29.

August 2017

Lloyd Chambers

Know-How

Micro Contrast and the ZEISS Pop

by Lloyd Chambers
Over about a decade of shooting ZEISS lenses and all the major
brands and 3rd party lenses, Ive developed a sense of what I
like in the final imageand that involves contrast, particularly
high micro contrast. Learn more about what that means for your
images.

As the late Dr. Hubert Nasse said to me some years ago when I was
pestering him about lens performance, he replied (perhaps in exasperation
at my persistence): it is the sum of everything. At first blush, this seems
to be a banal truism, but it actually it is a terrific way to sum up lens
performance as extremely complex, and not very obvious as to all
contributing factors. It neatly sums up why lab tests and MTF charts are a
useful starting point, but not a substitute for evaluating real images taken in
the field, because in the field the recording of images introduces factors
that one might not observe in the lab, such as color of light and subject
matter, flare of various kinds, diffraction effects, sensor/lens interaction,
etc.

What is micro contrast?

This article focuses on contrast, particularly micro contrast. Preserving the

contrast of the subject matter is what makes an image look alive and real.
High overall contrast with high micro contrast such as with ZEISS
Otus lenses delivers what one might term pop or 3D rendering or
brilliance or the bite of fine details. High overall contrast and high
micro contrast deliver a visual impact that is compelling. In low contrast
conditions such as overcast skies, shadows at dusk, etc, it becomes even
more important for a lens to deliver the maximum contrast, or the image
looks even more dull and lifeless. In shade at dusk, I term this the
penetrating power of a lens. More on that later.

One less obvious benefit of high micro contrast is that less aggressive
sharpening is needed. When an image has low micro contrast, appropriate
sharpening can helpbut that can be an issue if noise is significant.

Another less obvious benefit: a lens having high micro contrast makes
manual focus easier, and makes the job of the autofocus system easier also,
since an in-focus image snaps into focus (use magnified Live View for
manual focus, the optical viewfinder is not adequate). Better focusing leads
to more keepers. Even tiny errors will show up as reduced micro
contrast. Finally, a lens having low micro contrast wide open often means
spherical aberration, which leads to focus shift which further complicates
optimal focusing; see Focusing ZEISS DSLR Lenses For Peak
Performance, PART ONE: The Challenges, Challenge #5.

Below: even at greatly reduced size, this 5-way comparison of

50/55/58mm lenses shows the striking differences in both overall contrast
and micro contrast. See the 5-way crop and the 5-way image stack. See
how the Otus 1.4/55 image pops and look far more lifelike. And it
doesnt just have better contrast, there is more actual detail over a deeper
zonemore real depth of field. The Milvus 1.4/50 is next best, but does
not have the same bite that the Otus offers (though stopping down closes
the gap fairly quickly).

Llyod Chambers, From left: Otus 1.4/55, Milvus 1.4/50, ZF.2 1.4/50 Planar, Other #1, Other
#2 | High-res photo on Flickr

Below is the Otus 1.4/55 APO-Distagon image. See the 5-way full-frame
images at half camera resolution. The Otus image exhibits the lifelike
pop or 3D rendering that make the best ZEISS designs so attractive.
One might hardly realize that this was taken at f/1.4! Its real (actual) depth
of field in terms of crisply defined detail is substantially deeper than the
other lenses.

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/55 ZF.2, f/1.4, 1/800 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr
Subject contrast and optical systems

Contrast is the difference between tone, usually discussed in terms of black

and white (differences in brightness ignoring color), as distinguished from
color contrast which refers more to how human vision perceives color.
For example, orange set against blue is perceived as particularly striking,
even though the actual luminance (brightness) might be low contrast.

In any real photograph containing detail, there is a contrast to the subject

matter unless it is something like pure blue sky. But even a blue sky has
some contrast from zenith to horizon, being brighter at the horizon and
deeper blue overhead. Heavy fog has extremely low contrast; even a very
black object near a very white object will look grayish (because of the
intervening fog).

An optical system always reduces contrast from the original with less than
the original contrast: black becomes slightly gray and white becomes
slightly gray, never quite the original (sharpening can actually make
contrast higher than the original but that is another story). When a lens is
stopped down, diffraction can make a very large reduction in contrast at all
levels starting around f/11 ( for higher resolution cameras, micro contrast
per pixel is affected even at f/8). As the fine-ness of details increases, this
graying increases: the contrast steadily decreases as the resolution
increases, until there is no detail at all (no differentiation in tone, no
detail). A camera with a very high resolution sensor cannot perform at its
best unless the lens delivers high micro contrast to its sensor. This seems
obvious, but plenty of photographers buy 36 or 42 or 50 megapixel
cameras while utilizing lenses incapable of resolving to the sensor, or stop
down to f/16 or even f/22, thus mashing micro contrast.

