p.5 #2 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
My lens finally came in today and I must say I really like it so far. It's well built and it seems to have plenty of special sauce. It will certainly get a lot of use in this household.
+ rendering
+ funk
+ sharpness at portrait distance
+ general swirls
+ unusual starburst effect
+ look forward to trying it on film
- lens hood doesn't really fit snuggly
- focus tap should have been silver on a silver lens
- some color cast here and there
p.5 #10 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
Sorry, I was curious if anyone had any insight on the actual aperture of this being more along 2.5 or 2.8 as opposed to the f/2 as advertised. I've only seen mention of it on 35mmc. Anyone else notice this?
p.5 #11 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
HereIAm wrote:
Sorry, I was curious if anyone had any insight on the actual aperture of this being more along 2.5 or 2.8 as opposed to the f/2 as advertised. I've only seen mention of it on 35mmc. Anyone else notice this?
Yes, I noticed that on my copy, too. Stopping down half a stop from f/2 doesn't really change the exposure. Looking through the lens one can hardly see the aperture blades moving into the path of light. Compared to my Voigtländer Ultron 35/2 it reads about 2/3 of a stop slower wide open.
p.5 #12 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
Interesting, 35mmc seems to think it may be the built in bevel of the lens as it results in a fixed aperture that doesn't match the iris when wide open. Weird how this isn't discussed in detail in more places cosnidering the heat around this lens.
p.5 #13 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
HereIAm wrote:
Sorry, I was curious if anyone had any insight on the actual aperture of this being more along 2.5 or 2.8 as opposed to the f/2 as advertised. I've only seen mention of it on 35mmc. Anyone else notice this?
I'm not really seeing this behavior on mine. Exposure does change appropriately.
The vignetting of the lens is significant and might give people the idea it's a lot darker than it is, so maybe people are talking about that?
p.5 #14 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
I have come across discussions of this topic before, and claims that it is more of a T-stop 2,8 lens, but I don't own it so I can't personally comment. I presume you are talking about the amount of light let through, and not the amount of depth of field?
Note that the f-stop is strictly a geometric value, and gives no guarantees about the amount of light let through. The T stop from the video world describes the amount of light let through.
p.5 #15 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
Alan Parker wrote:
I'm not really seeing this behavior on mine. Exposure does change appropriately.
The vignetting of the lens is significant and might give people the idea it's a lot darker than it is, so maybe people are talking about that?
I'd say that vignetting is pretty similar to my Ultron 35/2, yet the exposure indicated by the center-weighted meter of the M10 differs by about 2/3 of a stop. My other 35mm lenses show exactly the same exposure as the Ultron, so it seems quite likely that the Mandler not really an f/2 lens, more like f/2.5.
The handling of the Mandler is great. In fact it is exactly like that of the 35/2 Summicron-M (IV), of which I had a copy in the early 1990s. I stupidly "traded up" to the Summicron-M ASPH. when it hit the market, and then to the Summilux-M 35/1.4 ASPH.
Around 2000 I bought another copy of the 35 KOB as I liked its rendering so much, but sold it when I moved to digital in 2004 (different brand, not Leica).
The Mandler is optically a very different beast. While the bokeh is quite nice, I don't really care for the extreme field curvature.
p.5 #16 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
cabophoto wrote:
My other 35mm lenses show exactly the same exposure as the Ultron, so it seems quite likely that the Mandler not really an f/2 lens, more like f/2.5.
That's entirely possible; light transmission values for lenses can be all over the place sometimes. Thankfully this isn't a lens where that matters to me. This is a lens just for fun for me and it gives me the type of look I was hoping for. If I want a crazy sharp and optically perfect 35mm I get my Sony 35/1.4 out
p.5 #17 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
Anyone here kept the Mandler instead of the CV 35 2.0 II or the 35 1.7 VM? Or the Ksana 35 2.0?
I wonder if I should give it a try. Unfortunately I would have to import it. Anyone from Germany already own one and can say how high the more costs were?
p.5 #18 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
There are more lenses and hoods on the Mandler website at this moment in time. I just bought a silver 35/2 M mount lens with both the silver hoods. I want to try both the hoods before deciding, and they are not expensive. I am not sure this lens is for me, but I want to try it, and due to the constrained deliveries, re-selling it won't be an issue. I paid 592 USD for all three items. I presume the import duty will be around VAT + some customs fee, so about 150-200 USD extra.
(Gammar, wir können uns gerne treffen falls du das Objektiv sehen willst. Mitte bis spät Juli wäre für mich günstig.)
p.5 #19 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
Each time I look for a compact f/2 35mm, it has a hard time against the fact that the Voigt 35mm/1.5 I own has a dreamy, creamy bokeh, is sharp, weight 200g and is compact enough once you change the hood for a small screw-in one.
p.5 #20 · Leica 35mm Summicron KOB copy by ‘Mandler’
gammarART wrote:
Anyone here kept the Mandler instead of the CV 35 2.0 II or the 35 1.7 VM? Or the Ksana 35 2.0?
I wonder if I should give it a try. Unfortunately I would have to import it. Anyone from Germany already own one and can say how high the more costs were?
I took delivery of both the Mandler and a Ksana 35mm a week ago. Trying to decide between the two now. I've shot a couple of rolls of film I don't have developed yet, so I can't pass judgment there. I haven't had opportunity to test on digital via adapter to my A7V, but I hope to do that this weekend.
It'll come down to rendering for me, as handling between the two is close enough that I would adjust to either. If I'm honest though, I think I slightly prefer the handling of the Mandler. Focus is lighter (both are fine, though I think I'd optimally have something halfway between the two). The aperture clicks are much more definite on the Mandler and clearly better for that reason in my book; my Ksana copy is soft to the point of mushy there. They're close enough to identical in size as makes no difference.
