Best 35mm lens for low light - LTM

[fredus]

HI there,

I'm looking for recommendation on a small 35mm lens for my new Leica IIIf. Here are the requirement:

- f/2.0 or larger apperture
- Small (no Nokton f/1.2 😉 )

I've heard of the Canon f/2.0 and f/1.8 ... How do they perform ?

Thanks for your help !

Fred

 

[back alley]

they perform well.

the 1.8 seems as good to me as the famous 2 and they can be had for much less bucks.

joe

 

[ddimaria]

The Canon 35/2 is very small, it's diameter is smaller than a M-mount adapter. It feels solidly constructed and seems to have a good coating on it. To me the Canon lenses work great, but I guess it depends what you are photographing and what for?

 

[VictorM.]

My 35/1.8 is really good...and fits the IIIf surprisingly well. Shown with a beat up Acall finder. Do you realize you'll need a finder?

 

[jlw]

35/1.7 C-V Ultron is pretty small and has excellent sharpness and contrast. Another advantage: All you have to do is send money to a retailer and you can get a brand-new one with a warranty, rather than having to haunt eBay and trying to guess whether or not a particular example's condition is as good as the seller says it is.

 

[raid]

I love my Canon 35mm/1.8 lens. In fact, I use it more often than my Summicron 35mm/2 (8 elements). It is very small and light, and I find its optical performance quite good.

 

[Mackinaw]

The Nikkor 35mm F1.8 has an excellent reputation and, from what I read, is probably better than either of the fast Canons. Not many were made in LTM though, and, consequently, is very hard to find (read expensive).

Jim Bielecki

 

[rover]

Another vote for the Ultron. I found the Canon 35/2 was too small for me, just not a good match for me. The Ultron is about the same size as the 50/2 Summicron, by no means large, but bigger than the Canon lenses.

 

[caila77]

canon 35 2 for me

canon 35 2 for me

Canon 35/2 is one of the best for me, better than 35 2.5 Cv (too slow for you), solid and very compact capable of a very nice results at full aperture

 

[djon]

I've just today gotten back two rolls of NPZ 800, all shot at 1/15 f2 Canon 35... a free performance by Howard Alden (pinnacle-famous jazz guitarist) at Bumblebee's in Santa Fe..."natural" 10PM restaurant light...the two guys with big digital canons were struggling and drawing attention to themselves with their problems and their flashing, but I snuck in there with my Canon P and guesstimated exposure and came out with Christmas gift photos that will make Bumblebee Bob and Howard Alden happy, for sure. I didn't worry if the shots were perfect, I just bet on f2 and 1/15th because that was as fast as my lens would go and as slow as I wanted to hold...perfect exposures, as it turns out...I'll post when I scan...

Me, I think this lens is PERFECT for many purposes, and I plan to do a lot more with it at f2....but at f8, with a strobe/umbrella and NPC pushed a stop, I'd used it to shoot a paying portrait of a couple and their kiddo, outdoors in the evening earlier in the weekend....they were skinny and this was a vertical shot so it couldn't have been better...if they'd been chubby like me, something more in the 50-100mm range might have been more appropriate 😉

 

[djon]

...incidentally, I'd be cautious about Nikon LTMs...I don't think they arrived at the level of the late Canons...though, harkening to Al I do want an 85 f2 sooner or later.