A lens cannot have high micro contrast without high contrast for coarse
and medium structures also. For example, fine details on a backlit deeply
shadowed hillside cannot have high micro contrast should the lens develop
flare: dark details cannot be any darker than the minimum gray established
by the flare. The presence of any filter and particularly a polarizer can
induce such contrast reductions; always shield the lens from non-image-
forming light when possible.

Contrast and aperture, diffraction dulling

Very highly corrected lenses like the ZEISS Otus line quickly reach peak
performance. This allows shooting at wider apertures such as f/1.4 or f/2 or
f/2.8 with incredible pop or snap. When set against a blurred
background, the perceived sharpness is even higher because in-focus areas
have wonderful micro contrast juxtaposed against blurthe image appears
to pop out of the background like a 3D cutout.

As stopping down continues the depth of field increases, and in general

this can be a fine thing, since small focus errors result in impaired micro
contrast on the intended subject. To about f/6.3, peak brilliance is available
on cameras up to 50 megapixels (full frame), but at about f/8 contrast at all
levels begins to drop from diffraction; see Depth of Field Challenges:
Bypass the Limits with Focus Stacking, Near or Far, Macro or
Landscape. By f/11 there are substantial repurcussions to contrast and
particularly micro contrast which can be mitigated by appropriate
sharpening, but the full pop isnt quite there (though the Otus 55 defers
the downside unusually well, see the moonlight van example). Using f/16
or f/22 is a recipe for mushy results.

Below, this aperture series using the Milvus 2/135 shows what happens
from f/2 through f/22 due to diffraction. Be sure to view the full size
image.

o At f/2, micro contrast is already very high, becoming almost optimal

at f/2.8, albeit with limited depth of field.
o At f/8, subtle micro contrast losses verus f/5.6 become visible (36
megapixel Nikon D810).
 o Micro contrast at f/8 is similar to f/2, from diffraction effects.
o Loss of micro contrast accelerates to obvious loss at f/11.
o f/16 micro contrast losses are unaceptable (to me) as a rule, with f/22
never a rational option.

Llyod Chambers, Micro contrast declines subtly at f/8, then declines rapidly at f/11, f/16, f/22,
Micro contrast declines subtly at f/8, then declines rapidly at f/11, f/16, f/22 | High-res photo on
Flickr

Maintaining contrast when depth of field is needed, avoiding

diffraction dulling

How then to work around diffraction, yet enjoy the brilliance of an image
taken at an aperture that is more optimal for micro contrast? The answer
is focus stacking. The bad news is that some micro contrast is lost in the
stacking process. It is also extra work (more post processing). The good
news is that there can be huge gains in depth of field, and that micro
contrast can be mitigated by sharpening. Morever, overall contrast (coarse
and medium structures) is unaffected. The result is an image tht preserves
the pop and brilliance of the originals, but with far superior depth of
field.

Below, this 3-frame focus stack with the Otus 1.4/85 could not come close
to this amount of depth of field even at f/16, and yet the high lens contrast
makes it through the stacking process unscathed: quality in = quality out.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/55 ZF.2, f/8, 1/640 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: contrast degraded by diffraction and flare.

Below, the high lens contrast of the Otus 1.4/85 contrasts with the effects
of greatly reduced contrast from both diffraction at f/16 and lens flare.
Avoid both: shield the lens from non-image-forming light
whenever feasibleeven Otus lenses do not control flare perfectly.

The use of f/16 is almost never justified (f/11 or f/13 are OK,
but diffraction mitigating sharpening is essential). Micro contrast in the
f/16 image in effect destroys the finest details, that is, the contrast becomes
too low for detail to be perceived or even recorded. The f/8 image could be
processed to brighten the dark areas, with ample fine detail present.
 Lloyd Chambers, Contrast loss form diffraction and flare at f/16, versus f/8 | High-res photo
on Flickr

Examples
The ZEISS micro contrast pop is evident at every aperture until
diffraction flattens performance with a heavy hand as discussed previously
and as shown in MTF charts. A key difference with the Otus lenses and
lenses like the Milvus 2/135 APO-Sonnar is the high performance wide
open, and particularly only one stop down, but also measures taken to
minimize contrast loss under varied lighting conditions (special attention to
flare and aberration corrections). The subject color and illumination affect
micro contrast, with violet/blue illumination having substantially lower
performance with some lenses.

