35mm Nokton F1.4 vs 35mm F2 Biogon

[ottocrat]

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Going back to the Nokton 35/1.4, you said 'The problem with the 35 Nokton is well documented and widely reported and I for one can vouch for it'. I think the focus shift problem with the Summilux-M 35/1.4 ASPH is widely reported. Nobody here says do not buy a Summilux-M 35/1.4 ASPH because has focus shift, do you?

That's out of my price range so not something I've considered!

 

I'll be honest, I haven't found the right 35mm lens yet. I returned my Nokton and invested instead in a pre-owned 35 Summicron, a version 4. Quite honestly I'm not happy with it either. I find myself thinking back to my €100 pre-owned Nikkor 35/f2 with quite some nostalgia.

[jaapv]

I cannot say I find significant focus shift in my Summilux 50 asph..

[hudsong]

I am doing a weeklong review (on day 6) of the Nokton 35 1.4 with M8

Week With M8

I'm going to write up a conclusion tomorrow.

With my copy, I have experienced no focus shift whatsoever.. but maybe I got lucky? Also, I'm not one to take photos of a newspaper posted to a wall with my camera on a tripod, as far as I can tell, for my applications, this lens Just Works.

[roanjohn]

I am very happy with my Zeiss 35 f2 Biogon. Not so sharp wide open but it's quite sharp 1/3 from f2 (f2.2??).

 

:-)

[vafa]

I don't take pictures of newspaper on a wall either. I noticed back focus on my Nokton 35 1.4 when I took photos of people. I focused on the near eye and kept getting soft near eye and sharp as a tack far eye. I also had photos of people with out of focus face and supper sharp and in focus ears, which doesn't make for a flattering photo.

Believe me focus shift and back focus is not a myth as I have experienced it first hand.

It's obvious that there are many happy owners, but there are bad copies out there also.

I like this lens and have sent it back for an exchange. My only advise for people looking to buy it is; be prepared that you may get a bad copy. Therefore you'll have to go through the trouble of sending it back, so buy it from a reputable shop who backs his products. I got mine from an internet only shop (no store) in Los Angeles California, and was disappointed that took him 6 days after he received the bad lens to send the exchange. I have never bought anything online that wasn't shipped within 2 days if in stock (Almost 99% the next day).

Buy it from a store with good customer support and avoid potential headaches. Photo Village in NY offered me to bring my camera and try his lenses till I find a good one, but since I live in California, that wasn't an option.

I'm still waiting for the exchange lens to arrive, it's been over a week since I sent it back:mad:

 

Vafa

[ArtZ]

I don't take pictures of newspaper on a wall either. I noticed back focus on my Nokton 35 1.4 when I took photos of people. I focused on the near eye and kept getting soft near eye and sharp as a tack far eye. I also had photos of people with out of focus face and supper sharp and in focus ears, which doesn't make for a flattering photo.

Believe me focus shift and back focus is not a myth as I have experienced it first hand.

It's obvious that there are many happy owners, but there are bad copies out there also.

I like this lens and have sent it back for an exchange. My only advise for people looking to buy it is; be prepared that you may get a bad copy. Therefore you'll have to go through the trouble of sending it back, so buy it from a reputable shop who backs his products. I got mine from an internet only shop (no store) in Los Angeles California, and was disappointed that took him 6 days after he received the bad lens to send the exchange. I have never bought anything online that wasn't shipped within 2 days if in stock (Almost 99% the next day).

Buy it from a store with good customer support and avoid potential headaches. Photo Village in NY offered me to bring my camera and try his lenses till I find a good one, but since I live in California, that wasn't an option.

I'm still waiting for the exchange lens to arrive, it's been over a week since I sent it back:mad:

 

Vafa

 

I've bought five lenses at CameraQuest, lens-hoods and LTM adapters (four orders in total, I think). Stephen Gandy has always dispatched my orders the same or the following day. He has always been very helpful, even if he doesn´t sound very friendly on the phone. For instance, Stephen usually sent the lenses directly to John Milich (Brooklyn, NY) to be 6-bit coded and John sent them to France. This avoid unnecessary trips over the pond and risks of getting them lost.

 

You should probably give him a call.

