The curse of the 35mm

[lct]

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23 hours ago, erniethemilk said:

My other 2 lenses are a Summicron 40mm f2 & 50mm f2, both of which produce far greater results

If you have a Summicron 50/2 v3, v4 or v5 and like its rendition as well as that of your Summicron 40/2, i would skip the Summicron 35/2 asph that you might find too "clinical". Same for the 7art 35/2 more or less. Similar rendering as your own lenses would be a Summicron 35/2 v3 or v4. But if you want to change for more acutance the Summicron 35/2 asph is indeed the way to go or possibly an Ultron 35/2 asph.

[erniethemilk]

Thanks for all the words of advice. I’m still waiting for the CV 35 2.5 to turn up to try on the M10-P.   It may well solve my Sumigas, who knows. 

Plenty of food for thought for sure and appreciated 👍

[caloosajo]

I love my 50 Lux ASPH. I love my 28 Elmarit v2. And despite my initial doubts that 35mm would be “too similar” to the above (as countless blogs and LUF posts have stated), I LOVE my 35 Cron ASPH v2.

If you like how the modern ASPH Leica lenses render, this is a no brainer and secondhand prices are surprisingly palatable. Dare I say used prices are seemingly discordant with the stellar, reliable performance (I suspect since the 35 Lux FLE, v1 8E, and v4 KoB get all the internet love). 

[CosmoM3]

17 hours ago, caloosajo said:

I love my 50 Lux ASPH. I love my 28 Elmarit v2. And despite my initial doubts that 35mm would be “too similar” to the above (as countless blogs and LUF posts have stated), I LOVE my 35 Cron ASPH v2.

If you like how the modern ASPH Leica lenses render, this is a no brainer and secondhand prices are surprisingly palatable. Dare I say used prices are seemingly discordant with the stellar, reliable performance (I suspect since the 35 Lux FLE, v1 8E, and v4 KoB get all the internet love). 

I love the ASPH II of the Cron 35 as well

[Harpomatic]

On 9/15/2020 at 4:07 PM, pippy said:

From all I've read about it the mkII version of the 35mm f1.4 Voigtlander Nokton seems to have had pretty-much all of the optical abberations which plagued the original version ironed-out

Not at all, just the focus shift. It still retains all the other aberrations, maybe slightly higher contrast but worse corners!

Check my comparison if you have time:

https://www.47-degree.com/focus-shift/nokton-classic-35mm-14-comparison

[tappouni]

One 35mm which I really liked was the Zeiss C Biogon 35mm f/2.8 - quite a small little lens, but pictures looked great from it. Colours were especially pleasing (though I appreciate that's somewhat objective!). I'd say it's a worthy alternative to a Leica 35mm, if your budget didn't quite stretch that far. 

[lct]

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3 hours ago, Harpomatic said:

Not at all, just the focus shift. It still retains all the other aberrations, maybe slightly higher contrast but worse corners!

Check my comparison if you have time:

https://www.47-degree.com/focus-shift/nokton-classic-35mm-14-comparison

Interesting review indeed. Congrats . I've not yet received my v2 but i wonder if it is more resistant to flare, which could explain the feeling of higher contrast. 

[oldwino]

I'd agree that the Summarit and Biogon 2.8 are worth looking at. Both are great, classic lenses. If the Color-Skopar doesn't work out, that is. 

But maybe the problem is just the focal length? Maybe consider 28mm instead?

[Harpomatic]

23 hours ago, lct said:

Interesting review indeed. Congrats . I've not yet received my v2 but i wonder if it is more resistant to flare, which could explain the feeling of higher contrast. 

Hi lct, thanks. I have to admit that I didn’t particularly test for flare for those lenses, also because I hardly had an issue with it. And I never use hoods if it doesn’t rain.

You will enjoy your Nokton.

[lct]

23 minutes ago, Harpomatic said:

Hi lct, thanks. I have to admit that I didn’t particularly test for flare for those lenses, also because I hardly had an issue with it. And I never use hoods if it doesn’t rain.

You will enjoy your Nokton.

Just received my copy and tried it briefly on a digital CL Same general feeling as yours above. Flares much less than the CV 35/14 v1 "SC". It is not flare free though. It doesn't like much strong light sources when they are inside the frame but behaves better than some Leica lenses when same light sources are outside the frame. Distortion can be corrected through the 35/1.4 asph 11873 profile of the CL but i would not advise this lens to jpeg shooters due to that issue. The CV 35/2 asph does better in this respect. Thanks for your review again .

[cboy]

On 9/17/2020 at 3:22 AM, erniethemilk said:

Thanks for all the words of advice. I’m still waiting for the CV 35 2.5 to turn up to try on the M10-P.   It may well solve my Sumigas, who knows. 

Plenty of food for thought for sure and appreciated 👍

Could give the Leica summicron 35 f2 V1 replica a go for less an initial investment. Apparently good reviews from other rf users

I guess you can only go up in version from there or it can be used as inbetween before taking the plunge.

