Originally posted by bigoak What is the sharpest lens compatible with my K1?
oh, this question...Again.
If you are reasonably unconstrained by financial limitations I'd recommend getting lenses from the Carl Zeiss Otus* lens line, or as Fenwoodian has suggested: Milvus lenses converted to K mount - but remember your technique will ultimately limit what your camera/lens system resolves, if you have sloppy technique the results will be less than their best. Also bear in mind these lenses are tested with charts - flat objects, that are placed right smack in the middle of the focal plane**: what happens outside of that plane can be very different between different lenses and sometimes the sharpest lenses can have harsh bokeh - an unfortunate trait many Zeiss lenses have.
Originally posted by bigoak SOOC jpeg.
There is your problem. you can have the sharpest lens on the planet OOC jpegs aren't going to be able to convey that well enough - you need to shoot raw, and learn how to sharpen and process your images properly.
Originally posted by Fenwoodian the Zeiss Milvus 85 1.4. I own it and nothing else compares
The Zeiss Otus APO-Planar 85mm f/1.4 beats it, according to LenScore ratings - I will admit to being less than knowledgeable when it comes to the Zeiss milvus lenses, I have no idea of the design concept behind them. I have not tested the Milvus 85mm f/1.4 on my bench, but I use the Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 lens on my Nikon cameras and it is
spectacular. It is one of the sharpest lenses I have ever tested.
Originally posted by Na Horuk Schneider Kreuznach.
I have some of their older lens designs in my 50mm lens collection - optically they are run-of-the-mill Zeiss Planar/Distagon clones. Their current line of large format lenses are superb...but the degree of precision design and production comes at a steep cost. Their T/S lenses are based on older designs and are said to produce optical performance that is on equal footing with similar T/S offerings from Canon and Nikkor.
*The F mount variants with manual aperture controls are best suited for adapting to K mount, though these lenses are
exclusively designed for manual focus. I have been using the Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 OTUS for commercial work.I don't like using it for personal work, I take issue with the lenses rendering - it is...
boring. The Leica APO-Summicron M is just as good optically but has more character, and like 50mm lenses of Leica pedigree: it has a
distinct optical signature.
** Unless they are tested on an optics bench - which removes the camera from the testing altogether, and produces a reliably accurate reflection of optical performance.