35mm lens recomendation for a SLR

[Roger Vadim]

Hello everybody,

some of you know by now my quest for a 35mm lens you can attach to a SLR and which is:

- drawing like a Sonnar, means subtle tones, nice bokeh, and a slight oldfashioned look (I am going to shoot B/W with it)

- should be sharp as well (unlike a Sonnar 😉) with nice microcontrast

- well, and yes, flare resistant

Do I want to much? 😎

I just scanned 5 rolls I shot with my 35/2 Nikkor Pre-Ai, its ok, but it's not great either, it flares like hell, and the rendition is rather harsh, the bokeh is so-so, well - I'm not impressed by it, its a bit middle of the road to me.

But then the 2 rolls from my old Kiev with the 50/2 coated Zeiss Sonnar are beautyfull (well, they could be a tad sharper😛). But I do prefer SLR shooting (oh herasy!) for some occasions, mhmm

Plattform is irrelevant, you get the SLR bodys almost for free nowadays.

Any suggestions? Or do I want to much...

Thanks,
Michael

 

[mbisc]

I'd go with one of the 35mm Distagons for the Contax/Yashica mount (depending on your budget either the f1.4 or f2.8 version) ...

 

[wlewisiii]

Have you considered M42 screwmount? CZJ made some great lenses - for your purposes the 35/2.4 Flektogon comes to mind. Personally I'm needing a 50/2.8 Tessar or 50/1.8 Pancolor (aka Plannar) lens for my screwmount Mamiya.

William

 

[kaiyen]

have you tried the 35 f2 AF-D? I believe it's better in respect to the deficiencies you have indicated. Without a preference for platform I can't make a good suggestion...but I'll watch this thread for tips for myself 🙂

 

[rover]

Have you considered M42 screwmount? CZJ made some great lenses - for your purposes the 35/2.4 Flektogon comes to mind. Personally I'm needing a 50/2.8 Tessar or 50/1.8 Pancolor (aka Plannar) lens for my screwmount Mamiya.

William

Or the M42 Mir 1 which is an FSU version of the older 35/2.8 Flektogon.

 

[shadowfox]

Roger, one lens that came to mind when reading your "requirements" is the Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f2.

That lens is sharp because it's "modern", but the bokeh is smooth like a Sonnar.

As a bonus, you can use the "honorary rangefinder" OM-1 as the body 🙂

 

[ferider]

Thinking out of the box: get a Hexar AF. Great classic 35/2. .6m min. focus. Smooth as butter, sharp with super micro-contrast. Body attached 🙂

 

[venchka]

My pick

My pick

I can't speak for drawing, OOF, contrast, etc. because I haven't really used the lens the way I should. But here goes...

Certainly one of, and quite possibly the, sharpest lenses I own: FD/BL Canon 35mm f/3.5 S.C. lens. The last model run before Canon changed to the bayonet mount. 55mm filter diameter, built like a tank. Same vintage as the 50mm f/3.5 S.S.C. Macro and 50mm f/1.4 S.S.C. lenses I also have. Great combination. I purchased the 35mm and 50mm Macro lenses along with the Canon EF body new in 1975. I still have them today. For somereason, I have used the 35mm lens very little. I need to correct that.

Dirt cheap too. Heck, it was cheap in 1975. It was all I could afford at the time. I reckon you could put one of these on an AE-1 body for next to nothing. Maybe nothing if you get lucky at a garage sale.

A modest sample. Kodak BW400CN @ f/8.0.

Go to this page in my Gallery and click on the small photo for a BIG version.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/venchka/backroads/FH000002.jpg.html

Good luck!

 

[nikola]

I'm recently searching the web for perfect Nikkor, since I'm loving Nikon's high eyepoint finders. And from the few images I could find I concluded that nine blade 35mm/f1.4 AIS is THE LENS. Rendering subjectively most pleasant images!

 

[LeicaM3]

Zeiss ZF 35/2 - check digilloyds or Sean R review

old N 35/1.4 is fine, but soft wide open, soft in corners and it flares - still is the best Nikon made 35 though

CV 40/2 SLII is a great lens and close to 35, has a somewhat nervous bokeh though

 

[peterc]

Pre-AI Nikkor-O 35/2 examples.
B&W film / Nikkormat FT2
http://www.pbase.com/image/72079138

On D40 dSLR
http://www.pbase.com/image/99927569

 

[Roger Vadim]

great recommendations so far!

