Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

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artur5
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p.1 #1 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

After being bitten by the Speed Booster bug, I'm almost decided to buy the Alpa to NEX version. Before taking the dip though, I need to consider a couple of lenses for that NEX-SB setup. Basically a 35 mm and a 85 - 90 mm.
Considering the adapters that I own already, my choices of possible mounts are:
1 - Alpa
2 - Nikon ( including most Zuikos OM and Contax MM which can be leitaxed to Nikon )
3 - M42
4 - Leica R

For the 85-90 I'd rather stay F/2 or slower. Anything faster will be expensive, heavy and bulky, not suited to my idea of a compact system.
Ditto for the 35mm. F/1.4 discarded. Only F/2 to F/2.8
Please, feel free to suggest what you'd think could be a well balanced choice between cost, performance, speed and size. Keep in mind that my budget is limited. A new ZF 35/2 isn't in my scope.

Thanks in advance guys !

Feb 02, 2013 at 03:51 PM

Dergiman
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p.1 #2 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

Olympus OM 35/2 and 85/2. Small, fast and sharp.

Feb 02, 2013 at 04:17 PM

joxang
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p.1 #3 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

Not a big fan of the OM 35/2. Soft and glowy wide open (will be exacerbated by the speedbooster), especially at MFD, boatloads of CA.

Try the CZ 35mm 2.8?

Feb 02, 2013 at 05:12 PM

j.liam
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p.1 #4 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

You might consider two from Cosina Voigtänder: CV 90/3.5 and CV 40/2 pancake lens. Both are very compact modern optics, plenty sharp WO and the 90 is APO to boot (or nearly so).

Feb 02, 2013 at 05:13 PM

crazeazn
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p.1 #5 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

the zeiss sonnar 85 2.8 is excellent. the distagon 35 2.8 isnt too shabby...

Feb 02, 2013 at 05:23 PM

uscmatt99
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p.1 #6 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

j.liam wrote:
You might consider two from Cosina Voigtänder: CV 90/3.5 and CV 40/2 pancake lens. Both are very compact modern optics, plenty sharp WO and the 90 is APO to boot (or nearly so).

I suspect both lenses will be popular with the NEX and SB due to size and performance. I'm considering picking up a NEX-6 and SB just to use those lenses on. I'm really happy with how they performed on the D700.

Feb 02, 2013 at 05:30 PM

Steve Spencer
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p.1 #7 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

I would vote the Leica R 35 f/2 and 90 f/2. I have owned both and both would be excellent with the speedbooster--I think. The downside of the R 35 summicron is the corners are weak and it this has obvious drawback if the lens is used for landscapes, but it looks to me like the speedbooster will have drawbacks for the corners as well. It is a nice sharp lens in the centre and IMO has very nice bokeh. It is also compact with a nice built in hood--although it isn't light. The R 90 summicron is a lens I wish I never sold. It has a very nice look for both portraits and close-ups (especially if you add the elpro 3 adapter), but again IMO is a less than stellar infinity/landscape lens. It is also quite compact for the focal length with a good built in hood but not light. So, I think these are great lenses for the speedbooster and match well what seem to be its design.

Feb 02, 2013 at 06:06 PM

carstenw
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p.1 #8 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

Both the Nikkor 35/2 and 85/2 AI or AI-S lenses are well regarded, and quite compact, although probably not as small as the OM versions. I will probably pick up these very two lenses for my FM2 at some point.

Feb 02, 2013 at 06:43 PM

mcbroomf
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p.1 #9 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

For a 90 I'd go for the Tamron 90/2.5 adaptall 2 or the OM 90/2, the latter somewhat better and a lot more expensive.

You should check for fit on the SB, some lenses will hit the front lens or shroud in the SB. The Tamron and OM 90's are OK.

