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Anyone still using loxia 35/50

johnahill
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I see loxia 35 and 50 all the time on the used market.
How do they stack up now that we have so many options?

I have the 21 and 85 loxia and love those lenses.
Does the 35 bring anything to the party that I don't get from the sigma 35i

May 28, 2022 at 06:55 AM

gigio
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

The 35 Loxia was the first lens I bought when I moved to Sony years ago. That lens is still my all time favorite. I have the 21 as well but I use the 35 more.

I love its dreamy rendering wide open (maybe I got lucky with my copy but it’s sharp at f/2 even with all the glow) and its great sharpness when you close down the aperture.

I don’t know why it didn’t get as popular as some other ones (21-25-85) …maybe I just prefer the old design. And I would buy the 50 immediately if I could spend more money on gear (my GAS is on Hasselblad CF lenses right now)

May 28, 2022 at 07:31 AM

ChrisMak
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I just recently re-purchased the Loxia 50mm for use on the A1, and have the Lox 25 also.

Optically the Loxia lenses just work for me, and I miss their high class IQ when I switch to other lenses. Unless I need to shoot fast and conveniently, the Loxia lenses are what I take.
I know they are not top of the class regarding correction of abberations, but they produce images that look just right without any PP.

They shine a bright light in times of ever growing emphasis on perfection regarding resolution and super smooth bokeh and correction of abberations. I know it is what people want, but I would sorely miss the Loxias, most of all their color and contrast, and I am glad Zeiss made them.

May 28, 2022 at 08:17 AM

Timphoto
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

The Loxia 35 was the first Zeiss Loxia I purchased for the Sony system. I have the Sony 35 GM, but prefer the smaller profile and rendering of the Loxia. The Loxia 21 is my favorite, but the 35 is a close second.

The used Loxia 35's are a bargain.

May 28, 2022 at 08:49 AM

shac
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I have no complaints whatsoever about either my 35 or 50 Loxia's. They are great IMO. I also have the 21 and 85

May 28, 2022 at 08:52 AM

wdshuck
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I started with the Loxia 35, then added a 50 and 25. I’ve significantly trimmed my Sony kit but can’t bring myself to sell the Loxia 50 (and regret selling the 25). Despite having 3 other 50s, the Loxia 50 just works for landscape - I really love the colors straight out of camera vs other lenses.

May 28, 2022 at 11:32 AM

PaulMoorePhoto
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I’ve only used the 35 and I eventually replaced it with the Sony 35mm f/1.8, which I eventually replaced with the Sigma 35i. I occasionally look back at some shots from the loxia and admire the classic Zeiss contrast and colors but I’m still happy with my decisions. Maybe I had a bad copy but I was not happy with across the frame sharpness until at least f/5.6 and I found it completely unusable wide open or up close. I found MF fine for some subjects but not others and I didn’t want to have two different 35s. I think it really comes down to how much you want that classic look and your willingness to deal with manual focus.

May 28, 2022 at 12:48 PM

tbpeur01
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I now shoot the 35 GM, Voigtlander 40/1.2 and Sigma 65i but once owned the 35 and 50. I still miss them to this day and have actively tried trading for the 50, in particular, on this forum. I love my currently lineup, but like others have said, there is something about the past images I took with these two that has me missing them. I really want the 50 again for my everyday carry lens.

May 28, 2022 at 02:19 PM

DaveFP
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I have and shoot mine.

Love them; typical Zeiss.

May 28, 2022 at 02:39 PM

ReleaseDrive
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

Was one of my first native lenses (50mm loxia) with an original A7. Shot it almost exclusively for 8 months, then got into Voigtlander and ended up selling it. I bought the 65mm.

I've switched out most of my MF lenses for AF. If I did it over again, I would have just kept the 50mm loxia. Typical Zeiss color and better all arounder. They aren't to expensive now and have thought up picking up the 50 again.

