Non-Leica 35 mm

[otto.f]

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1 minute ago, setuporg said:

I was always waiting for the P!:)

From your communications here I never got the impression that you’d like an 11

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[RexGig0]

20 hours ago, Max365 said:

 

Unfortunately none a word on the Zeiss Biogon T* 35 mm f/2 ZM. 

I really like the Zeiss M-mount lenses that I have used, but my Zeiss 35mm M-mount is the large Distagon 35mm f/1.4 ZM. Ken Rockwell has a decent article on Biogon 35mm f/2 ZM. Notably, he is quite exercised about the 43mm filter thread.

https://www.kenrockwell.com/zeiss/zm/35mm-f2.htm

Lloyd Chambers has very thorough reviews posted, but his site requires a paid subscription to read the full reviews. I think that only his introduction of each lens might is viewable, without being subscribed. The subscription price is modest, in my opinion, and I believe that I recovered the cost, many times over, by following his advice, though I do not base any buying decision upon the advice of any one reviewer. Notably, Lloyd Chambers is a very harsh critic. 

https://diglloyd.com/prem/s/LEICA/LeicaM/lens-ZeissZM-35f2.html?dglyPT=true

Benj Haisch, on the you-tube, probably has a video review that includes the Zeiss Biogon 35mm f/2 ZM.

Edited November 1, 2023 by RexGig0

[setuporg]

58 minutes ago, otto.f said:

From your communications here I never got the impression that you’d like an 11

I guess being an experimentalist I have to try it, and for longer...

[Max365]

16 hours ago, RexGig0 said:

I really like the Zeiss M-mount lenses that I have used, but my Zeiss 35mm M-mount is the large Distagon 35mm f/1.4 ZM. Ken Rockwell has a decent article on Biogon 35mm f/2 ZM. Notably, he is quite exercised about the 43mm filter thread.

https://www.kenrockwell.com/zeiss/zm/35mm-f2.htm

Lloyd Chambers has very thorough reviews posted, but his site requires a paid subscription to read the full reviews. I think that only his introduction of each lens might is viewable, without being subscribed. The subscription price is modest, in my opinion, and I believe that I recovered the cost, many times over, by following his advice, though I do not base any buying decision upon the advice of any one reviewer. Notably, Lloyd Chambers is a very harsh critic. 

https://diglloyd.com/prem/s/LEICA/LeicaM/lens-ZeissZM-35f2.html?dglyPT=true

Benj Haisch, on the you-tube, probably has a video review that includes the Zeiss Biogon 35mm f/2 ZM.

Thanks a lot for the detailed information. 

[Max365]

Hi everybody.

In the end I ordered the Zeiss C Biogon T* 35/2.8, also thanks to Ken Rockwell's reviews and the price of 799 euro found on the web.

Any experience?

I'll let you know ...

Thanks all.

[Max365]

38 minutes ago, Max365 said:

Hi everybody.

In the end I ordered the Zeiss C Biogon T* 35/2.8, also thanks to Ken Rockwell's reviews and the price of 799 euro found on the web.

Any experience?

I'll let you know ...

Thanks all.

... silver 

[jonnyboy]

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The Zeiss is a great lens - and compact which is a joy. I own the Distagon 35mm which is a beast in terms of performance but a bit of a pain to carry.
You will love the lens, Zeiss never disappoint.

[venom]

Nikon Nippon Kogaku W-NIKKOR·C 35mm F/1.8 LTM 

[kiwidad]

If you can find a clean copy, the last on the canon 35f2.8 (black focus ring) is a great lens!
my everyday lens now is the voigtlander Heliar 40mm f2.8. Just picked up a used one from camera quest and I am very impressed.

Sharpness is very good. 
 

I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the noktons but pretty much anything fast is going to show in finder. 

[muskyvibes]

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!

I won’t recommend it to you because you won’t like the focusing tab. The IQ is lovely and it’s tiny. F1.4 Nokton II. 
 

if size isn’t an issue then the nicest focusing knurled ring you’ll ever touch is the APO-Lanthar lenses. 

Edited December 17, 2023 by muskyvibes

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On 10/29/2023 at 10:04 PM, setuporg said:

The Voigtlander 35mm APO Lanthar gets stellar reviews.  It's knurled.  It might stick out, but not by much.

Outstanding lens and extraordinary value vs Leica's

[ktmrider2]

Own two 35's for my M4-one large and fast and one small and slower.  The 35f2.8 C Biogon from Zeiss may be the sharpest 35 made today.  It lives on my M4 unless I know I will be shooting available darkness.  It is one half my travel kit with the other being a 90f2.8 from Leica.  In addition to its sharpness, it is high contrast which some don't like.  I own five M mount lenses from 35 to 135 and it is my favorite.

You made a great choice.