Edited September 19, 2020 by cboy

[jaapv]

I am missing a number of interesting lenses in this thread:
The Canon LTM 35/2.8 , LTM 35/2.0 , Canon LTM 35/3.5.
The image rendering is similar to the Leica's of the the time, and image quality widely accepted to be as good or even better. The Canon LTM 35/3.5 is a slightly lower quality, but still quite close to the Summaron 35/3.5.
And they are cheap.

[Harpomatic]

On 9/18/2020 at 11:26 PM, lct said:

Just received my copy and tried it briefly on a digital CL Same general feeling as yours above. Flares much less than the CV 35/14 v1 "SC". It is not flare free though. It doesn't like much strong light sources when they are inside the frame but behaves better than some Leica lenses when same light sources are outside the frame. Distortion can be corrected through the 35/1.4 asph 11873 profile of the CL but i would not advise this lens to jpeg shooters due to that issue. The CV 35/2 asph does better in this respect. Thanks for your review again .

I have enjoyed using the Nokton II quite a lot I have to say., but I certainly am curious to try the CV Ultron F2 asph. I can’t find a reason to get rid of my Biogon 35 F2 ZM though, it really is doing its job beautifully at the moment and I love its ergonomics. Shame for its coma wide open...

[erniethemilk]

Well, the CV 35 2.5 Color Skopar turned up yesterday and first impressions are very favourable.  Just a few odd shots around the house and garden, but it's pretty sharp wide open and the colours/contrast look good to me.  Now all I have to do is wait for a Voigtlander lens hood to arrive!

Not sure it will cure the SummiGas completely but for the time being I'm happier to keep working with the Voigtlander than I was with the 7artisans 35mm f2 and it will give me the time to save some money towards one.

[plaidshirts]

On 9/15/2020 at 8:31 AM, Ko.Fe. said:

OP needs to specify what camera those lenses are on.

I went through all three version on CV CS 35 2.5. Good on color film, dull of bw film. Good on M8, OK on M-E 220.

I was avoiding CV Nokton 35 1.4 until mk II came. MK II is OK lens on film and M-E 220.

Summicron is just way to overpriced for me and I can't find any reason to pay such price for it.

I went with NiB Summarit-M 35 2.5 and it is best 35mm lens I ever owned. For build and results. 

For something like M10, I can't imagine better 35mm lens, IMO. BW darkroom prints from negatives taken by this lens are just incredible quality. 

 

Another recommendation for the Summarit 35/2.5 from me (although used prices are going up like everything else...).

[lct]

14 hours ago, Harpomatic said:

I have enjoyed using the Nokton II quite a lot I have to say., but I certainly am curious to try the CV Ultron F2 asph. I can’t find a reason to get rid of my Biogon 35 F2 ZM though, it really is doing its job beautifully at the moment and I love its ergonomics. Shame for its coma wide open...

You won't find any compact 35/1.4 doing less coma at full aperture i guess. I mean more compact than the current Summilux 35/1.4 FLE which is significantly bulkier. As clear as i can see out of my digital CL, the Summilux 35/1.4 pre-asph is beaten hands down in this respect. Same for flare and sharpness at f/1.4. Only "superiority" of the Summilux pre-asph are its famous glow, for those who like that, and distortion where the Nokton is beaten hands down. It is not a problem for raw shooters though. As for the Ultron 35/2 asph it is a modern lens with more acutance and less distortion but also more CA. Not a lens i would use for portraits but the Nokton v2 does pretty well there. Just a feeling on a crop camera .

[BradS]

2 hours ago, erniethemilk said:

Well, the CV 35 2.5 Color Skopar turned up yesterday and first impressions are very favourable.  Just a few odd shots around the house and garden, but it's pretty sharp wide open and the colours/contrast look good to me.  Now all I have to do is wait for a Voigtlander lens hood to arrive.....snip.

I really think you'll appreciate and enjoy this tiny powerhouse. It performs very well - like I said, it is every bit as good as the modern 35mm Summarit. Enjoy!

oh, and the hood does not seem to be necessary with the 35mm Color-Skopar.

[erniethemilk]

19 minutes ago, BradS said:

I really think you'll appreciate and enjoy this tiny powerhouse. It performs very well - like I said, it is every bit as good as the modern 35mm Summarit. Enjoy!

oh, and the hood does not seem to be necessary with the 35mm Color-Skopar.

Thanks Brad. The only reason I’d like the Voigtlander hood is it hides the silver on the lens. Never keen on that look to be honest. 

[erniethemilk]

I’ve had the Color Skopar for around a week or so now answer have found it to be a very good buy. The sharpness and contrast looks good to my eye and the colour rendition seems nicer and more accurate than the 7artisans 35mm f2. 
 

Next question really is, will the 35mm Summicron f2 ASPH be better in terms of sharpness, colour and contrast than the Color Skopar on my M10-P?
 

Has anyone experience of going from the Color Skopar to the 35mm Summicron. 

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