon, & Leica.