Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

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Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Gunzorro
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p.1 #1 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

I just received these two lenses, via the FM B&S board. Thanks to Michelle Rowe for the nice price and fast shipping. It seems Michelle bought the lenses from a couple other FM-ers, so I'm at least the third owner. I was mainly interested in the 35/2, having heard so many good things about it, and seen some good results with it compared to the 35/1/4, at least of the price!

I only had time today for some quick shots to see if the lenses worked (just kidding, sort of!), and find out what I might expect.

The 28 was shot on 1Ds2 and the 35 on 5D2, both at ISO 100. Most of the shots here are at f/5.6 and are shot from the same spot, hand held. A few will be noted as shot from different vantage points.

My typical LR4 PP with sharpening at 60-0.6-35, no NR, lens profile (28/1.8 used for the 28), and color fringing box ticked. Slight exposure and color correcting, because the two camera bodies and the lenses shoot at slightly different settings -- no way to easily match 100%.

I'm kicking off the thread in hopes others will be encouraged to post shots with these lenses. It's kind of liberating and refreshing to not be shooting the most prestigious ZE lens, or another top brand.

I was impressed with how well the 35 did, but that was sort of hoped for. The real surprise is how well the 28 kept pace, once the lens profile was used to correct barrel distortion and light falloff. Still, the 28 is weak in the far corners at 5.6. I'll need to check f/8-11 too.

35mm first, followed by 28mm shots.

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The next two sets were taken from similar, but slightly different vantage points.

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Needless to say, I'm very happy with these two lenses. They fill a hole in my focal range with small, light AF primes.

Aug 18, 2012 at 06:29 AM

dhphoto
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p.1 #2 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

28 f2.8 on a 450D, Natural History Museum, London

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35 f2 on a 550D, Enigma Machine at Bletchley Park

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28 f2.8 on 5D @ 1600 ISO & PT lens, South Florida Museum

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35 f2 on 5D 800 ISO

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Aug 18, 2012 at 07:44 AM

Monito
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p.1 #3 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

I have a 23 year old 28 f/2.8 and it is a great little performer at a great price. It is nice and sharp. However, I find that it is optimized for 8 x 10 aspect ratio, meaning that the left and right edges that form a total of 16 % of the area of the full frame are noticeably less good at wider apertures than the 8x10 center. The 8x10 center is excellent.

Nice work, both. Is the Natural History Museum shot a multi-exposure true HDR or a single Raw (one and a half) HDR or some other processing? Were it and Bletchley made on tripods? Do you have the apertures handy, since the EXIF has been stripped off.

Aug 18, 2012 at 10:50 AM

Monito
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p.1 #4 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Some old examples of mine.

28mm at f/8, 5D:

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28mm at f/8, 5D, multi-shot HDR

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28mm at f/9, 20D

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28mm at f/5.6, 30 sec, 5D

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28mm at f/8, 1/2 sec, 5D

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Aug 18, 2012 at 11:35 AM

mohoyt
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p.1 #5 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

I bought a 35 f/2 about half a year ago and I love it. Had been using it on a cropped body for a while but now shoot it on full frame and I like it very much.

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35 f/2 @ f/9 1/640 ISO 100 on a 5D3

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35 f/2 @ f/4 1/640 ISO 3200 on a 5D3

Aug 18, 2012 at 01:56 PM

Gunzorro
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p.1 #6 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Great shots!

I hope others will break out some of their "classic" shots and inspire some new ones.

You know I'm a fan of the fancy glass, and I'm not immune to someday buying a 35/1.4, but it is impressive how decent these small lenses can perform. Especially with today's PP corrections in LR and DPP (among others), distortion and other aberrations are reduced or eliminated.

Aug 18, 2012 at 02:53 PM

AGeoJO
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p.1 #7 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Hi Jim, very nice and crisp shots from you and others using those two lenses indeed! So, I assume you ended up with those lenses instead of the 40mm pancake then?

Aug 18, 2012 at 04:08 PM

gdanmitchell
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p.1 #8 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

I've long been a big fan of the humble little 35mm f/2 lens.Optically it is a great performer in virtually all ways. The size is very small - which, aside from trying to impress people with your giant, expensive gear, is a Good Thing. Cost is low, too. I originally bought mine after doing a lot of reading/research, almost all of which pointed out that its performance in many ways equals that of the 35mm f/1.4 L. I know that is hard to swallow, but in actual use it has proven itself. (By the way, the AF motor noise thing is way over done - it sounds different but the descriptions I read in forums are often quite hyperbolic.)

I use it for two sorts of things. First, it is a fine street photography lens on those occasions when I prefer to wander around with a prime or two or three. Second, when I am shooting landscape and the composition lines up just right at 35mm and I have a bit more time, I switch to this lens from my L zooms in order to squeeze out just a bit more resolution. (I also enjoy the odd looks that some Gear Freaks give me - or the way they ignore me - when I shoot with such a humble little lens. ;-)

Dan

Aug 18, 2012 at 05:10 PM

Daan B
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p.1 #9 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

I had the 35/2 and 35L for some time. The 35/2 is a really nice lens. Very much on par with the 35L for IQ at comparable apertures. Not so much on par for built quality and MF ring.

