Fast 35's with R-D1

[photorat]

As an addicted R-D1 newbie, I've quickly acquired a number of great lenses for my R-D1: 50mm DR summicron, 28mm ultron and the 15mm heliar. But with the camera's crop factor, I'm really missing a 35mm and need to plug the gap. I have the impression this is also the most versatile focal length for the R-D1.

Given that I shoot a lot of night/theatre shots, I would also like a stop or two of extra speed despite the cron's great performance and the R-D1's good high ISO shooting. Having read all the reviews, the obvious choice is the ASPH summilux. Problem? I'm quickly running out of cash.

So my question? What's the second most obvious choice for the R-D1 (that is suitably less expensive)? On the one hand, I'm very inclined to look at pre-ASPH user summiluxes as I just love the glow of my 50mm cron. But some point to the 35mm nokton, though I'm a bit put off by its size but would definitely consider sacrificing bulkiness for image quality. Or is it worth saving up for six months and forking out the cash for the ASPH summilux? Is it really that good? And is there something else I'm missing?

Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom.

 

[mn4367]

The Zeiss Biogon 35/2 is an excellent lens in my opinion. Not as fast as the Nokton but f2 is still sufficient for many tasks. What I like is that is very sharp even in the corners. It was my first lens and I'm still very happy with it.
There is a good article (which you may already have read) which covers also the Biogon: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/fastlensreview.shtml

 

[Leica Geek]

35/1.7 Aspherical Ultron is a great lens I never used to used with my Leicas so I sold it. Now that I have my RD-1 I wish I still had it.

Ed.

 

[Didier]

I have mostly a 35/1.4 Summilux ASPH mounted on the R-D1s. It's probably Leica's sharpest and contrastiest lens in their actual lineup. But sometimes I'm thinking about a good old 35/2 Summicron 4th gen...
I also have a 35/2.5 W-Nikkor-C which gets less use though it's ultra-compact. But wide open is quite soft, the bokeh a kind of strangely swirled. But used at bright daylight, stopped down, it's tack sharp.
Didier

 

[jlw]

Having read all the reviews, the obvious choice is the ASPH summilux. Problem? I'm quickly running out of cash.

So my question? What's the second most obvious choice for the R-D1 (that is suitably less expensive)?

It's not exactly inexpensive (except compared to Leica gear) but I feel that a real no-brainer option here is the 35mm f/1.2 Voigtlander Nokton. It's got aspheric optics, feels very well-made, operates smoothly, and renders out-of-focus areas nicely. It's in an M mount, so you don't need to worry about screw-to-bayonet adapters to use it on your R-D 1. And...

It produces nice, crisp-looking images even at wide apertures:

[overall]

[detail]

It handles strong backlight well without flaring out:

Definitely a worthy alternative to the Leica lenses, at a sub-$1000 price!

 

[Leica Geek]

Beautiful shots!

 

[Nando]

Holly cow JLW! A friend just pointed me to this thread. Beautiful photos. I'm so glad that I have a silver 35 Nokton reserved for me at Cameraquest.

 

[foto_fool]

I have been shooting the 40mm/1.4 Nokton on the R-D1 and am very happy with it. It is a very small package to boot. The other lens spending a lot of time on the R-D1 is the 40mm/2.0 Summicron C - equally sharp, arguably "nicer" boke, and even smaller. The 40's frame up at a 60mm equivalent compared to 53mm for the 35's - take a half a step back and save several hundred dollars.

- John

 

[Never Satisfied]

Beautiful photo's. How can you argue with the CV35mm f1.2 after seeing those pic's? Cheers Andrew.

 

[goodmorning]

don't forget the Canon

don't forget the Canon

Still advocating the canon 35mm f2. Great lens and super compact. Getting harder to track down these days but they are out there.

 

[JonasYip]

Well, i *have* a 35 'lux ASPH, and it is nice on the RD1. But I usually keep the 40/1.4 Nokton mounted primarily for the size. Unfortunately I can't give you side-by-side examples or whatnot, because I've just never bothered to compare them.

Actually, with the 40/1.4 I end up not bringing either the 35 lux or the 50 lux. But again compactness is important to me right now (the less I have to carry while pushing a stroller the better).

j

 

[photorat]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks so much for the excellent advice and outstanding images. The 40 nokton does indeed look like a good compromise. I think I'd rather compromise on focal length than speed and seeing as even the pre-ASPH 35 summicrons are getting way up there in price, I think their less of a viable alternative to the ASPH summilux when speed becomes a crucial factor...

But I'm still wandering what you'd consider better (purely in terms of optics and image quality), a new 35 nokton or an old (pre-ASH) user 35 summilux? Both seem around the same price though the lux takes the cake for its size. But is it worth its still relatively high price compared with other user lenses?

 

[helloharry]

you can consider that with the biogon you are adding another 'personality' to your collection..

see below shot indoor at night on biogon 35 at F2 I think, no post-edit. cheers. 🙂

 

[helloharry]

ops here

ops here

 

[David Noble]

There's always the (sorta fast) M-Rokkor 40/2 which fits the 35 framelines on the Epson like a glove, is amazingly small and compact, and has both bite and smoothness in the OOF areas. It is a great lens, and can be found pretty cheaply, too ($200-$300 range, I believe). Ibelieve Mike Johnson of The Online Photographer has said somewhere that it is one of his favorite lenses.

 

[pzillig]

In permanent use with RD-1 as my standard lens: Summilux 1:1.4/35.

 

[sebastel]

helloharry,

that is SOOOOOOOO cute a picture.
thank you for sharing!

🙂
sebastian

 

[johnastovall]

I love the CV Nokton 35/1.2.

 

[photorat]

What would you expect to pay for a clean user ZM 35/2? It seems to have a very different signature to the summicron, but I like it a lot!

you can consider that with the biogon you are adding another 'personality' to your collection..

see below shot indoor at night on biogon 35 at F2 I think, no post-edit. cheers. 🙂

 

[garethc]

I have a 4th gen Summicron that is almost permanently fixed to my R-D1...it's just a brilliant lens. Compact, great to focus, beautiful 'bokeh'.

Having said that I used a friends 35 Nokton recently and was very impressed. Its a great price too.