The 1.4 35 Nikkor is tempting, but difficult to get. And then - well maybe I am a bit bored with that Nikon signature - I was just browsing Flickr and I found that maybe I'd like to have a lens with a bit more shadow rendition. That was what struck me in comparing the more modern Nikkor with the Sonnar, the nikon, at least in B/W, always had these (wonderfull in it's own respect) rather harsh 70's documentary shadows. Not blocked, but getting shadow detail is rather tricky. Maybe it's this Japanese vs. German glass thing, rendition over contrast in the german glass?

The Olympus route sure is a nice one, and the old Canon, well, I that about that by myself.

Ohh, lots of things to consider. Maybe I am loooking for a RF signature style in SLR's...😱

Great, thanks, and keep the suggestions coming!

Cheers, Michael

 

[35mmdelux]

I was considering a 35mm lens for my Nikon F6 platform...

Pnetter turned me on to AF Nikkor 20-35mm/2.8 D. Discontinued, these lenses origianlly cost $1500 and are said to be quite sharp; metal, not plastic, professional lens. $575 out the door. deal done.

Incredibly balanced on my F6. Im stoked; 20-35mm gives me alot of street capacity.

For some speed (no pun intended) rounded out kit with 85mm/1.4 mf Nikkor AIS and 28mm/2.0 NiKKor AIS.

 

[Chris101]

I've heard good things about the 20-35 as well. But I also really like the 35mm f/2 AFD. It's a nice, simple lens with a minimum of elements and has nice coatings. (Unfortunately mine is dis-assembled right now, to clean the oil off the aperture blades, which occured at 5 years and one month after I bought it. The warranty lasted five years. 🙁 )

 

[raid]

With an SLR lens, you first need to fix the SLR model.
If it is a Nikon SLR, then the 35/1.4 and 35/2 are both good choices.


If you are willing to buy into an SLR system, I suggest to get an Exakta and then get some excellent Zeiss 35mm lenses or their East German copies.


If you enjoy taking risks, get a Rolleiflex SL35 with a 35mm/2.8 Distagon for a beautiful look.

If you are practical about it, get a Spotmatic with a 35/2.

 

[venchka]

Roger,

Again, different eyes see different things. Did you look at the large version of my photo above? Considering this is a mini-lab machine processed negative, and not real B&W film, the sahdows seem extremely well detailed to me. Given the brtight-to-harsh Texas sun overhead, I am exteremely pleased with the way the area under the porch looks. Off course, it's possible that any lens could have done as well.

 

[mfogiel]

You should definitely consider the Distagon 35/2 ZF, although it is a modern lens, and not so low contrast, but it is darn sharp, very flare resistant and with a great bokeh. An alternative lower contrast lens could be perhaps one of the 35mm Leica R lenses.

 

[35mmdelux]

the rumor is Nikon has a new 35mm/1.8 AFD coming out soon. dont know if true or not. If true I'll get one.

 

[Roger Vadim]

venchka, just looked at your larger picture, you're right, nice detailed shadows. Looks truly vintagish, great shot.
I've got the same pre Ai 35/2 and tend to shoot wide open with it quite often, in a more documentary style (would love to post some pics, but they are on the other computer...). so maybe the more modern Ais/ AfD versions would solve the mild softness of the the Pre-Ai lens wide open 🙄.

Mfogiel, I am following your praising of the Zeiss lenses with full respect, truly nice lenses as far as it seems! A new CZ in Nikon mount although is a bit out of my budget at the moment - although I really think about selling all my tons of old FSU, fixed RF's and my Mamyia RB with the 4 lenses to by a decent Leica with CZ glass. but that would be a different thread... (oh GAS😛)

But at the Moment I am looking for an "old school", vintage (as in the Sonnar realm), but plenty sharp 35mm lens for a carry all along SLR... So how sharp are these GDR Zeiss lenses?

Great (gear-driven) thread so far!

 

[oftheherd]

I have never been a fan of 35mm, so I can't recommend a 35mm that I have had experience with. However, lens lines I have had experience with are the screw mount Fujinons, the screw mount Yashinons, and the T* Zeiss lenses. Since you seem to be going for an older look, the Yashinons might be what you are looking for.

Strangely, if/when Keith gets his one lens one camera thread going, I may try the Fujinon and Yashinon 35mm lenses, as I have them.

BTW, I haven't used it enough to recommend one way or the other, but the Jupiter 12 in Contax mount seems a nice lens as well.