It is critical that contrast be held with stopping down at least through f/11,
and in that regard there can be surprises even at ideal apertures like f/5.6:
contrast losses from internal reflections between lens elements and the
sensor. With some lenses that contrast drop can be a significant
contributing factor, getting worse with more stopping down. That issue is
not diffraction, but it piles on to the diffraction losses.. Thus its worth
looking at stopped-down apertures as well, and in a variety of conditions
(lens performance in sunlight vs very blue mountain canyon light can
differ significantly).

Example: Otus 1.4/55 APO-Distagon: Last Kiss of Light at

Bristlecone Graveyard

The light changed so fast that only the f/1.4 exposure satisfied as to its
balance and where the light felltoo late for f/2. No matterwhile the
depth of field is very thin, the Otus 1.4/55 delivers outstanding contrast at
all levels. With the shallow depth of field, the tree pops out of background,
an effect acccentuated by the juxtaposition of sharpness against an out-of-
focus background. Even if not fully sharp, it is the contrast (overall and
micro contrast) that makes the subject stand out.

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/55 ZF.2, f/1.4, 1/3200 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: Otus 1.4/85 APO-Planar: Healthy Bristlecone

The micro contrast bite is there right at f/1.4, but in this case, this large tree
has a lot of depth and I wanted good sharpness on most of its trunk and its
needles, so I went to f/5.6, which maintains all the micro contrast and still
provides good separation from the background.

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/85 ZF.2, f/5.6, 1/800 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: Otus 1.4/28 APO-Distagon: Lundy Reservoir at Dawn

The ZEISS Otus 1.4/28 APO-Distagon doesnt have quite the same micro
contrast wide open at f/1.4 as do its 55mm and 85mm siblings (optical
design is much more challenging at f/1.4), but it is no slouch by any means
and its performance delivers a similar visual impact with a snap at f/1.4
that extends over the entire frame, not just aiming for center performance
at f/1.4. Quality quickly rises with stopping down.

Getting high micro contrast in this ultra-blue pre-sunrise mountain canyon

light requires first-class color correction. It is what helps keep micro
contrast high even in violet/blue light like this. See the large actual pixels
crop. Here f/2 is shown to reduce the vignetting a bit; f/1.4 is nearly as
good.

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, Nikon AF-S 1.4/28, f/2, 1.6 sec., ISO 64 | High-res photo on
Flickr

Example: Otus 1.4/85 APO-Planar: Aspen Trunk Wet from Rain

Otus 1.4/85 Micro contrast is high when shot wide open, but stopping
down to f/2.8 achieves peak performance. Here with Aspen Trunk Wet
from Rain, there are several concerns in shooting an image like this at
f/1.4:

o Focus acuracy is paramount. Missing focus by a hair is surprisingly

easy (and I did so in this case!).
o The tree trunk is not straight; it undulates, so that some portions can
be sharp and other not sharp at f/1.4.
o For maximum pop, peak micro contrastand enough depth of field
makes the image appear to pop out of the background, the 3D
 effect. Sometimes this works great at f/1.4 and sometimes the subject
needs some depth of field because it is uneven in depth (distance).
Below: when viewed at reduced size, the differences are fairly subtle
between f/1.4 and f/2.8*, particularly in the outer zones of f/1.4, where
the effective aperture is at least f/2. The f/2.8 image at right gains enough
depth of field to sharpen most of the leading edge of the tree trunk and
even start wrapping around the sides, yet the background is still pleasingly
blurred and the micro contrast is near its optimum on the tree trunk.
Juxtaposting extreme sharpness against a blurred background makes the
sharp areas seem even sharper (even if not fully sharp).

* The f/1.4 image has been corrected for vignetting to make the
comparison easier, but I personally often prefer the vignetting at f/1.4, and
I leave it uncorrected for nearly all of my images.

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/85 ZF.2, f/1.4 (left) f/2.8 (right), 1./20 sec., ISO
64 | High-res photo on Flickr

Actual pixels crop shown below. I appear to have slightly front-focused so

that performance is not optimal at f/1.4 on the trunk. But f/2.8 not only
takes care of that, but delivers a solid gain in depth of field. Which makes
the point that shooting at f/1.4 is very hardmiss but a little and the visual
impact is lostblurry eyes dont cut if for portrait. See the full-size crops.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/85 ZF.2, f/1.4 and f/2.8, 1./20 sec., ISO 64
| High-res photo on Flickr

