Zeiss Biogon 35mm on the M9

[DFV]

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I must say I have been shooting for one week now with a Biogon 35 and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. Up until now all non Leica lenses (wide angles) I have used on the M9 have been simply unacceptable.

 

Since I have a LUX 35 on order and am not sure when it will be delivered I bought the Biogon to fill, this need until I receive the new LUX (can't wait!!!). I had little expectations or at least I only expected it to be acceptable. After a full week and about 1000 exposures I must say I am very happy with the result. I do not expect it to be better than the CRON 35 yet I did not want to spend that much money when I will be getting the LUX.

 

Very happy I chose this option while waiting.

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[lars_bergquist]

Which non-Leica lenses have you been trying, and found unacceptable?

 

I have been able to solve the coding problems for the 18mm Zeiss Distagon and the 25mm Zeiss Biogon, and these are excellent lenses -- the Biogon especially.

 

The old man from the Age of the Box Camera

[Racefan]

... Since I have a LUX 35 on order and am not sure when it will be delivered I bought the Biogon to fill, this need until I receive the new LUX (can't wait!!!). I had little expectations or at least I only expected it to be acceptable. After a full week and about 1000 exposures I must say I am very happy with the result. I do not expect it to be better than the CRON 35 yet I did not want to spend that much money when I will be getting the LUX. ...

 

Similar situation to yours - know I'll buy a 35 Lux at some point and want to wait and see how the new version turns out (on a wait list but who knows when). My choice in the interim was a Summarit and, like you with the Biogon, I'm very impressed with it. Seems it's hard to go bad wrong with a Zeiss or Leica lens in this focal length.

[01af]

I am in the same boat—waiting for Summilux-M 35 Asph (new) and Summilux-M 50 Asph, and the wait is getting long. So I snapped a Summarit-M 35 mm from eBay just a few days ago, and I must say wow! Great lens! Most likely I'll keep it even when the Summiluxes arrive eventually.

[!Nomad64]

I must say I have been shooting for one week now with a Biogon 35 and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. Up until now all non Leica lenses (wide angles) I have used on the M9 have been simply unacceptable.

 

Since I have a LUX 35 on order and am not sure when it will be delivered I bought the Biogon to fill, this need until I receive the new LUX (can't wait!!!). I had little expectations or at least I only expected it to be acceptable. After a full week and about 1000 exposures I must say I am very happy with the result. I do not expect it to be better than the CRON 35 yet I did not want to spend that much money when I will be getting the LUX.

 

Very happy I chose this option while waiting.

 

Would you pls report your impressions as to behavior at f2? Rumors say that at full aperture is not as good as 'cron counterpart, whilst stopping down it eventually equals or bests it.

 

thanks

Bruno

[DFV]

Do you have the f/2 as opposed to the f/2.8?

 

The f/2 appears to have a very good MTF, particularly for a wide angle of that speed that does not appear to have any aspherical elements. Does it show any color aberations near the edges?

 

Paul

PaulRoark.com -- Paul Roark's Photographic Home

 

I have the f/2version and no chromatic aberations whatsoever.

[DFV]

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Which non-Leica lenses have you been trying, and found unacceptable?

 

I have been able to solve the coding problems for the 18mm Zeiss Distagon and the 25mm Zeiss Biogon, and these are excellent lenses -- the Biogon especially.

 

The old man from the Age of the Box Camera

 

The problem are not the lenses it is just the marriage with the M9 that causes problems. What did you code the 18mm Distagon? Did you get rid of the color aberration on the edges?

[DFV]

Would you pls report your impressions as to behavior at f2? Rumors say that at full aperture is not as good as 'cron counterpart, whilst stopping down it eventually equals or bests it.

 

thanks

Bruno

 

I would say that it is great at f2 since I have taken most shots in low light conditions. However, I would not say that it is superior to a CRON at any aperture. Most Zeiss lenses remind me of Leica 20 years ago before most became aspherical. They are great lenses but don't kid your self, they are not Leica M. What they are is great value for money.

