costa43 Posted September 18 Share #1 Posted September 18 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi all, Over the years, I've realised that the lenses that give me the most pleasing image to work with are of lower than average contrast. Nowadays I enjoy the 35mm focal length a lot more than I used to, my love for 50mm is still real but I find I reach for my Canon 35mm ltm lens more often than ever before. My main gripe with this lens is that I find the 1 metre minimum focus somewhat restricting. Therefore I'm after a low contrast, 0.7m or less option. Ideally f2 or faster to be used primarily on digital. Top of my list so far is the Summicron 35mm v1 but I feel I may be overlooking some gems out there so any advice is as always, very much appreciated! Thanks Costa Edited September 18 by costa43 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 18 Posted September 18 Hi costa43, Take a look here Low contrast 35mm recommendations. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lct Posted September 18 Share #2 Posted September 18 (edited) Not sure i would choose Leica for low contrast lenses. Even my Elmar 35/3.5 from 1948 does not fall into that category (first pic). It is a coated lens though so perhaps an uncoated Elmar could do it but i have no experience with Leica lenses that early. Besides Leica, my only lens i could qualify low contrast is a Nokton 35/1.4 SC v1 but it suffers from focus shift issues so it is not a lens i would advise on rangefinders. The Nokton 35/1.4 SC v2 has not the same issues but i would not call it a low contrast lens personally. You might feel differently though. 2nd & 3rd pics below to show how it renders on low contrast scenes. I would not expect it to tame contrast when the scene is contrasty though (last pic). https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-M11-Leica-3535/i-m265Qqz/0/5a0b6297/X4/M1006419ps-X4.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-M11-CV-3514-SC-v2/i-3VC4S5D/0/af171a6a/X4/M1002362_sips-X4.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-M11-CV-3514-SC-v2/i-3kRkt57/0/d6fa3604/X4/M1007868_sips-X4.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Diverse/n-QFBj4/Leica-M11-CV-3514-SC-v2/i-xqrRSTP/0/5794bfaa/X4/M1002374_sips-X4.jpg Edited September 18 by lct costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jankap Posted September 18 Share #3 Posted September 18 Low contrast, is not there a filter? Or perhaps in post? costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
f8low Posted September 18 Share #4 Posted September 18 (edited) If you want to stick to Leica lenses, the Summaron 35mm 2.8 could save you some money compared to a Summicron while giving you comparable or less contrast. Not sure though whether the contrast is low enough for you. It's certainly lower than Leica ASPH. PS: The Summaron 35mm 3.5 is said to have less contrast than the 2.8 but it is 1m minimum focus distance PPS: Get a hazy copy 😉 Edited September 18 by rho Tom R and costa43 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
horosu Posted September 18 Share #5 Posted September 18 16 minutes ago, rho said: If you want to stick to Leica lenses, the Summaron 35mm 2.8 could save you some money compared to a Summicron while giving you comparable or less contrast. Not sure though whether the contrast is low enough for you. It's certainly lower than Leica ASPH. PS: The Summaron 35mm 3.5 is said to have less contrast than the 2.8 but it is 1m minimum focus distance PPS: Get a hazy copy 😉 I find the opposite to be true: the Summaron has much higher contrast than the 8-elements Summicron. The latter consistently provides the the most pleasing images on a digital sensor, in my experience. costa43, Erato and Alberti 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Michel Posted September 18 Share #6 Posted September 18 3 hours ago, costa43 said: Hi all, Over the years, I've realised that the lenses that give me the most pleasing image to work with are of lower than average contrast. Nowadays I enjoy the 35mm focal length a lot more than I used to, my love for 50mm is still real but I find I reach for my Canon 35mm ltm lens more often than ever before. My main gripe with this lens is that I find the 1 metre minimum focus somewhat restricting. Therefore I'm after a low contrast, 0.7m or less option. Ideally f2 or faster to be used primarily on digital. Top of my list so far is the Summicron 35mm v1 but I feel I may be overlooking some gems out there so any advice is as always, very much appreciated! Thanks Costa I owned and used a Summicron version 1 (with goggles) for decades. Yes, wide open it has a fairly low contrast and shows some glow; close it down even just f/1.8 and the contrast jumps right up. costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted September 18 Share #7 Posted September 18 Advertisement (gone after registration) 1 hour ago, horosu said: I find the opposite to be true: the Summaron has much higher contrast than the 8-elements Summicron. The latter consistently provides the the most pleasing images on a digital sensor, in my experience. I agree - I have both and the 2.8 Summaron is clearly "snappier" than the 8 element Summicron. I also bought the v2 (6 element) Summicron in 1969, when it was touted as having "improved contrast" compared to the v1. The v1 has better resolution, but I find the images gentler than the v2 or the Summaron. costa43, lct, Erato and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
f8low Posted September 18 Share #8 Posted September 18 @horosu @TomB_tx interesting, I know the Summaron pretty well but was probably jumping to conclusions about the earliest Summicrons. Never shot them side by side. Would you say any of the pre-asph Summicron have higher contrast (say at 2.8) than the Summaron? costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitroplait Posted September 18 Share #9 Posted September 18 5 hours ago, costa43 said: ... to be used primarily on digital. Isn't there a contrast slider that goes "negative" as in; reduce contrast? If the lens captures a long tonal range and details, then adjusting contrast in post (digital) or in the darkroom through VC filters shouldn't be a problem - or am I missing something? costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco McBeast Posted September 18 Share #10 Posted September 18 THE Gem is the 35mm V1. If you are afraid of missing another Gem next to the V1, I recommend that you buy a second one. There is no other. Then, the Summaron f2.8, the cron V2, the pre-asph lux… costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
