I've never used either of these (Nikon D800E) on my camera. But I have the Summilux 80MM R, which is outstanding. I've heard the 35mm Summilux is similar in its drawing/rendering, but it is very scarce and expensive. How does the Summicron compare? Does it have similar characters, or is it just a very sharp lens in general? I really want this for urban portraits, and for my style, dreaminess is slightly more important than the micro contrast of the Zeiss lenses. What is the Summicron like? Thanks
May 28, 2012 at 02:37 PM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
I have the summicron and it is a very nice lens especially for your purpose. It is reasonably sharp wide open and quite sharp stopped down. It does not ever sharpen up in the corners, however. If that is something you want than this isn't the lens for you. Otherwise, it is a very nice lens with excellent bokeh and a very nice rendering style.
I had the 35mm Summicron-R for some time and never really warmed up to it. Now that I am more mature (?), I can see the attraction of the lens, however, as Steve describes. It is a neat lens, but a bit special, and not particularly like the 80mm Summilux-R, which I also used to have, and which was one of my favorite lenses of all time (sold it when I went to Leica M for a while). I now own the 35mm Summilux-R, and it is absolutely fantastic. The corners are not so sharp wide open, but it sharpens up pretty quickly, and becomes just as sharp as the 80 Lux stopped down. The character is very different though. The 80 Lux wide open is very ethereal and soft, whereas the 35 Lux is centrally very sharp, but with falloff and vignetting, making it a very moody lens. Stopped down, both are brilliant.
yes Carstenw, I really really love that ethereal feeling of the 80. I also have the 50 Nikon 1.2, it's awesome too but very 'in your face' if that makes sense..
nategigapixel wrote:
yes Carstenw, I really really love that ethereal feeling of the 80. I also have the 50 Nikon 1.2, it's awesome too but very 'in your face' if that makes sense..
The 35/1.4 isn't quite as dreamy wide open as the 80/1.4.
When I"ve used the 35/1.4 in APS-c I've found it quite sharp wide open, not as SA/dreamy as the 80, with fairly soft bokeh at close range. Of course the edges would show the extremes of bokeh so using the lens on FF would be far preferable. I live in hope...
IIRC, these where with the 35/1.4 on a 40D, wide open.
I had that 80 1.4 and sold it when I went to M...I didn't appreciate it when I had it. Bummer.
I feel kind of the same way with the 35 summicron-r. I have now had it twice. The first time, ok, awesome. It stayed on my camera. Anyone who likes leica colors, etc. will enjoy it. Yeah, the corners are soft but who cares when you shoot wide open. It isn't that bad. Ok, that is what I tell myself. I don't peep too much but when I do it is soft.
I went on a trip recently and I used the 35 summicron-r nearly exclusively. F/2 is fast enough for me and when I wanted everything sharp, the corners aren't so bad at f/8.
I think it really comes down to a great all a rounder or something with that special zing to it. The 35 lux has it and the 80 lux really has it. For now, I 'm learning to appreciate my cron's and elmarit's for all they are worth in both M and R mount. I'm trying to tell myself to fully understand them before moving on to something else.
.. Forgot to say I have a 35 summicron r on my 5DII with a Fotodiox pro adapter and I liked it a lot. I didn't think it was very good for critical pixel peeping sharpness with landscapes etc, but it had a really neat look.
I owned both, if I were to re-purchase (and go back to the SLR systems) I would get the Summicron purely for the close focusing and smoothness. It is also razor sharp stopped down. I bought the Summicron used and the Summilux new. I used both on an R8 and Canon 5D-II (~3mm shaven mirror)
I would get the Summicron purely for the close focusing and smoothness. It is also razor sharp stopped down.
Right you are about the sharpness of Summicron-R 35!
Here is a URL to Summicron-R 35 (Leitax-ed, SN 3365xxxx) vs. Zeiss Distagon 35/2.0 ZF.2. test.
The set includes RAW and sharpened PSD files; shots taken at f/2 & f/5.6 on tripod, mirror-up, LV, etc, etc.
