Can anyone point me in the direction of sports shots taken with R glass on any DSLR system? I shoot an a900 but I don't need the shots to be taken from a Sony system. I just shot some pix at a skateboard park here in South Florida with an a900 and R180/4 that I will post if I get a membership. The R lenses seem to work well on kids / family shots, scenery shots, and otherwise fairly stationary subjects but I have yet to see them used for sports. Thank you.
Seeing as this thread is full of Leica R gurus, I thought I'd ask about opinions on the Leica 35/2 Summicron.
I'm looking to buy one, but I wanted to get some feedback. First, what's an acceptable price? I see a lot for around $1200. Also, how does it compare to lenses like the Zeiss 35/2 ZF.2 or the C/Y 35/1.4? Those are two others I'm considering.
Reasonable price can be around 600-1400$ depending condition, year of produce etc. I have a few friends, they are z-maniacs. And finally they choose R35/2e55. But this is your inner choice basics on your own criteria and taste, leica not ideal lens, especially R35/2. The best way - try.
The 35/2R is very sharp in the middle, but has dramatic field curvature. At the time that I owned one, I never really figured out how to use it and hated it. Now I think I am much more accepting of that kind of thing, looking for the strengths in each lens. The Zeiss 35/2 has very strong, almost exaggerated 3D and higher contrast, a more punchy lens, whereas the 35/2R is more subtle. I would say that the Zeiss 35/2 is maybe better for typical walk-about kind of photography, with the Leica being better for people, but this is clearly a matter of taste. The Contax and ZF/ZE 35/1.4 is a different beast, a lens of a higher class, more expensive, larger, with better rendering, IMO. The 35/1.4 lenses would compare more with the 35/1.4R.
MikalWGrass wrote:
Can anyone point me in the direction of sports shots taken with R glass on any DSLR system? I shoot an a900 but I don't need the shots to be taken from a Sony system. I just shot some pix at a skateboard park here in South Florida with an a900 and R180/4 that I will post if I get a membership. The R lenses seem to work well on kids / family shots, scenery shots, and otherwise fairly stationary subjects but I have yet to see them used for sports. Thank you.
Your main problems are:
1/ If shooting sports, ie fast moving subjects, then an AF system is generally (but not always) preferable so using any manual focus lenses is not as common. So if you do use manual lenses you had better be really good at manual focusing. It takes a lot of practice and experience to do it well with a relatively fast moving subject. Having said that I regularly use an 80/1.4, and some times a 180/2, for drag racing and find it far better than Canon AF.
2/ Stop down metering will be a problem unless you are using a Leica DSLR. Otherwise you'll have to focus and the working aperture which may be problematic. Once you stop down past F2.8 most lenses become hard to focus accurately.
carstenw wrote:
Yes, stopped down it is very sharp, but wide open, the corners are... interesting
I found a late ROM model [serial # 347xxxx] with built in hood for 1K, I'm buying to use mainly for portraits so I think the lens will work well. Thanks for the input guys! I'm excited to join the club .
Do you guys think the small mark on the front element will cause for IQ issues?
It's the cheapest/latest copy of the 35/2 I could find.
Good luck with the lens. By the way, it is not necessary to get purchase ROM lenses unless you need the added information from the lens passed on to an R8 or R9. 3 Cam versions are generally identical to the ROM version if they are of the latest design. Some lenses (quite late in the line) were only available as a ROM lens.
Good luck with the lens. By the way, it is not necessary to get purchase ROM lenses unless you need the added information from the lens passed on to an R8 or R9. 3 Cam versions are generally identical to the ROM version if they are of the latest design. Some lenses (quite late in the line) were only available as a ROM lens.
Rich
ROM or not, this is the cheapest R 35/2 I could find. By good luck, do you mean that you think I might have issues to the mark on the front element?
Brody LeBlanc wrote:
ROM or not, this is the cheapest R 35/2 I could find. By good luck, do you mean that you think I might have issues to the mark on the front element?
Brody,
I do not anticipate an issue from the slight mark on the lens. There is always a possibility of a problem to develop with a lens, but again, that is not necessarily a concern. I really mean good luck and enjoy the lens. Hopefully it will prove to be a lens that you enjoy and keep. I have had mine (a 3 cam version) since about 1984 or 1985 when I purchased the lens in mint condition. Mine is still probably in E++ condition or M- and recently just came back from a a lube and cleaning from Leica USA.
Brody, you can pay attention to flare arising out of that small mark. If you think there might be too much, you can try to fill it in with black water-colour paint, that will stop all light from passing through it, and then you really won't be able to see it, other than possibly in boke blobs.
If the price good for you - grab it and be happy. The micro-scratch on the front lens will be in your mind only, not on the pictures. If for you comfortable with that's mind why not?
P.S. but I'm personally don't buying similar lenses for myself, except the situations, when the price too low.
P.S.-2 by my opinion the price a bit expensive, this is temporary version before latest Leica and it's in not so good condition.
JJ, I am pretty good at manual focusing a Leica lens on the Sony a900 having learned how to shoot on an M6 and a Mamiya 7II. I can shoot skateboarding as long as the riders aren't coming towards me. I can shoot swimming if I am careful. I can even shoot water polo.
The stop down metering is a bit funky because the focus confirmation goes off at 5.6 or 8 depending upon a few factors. I can manage most of my shots at those fstops.
I was just curious because I don't tend to see too many Leica lenses used for sports shooting even though they are great lenses if the photographer has a bit of patience.
