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Archive 2009 · which 35mm to get?

mugenkid
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p.1 #1 · which 35mm to get?

hi everyone, well i am new in this alternative gear and dunno much about old lenses.
I started with a FL55 f/1.2 and im in love with the lens; i own a canon eos 5d Mark II
Want to buy a 35mm with a good bokeh, fast, cheap and was wondering which oneto get. ALso very interested to get a fisheye (full frame) without the black sphere.
it will be good that i can use them at infinity after the hacking

please advice which one to get and why
thanks a lot!!!!
some pictures will be appreciated as well

Nov 03, 2009 at 05:20 PM

Empire
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p.1 #2 · which 35mm to get?

Fisheye: Zenitar 16mm f2.8 - very cheap and quite good.

35mm: There are quite a lot of decent options here. If you want cheap these are all good choices (in no particular order):
Nikon 35/2 AI/AI-S, Olympus zuiko 35/2, and if you are willing to muck about with physically converting a lens the canon FD 35/2 S.S.C., Minolta 35/1.8 and Konica 35/2 Hexanon AR or EE are all very good.

Best of luck!
Welcome to the addiction!

Nov 03, 2009 at 05:45 PM

mugenkid
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p.1 #3 · which 35mm to get?

thanks for the prompt reply empire
so which one has the best IQ for the 35mm thing is i dont want to invest in the 35L and i will be satisfied with a manual focus... so u recommend me the fd 35?? after hacking will it hit the mirror of my 5dmk2? cause i have a little of hitting someitmes in my fl55

Nov 03, 2009 at 06:01 PM

Sam N
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p.1 #4 · which 35mm to get?

The Carl Zeiss Jena 35/2.4 Flektogon is great, but it might not be fast enough for you.

Personally I don't think you should bother with the FD 35/2. It seems like much more work and there are so many other good 35mm options that you can use with a simple adapter (Zeiss, Olympus, Nikon, etc).

Nov 03, 2009 at 06:29 PM

mugenkid
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p.1 #5 · which 35mm to get?

do u think is a better idea to go ef 35 f/2

than manul??
since that lens is cheap enough and is fast as well but dunno if optics will be better than any of this old lenses

Nov 03, 2009 at 06:31 PM

m-a-x
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p.1 #6 · which 35mm to get?

There's also the Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 - no hack required, just an adapter.
Some people love it, some don't like it.

Nov 03, 2009 at 06:36 PM

Steve Spencer
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p.1 #7 · which 35mm to get?

I had the EF 35mm f/2 and although it was sharp and it is relatively cheap, I wasn't a great fan of the lens. I found the bokeh to be pretty poor and the build quality was pretty bad--especially the manual focus ring which was very difficult to use. I think there are a number of better alternatives in that price range including the Olympus 35mm f/2, the Nikon 35mm f/2, the Minolta 35mm f/1.8 (if you can find one converted to EOS), and any of the Pentax 35mm f/2's. As Max also just mention the Nikon 35mm f/1.4 is also a good option to consider with just a bit more money. It is the bokeh on that lens that scares some people. I have seen both shots that I have really liked and haven't liked so much with that lens. I hope this helps.

Nov 03, 2009 at 06:48 PM

jcolwell
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p.1 #8 · which 35mm to get?

I've compared the Contax Carl Zeiss Distagon 35/2.8 with a lot of other 35mm lenses, and it's the best of the bunch (but maybe it's not fast enough for you). Comparisons include: Canon EF 35/2.0, SMC Pentax-M 35/2, CZ Jena MC Flektogon 35/2.4 M42, Mamiya-Sekor CS Auto 35/2.8 M42, Rollei Distagon 35/2.8 HFT QBM, Schneider-K C-Curtagon 35/2.8 M42, Voigtlander Color Skoparex 35/2.8 AR QBM (made by Mamiya), and SMC Pentax 35/3.5. Note that my EF 24-70/2.8L is better at 35mm than my CZ Distagon, but the zoom is really big & heavy in comparison. BTW, I'm selling all of my 35mm primes, except for a relatively large M645 35/3.5N that I use with a T-S adapter. I'll use my Distagon 28/2.8 and/or Voigtlander Ultron 40/2, for the times when the L-zoom is too big to cart around.

Nov 03, 2009 at 06:59 PM

ovredal73
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p.1 #9 · which 35mm to get?

m-a-x wrote:
There's also the Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 - no hack required, just an adapter.
Some people love it, some don't like it.

Just get the 9 blade AI-S version and its a very nice lens.Don´t get the 6 blade pre AI.

Nov 03, 2009 at 07:26 PM

mugenkid
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p.1 #10 · which 35mm to get?

thanks everyone for their reply i will be searching on ebay to see what i get,,, will post some pics after getting it and hacking it

Nov 04, 2009 at 03:33 AM

dave chilvers
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p.1 #11 · which 35mm to get?

Not 35mm but if you don`t mind using an adapter I`ve just been doing some comparisons and the Voigtlander 40 f2 Ultron 2 is a superb little lens. BTW it will be coming soon with Canon EF mount but will obviously be more expensive. Mine is Nikon AI-s used with a Nik-Eos adapter.

Nov 04, 2009 at 03:44 AM

Sr.Cordeiro
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p.1 #12 · which 35mm to get?

The Leica Summicron-R f/2 is a fantastic lens. Maybe a little more expensive than some of the options mentioned here, but still not very expensive. If you like this FL it's a great investment, it's very sharp, great color rendering and a smooth bokeh.
There are some problems regarding reaching infinity focus with some adapters but I've finally found a simple solution to this with the leitax adapters (I own a 5D MkII too).

Nov 04, 2009 at 10:20 AM

Lotusm50
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p.1 #13 · which 35mm to get?

jcolwell wrote:
I've compared the Contax Carl Zeiss Distagon 35/2.8 with a lot of other 35mm lenses, and it's the best of the bunch (but maybe it's not fast enough for you).

and

Sam N wrote:
The Carl Zeiss Jena 35/2.4 Flektogon is great, but it might not be fast enough for you.

I think these 2 might be your best choices. The CZJ MC Flektogon 35 has a cult following and might be priced a bit more than it should be, but is still a good value (make sure you get the later MC version). The c/y CZ Distagon 35 is under appreciated among the Zeiss Contax lenses and can therefor be picked up for a nice price and therefore also a good value. The Distagon is probably a little more modern design and might be preferred, but hte screw mount of the Flektogon means that it can be easily and cheaply adapted to a much wider range of cameras. I would see which one you can find a good deal on.

Of course Olympus Zuiko's can often be found cheap. They have a small but passionate following (as can be seen in this forum). They don't get my blood pumping (and I'm a former Oly OM owner/user), but they might meet your needs. Worth a try if you can snag one for $25-50.

Nov 04, 2009 at 12:22 PM

gasrocks
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p.1 #14 · which 35mm to get?

Is the new ZE 35/2 in your price range?

Nov 04, 2009 at 03:09 PM

aoluain
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p.1 #15 · which 35mm to get?

ovredal73 wrote:
m-a-x wrote:
There's also the Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 - no hack required, just an adapter.
Some people love it, some don't like it.

Just get the 9 blade AI-S version and its a very nice lens.Don´t get the 6 blade pre AI.

what are the issues with the pre ai, I presume you mean the 2.8?

Nov 04, 2009 at 04:54 PM


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