M10-P with Zeiss 35mm f1.4 Distagon

[BackwashBob]

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I have used Zeiss lenses for a long time BUT mainly in the medium-format world. The "weight" of the 35mm 1.4 ZM lens is the LAST thing I that was on my mind. Having lugged around Hasselblads all my life, my M4-P with a 35mm Distagon is a feather-weight. I was used to a 50mm Distagon on a 500C/M with an eye-level finder so my point of reference is skewed.

My concerns were the smoothness of focus, the bokah, the speed, and flare of the lens. My concerns were quiesced as this may be one of the most incredible Zeiss I have used.

[microview]

My experience was that it was a lovely lens (the Distagon) to use and gave fine results. But in the end the weight was too much. I have just bought a Q2 and hope its 30MP crop will provide something comparable in IQ to either the Zeiss or the more costly 35fLE.

[kinch123]

Been thinking a lot about this lens and maybe one way to overcome the size/weight hesitation is to stick it on a Nikon Z7. Should be a match made in heaven. And buy the 50 f/1.5 Sonnar same time -- focus shift? What focus shift?

[Guest]

On 12/14/2019 at 12:56 AM, steve 1959 said:

It seems that every review you read about this lens says that its a fantastic lens.

Most lens reviews just confuse me because of the various opinions including reviews of such notable lenses as the summilux or summicrom's.

I tried one out in the london camera exchange in bristol and was surprised how little finder blockage was present and that it was not that big.

I really like my 35mm f2.4 summarit and im not convinced that its a better lens or that i would find the extra speed useful on my m262.

In other words im not sure i would use it but it sounds like a great piece of glass.

I was wrong,its clearly sharper than my 35mm f2.4 asph summarit and i do like having the extra speed.

The lens is not so big even with my third party bayonet hood and its easily the best lens i have ever used.

I cannot afford its main rival the summilux FLE but half my stuff is at infinity where the FLE is not at its best or so many reviews state,i also find vertical shots easier without the focus tab,

[gotium]

5 hours ago, steve 1959 said:

I cannot afford its main rival the summilux FLE

I’ve had them both. Compared them carefully and sold the FLE. The Zeiss is the better lens. 

[Leica001]

I have the Distagon on an M10 Monochrom and it is OUTSTANDING! Great sharpness and rendering at f1.4 and mind-blowing clarity, transparency micro contrast at f5.6 and f8. A match made in heaven!

[Archiver]

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On 12/17/2019 at 2:21 PM, Archiver said:

I tried the Distagon at a shop recently, and was smitten by it. I'm used to the rendering of the Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 and f1.2 Noktons, which is quite glowy and low contrast, so I was really impressed with how sharp and contrasty the Distagon is wide open. Handling is wonderful, it's smaller than the Voigtlander 35/1.2, and I could imagine using it as a primary lens for travel, landscape and some environmental portraiture. Having said that, I tend to prefer small lenses on a M body, the smaller, the better, so I'd either stick with my Noktons, or buy the new Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 for something different.

It's been a year, and a good copy has become available, I'm picking it up tomorrow, having changed my mind about this lens. The size and weight of the Voigtlander Nokton 35/1.2 v1 is manageable for me, so the smaller size and weight of the Distagon should be fine. If I'm okay with a Panasonic G9 and Olympus 17mm f1.2 Pro lens which actually weighs a few grams more, the M9 with Distagon should be okay, too. I expect to get many years of wonderful pictures with this lens, as all my other 35s are Voigtlanders with varying degrees of aberration and character. This will be my first fully modern, high performance 35.

[Archiver]

First four hours of Distagon ownership. This lens is sharp wide open. Holy heck. It makes my Voigtlander 35s (Nokton f1.2 v1, f1.4 v1, and Ultron f1.7 LTM) look like they're shooting through fog. There does seem to be an issue with focus calibration - not quite sure what it is, but it seems to front focus a bit like the Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5, but I'm used to accommodating for that. So after that mental and operational adjustment, it's acceptable. This lens should be able to be calibrated, but I'm happy to work with it as it is. It's lighter and less bulky than the Voigtlander 35/1.2 v1 quite significantly, and I'm happy to use this for a walkaround lens. If/when I get a M10-P, I'll post images taken with it here. 😄

[astrostl]

FWIW I'd think it more likely that your rangefinder needs calibration. In any case you can use Live View to determine it.

[Guest]

Just in case it helps my 35mm f1.4 distagon is razor sharp at all apertures and has zero focus shift of any kind.