[costa43]

Contrary to your request, I want to give a shout out to the 35mm Summarit. Yes it’s a Leica with a focus tab but it has such a short throw that it’s a doddle to focus quickly, it’s small and sharp, it’s pretty flare proof due to its excellent coatings and if you can live with 0.8m min focus and f2.4/2.5 then it’s a great choice at around 1k used.  

Some have recommended the vm 35 apo which no doubt is an exceptional lens. I do not own that model but I have the vm 50 apo and the 35 is a little longer so I think it will eat in a fair bit. Everyone has a different tolerance with this but I like as clear a view as possible with a wider lens. 

[Almizilero]

vor 42 Minuten schrieb costa43:

Contrary to your request, I want to give a shout out to the 35mm Summarit. Yes it’s a Leica with a focus tab but it has such a short throw that it’s a doddle to focus quickly, it’s small and sharp, it’s pretty flare proof due to its excellent coatings and if you can live with 0.8m min focus and f2.4/2.5 then it’s a great choice at around 1k used.  

Some have recommended the vm 35 apo which no doubt is an exceptional lens. I do not own that model but I have the vm 50 apo and the 35 is a little longer so I think it will eat in a fair bit. Everyone has a different tolerance with this but I like as clear a view as possible with a wider lens. 

I would second this, even though I'd say prices are a bit higher already.

I went through a couple of 35s recently. I was mostly looking for something small, so my list was a bit different. Voigtländer Nokton 1.4 and Skopar 2.5 were great in the size department and pictures looked good wide open (but just good). But the copies I got had some severe focus shift when stopped down, especially my Nokton was unusable with the rangefinder at F/4. Returned them both.
Next up were the Ultron F/2 and the Summarit. both great lenses, both with no noticeable focus shift. In the end, I kept the Summarit. I had a better hitrate with it and the images were just more to my taste. Nothing that would actually justify the price of the Summarit, it costs about twice as much used as the Ultron new. But the silver version looks so damn sexy on my silver M10, especially with the hood, so I decided to treat myself. I tend to go with my gut with the M lenses, I learned that I use my M more when I use it with lenses that I just fell in love with instead of the reasonable option, hard to put a price tag on that.

But yeah, in your case, if you don't want to spend Leica money, I would very much recommend the Ultron F2! Get the variant 1, it's the same optics as variant 2 but has this little knob instead of the focus tab. The knob can be unscrewed so it won't be in the way if you don't like these things to focus with.

https://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2019/05/04/the-voigtlander-35-f-2-ultron-review-vintage-perfection/

Edited December 20, 2023 by Almizilero

[pippy]

1 hour ago, costa43 said:

Contrary to your request, I want to give a shout out to the 35mm Summarit...

The Summarit is, undoubtedly, a superb lens but as far as the OP is concerned we should take on board that he made a choice way back on the 4th November;

"Hi everybody. In the end I ordered the Zeiss C Biogon T* 35/2.8......Thanks all."

Then again as I'm sure this thread might be of some help to others who would seek similar advice we can all carry on making interesting suggestions?

Philip.

[costa43]

1 minute ago, pippy said:

The Summarit is, undoubtedly, a superb lens but as far as the OP is concerned we should take on board that he made a choice way back on the 4th November;

"Hi everybody. In the end I ordered the Zeiss C Biogon T* 35/2.8......Thanks all."

Then again as I'm sure this thread might be of some help to others who would seek similar advice we can all carry on making interesting suggestions?

Philip.

Oh no, not paying full attention and diving right in, story of my life🤦‍♂️

[pippy]

59 minutes ago, costa43 said:

Oh no, not paying full attention and diving right in, story of my life🤦‍♂️

😸

But it really doesn't matter, Costa, as there are always people - perhaps new joiners - who will benefit from reading about lenses which might be knew to them. It's all good!

Philip.

[costa43]

11 minutes ago, pippy said:

😸

But it really doesn't matter, Costa, as there are always people - perhaps new joiners - who will benefit from reading about lenses which might be knew to them. It's all good!

Philip.

You are a gentleman Philip. Thank you and yes, for all those new joiners out there, buy a 35mm Summarit!

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[nussbusch]

I love my  Biogon 35 mm f/2 ZM on both my M11M and my Zeiss Ikon ZM.

[TomB_tx]

32 minutes ago, nussbusch said:

I love my  Biogon 35 mm f/2 ZM on both my M11M and my Zeiss Ikon ZM.

The Biogon 35 f2 ZM is a nice lens. I added one looking for something sharper than the CV 35 1.4, and after I sent it in to get the focus recalibrated it gave nice images on my M9 and Ikon ZM. However, it is larger than I like, so I finally went with a Summarit 35 25 which gives excellent images with the small size I like. I do still use the Biogon on my ZM along with a Planar ZM, where the size somehow feels right.