May 28, 2022 at 03:14 PM

SomtinWong
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I have all of them except the 25. As a landscaper I shoot entirely with manual focus primes. People think i am nuts for shooting with man focus but i love the rendering and contrast of the Loxia and Voigtlanders. One of my fav recent sunrises with the Loxia 50

Sunrise on the Maumee River by J M, on Flickr]LOXIA 50[/url]

May 28, 2022 at 04:59 PM

addieleman
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I own all 5 Loxias. Just yesterday I decided to take the L35 (Loxia 2/35) instead of the CV35 (Voigtländer Apo-Lanthar 2/35) because the CV35 doesn't really speak to me, I guess I'm addicted to the bold rendering of the L35. My most recent acquisition was the L25, hesitantly because I figured I might not really need it beside the L21. I was so wrong! I use the L25 all the time. The L85 comes in when I need telephoto which isn't very often and the L35 for the regular shots where the L25 is too much of a wide-angle. I hardly ever use the L21 and L50 these days but that may change when I decide to change subject matter.

All the tests show that the Loxias aren't flawless but the sparkle, punch and fine detail win me over. And the L35, the weakest of them all when it comes to wide-open performance, has given me some pictures where the glow wide-open really adds to the image.

Today Nikon and Canon offer very nice mirrorless systems and I would seriously consider going back to Nikon, if only Zeiss would make Z-mount Loxias. But that won't happen so I'll stick to Sony for now.

May 29, 2022 at 04:06 AM

DaveFP
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

Any updates on the A1/Loxia issue?

May 29, 2022 at 08:01 AM

doc4x5
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

On gear fora such as this, people tend to want to talk about the latest and greatest. Lenses that have been around for a while such as the Loxia and the Batii tend to garner less attention compared to the latest GM beauty. The newer ones are certainly wonderful but there's much to be said for the classics. I have no intention to get rid of my Batis 135 or my CV 50 and 110. None of these have been mentioned often on this forum lately. Actually I suspect none of the so called experts could tell the difference between a photo made with the Loxia 35 and the GM 35. Both have their adherents.

May 30, 2022 at 05:35 PM

philip_pj
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

There is the concept in the music industry of 'back catalogue'. The term refers to the vast collection of superb music that has accumulated over the decades. The reason it is of vital interest to in-store purchasing officers is that it makes up the most important stock - material that will sell consistently, year after year.

Latest releases, on the other hand, are merely the latest overlay that sits uneasily on this foundation. 'Uneasily' because much of it sloughs off at some stage when it newness, its appeal as novelty, wears off and it joins all the quickly forgotten fad music mouldering in the cheap bins at the front of the store.

You never want to forget what came before and what the established virtues really mean. It's an excellent way to evaluate new just about anything, including photographic lenses. This is not to say that decisions to buy the latest are wrongheaded, but that they must display superior attributes you really want.

A sign you are under attack by 'the psychology of the new' is people who wax lyrical about their new lens but cannot explain what it offers over what aready exists at the high level of available lenses, or that they do not post images that show what it can do for you. Very important, and the essence of wise choice. 'I just love it' doesn't cut it.

May 30, 2022 at 06:47 PM

tzhang4284
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

addieleman wrote:
I own all 5 Loxias. Just yesterday I decided to take the L35 (Loxia 2/35) instead of the CV35 (Voigtländer Apo-Lanthar 2/35) because the CV35 doesn't really speak to me, I guess I'm addicted to the bold rendering of the L35. My most recent acquisition was the L25, hesitantly because I figured I might not really need it beside the L21. I was so wrong! I use the L25 all the time. The L85 comes in when I need telephoto which isn't very often and the L35 for the regular shots where the L25 is too much of a wide-angle....Show more →

How would you compare the Loxia 35mm vs the Voigtlander 35mm APO out of curiosity for overall rendering? I had a Loxia 35mm a few years ago but sold it after I tried various AF 35mm/40mm lenses. The 35mm GM was the best of the bunch but still too big. I've been thinking about going back to a manual focus 35mm for a compact walk around lens and thinking about the Voigtlander 35mm. However, I really enjoyed the Loxia so would considering going back to it.

May 30, 2022 at 08:35 PM

DavidBM
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

doc4x5 wrote:
On gear fora such as this, people tend to want to talk about the latest and greatest. Lenses that have been around for a while such as the Loxia and the Batii tend to garner less attention compared to the latest GM beauty. The newer ones are certainly wonderful but there's much to be said for the classics. I have no intention to get rid of my Batis 135 or my CV 50 and 110. None of these have been mentioned often on this forum lately. Actually I suspect none of the so called experts could tell the difference between...Show more →

I think there are some serious difference between the lenses you mention!

The CV 50 and 110 ALs might not the latest, but are clearly up there with the greatest. They measure as well as the greatest, and look it too.