Mike

Feb 02, 2013 at 06:49 PM

Peire
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p.1 #10 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

Zeiss C/Y - Distagon 35/2.8,Sonnar 85/2.8
Nikon - 35/2 AI-S or AF-D ,85/2 AI/S,85/1.8 AF/D
Zeiss Jena -Flektogon 35/2.4
Zuiko - 35/2.8,85/2 MC or better just "Made in Japan"
Yashica - ML 35/2.8
Tamron adaptall - 90/2.5 and 90/2.8 macro
Sigma - 90/2.8 macro
Tokina - 35/2.8

If you consider other mounts:

Rollei - Distagon HFT 35/2.8,Rolleinar (Mamiya made) 85/2.8
Minolta MD - Rokkor MC/MD 35/2.8 55mm filter,MC Rokkor HH 35/1.8,Rokkor MC 85/1.7
Canon FD - 35/2,85/1.8
Contax G - 35/2 Planar,90/2.8 Sonnar

Zeiss C/Y lenses are the best choice IMO.

Feb 02, 2013 at 06:58 PM

mawz
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p.1 #11 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

Skip the Speedbooster, use the money you save to buy a ZA 24/1.8 and a Voigtlander Nokton 58/1.4 SLII in F mount and a decent F-EOS adapter. The Speedbooster will pretty much match that set with a 35 & 85 to your specs (well, the 35 will either end up a ~24/1.4 or a ~24/2, so the ZA splits the difference).

Note that while the ZA 24/1.8 gets a bad rap for size, it's going to be around the same size as a 35 on the Speedbooster (in fact it's exactly the same size as a Nikkor 24/2.8 AI-S on a regular F adapter and the 24/2.8 is around the same size as your typical 35/2).

The mid-speed 35 & 85 set is the one case where I would strongly suggest skipping the Speedbooster unless you're looking at a 35/1.4 and 85/1.4 set, there's just too many good options to match FoV and DoF without spending $4-600 on a SpeedBooster. I view the SpeedBooster as better matched to either fast glass or to FL's other than the 75-90mm-e and 35mm-e.

Feb 02, 2013 at 09:44 PM

crazeazn
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p.1 #12 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

actually the contax G stuff would be good too

Feb 02, 2013 at 10:00 PM

artur5
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p.1 #13 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

Thanks everybody for your help and advice, so far.
In fact, I own already a C/Y Sonnar 85/2.8, but unfortunately it's the AE version which can't be leitaxed to Nikon. I thought of selling mine and buying the MM model but it seems to command unusually high prices on Ebay lately, maybe cause it's more scarce or coveted. The Apo-Lanthar 90 is a noteworthy option. Thanks, j-liam. I have to check prices against the Elmarit 90-R latest version and the C/Y 85/2.8 the other big contenders for the 85-90 lens

I want a moderately fast 35 to play the role 'all around lens' of my Biogon ZM25/2.8 on the Ricoh GXR. No need for the sharpest corners in the Western world, though. The C/Y Distagon 35/2.8 and Summicron 35 seem fine and relatively affordable. I've read ravishing reviews of the Summicron R 35 and also dismissing opinions, even from Leica fans. The MTFs I've seen suggest that it's a very good lens. Excellent center, corners decent full open and very sharp from f/4 on. Who I'm to believe ?

@ Peire, thanks for your list; I'll keep those lenses in mind. Unfortunatelly I can't use Canon FD, Minolta MD, Rollei or Contax G lenses with the Alpa version of the SB. There aren't adapters to Alpa for these mounts. The Contax Gs are in fact incompatible with any SB version, like the other RF glass.

@ Mawz - In my book, the combo NEX+SB isn't the best platform for bulky f/1.4 glass ( and quite expensive too ). We don't agree, sorry. Also, a 35/2 lens +SB = 25/1.4. Which other options do you see with a 'empty' adapter on the NEX, apart from a Summilux 24 ? I don't care for APS-C lenses like the Zeiss ZA 24/1.8. In the eventuality of a FF mirrorless in the future it wouldn't be of any use. Of course, in that case, the SB will be redundant too.

What about some M42 : Flektogons, Takumars, etc, - Any supporters of the old screw mount ?

Edited on Feb 03, 2013 at 02:20 PM · View previous versions

Feb 02, 2013 at 10:46 PM

mawz
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p.1 #14 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

artur5 wrote:

@ Mawz - In my book, the combo NEX+SB isn't the best platform for bulky f/1.4 glass ( and quite expensive too ). We don't agree, sorry. Also, a 35/2 lens +SB = 25/1.4. Which other options do you see with a 'empty' adapter on the NEX, apart from a Summilux 24 ? I don't care for APS-C lenses like the Zeiss ZA 24/1.8. In the eventuality of a FF mirrorless in the future it wouldn't be of any use. Of course, in that case, the SB will be redundant too.

