I did not know of him so I looked him up. He was certainly a very interesting man who had an interesting life and it is a great loss for the FM community.
I have a subscription at diglloyd and I must say that the 35/2 Loxia looks really underwhelming. For example: you need to stop down to F13 (!) to get sharp edges at infinity. The bokeh looks busy too.
Jochenb wrote:
I have a subscription at diglloyd and I must say that the 35/2 Loxia looks really underwhelming. For example: you need to stop down to F13 (!) to get sharp edges at infinity. The bokeh looks busy too.
That sounds very disappointing. I guess that I will continue to use my Minolta CLE MC 40mm f2 M-Rokkor lens indefinitely. I had considered the new Loxia 35mm f2 to replace my Leica R f2 Summicron because of its field curvature and the difficulty in getting sharp corners. I know my friends at Leica Camera USA at PhotoPlus last week were not happy that I was considering selling my Summicron R.
I think the Loxia 35 f/2 is going to be a reportage lens and not much of a landscape lens. It seems it will be quite good for closer distances (10 to 20 feet) and stopped down a bit (f/4-f/8), but we will see as more samples come in. It also may be very nice for video, but I don't think I will be interested. For 35mm and portraits I like a very fast aperture and good bokeh--and it really has neither--and for landscapes I do want the lens to be sharp across the frame by at least f/8. But if you know some of the other frequent posters, and Makten in particular, I think it would be a great lens for many of the things he tends to shoot.
Rich, I had the R 35 cron and it is an often under appreciated lens. It does have wonderful bokeh, which not many 35s do. It also has very nice colour, IMO. If the aperture is wide enough for you, I think it is an excellent portrait lens. I only gave it up after I got the Zeiss ZE 35 f/1.4, which is a stop faster and I really appreciate that stop at 35mm. In addition the R 35 cron's corners never sharpen up, but the central 3/4 or a little more of the frame is excellent. I think because the flaws are so easy to see, people don't appreciate this lens' strengths, but it was a lens I liked very much. Especially on the Sony cameras, where the size of the ZE/ZF is a potential problem, it may be hard to find a lens to replace it.
Steve Spencer wrote:
I think the Loxia 35 f/2 is going to be a reportage lens and not much of a landscape lens. It seems it will be quite good for closer distances (10 to 20 feet) and stopped down a bit (f/4-f/8), but we will see as more samples come in. It also may be very nice for video, but I don't think I will be interested. For 35mm and portraits I like a very fast aperture and good bokeh--and it really has neither--and for landscapes I do want the lens to be sharp across the frame by at least f/8. But if you know some of the other frequent posters, and Makten in particular, I think it would be a great lens for many of the things he tends to shoot.
Rich, I had the R 35 cron and it is an often under appreciated lens. It does have wonderful bokeh, which not many 35s do. It also has very nice colour, IMO. If the aperture is wide enough for you, I think it is an excellent portrait lens. I only gave it up after I got the Zeiss ZE 35 f/1.4, which is a stop faster and I really appreciate that stop at 35mm. In addition the R 35 cron's corners never sharpen up, but the central 3/4 or a little more of the frame is excellent. I think because the flaws are so easy to see, people don't appreciate this lens' strengths, but it was a lens I liked very much. Especially on the Sony cameras, where the size of the ZE/ZF is a potential problem, it may be hard to find a lens to replace it. ...Show more →
Steve,
Thanks for the input. My 35mm Summicron is actually one of my original R lenses purchased in mint condition almost 30 years ago. I used to use it fairly frequently but used less and less due to the corner sharpness issues. It is still in probably about mint condition and Leica Camera USA did a complete CLA on the lens in January of 2013. Aside from minor amounts of loss of some the coatings (I believe inside the lens) it is a very fine, very smooth focusing and handling lens. Maybe I should keep it for specific needs.
naturephoto1 wrote:
That sounds very disappointing. I guess that I will continue to use my Minolta CLE MC 40mm f2 M-Rokkor lens indefinitely. I had considered the new Loxia 35mm f2 to replace my Leica R f2 Summicron because of its field curvature and the difficulty in getting sharp corners. I know my friends at Leica Camera USA at PhotoPlus last week were not happy that I was considering selling my Summicron R.