[batmobile]

How do you know, because you say you did not want to spend the money on a cron as you will eventually get the new 35 lux asph?

 

It always pays to have experience in these things before making such bold statements, which gullible people who 'want to believe' might just take as fact. Many users and a good number of reviewers would give the Zeiss biogon 35 f2 superior performance in a number of areas compared to the 35 Cron asph. Distortion, flare control and resolution in the outer field being the obvious ones.

 

IMHO the ZM lenses look little like Leica lenses of 20 years ago. The Zeiss lenses have higher contrast, less vignetting than some Leica lenses and astounding performance in the outer field (esp the 21, 25 and 35 biogons). They are not a poor man's Leica lenses. In a number of cases, they are not as strong on centre wide open, however. The look is different, as is the build and handling, but I am not kidding myself at all when I say that the ZMs are better in some respects than Leica lenses. Whether that matters to you will depend on your application and preferences.

 

Try making a 35 biogon flare.... then try a 35 V4 cron.

Try making a 35 biogon show distortion..... then try a 35 summarit.

 

Aren't you the same person who posted saying that it took many months of soft images to determine, quite by accident, that your M9 was not a poor camera, but that your 50 lux asph appears not to be working to full performance on the m9.... having discovered this by chane after using a 50 cron which you had stopped using 'because the 50 lux asph' had to be so much better?

 

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I get tired of people making such pro-Leica anti-everything else comments when they have no experience to back up their assertions.

 

I would say that it is great at f2 since I have taken most shots in low light conditions. However, I would not say that it is superior to a CRON at any aperture. Most Zeiss lenses remind me of Leica 20 years ago before most became aspherical. They are great lenses but don't kid your self, they are not Leica M. What they are is great value for money.

[DFV]

How do you know, because you say you did not want to spend the money on a cron as you will eventually get the new 35 lux asph?

 

No wanting to buy a CRON does not mean that I do not have the opportunity to use and test the lens. Who says I have not owned one for many years?

 

It always pays to have experience in these things before making such bold statements, which gullible people who 'want to believe' might just take as fact.

 

I do not recall making any absolute statements, as nobody does here generally. I can only speak of personal opinion and experience without ever saying that whatever I say is law. Another thing is if my statements or opinions are not of your liking.

 

IMHO the ZM lenses look little like Leica lenses of 20 years ago. The Zeiss lenses have higher contrast, less vignetting than some Leica lenses and astounding performance in the outer field (esp the 21, 25 and 35 biogons). They are not a poor man's Leica lenses. In a number of cases, they are not as strong on centre wide open, however. The look is different, as is the build and handling, but I am not kidding myself at all when I say that the ZMs are better in some respects than Leica lenses. Whether that matters to you will depend on your application and preferences.

 

Well, that is YOUR opinion. What I do not like that you put statements in my mouth like defining Zeiss as a poor man's Leica lens. I do not think that I describe them as such or ever would. Even if cheaper, pardon me, less expensive than Leica lenses they are still costly lenses compared to any SLR lenses. The word "poor" just does not seem right here...

 

Try making a 35 biogon flare.... then try a 35 V4 cron.

Try making a 35 biogon show distortion..... then try a 35 summarit.

 

Yes, I am going to get ALL of these just to prove you are wrong or right... I think not.

 

Aren't you the same person who posted saying that it took many months of soft images to determine, quite by accident, that your M9 was not a poor camera, but that your 50 lux asph appears not to be working to full performance on the m9.... having discovered this by chane after using a 50 cron which you had stopped using 'because the 50 lux asph' had to be so much better?

 

Yes, so? This just proves that I am objective about my gear. The LUX 50 was indeed not right and no, I did not discover it by chance. I started to use the CRON 50 again because the results of the LUX just did not seem right. Sorry, I can't help but to be objective despite having spent a lot of money on the lens.

 

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I get tired of people making such pro-Leica anti-everything else comments when they have no experience to back up their assertions.

 

Well, more than sounding harsh you sound like you have a lot of Zeiss lenses in your bag. Secondly, I am tired of people making assumptions like ALL others here have little to no experience whatsoever. For instance, I could make the assumptions that you are a Zeiss dealer or Zeiss rep...

