boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
Yes, price. IIRC the original was US$348, I paid US$378. Can't blame them. If it is a seller's market and they are a good buy raising the price a bit does not make it a bad buy.
The Mandler 35mm f2
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Yes, price. IIRC the original was US$348, I paid US$378. Can't blame them. If it is a seller's market and they are a good buy raising the price a bit does not make it a bad buy.
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
Agreed, I turned down a brass because I wanted black not because I wanted cheap. Edit: (Which is in itself silly as it is the glass that matters!)
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boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
It just is a nice lens.
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Out to Lunch
Veteran
The aluminum version still costs US$348.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
OK, then I got dinger %30 for shipping, or something. Bottom line is that it is a good lens with good prescription at a price below many used lenses pf less quality. I am fond f Sonnars but this Leica clone is pretty good.
Deklari
Well-known
black M $348 ...silver M $378
Archiver
Veteran
Jeepers, these go fast! I just had a look at the website and only 5 of the black aluminium M mount versions are left. They'll all be gone by the end of the day. The silver chrome aluminium model seems to be in stock. Annoyingly, I had some recent expenses so I won't make this round, given how fast the black ones are going. Also a bit annoyingly, the silver chrome version is now $378. Not that I want it, but because it's more expensive than the plain black version.
boojum
Ignoble Miscreant
OK, I wanted black but all they had was silver. One silver is better than no black, at least for me.
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
There seems to be a $40 premium for LTM so it becomes 388 and 418. This is why I thought the price had gone up.
Archiver
Veteran
The silver chrome brass version seems to have reasonable amounts of stock, but the LTM model is down to the last four.
The black aluminium M version has sold out yet again. There are still silver chrome aluminium units left. I'm giving some vague thought to getting a chrome alu unit, but I know I'd regret it because I prefer black lenses. My first RF lens was a silver Zeiss 28/2.8, and as much as I like the lens, I wanted the black version.
The black aluminium M version has sold out yet again. There are still silver chrome aluminium units left. I'm giving some vague thought to getting a chrome alu unit, but I know I'd regret it because I prefer black lenses. My first RF lens was a silver Zeiss 28/2.8, and as much as I like the lens, I wanted the black version.
panatomic
Member
The bokeh actually looks smoother, with more symmetrical bokeh balls than the original. I would have ordered one immediately if the black paint was semigloss instead of glossy.
Freakscene
Obscure member
The out-of-focus, same as the original, varies wildly with aperture, distance to subject and distance from subject to background.
panatomic
Member
It does, but it looks more symmetrical.
Here are the few comparison test shots I've seen:
Comparison 1: eBay listing
Brand New!!! Mandler 35 F2 LTM Black Free Adepter LTM-M !! | eBay
Mandler 35 F2 LTM Black Free Adepter LTM-M ! • Mandler produces softer, creamier, and smoother bokeh. • Mandler: 1X,XXX THB. • Mandler = 8.5/10. Mandler has only been on the Chinese market for a few months, but it’s already created a buzz.
ebay.us
Comparison 2: Jimmy Cheng
- The Leica KoB has harsher bokeh with a nervous look. The Mandler is noticeably smoother and less distracting, though not what I would call unobtrusive and truly smooth. Very few fast 35mm lenses have "smooth" or "issue free" bokeh at full aperture, so you should stop the aperture down if you want smoother bokeh (assuming that the aperture blades are appropriate).
Comparison 3: Gigantoptik
[名玉熱戰 / Comparison] Polar Solaron-M 35mm f2 & Summicron 35mm F2 V4 (7 Elements.) Part 2.
2부 포스팅 시작합니다. 화질 및 배경흐림, 빛망울(보케) 등 결과물 전반에 관한 리뷰입니다. 빛망울의 묘사는 오리지널 주미크론 4세대(7매)와 다소 다른 느낌이었는데요, 상세한 내용은 아래로 이동해서 보시겠습니다. 효율적인(=귀차니즘) 포스팅을 위해 과도하게 많은 정보는 배제하고 주관적으로 촬영시 특성과 차이가 드러나는 부분을 뽑아 포스팅하려고 했으나 어쩌다보니 또 길어진 것 같네요;; 아무쪼록 각자가 원하시는 내용을 잘 캐치하셔서 의미있는 리뷰가 되셨으면 좋겠습니다. 1. 원거리 해상력 @F2 먼저...
gigantoptik.com
brbo
Well-known
I bought a black aluminium M mount just now. They obviously found some extra stock...
Freakscene
Obscure member
It does, but it looks more symmetrical.