Example: Otus 1.4/85 APO-Distagon: Sprinter Van by Moonlight

Here there are two challenging things for a lens: (1) keeping dark blacks
black, and (2) maintaining high contrast at edges of dark and bright. The
van seems to pop out of the darkness against a rich background (even after
being processed to lighten the shadows!). Even at f/11 the Otus 1.4/85
maintains unusually high contrast, which makes f/11 more palatable than it
otherwise would beHere I wanted reasonably sharp star trails, so f/11
was necessary.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/55 ZF.2, f/11, 448 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: Otus 1.4/85 APO-Planar: Tenacious Juniper Tree

On a 36/42/50 megapixel camera, micro contrast reaches its peak at about

f/6.3 before diffraction starts kicking in significantly, though f/8 can be
fine with a touch of extra sharpening to mitigate the small loss. The better
the lens, the more the loss can be noticed, since the lens is closer to being
limited by diffraction. With dark tones, high micro contrast is important in
order distinguish dark tones from just slightly darker tones, as we have
here in the rain-soaked wood, the last light of the day peeping through for a
wonderfully warm light.

Below, I wanted most of the juniper tree to be sharp, and that required
stopping down; at f/1.4 the center of the tree was wonderfully sharp, but
depth of field was troublesome. I also did not want too-sharp a background
that would merge with the tree. Aperture f/6.3 was just right.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/85 ZF.2, f/6.3, 0.3 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: Otus 1.4/85 APO-Planar: Backlit Bristlecone (f/1.4

and f/4)

The key thing to notice here is that there is no difference in the 3D pop
of the image at f/1.4 versus f/4. That makes the lens exceptionally
versatile, with aperture not the determining factor for image quality.

Here the 3D pop that results from high contrast is outstanding wide open at
f/1.4. But it drops off in some areas of the tree (I focused on the round burl
near front, which was too close for the main trunk). The tradeoff is how
much background blur is desired: stop down to f/4 (next image), and the
sharpness encompasses much of the tree, but also sharpens the
background. But at least the choice is not forced by performance
limitations at f/1.4, as with most lenses. Read here, why image EXIF info
might differ from caption.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/85 ZF.2, f/1.4, 1/1600 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/85 ZF.2, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr
Example: Otus 1.4/55 APO-Distagon: Ghostly Bristlecones at
Dusk (f/1.4 and f/4)

As with the 1.4/85 APO-Planar, the key thing to notice here is that there is
no difference in the 3D pop of the image at f/1.4 versus f/4, though there
enough depth of field at f/4 to make most of the leading tree sharp while
still separating it from its background.

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/55 ZF.2, f/1.4, 0.3 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/55 ZF.2, f/4, 1.3 sec., ISO 64 | High-res photo
on Flickr

Penetrating power: distinguishing dark tones

When shooting at dusk and in murky conditions, a lens must preserve dark
tone contrast extremely well or the shadows will go mushy and grayish,
merging black with near black, and thus losing detail. High contrast is thus
critical to a lifelike image, in order to preserve the nuances of darker tones.
I deem this ability to see into the shadows under the trees (literally and
evocatively) to be penetrating power.

Example: Otus 1.4/85 APO-Planar: Snowfield with Algae, Deep

Dusk

Red/purple algae (apparently Chlamydomonas nivalis) grows on this

snowfield on this shaded mountainside. Shot at dusk in very low contrast
and very blue light at f/1.4, the lens must faithfully pass through what little
contrast is present in the situation. The Otus 85 has delivered an
outstanding image under difficult conditions. White-balanced properly and
with appropriate processing, the semi-tesselatted surface of the snow field
is clearly delineatedsee the large image.

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/85 ZF.2, f/1.4, 1/50 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: Milvus 2/135 APO-Sonnar: Ancient Bristlecone Trunk

and Rising Moon

I wanted to add some balance and sense of place, so I shot this 2-

frame focus stacked image. The stack isnt perfect (very hard to do this
near-to-far focus at 135mm), but the Milvus 2/135 APO-Sonnar has peered
through the deep dusk to delineate very fine details in the distance and in
the wood of the trunkno easy feat to maintain high micro contrast for
monochromatic light or subject matter.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Milvus 2/135 ZF.2, f/8, 1/6 sec., ISO 64 | High-res photo
on Flickr

Example: Milvus 2/135 APO-Sonnar: Breached Beaver Dam

Deep in a mountain canyon, late dusk brings low contrast blue lighting.
Below, the Milvus 2/135 APO-Sonnar delivers outstanding overall contrast
and micro contrast, which together make for a strong visual impact (image
processed for moderate contrast in order to allow seeing into/under the
trees). The use of f/5.6 maintains high micro contrast on the 36-megapixel
Nikon D810 without fear of micro contrast losses from diffraction. High
overall contrast keeps black and not quite black distinct. Very blue light of
dusk (only partially corrected here) presents a challenge that demands
excellent optical color correction. Otherwise, fine details can be overlaid
with violet/blue haloes; even mild amounts drop contrast.

