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Zeiss 35/2.0 Biogon vs 35mm Summicron ASPH


slippyphoto

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Can anyone give me some feedback on these two lenses competing? I know the Summicron well. It's possibly my favourite lens of all time!! How does Zeiss's version compare in the real world? Sharpness, accuracy, contrast, rendering... And anything else I should consider?

 

Any feedback or mini reviews would be great appreciated!!

 

 

http://www.simonlipman.co.uk

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hi Simon,

Pls have a look at some shots with M8 + 2/35 Biogon. The files with L1022xxx were taken with Zeiss. At the time of shooting, I haven't owned the 2/35 Cron, so i can only compare these files with my 2/50 Cron (files with L1023xxx).

 

Shots were done in Singapore, both around 4pm-ish, same location, different day, unfortunately.

 

Comparing the lens built quality, Biogon is better than CVs i've rented (Nokton 35, 50, and Heliar 15) but slightly below cron 35 and 50 that i currently use.

 

Focusing ring - a bit stiff on the biogon. 50 cron is still what i like best.

 

IQ - well, here comes the subjective thingy :) my take is that the BW shots from cron is still better. Though i have seen some colour shots from biogon to be better but not generally. Sharpness and bokeh, well - still prefer cron.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Br,

Dominic

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Can anyone give me some feedback on these two lenses competing? I know the Summicron well. It's possibly my favourite lens of all time!! How does Zeiss's version compare in the real world? Sharpness, accuracy, contrast, rendering... And anything else I should consider?

 

Any feedback or mini reviews would be great appreciated!!

 

 

Simon Lipman

The Zeiss lens is bigger, as big as the 50 Summilux asph, which will put some people off. It has less contrast, especially at f/2, but other than that it is stellar: virtually flare free and very well made, with firm clicks between aperture stops and no play at either end of the aperture range, which cannot be said of all modern Leica lenses. It is also less than half the price, which was the deciding factor for me when I bought it.
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If you already have the 35 Summicron and and are very happy with it, I don't understand why you need to consider the Zeiss 35. You may be better off looking at investing in something else. Unless of course you are looking to sell the 35 Summicron and invest the delta elsewhere. Check out Reid Reviews where the 35s are compared.

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Thanks for the feedback (constructive) and the not so constructive feedback. Who says I was looking to buy either? Amazing the assumptions made on this forum along with the responses shrouded in passive aggression.

 

I was simply interested in a comparison between the two, so for those that took the time to answer... Thankyou!

 

 

http://www.simonlipman.co.uk

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Thanks for the feedback (constructive) and the not so constructive feedback. Who says I was looking to buy either? Amazing the assumptions made on this forum along with the responses shrouded in passive aggression.

 

I was simply interested in a comparison between the two, so for those that took the time to answer... Thankyou!

 

 

Simon Lipman

 

You'll see these things in any forum, although, in case you don't know yet, this forum and Luminous-landcape are among the most arrogrant.

 

Get use to it, pick up whatever useful to you and laugh at those unpleasant ones, give people a chance to release their psychology stress ... untill one day you also become one of us.

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Thanks for the feedback (constructive) and the not so constructive feedback. Who says I was looking to buy either? Amazing the assumptions made on this forum along with the responses shrouded in passive aggression.

 

I was simply interested in a comparison between the two, so for those that took the time to answer... Thankyou!

 

 

Simon Lipman

 

Most communication here is quite collegial but the grumpy old men (no names mentioned) do get a bit grumpy at times :rolleyes:. Brief typed communication is also a problem and frequently leads to misunderstanding.

 

Are you planning on buying a 2.0/35 or just after some information?

You really can't go wrong with the Summicron especially if it is your 'all-time favorite'. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the form factor and compactness of the Summicron is not an insignificant issue.

 

Have you considered the 2.5/35 Summarit or do you need f2.0? The 35 Summarit is an outstanding lens which in some aspects is superior to the Summicron. I have the 1.4/35 Summilux FLE but often take the Summarit out instead.

 

Finally, a quick search will reveal a lot of ZM 35mm discussion on the forum, for example:

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/customer-forum/220830-compare-summicron35-2a-biogon35-nokton-35-a.html

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m-lenses/224963-35-bokeh-no-flare.html

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m8-forum/156742-leica-35mm-f-2-5-summarit.html

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m-lenses/266841-35mm-summicron-goggle-zeiss-zm-35mm.html

 

Mark

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There is also this discussion on FM: 35 mm for Leica M - FM Forums

 

Unfortunately it doesn't touch much on the 35 Cron ASPH, but does compare the ZM35/2 against the 35 Lux ASPH and also the ZM35/2.8.

 

The mentioned site made a key point about the dipped curve (of Leica and Biogon f2.8). A point well taken is the superior of Biogon f2.0 to the other 35mm lenses. Yes there is not comparison about the Summicron ASPH, but I digged out the MTF, it seems Summicron-ASPH also has the dipped curve around 20mm.

 

If you follow the argument, I think you'll conclude that even summicron-asph is not as good as Biogon f2.0.

 

I think there's a good point about the dipped curve argument. However, I think there is another dimension that is not covered i those discussion. My personal experience with Zeiss ZM 25mm that's not very favorable to Zeiss is about its CA. There are a lot of Christmas light in the white or bright objects.

 

Erwin Puts had a comment that it's te result of highly corrected optics. I think't that's kind of $%#**. It's a flaw, period. And I think that's one of the major characteristics of all Zeiss ZM. I saw similar problem in Leica 35mm Summicron version 1, the 8 elements version. Most Leica lenses I 've touched does not show this problem, including the trl-elmar 28-35-50mm.

However, this may not be a serious issue for B&W. It may only matter in color shots.

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