 

Going back to the Nokton 35/1.4, my copy has not focus shift at all. I tested it when it arrived and it was perfect at all f stops and different distances. Besides, for its size, I use this lens a lot. I've never noticed any focus shift in my pictures unless, of course, human error... but that's not the lens fault but my fault. Concerning this particular CV lens, many people has reported focus shift problems. I believe them and I assume there're probably good copies and bad copies. Same thing with the Summilux 35 ASPH. I've seen copies with no focus shift at all and other copies with a lot of focus shift, mine for instance -I don't sell it for two reasons: it was a Xtmas present from my dad and I don't want to hear a possible buyer complaining about focus shift. De facto, I never use the lens (or very rarely).

 

But if you read my original post, I wasn't talking about the CV Nokton 35/1.4 in particular but all CV lenses. I said many people find always a reason for abasing CV lenses. Having 6 CV lenses myself and no problem whatsoever, I remind skeptical. I had more problems with Leica lenses than with CV lenses...

 

Hope you get soon a new copy!

 

Regards

.

[vafa]

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ArtZ, thanks for the feedback.

I think you are right, he shipped my original order the same day. There must be a good reason why took him this long for the new one.

 

Vafa

[Dougg]

... Same thing with the Summilux 35 ASPH. I've seen copies with no focus shift at all and other copies with a lot of focus shift, mine for instance -I don't sell it for two reasons: it was a Xtmas present from my dad and I don't want to hear a possible buyer complaining about focus shift. De facto, I never use the lens (or very rarely).

ArtZ, sorry to hear your dissatisfaction with the Summilux ASPH, and such a shame not to put it to good use. You might consider sending the lens to a repair specialist to see if there could be a more useful compromise on the focus adjustment that would work better, either over-all or at least for your most-used f/stop range.

 

Your lens might have been assembled incorrectly at the start, a missing spacer or additional unnecessary shim for instance, putting an element or group out of place. This was apparently the case with a v.1 Summicron 35 I bought new, and the effect masked by DoF except at rarely-used f/2 and only discovered a few years ago when I had it in for CLA. The tech discovered the focus helix was one-thread off in an assembly error. So that does evidently happen.

 

It's well-known that Zeiss allowed focus shift in the 50/1.5 C-Sonnar ZM; I sent mine to DAG (Don A Goldberg, in Wisconsin) for 6-bit coding and focus optimization. He found an effective compromise adjustment that gave fine focus at both f/2 and 2.8, still acceptable at smaller apertures, and minimized the shift wide open. Something similar might be accomplished with your Summmilux...

 

Best wishes

Doug

[ArtZ]

ArtZ, sorry to hear your dissatisfaction with the Summilux ASPH, and such a shame not to put it to good use. You might consider sending the lens to a repair specialist to see if there could be a more useful compromise on the focus adjustment that would work better, either over-all or at least for your most-used f/stop range.

 

Your lens might have been assembled incorrectly at the start, a missing spacer or additional unnecessary shim for instance, putting an element or group out of place. This was apparently the case with a v.1 Summicron 35 I bought new, and the effect masked by DoF except at rarely-used f/2 and only discovered a few years ago when I had it in for CLA. The tech discovered the focus helix was one-thread off in an assembly error. So that does evidently happen.

 

It's well-known that Zeiss allowed focus shift in the 50/1.5 C-Sonnar ZM; I sent mine to DAG (Don A Goldberg, in Wisconsin) for 6-bit coding and focus optimization. He found an effective compromise adjustment that gave fine focus at both f/2 and 2.8, still acceptable at smaller apertures, and minimized the shift wide open. Something similar might be accomplished with your Summmilux...

 

Best wishes

Doug

 

Doug,

 

The lens has been in Solms three times already... As the lens is still under warranty and I should be in Frankfurt later this year, I will take it with me and pop in at Solms to see what we can do.

 

Regards,

 

ArtZ

[pepeguitarra]

I am very happy with my Zeiss 35 f2 Biogon. Not so sharp wide open but it's quite sharp 1/3 from f2 (f2.2??).

 

:-)

Just to add to this old thread: I have the Ziess Biogon 35/2 and it is the sharpest lens ever. At f2 is supposed to be slower than the f1.4s and f1.2s of the world. However, I do use it at night and indoor with excellent results, it is so good. It is very sharp wide open.

 

 

Zeiss35mmf2-Gas-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr

[Loren]

Just to add to this old thread: I have the Ziess Biogon 35/2 and it is the sharpest lens ever. At f2 is supposed to be slower than the f1.4s and f1.2s of the world. However, I do use it at night and indoor with excellent results, it is so good. It is very sharp wide open.

 

 

Zeiss35mmf2-Gas-1 by Palenquero, on Flickr

 

I just got one for Christmas and I love it, too. Great lens.