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On 2/7/2024 at 1:02 AM, JTLeica said:

Hi guys,

Help needed please. I have put together a really nice little M11 kit, but when I don't want to take my Q3 with me and just want a once camera setup, I want a 28 or 35 to fill the gap between the 21mm and 50 Apo Lanthar I have. I am not yet sure if it'll be 28 or 35, but for the 35 I think I would pick the Zeiss c Biogon 2.8... Only other razor sharp options are the 35 Apo Lanthar, Leica APO Cron is just too much.

Happy with Either Leica, Voigtlander or Zeiss and dont really care about the speed of the lens, but dont want a huge lens.

Anything you guys recommend?

Mostly being used in Landscape photography andI dont want to have to stop down to F8 to get sharp images :)

Cheers

Zeiss c Biogon 2.8, yet another M lens I regret selling, replaced by VM APO Lanthar that is excellent in my case on SL2-S very sharp for your landscape photography and focuses to 50cm if that is something important to you. High recommended.

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Since you said sharp as opposed to rendering and you don't care about speed, take a look at the voigtlander color skopar 28mm f2.8. two versions with one being a vintage looking affair and the other a more modern leica style looking lens. it is incredibly crisp wide open. There is a Miranda review of it also https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1819458/0#infinity

Its a tiny lens which is why I bought it (trying to lighten my walkabout kit) and it performs astonishingly well.

 

Edited by kiwidad
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3 hours ago, kiwidad said:

Since you said sharp as opposed to rendering and you don't care about speed, take a look at the voigtlander color skopar 28mm f2.8. two versions with one being a vintage looking affair and the other a more modern leica style looking lens. it is incredibly crisp wide open. There is a Miranda review of it also https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1819458/0#infinity

Its a tiny lens which is why I bought it (trying to lighten my walkabout kit) and it performs astonishingly well.

 

Thanks. Opted for a 35 as I don't have one and have the 28 of the Q3. But thanks for the suggestion.

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I actually just bought an open box 35 APO Lanthar too, so time will tell which one I keep. Was a good price at £750, 150 lower than new here.

I might try a side by side of them and post some results here if any interest...

I still think the 'best' lens for me would be the 35 F1.4 Distagon, but I just think size and weight maybe getting just too much. Images and results look fab though

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23 hours ago, JTLeica said:

I just found a 35mm Distagon F1.4... so I now have all 3 lenses that were recommended. Oops. Now I just have to choose which one.

There is nothing wrong with having a more than one lens, of the same focal length. Each lens can have its times and places to be useful.

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Initial impression is that the 35mm Biogon is probably not for me, I dont like the feel of the tiny lens and tiny focus ring, but, will try more than once.

The 35 Distagon is much smaller than I thought, I am so used to Nikon, Sony, Medium format stuff that any M lens seems small to me. It's a weight though. Built like a tank and love the feel of this on the camera, ergonomically clearly I like larger lenses. The APO 35 is in the box... 

Tomorrow I will test...

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Hi guys,

So I did a very brief infinity test today on a tripod, with all 3 lenses, and some really interesting results.

Voigtlander 35 APO Lanthar - Zeiss 35 Distagon - Zeiss C Biogon 

The Zeiss lenses really are higher in contrast, however the Zeiss 35mm C Biogon is noticeably higher contrast than the F1.4 bigger brother. The Zeiss F1.4 was next and the VM 35 APO was noticeably lower contrast still.

In terms of resolution, the C Biogon was soft in the corners, even stopped down to 5.6, which I found strange, I wonder if the copy I have is bad... as I hear great things from it, but is evenly poor on both edges.

The Zeiss Distagon is sharper than the C Biogon even in the centre but not by much, and miles sharper at the edges, especially from F2.8. 1.4-2.0 has some slightly soft corners still but to be expected. 

The 35mm APO, is technically the sharper lens than the Distagon, but its almost imperceptible in the central 2/3 of the image, the outer edge it is noticeably better up to F4/5.6, where the Zeiss catches up more or less, but the Zeiss is never quite as sharp, but we are talking 1%, a minute difference in tiny detail. The fact the Zeiss is actually higher contrast than the APO make it appear sharper.

So, the C Biogon is out of the question for me, also it made me realise I don't like the ergonomics of it either, its tiny and with a thing, rough focus ring. Not for me.

Images I shot are here if interested. Uncorrected. I forgot to shoot eh Distagon at F8... Already razor sharp at F5.6 across the frame though so no real need.

https://www.dropbox.com/t/1s1iMcvf388V6FBy

Just need to decide now between the APO and Distagon. Any thoughts are appreciated?

PS - I don't think the 35mm C Biogon is a bad lens by the way, I am assuming I have a dud. But I have had many de-centred lenses over the years but non that were soft both sides...

Edited by JTLeica
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Central 2000px Crop - 8/12 JPG compression as to comply with Size limits here.

APO

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!

Distagon

Biogon

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Left Edge 2000px Crop

APO

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!

Distagon

Biogon - The right edge is no better...

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Final update: After more testing the APO VM didn’t actually focus at infinity it was a hair off…

 

You can see the plane of focus is just infront of infinity. So… I have returned all the lenses I bought originally as even the Zeiss 1.4 Distagon was nowhere near as good as I hoped from the samples online, 1.4-2.8 was stuff softer at the edges than expected.

Bought a new APO 35 VM as it’s perfect.

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  • 3 weeks later...

No judgement for desiring „high resolution“ lenses to go along with your high-resolution sensor, but let me tell you a quick story. Never have I marvelled more about the fine details I was able to reproduce with my photographs, since I have my Leice M10-monochrome. It is fascinating and makes me smile. However, not once -not a single time- was a picture that I took improved by this level of detail.

Character is a real trait in lenses, that may run into conflict with the requirement of being sharp. I take more joy in technical prowess than in character but that was a long journey for me to find out. Lucky for you, most modern lenses will be tack sharp and out-resolve your M11 comfortably, especially when stopped down a smidge.

That statement might prove false if you are going for reproduction photography where literal perfection is the goal, but in most cases it will simply be true. There are too many great lenses to be hard-pressed to find one. Other factors like: minimum focus distance, size, weight, max aperture, out of focus rendering, Color rendition, focus tab y/n, personal preference  … all these things play an almost as important role in selecting the right companion for your M11 as „sharpness“, with the exception of some vintage or vintage-like lenses with lots of spherical aberration. 

Here are some of my personal favourites:

Elmarit 28mm ASPH - doesn’t break your wallet, disgustingly sharp and a joy to use.

Summarit 35mm - hits above its price tag. Amazing performance right from the start, clinical. Feels a little light-weight but is rock solid

Summicron 28mm - if you need the extra stop and don‘t mind the extra weight. New version has added bonus of 0.4m MFD

 

 

Edited by Lesslemming
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