Aug 18, 2012 at 05:14 PM

galenapass
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p.1 #10 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

For those of you that own this lens (35mm f/2), what are your thoughts on the bokeh? I am interested in a small compact lens at this focal length but bokeh seems to be very nervous from what I have seen. Aside from that, test results indicate that this lens is quite sharp in the center and very good on the edges when stopped down a little.

Aug 18, 2012 at 05:26 PM

Tom Dix
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p.1 #11 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

35 2 has always been a fav of mine. Bokeh is ok; quite good for the money.

Aug 18, 2012 at 05:34 PM

Gunzorro
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p.1 #12 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

AGeoJO wrote:
Hi Jim, very nice and crisp shots from you and others using those two lenses indeed! So, I assume you ended up with those lenses instead of the 40mm pancake then?

Joshua -- Ha-ha! Nope! The 40/2.8 pancake should be here next week! That should be fun comparing to either or both of these. It's going to be crazy around here! (FD film cameras arriving today!)

Thanks, they do look crisp, don't they?

Also interesting -- comparing the two bodies, switching the lenses back and forth for these A-B comparisons, results in me wanting more and more to have the 5D3. I can see how it could be a big asset and improvement of IQ. The 5D2 is noticeable sharper than the 1Ds2 (still a very good camera!), so I can imaging the 5D3 would be the next step up in IQ.

Aug 18, 2012 at 05:55 PM

jj_glos
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p.1 #13 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

On a 7D:

Jennie by jj_glos, on Flickr

Jennie by jj_glos, on Flickr

I also use it on the 1Ds2, but I'm struggling to really like the lens. Bokeh even wide open is quite nervous. I'm shooting a wedding next weekend and to be honest I'm not sure I'll even use the 35.

Aug 18, 2012 at 06:11 PM

outlawyer
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p.1 #14 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Daan B wrote:
I had the 35/2 and 35L for some time. The 35/2 is a really nice lens. Very much on par with the 35L for IQ at comparable apertures. Not so much on par for built quality and MF ring.

Same here. Still have the /2, which has been practically welded to my crop bodies since I got it. Very good lens, but a .Great lens for the money

Aug 18, 2012 at 07:19 PM

jj_glos
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p.1 #15 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Another:

Jennie by jj_glos, on Flickr

Aug 18, 2012 at 07:48 PM

jj_glos
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p.1 #16 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

I can't see to find many online taken with the 1Ds2

Jennie by jj_glos, on Flickr

Aug 18, 2012 at 08:02 PM

Don Clary
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p.1 #17 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Still, the 28 is weak in the far corners at 5.6. I'll need to check f/8-11 too.

I owned both lenses (still have 28) and found my 28 was quite significantly sharper in the corners than the 35 f2.

Here is an old shot with 20D and 28 f2.8. I was amazed how sharp the corners were, compared to my film camera, with analog printing of the curved slide film, where it was impossible to get both the center and the corners in focus at the same time.

2013 © Don Clary

50% crop at upper right corner

Aug 18, 2012 at 11:35 PM

Monito
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p.1 #18 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Don Clary wrote:
Still, the 28 is weak in the far corners at 5.6. I'll need to check f/8-11 too.

I owned both lenses (still have 28) and found my 28 was quite significantly sharper in the corners than the 35 f2.

Here is an old shot with 20D and 28 f2.8. I was amazed how sharp the corners were, compared to my film camera, with analog printing of the curved slide film, where it was impossible to get both the center and the corners in focus at the same time.

Just about any half decent full-frame lens is "sharp in the corners" on a crop camera. A crop camera crops the corners away; cuts them out; eliminates the corners that the full-frame sees. This basic stuff and important to know and apply.

A 35 mm film camera is "full-frame". A 20D is a crop factor camera.

Aug 19, 2012 at 12:52 AM

Don Clary
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p.1 #19 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

As if I didn't know any of that, Monito!

I mention that, because my 35 f2, at f2, was poor in the corners even on a crop camera, and even stopped down to f8, it was at best O.K. My 28 is much better than that in the corners.

Aug 19, 2012 at 02:43 AM

Monito
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p.1 #20 · Humble EF 35/2 and 28/2.8

Don Clary wrote: As if I didn't know any of that, Monito!

Your post gave the opposite impression. We are not mind-readers. We can only read the words you actually offer. The apparent mis-apprehension would have been avoided if you had added something like this:

Don Clary wrote: I mention that, because my 35 f2, at f2, was poor in the corners even on a crop camera, and even stopped down to f8, it was at best O.K. My 28 is much better than that in the corners.

Your first post made a comparison about the 28 mm between the 20D (a crop) and 35mm film (a full-frame) as if they covered the same area of the image circle.

Aug 19, 2012 at 03:37 AM

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