The Batis 135 is also optically close to state of the art. It has minor haptic annoyances, but I still have one for travel because it's lighter than the GM. But although it doesn't measure quite as well, it's also pretty much indistinguishable from the GM from f4.

The Loxia 35 is another beast entirely. I have one I hang onto for sentimental reasons, and it's very good indeed stopped down. But at every aperture you can pick it from something recent and top end like the AL35 or the GM; and at wide apertures is optically a bit sh*t by the standards of current lenses. Which is not to say someone shouldn't prefer it for the character that gives. The Lox 35 and 50 shouldn't be compared with the other Loxias. Both are good examples of extremely classic sixty year old design types (a biogon type semi symmetrical wide, and a basic double gauss respecitvley - the detailed design is of course more recent) made for a rangefinder and minimally modified to match the Sony stack. This has results you might like, but which are optically nothing like the other Loxias which are exceptional modern designs capable of high resolution and contrast across the field at all apertures, and less flare and ghosting. They have a very different character indeed, and it slightly mystifies me when people say there is a look Loxias all share! There is a haptic experience they all share, of course.

May 30, 2022 at 09:01 PM

ChrisMak
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

DavidBM wrote:
I think there are some serious difference between the lenses you mention!

The CV 50 and 110 ALs might not the latest, but are clearly up there with the greatest. They measure as well as the greatest, and look it too.

The Batis 135 is also optically close to state of the art. It has minor haptic annoyances, but I still have one for travel because it's lighter than the GM. But although it doesn't measure quite as well, it's also pretty much indistinguishable from the GM from f4.

The Loxia 35 is another beast entirely. I have one I hang onto for...Show more →

I agree with the Loxia 35 falling out a bit regarding the rendering with the other Loxia lenses, giving a distinctly more "vintage" look to the images. The Loxia 50mm however blends in better with my Loxia 25mm, which is a very modern rendering lens albeit with Zeiss color and contrast.
I would place the Loxia 50mm somewhere in between.

May 31, 2022 at 05:47 AM

addieleman
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

tzhang4284 wrote:
How would you compare the Loxia 35mm vs the Voigtlander 35mm APO out of curiosity for overall rendering? I had a Loxia 35mm a few years ago but sold it after I tried various AF 35mm/40mm lenses. The 35mm GM was the best of the bunch but still too big. I've been thinking about going back to a manual focus 35mm for a compact walk around lens and thinking about the Voigtlander 35mm. However, I really enjoyed the Loxia so would considering going back to it.

I won't pretend I'm doing kind of a full review, not interested enough to do all the work for that. So my take is personal and subjective and based on a very limited subject matter, i.e. street and (a bit of) landscape. Not particularly concerned about bokeh quality nor about flare/ghosting, as I don't shoot into the light very often and I almost always use f/8 as shooting aperture.

The CV35 (Voigtländer FE Apo-Lanthard 2/35) is superior in sharpness to the L35 (Loxia 2/35) at larger apertures; even at f/8 there's a difference, the CV35 doesn't lose it sharpness in the midzone region like the L35 does. The CV35's color fringing in out-of-focus regions is also much less apparent compared to the L35. The CV35 shows some purple fringing around highlights at f/2, which is gone by f/2.8 and smaller. The L35 shows more fringing which generally doesn't bother me, but it can be detrimental in critical circumstances. I have used the L35 wide-open for photos where I wanted some glow around highlights, using its spherical aberration to my advantage.

The CV35 offers a somewhat narrower view than the L35 which annoys me bigtime to be honest. The main difference to me is the rendering at smaller apertures. The L35 delivers punch and sparkle to the images at smaller apertures, starting at f/2.8 in the center and extending to the whole frame around f/5.6. The CV35 delivers very evenly across its aperture range but its rendering is somewhat more withheld, not as punchy. A matter of taste really, I know others hold the CV35's rendering in high esteem.

Hope this helps a bit. I feel Bastian Kratzke's review on phillipreeve.net is a very balanced and fair appraisal of the L35.

May 31, 2022 at 07:15 AM

MARKFER
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Anyone still using loxia 35/50

I have the Loxia 25 and 85 but the 35 interests me. Very happy with Loxia in general. A sort of unusual rendering lens like the 35 would be a nice addition for me.

May 31, 2022 at 02:24 PM

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