See the large actual pixels crop which shows fine detail not blurred by the
wind and also the crop of the forest area (foliage blurred by wind).

Below, this beaver dam inundated a very large area of the canyon for many
years (I saw it 25 years ago though 2016!). It was breached in the spring of
2017 due to extreme runoff from record snowfall. The beaver has set up
shop in a lower meadow area.

Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Milvus 2/135 ZF.2, f/5.6, 1.6 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: Milvus 2/135 APO-Sonnar: White Mountains Sunrise

I knew the sun would have to blow out, but that maintaining the area
around the sun required a very dark (nearly black) exposure level for the
foreground hills. The exceptional lens contrast even shooting into the sun
kept those deeply shadowed areas black, without a graying veiling flare. I
was able to substantially boost the shadow areas in brightness while
retaining good detail tonal separation.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Milvus 2/135 ZF.2, f/8, 1/100 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: ZEISS Otus 1.4/55 APO-Distagon: Bristlecone View

to Brilliant White Cloud at Dusk

The foreground was very dark, and the cloud very bright, offering up the
possibility of a veiling flare, but the Otus 1.4/55 kept the dark areas dark.
This is a very difficult exposure and was tricky and bit frustrating to
process. I shot it to show that the nearly-black foreground can be brought
up with good detail, because that bright white cloud does not add a other
areas of the frame.

I shot one frame at f/8, focusing on the downed tree root area, knowing
that depth of field would leave a blurry foreground and background, even
at f/8. Then I shot two more frames for a focus stack. This is the 3-frame
focus stack.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Otus 1.4/55 ZF.2, f/8, 1/200 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Example: Milvus 2/135 APO-Sonnar: Dying Aspen

Below, it had just stopped raining, and I shot into these deeply-shadowed
trees. There was a faint haze in the air from water vapor, so I pulled down
the blacks a small amount. Because the Milvus 2/135 APO-Sonnar has
cleanly separated all the dark tones, the dark areas show detail and clear
separation. Here at f/4, depth of field is just adequate for high sharpness on
many of the trees.
 Lloyd Chambers, Nikon D810, ZEISS Milvus 2/135 ZF.2, f/4, 1/25 sec., ISO 64 | High-res
photo on Flickr

Conclusions
The pop or 3D rendering or brilliance or bite of fine details that
results from high micro contrast lends a feel to an image that many lenses
lack. Check out the ZEISS lenses discussed in this article (and others) to
get a sense of whether that visual impact changes the way you look at
photography.

Addendum: measuring contrast, MTF charts

o Micro contrastrefers to contrast of very fine details, such as 40 line
pairs per millimeter (lp/mm). Modern sensors have resolution well
over 100 lp/mm, so 40 lp/mm is a proxy for what happens with
greater resolution.
o Overall contrastrefers to contrast of coarse structures, generally taken
as 10 lp/mm but also medium structures, generally taken as 20
lp/mm.
Contrast is typically presented using various types of MTF
(Modulation Transfer Function) charts, though this article will focus
exclusively on showing results from the field. At ZEISS a few years ago, I
enjoyed a demonstration of the K8 MTF tester in use a few years ago and
saw just how variable results can be depending on how it is measured
(including inserting the proper optical thickness of equivalent sensor cover
glass for the camera platform).

ZEISS measures MTF with real lenses with white light, and thus the
ZEISS MTF charts are based on the reality of built lenses and with
diffraction in effect and with a full spectrum (not just green which bumps
results up substantially). The charts should not be confused with fantasy
MTF charts that are computed, almost always without diffraction effects.

Shown below is a world-class performance for MTF (contrast) at 10 lp/mm

(upper pair of lines), 20 lp/mm (next set of lines), and 40 lp/mm (lowest
pair of lines). Contrast at this level at f/1.4 is rare among lenses. The pairs
of lines are for sagittal vs tangential MTF. Observe that by f/2.8, contrast
peaks, though f/4 makes for a more even performance across the field. At
f/8, the contrast drops at all levels, this accelerates at f/11 and f/16 is
inferior to f/1.4 for coarse, medium and fine structures.
Lloyd ChambersMicro ContrastZEISS MilvusZEISS Otus

THE AUTHORLloyd Chambers

Lloyds eponymous diglloyd.com website publishes a popular blog and a
wide variety of articles and guides geared towards professional and advanced
photographers. Lloyd is a longtime photographer, having used a wide variety
of film formats and lenses including 35mm, 4X5 view camera, 6X7, 645 and
617.