Rich
Agree. I will either stick with my CV 40/1.4 (which, btw, I'm seeing better across the frame performance from at F8 than I did from my copy of the CLE MC 40 on the A7r, possibly due to sample variation) or take the plunge on the ZM 35/1.4 when it ships.
The CV 40/1.4 makes a great "editorial/ reportage" lens from 1.4 to 5.6 but gets sharp enough into the corners at F8 imo that it is extremely versatile. Sounds like the Loxia 35 is not quite there.
Nov 06, 2014 at 02:02 PM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
Tariq Gibran wrote:
Agree. I will either stick with my CV 40/1.4 (which, btw, I'm seeing better across the frame performance from at F8 than I did from my copy of the CLE MC 40 on the A7r, possibly due to sample variation) or take the plunge on the ZM 35/1.4 when it ships.
The CV 40/1.4 makes a great "editorial/ reportage" lens from 1.4 to 5.6 but gets sharp enough into the corners at F8 imo that it is extremely versatile. Sounds like the Loxia 35 is not quite there.
Hey Tariq,
What about the new version of the CV 35 f/1.7? I think I remember you being interested in that lens. Have you (or any one else) seen this lens yet? Is is out?
What about the new version of the CV 35 f/1.7? I think I remember you being interested in that lens. Have you (or any one else) seen this lens yet? Is is out?
It's not out yet. I don't think it will be available until perhaps late winter or spring next year.
Here is a "casual" shot with the CV40/1.4 at F8 from the A7r that surprised me with regard to overall sharpness. I did not think this lens was quite this good . Maybe sample variation at play (this is a late copy I bought used for just over $300).
Tariq Gibran wrote:
It's not out yet. I don't think it will be available until perhaps late winter or spring next year.
Here is a "casual" shot with the CV40/1.4 at F8 from the A7r that surprised me with regard to overall sharpness. I did not think this lens was quite this good . Maybe sample variation at play (this is a late copy I bought used for just over $300).
Well I guess we will have to wait on the CV 35 f/1.7. Personally, I am not interested in the CV 40 f/1.4. The bokeh is too funky for my tastes even though I often like funky bokeh.
Steve Spencer wrote:
Well I guess we will have to wait on the CV 35 f/1.7. Personally, I am not interested in the CV 40 f/1.4. The bokeh is too funky for my tastes even though I often like funky bokeh.
The CV 40/1.4 seems to be quite a chameleon with regard to bokeh. It can look busy (at 1.4 particularly) but it can also look really nice (just as good, if not better, than the Summicron 40 where they overlap). The same seems to be the situation with across the frame sharpness. It's fairly limited to a small central area vs modern design lenses but by F8 it's respectable across the frame. It sort of behaves like two different lenses - characteristically -depending upon the situation/ F-Stop. For some reason, I think this lens has received a somewhat undeserved negative rap/ reputation. Probably because it does behave so differently per situation that one really has to get to know it pretty well.
I suspect that new CV 35/1.7 will turn out to be great once it shows up. Cosina seems to be on a roll lately.
Tariq Gibran wrote:
Agree. I will either stick with my CV 40/1.4 (which, btw, I'm seeing better across the frame performance from at F8 than I did from my copy of the CLE MC 40 on the A7r, possibly due to sample variation) or take the plunge on the ZM 35/1.4 when it ships.
The CV 40/1.4 makes a great "editorial/ reportage" lens from 1.4 to 5.6 but gets sharp enough into the corners at F8 imo that it is extremely versatile. Sounds like the Loxia 35 is not quite there.
Often overlooked, the CV 40mm f/2 Ultron is a fantastic, compact lens on the A7. It has become one of my favorite lenses on the A7.