Here are the few comparison test shots I've seen:
Comparison 1: eBay listing
- The Mandler has smoother and more symmetrical bokeh balls with less contrasty outlining than the Leica.Brand New!!! Mandler 35 F2 LTM Black Free Adepter LTM-M !! | eBay
Mandler 35 F2 LTM Black Free Adepter LTM-M ! • Mandler produces softer, creamier, and smoother bokeh. • Mandler: 1X,XXX THB. • Mandler = 8.5/10. Mandler has only been on the Chinese market for a few months, but it’s already created a buzz.ebay.us
View attachment 4890475
Comparison 2: Jimmy Cheng
- The Leica KoB has harsher bokeh with a nervous look. The Mandler is noticeably smoother and less distracting, though not what I would call unobtrusive and truly smooth. Very few fast 35mm lenses have "smooth" or "issue free" bokeh at full aperture, so you should stop the aperture down if you want smoother bokeh (assuming that the aperture blades are appropriate). View attachment 4890477
View attachment 4890478
Comparison 3: Gigantoptik
The Polar Solaron is the same lens as the Mandler (there was some drameh about this on Chinese social media). This shows the same thing as previous comparison photos: the Mandler has more symmetrical bokeh balls with less contrasty outlining than the Leica. I heard that the bokeh balls on the KoB are distorted due to optical vignetting.[名玉熱戰 / Comparison] Polar Solaron-M 35mm f2 & Summicron 35mm F2 V4 (7 Elements.) Part 2.
2부 포스팅 시작합니다. 화질 및 배경흐림, 빛망울(보케) 등 결과물 전반에 관한 리뷰입니다. 빛망울의 묘사는 오리지널 주미크론 4세대(7매)와 다소 다른 느낌이었는데요, 상세한 내용은 아래로 이동해서 보시겠습니다. 효율적인(=귀차니즘) 포스팅을 위해 과도하게 많은 정보는 배제하고 주관적으로 촬영시 특성과 차이가 드러나는 부분을 뽑아 포스팅하려고 했으나 어쩌다보니 또 길어진 것 같네요;; 아무쪼록 각자가 원하시는 내용을 잘 캐치하셔서 의미있는 리뷰가 되셨으면 좋겠습니다. 1. 원거리 해상력 @F2 먼저...
View attachment 4890476
I’ve seen these too. If that is a substantial or meaningful difference to you, especially when the wide-open out of focus of both lenses is awful, good luck to you.
yossi
Well-known
The wide-open bokeh of the Mandler lens is quite nice to me (must be the lens behind the camera that counts),
and I like that it is available in LTM. So gonna order one 😊
(screen shot from Mr. Leica YouTube video.)
and I like that it is available in LTM. So gonna order one 😊
(screen shot from Mr. Leica YouTube video.)
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Archiver
Veteran
So I take it that you're not a fan? 😄
Freakscene
Obscure member
I’m a fan. I have a chrome and a black 35mm v4 Summicron. It’s a lovely lens, but the breathlessness and mythologising about it in recent days is daft. On Plus-X, Tri-X or TMY, with a yellow filter and generous exposure, the placement of tones it gives are incredibly beautiful. Same on an M Monochrom with a dark yellow or light orange filter. But the “King of bokeh” moniker only applies to a narrow range of use, and any modern mirrorless 35mm f1.2 or 1.4 will have _vastly_ nicer and more neutral out of focus rendering from wide open to at least f2.8 and with a broad range of object distances. The real advantages are size, very easy focusing and nice relatively old fashioned look to the photos. The original v4 is among the most poorly constructed M lenses along with the 75 Summiluxes with the cemented plastic internals, and has several real flaws in use. I thought about getting a Mandler, but I have too many lenses and would use a v1 C-V 35mm f1.2, FLE Summilux or a steel rim Summilux instead. I also don’t like 35mm much, and would probably just put the 28mm Summilux on.
Archiver
Veteran
Tell you what, if/when I get a Mandler, and if we're in the same area at the same time, you can play with it* and compare it with the original Summicron v4. 😄
*the Mandler lens, just to be clear 😂
brbo
Well-known
I got the Mandler with the intention to replace my other "character" 35mm lens - Canon 35 LTM. I like everything about this lens (very good center sharpness even wide open, swirl, size) except the 40mm filter size and particularly 1m MFD. At 300 EUR (ok, probably closer to 400 after VAT and import fees) I couldn't resist the Mandler 35. And it was available in black (which I prefer) when I visited their shop, so I took that as a sign... 😉
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