costa43 Posted September 18 Author Share #11 Posted September 18 (edited) 4 hours ago, nitroplait said: Isn't there a contrast slider that goes "negative" as in; reduce contrast? If the lens captures a long tonal range and details, then adjusting contrast in post (digital) or in the darkroom through VC filters shouldn't be a problem - or am I missing something? It’s not the same for me. Especially on sunny days when shooting into the light, I find lower contrast lenses retain more detail in the shadows and give you a look that I cannot replicate so easily in post. I also prefer them for b&w pics. Edited September 18 by costa43 JMF, KFo, ocean2059 and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
costa43 Posted September 18 Author Share #12 Posted September 18 Thank you all for your suggestions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted September 18 Share #13 Posted September 18 6 minutes ago, costa43 said: It’s not the same for me. Especially on sunny days when shooting into the light, I find lower contrast lenses retain more detail in the shadows and give you a look that I cannot replicate so easily in post. I also prefer them for b&w pics. This is a fallacy. Low contrast lenses suffer from veiling flare which actually results in the loss of tonal detail in the shadows. costa43 and Darrell 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted September 18 Share #14 Posted September 18 Shadows can be too dark with high contrast lenses and pushing exposure increases digital noise in PP. Now when contrast is too low, there can be veiling flare indeed so better have lenses with moderate contrast from this viewpoint. costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdmesa Posted September 19 Share #15 Posted September 19 3 hours ago, lct said: Shadows can be too dark with high contrast lenses and pushing exposure increases digital noise in PP. Now when contrast is too low, there can be veiling flare indeed so better have lenses with moderate contrast from this viewpoint. From what I understand, lens contrast is not like image contrast. A high contrast lens transmits a wider range of tones than a low contrast lens does. But this doesn't diminish the unique rendering of low contrast lenses: https://luminous-landscape.com/understanding-lens-contrast/ costa43 and pgk 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted September 19 Share #16 Posted September 19 47 minutes ago, hdmesa said: From what I understand, lens contrast is not like image contrast. A high contrast lens transmits a wider range of tones than a low contrast lens does [...] The way i understand it, a high contrast lens is a lens producing high contrast images but i have nothing against other definitions. This one for instance: "high-contrast lens delivers image of object with high MTF" (link). costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdmesa Posted September 19 Share #17 Posted September 19 44 minutes ago, lct said: The way i understand it, a high contrast lens is a lens producing high contrast images but i have nothing against other definitions. This one for instance: "high-contrast lens delivers image of object with high MTF" (link). When you talk MTF, you're just expressing the relationship between contrast and resolution. A modern lens with excellent lens contrast delivers a higher degree of discrimination between tones. What you do with those tones is up to you, but you have a wider range of them when using a lens with better contrast. You can clip out the lowest blacks and boost the midtones to emulate a low contrast lens. costa43 and pgk 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted September 19 Share #18 Posted September 19 38 minutes ago, hdmesa said: [...] You can clip out the lowest blacks and boost the midtones to emulate a low contrast lens. If you refer to modern asph or apo lenses, it is not my experience i must say. Recovering shadows feels easier with classic lenses, producing lower contrast images, than high contrast ones to me. YMMV. costa43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
costa43 Posted September 19 Author Share #19 Posted September 19 9 hours ago, pgk said: This is a fallacy. Low contrast lenses suffer from veiling flare which actually results in the loss of tonal detail in the shadows. I agree they are more prone to veiling flare on average, especially shooting into the light, but overall, in high contrast scenarios, I prefer the blacks to not be so black straight out of camera. Especially for black and white. I prefer adding contrast in post as opposed to removing. I’m not after the worlds lowest contrast lens, just an all rounder on the lower side of the spectrum. ocean2059 and pgk 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrogallol Posted September 19 Share #20 Posted September 19 (edited) Buy a 35mm Summaron from the 1950’s, f3.5 or f2.8 sharp enough but not over contrasty and if it has got some haze then the contrast will be lower. Most of the time I am using older lenses and when I do use a modern lens the contrast and brightness is noticeably higher, making b&w darkroom prints. If you are only using a digital camera you can make adjustments later and then if you only view the results on a computer monitor you won’t see the subtle differences you would in a darkroom print. If you are looking for an f2 lens for your Canon screw camera then Canon made a 35mm f2 lens, focussing to 1 metre. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited September 19 by Pyrogallol Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/382153-low-contrast-35mm-recommendations/?do=findComment&comment=4860437'>More sharing options...
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