[ravinj]

Same here - my Zeiss ZM 35 F1.4 is sharp starting wide open and haven't noticed any focus shift. I also own the 35 Summilux FLE and between the two it is hard to choose - ZM is clearly sharper at larger apertures with little to no curvature; 'Lux is small/less weight and has its own charm. Since I couldn't decide, all I could do it to keep both!

As an aside, apart from M, ZM 35 is stunning even wide open on the SL2.

 

Edited December 31, 2020 by ravinj

[mheine]

I got this lens a few weeks ago and I am just stunned by its performance. The rendering is just lovely, a good amount of character (some call it busy bokeh) and razor sharp, even wide-open. The weight and size isn't a issue, in my opinion - combined with the M10 it's about as big as the Leica Q with lens hood on. I had two copies of the lens, one was a bit stiff to focus, the other one (the one I got now, serial number is older) is perfectly adjusted and lovely to use. There's probably nothing better in price / value comparison, except the Voigtlander 35mm f1.2 III (no experience but great reviews). 

[LBJ2]

This thread is over a year old...wonder what 35 the OP ended up or not.

[lanetomlane]

I bought the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 last year and am absolutely delighted with it, so much so that I also bought the 50mm f2.0, again another great lens, in my opinion. I've kept the 35 and 50 Summicron's as I find it handy to have these two focal lengths for my M10 and M9 Monochrom.

https://photographybytomlane.com - just added a section on Street Photography

[mheine]

vor 5 Stunden schrieb lanetomlane:

I bought the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 last year and am absolutely delighted with it, so much so that I also bought the 50mm f2.0, again another great lens, in my opinion. I've kept the 35 and 50 Summicron's as I find it handy to have these two focal lengths for my M10 and M9 Monochrom.

https://photographybytomlane.com - just added a section on Street Photography

Funny to read! I also got the 50mm f2.0 because of the Distagon 35mm. I like that lens as well, it‘s sharp, has some unique bokeh rendering (reminds me sometimes of my old VM 35mm f1.4 Nokton) and super lightweight / compact. 
But I have to admit, 50mm is probably not my focal length, haha. 

[rramesh]

Fantastic lens sharp and a nice bokeh. I did not buy it, as I already had a Voigtlander 35 f/1.2 II. For me the size and weight would not be an issue as the latter is an even heavier lens (470 gm vs 380 for the Zeiss.

 

[kzsf]

On 3/3/2019 at 4:12 PM, Wilson01 said:

Is anyone here recommend the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm 1.2 II ?

larger aperture and half of the price, but its heavy and big.

i've been using voigtlander 35mm 1.4 ii mc - quite happy with it)

[LeeUK]

I owned both the 35lux FLE and a 35 1.4 ZM Distagon, kept the Zeiss, the lens is phenomenal the best I have ever used on my M.

Some tips, don't use any of the Leica lens corrections none of them work well on this lens, leave off and make your own flat frames, there is a slight cyan cast at the left and right edges that needs correcting, I only correct the colour cast not the vignetting...

I use this hood:-

Haoge LH-ZM35 Bayonet Metal Round Lens Hood for Carl: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by LeeUK

[astrostl]

2 hours ago, LeeUK said:

I owned both the 35lux FLE and a 35 1.4 ZM Distagon, kept the Zeiss, the lens is phenomenal the best I have ever used on my M.

Some tips, don't use any of the Leica lens corrections none of them work well on this lens, leave off and make your own flat frames, there is a slight cyan cast at the left and right edges that needs correcting, I only correct the colour cast not the vignetting...

With the Distagon T* 1,4/35 ZM, we recommend to use one of the manual lens profile settings:
28 f/2 ASPH. 11604
or
28 f/2.8 ASPH. 11606

I received this advice directly from ZEISS. And they also said that they don't think their 50s need profiles, so they aren't in a position of always recommending them.

Edited January 30, 2021 by astrostl

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[LeeUK]

40 minutes ago, astrostl said:

With the Distagon T* 1,4/35 ZM, we recommend to use one of the manual lens profile settings:
28 f/2 ASPH. 11604
or
28 f/2.8 ASPH. 11606

I received this advice directly from ZEISS. And they also said that they don't think their 50s need profiles, so they aren't in a position of always recommending them.

Yes, they gave me that info also, have you tried them? They are awful, 11604 even gives a yellow cast to the whole image!

The best inbuilt I found was 35 f1.4 ASPH. 11873, this gives the image a slight blue cast however...

Much better to turn off and make your own flat's for cast removal, it makes a big difference to the images and colour fidelity.

I may do a post about making a good flat, I use a small EL panel over the lens and a couple of tricks learnt from the astro community. It only costs around £30 to make the setup.

 

 

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by LeeUK