What about some M42 : Flektogons, Takumars, etc, - Any supporters of the old screw mount ?

Note there are compact f1.4 lenses, the Nikkor 35/1.4 AI-S comes to mind, in fact most of the MF f1.4's are reasonably compact (with the exception of the new ZF/ZE 35/1.4 and the Samyangs). The advantages of the Speedbooster for me are to preserve the DoF effects of fast lenses or to provide focal length/DoF options lacking natively or via regular adapters.

A 35/2 may well be a 25/1.4 on a Speedbooster, but you won't see a 35/2 that can match the ZA 24/1.8 in optical performance for the same budget (counting the speedbooster cost) without being significantly larger (ie the ZF/ZE/ZK/ZS). That said, if you really want to avoid APS-C lenses there are some decent options. The Flektogon 35/2.4 has a well-deserved reputation for excellence. The OM 35/2 is mediocre, their 35/2.8 is much better. Nikon's 35/2 is good but its reputation exceeds its performance (a good lens, but not a great one), the Series E 35/2.5 is every bit as good aside from flare performance in my experience, and much smaller & cheaper. The SMC Takumar 35/2 isn't bad, but performs much like the equivalent Nikkor.

At 85 my choice is the Nikkor 85/1.8 K (the one which is usually mis-identified as an AI lens, which it is not, although some came factory-converted to the AI aperture ring but lack the AI mount), otherwise the 85/2 AI-S is good (but like the 35/2, not excellent). And the Tamron 90/2.5 is an excellent option here, I use one regularly as a 135 equivalent.

Edited on Feb 02, 2013 at 11:19 PM · View previous versions

Feb 02, 2013 at 10:57 PM

mpmendenhall
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p.1 #15 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

artur5 wrote:
I've read ravishing reviews of the Summicron R 35 and also dismissing opinions, even from Leica fans. The MTFs I've seen suggest that it's a very good lens. Excellent center, corners decent full open and very sharp from f/4 on. Who I'm to believe ?

I'm a big fan of the 'Cron-R 35/2. The lens is quite sharp and contrasty and colors are superb; generally very nice background blur; it works well down to MFD. The one thing to watch out for is the lens' strong field curvature (the plane of focus bends to further distances at the corners) --- I think this is what generates most of the negative opinions. When used on flat subjects or landscapes at mid to far distances, the field curvature means that there will always be an area towards the corners where the image rapidly plummets from crystal clarity to complete mush. So, if you generally shoot corner-to-far-corner sharp landscapes (or brick walls), the 'Cron-R 35 isn't the top choice, but it's great for everything else (and would pair nicely with, e.g., a Contax 35-70/3.4 to handle stopped-down flat-field applications).

Feb 02, 2013 at 11:13 PM

Bert Randolph
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p.1 #16 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

artur5 wrote:
After being bitten by the Speed Booster bug, I'm almost decided to buy the Alpa to NEX version. Before taking the dip though, I need to consider a couple of lenses for that NEX-SB setup. Basically a 35 mm and a 85 - 90 mm.
Considering the adapters that I own already, my choices of possible mounts are:
1 - Alpa
2 - Nikon ( including most Zuikos OM and Contax MM which can be leitaxed to Nikon )
3 - M42
4 - Leica R

Do I understand you correctly that you have adapters from the Alpa-mount to said other mounts?

If that is the case, where can I get such adapters?

Thanks,

Daniel.

Feb 07, 2013 at 08:43 AM

slungu
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p.1 #17 · Advice needed for purchasing a 35mm and a 85-90 mm.

Ok, it beats me why you don't simply use the ZM25 that you already have and skip the Speedbooster, but I can say that the R 35 Cron is a very nice little lens that I enjoyed both on crop and on FF cameras. For the long end I wanted the speed, but for NEX I finally settled for the G90, given the focus accuracy I always felt that I had to stop the lenses down at least to f2 or 2.8 and at usual head and shoulder portrait distances that still blurs the background so that should not be a problem when building up a light weight compact kit.

Feb 07, 2013 at 09:35 AM

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