 

Ahhh, and finally the assumption that one has no experience. Interesting, how do you know? Even if it where true, would people with little experience have no right to post their opinions?

 

As to defining me as "pro" or "anti" something I seriously think you need to re-read my post, especially since I state that I am very happy with my Biogon.

 

Cheers.

[Double Negative]

I love my 2/35 Biogon ZM - both on the M8 and with the ZI. It's a great lens.

[batmobile]

DFV,

 

I own an equal number of Zeiss and Leica (asph and non asph) as well as a couple of CV lenses. I am not interested in brands, only what the lens does.

 

You made this statement: 'Most Zeiss lenses remind me of Leica 20 years ago before most became aspherical. They are great lenses but don't kid your self, they are not Leica M.' And it is this which does them a huge disservice. The comments I made about ZM lenses and distortion control, outer field performance and flare resistance are not my opinion or anyone else's, they are facts which you can verify very easily without buying any of them. Their comparative qualities with various Leica lenses are also easy to verify. Which attributes you attach value to is personal of course.

 

Bear in mind Leica M does not include only asph lenses, so when you say 'don't kid yourself, they are no Leica M' it naturally brings to mind comparisons like the 21 ZM and pre-asph 21, 31 2.8 Biogon and 35 Summarit etc... because look how the 25 Biogon performs against the 24 asph and the 21 against the 21 asph. Even Putz manages to swallow that bitter pill: the ZM lenses are right up there.

 

Which one a person likes is entirely personal, but in no way could you say the Zeiss products are technically inferior to Leica M lenses as a whole (which includes current non-asph lenses like the summarit range).

[arthury]

Alright guys, let's enjoy this forum and discuss things that are dear to our hearts.

 

Going back to Biogons, I think we should be aware that this class of lenses were originally designed for reconnaissance and geometric distortions were not tolerated. Hence, the design of Biogons did not leave the removal of geometric distortions to chance. I doubt there are any lens deisgns that can beat the Biogons in this area.

 

Leica lenses are clealy highly corrected; especially, the ones with aspherical elements. They have their strengths and their roles.

[lars_bergquist]

The problem are not the lenses it is just the marriage with the M9 that causes problems. What did you code the 18mm Distagon? Did you get rid of the color aberration on the edges?

If I had purchased the Distagon today I would have coded it as a Super-Elmar. This did not exist at that time, so I bought it with a bayonet for 28+90 frames, and (after having the bayonet milled by John Milich) I coded it as a pre-aspheric 21mm Elmarit. Works like a charm. No rededge. Vignetting well corrected.

 

The 25mm Biogon is coded as a 24mm Elmarit. No problems there either. Brilliant lens.

 

The old man from the Age of the 3.5cm Elmar

[jaques]

I grabbed a well used version of the 35 Biogon f2- and I love it. Focus is spot on- color is superb- and it is plenty sharp enough even wide open.

 

The image I am posting here is razor sharp in reality- however when I attach it here it appears soft- this has happened to me quite a few times.... what is going on? How do you all post images and keep the quality high?

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[marcg]

If you go to diglloyd.com: Contents - you will have to subscribe to the full reviews, you will find a very detailed and well-considered comparison between the 35mm Biogon and the 35mm cron.

 

His conclusions come out in favour of the Zeiss for most work.

[mstudios]

wow...another which lense is better contest....

hmmm ok, here is the Zeiss 35mm f2....wide open..oh yeah cropped 75%

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[V_kids]

I purchased ZM 35/2 Biogon base on diglloyd.com.

I will use this lens at the moment, until my wallet is thick enough to buy the new Summilux 35

So far, I'm happy with this lens on my M9.

 

took this pic yesterday, @F2

 

 

 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[jaques]

Love this lens:

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[DFV]

Love this lens:

 

Nice, but are you sure the focusing is right? Like your other shot it looks a bit out of focus to me. The Biogon should be much sharper. Are you retouching the picture before uploading it here?