Got sick of my Ultron, sprung for a Biogon 35/2

[Erik van Straten]

Maybe not as sharp as a Biogon, but this is at f/1.7. Extremely fast for an LTM lens. Beautiful rendering if you ask me.

Leica M2, Ultron 35mm f/1.7 aspherical LTM, Tmax400.

Erik.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

WHat did you end up doing about the color skopar working itself loose? Fix yourself, send it back, just deal with it?

I fix and service most of the lenses I have. And I'm not buying them new, except one 35 mm from Leica. This one has no loose and wooble.

I suggest to OP to get Leica made one.
Or at least check RFF thread about Zeiss wooble.
His situation seems to be similar to mine. He doesn't have lens collection to cycle through, but, I guess like me, one lens is mostly in use. And this is where some of the lenses starting to loose and wooble.

 

[maggieo]

Yes, but Takkun's lens is an Ultron LTM 35mm Aspherical if I've got it right.

Erik.

Erik, I'm just saying that it looks very much like focus shift to me, because I have experience with focus shift. So, it's easy for me to spot.

I have the Ultron LTM myself, and it's been nothing but a stellar performer for me.

 

[willie_901]

Erik, can you clarify about soft vs unsharp? as I'm looking at that kitchen counter image, it does in fact look like that knocked-over bottle of vanilla extract is slightly better than the focus point, but that could be my eyes/staring at this at 100% for too long.

...

Perceived image sharpness is a complicated metric. I agree with Erik because soft light produces a soft image.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Is the rangefinder in the M8 you're using actually properly calibrated?
Phil Forrest

 

[Takkun]

I fix and service most of the lenses I have. And I'm not buying them new, except one 35 mm from Leica. This one has no loose and wooble.

I suggest to OP to get Leica made one.
Or at least check RFF thread about Zeiss wooble.
His situation seems to be similar to mine. He doesn't have lens collection to cycle through, but, I guess like me, one lens is mostly in use. And this is where some of the lenses starting to loose and wooble.

I saw that V3 Summicron in the classifieds, but it's almost double what I paid for the Biogon, which is out for delivery. I'm souping some film while I impatiently wait. I do still have a CV 35 Skopar, which curiously is missing the ball detent.


Re: focus shift and image sharpness....it very well could be, but I don't ever recall it being an issue before. Everything still looks a bit smeary, as if there's a smudge on the lens (and I've checked, it's not).

As for the RF, its just calibrated from Leica and my other lenses, including Leitz, show no problems.

Once I get more time to do so I'll look through shots onscreen, but I've mostly been avoiding thinking about it for fear of tearing my hair out.

 

[Takkun]

Got the lens in my hot little hands just in time for a day trip. And I pulled it out of my bag a few moments ago and...it's a 50 f/2. Checked the ebay listing, and yes, it's my fault. I'm tempted to keep it but I really would have preferred the 2.5, if I'm getting another 50.

Ah, twists and turns. Anybody want to trade?

 

[Takkun]

And another update. Ultimately I did break down and get the 35 too, to complement. Got it for an equally nice price (well, not as nice as some of the specimens from Japan on eBay, but I'm less keen on waiting another month to get shooting) with hood and box included.

Already took it out for some night long-exposure shots. I'm blown away--this is a really stellar lens that really makes the M8's sharpness shine.

 

[rfaspen]

I'm confused. You ended up with a Zeiss Planar 50/2 instead of a Biogon 35/2?

The Planar is supposed to be darn nice too. I don't have one though. I do have a Biogon 35/2 and I think I mentioned earlier that it is a near perfect lens. What's not to love? Well, I just wish it was a little more compact, like a v4 summicron, and I wish it had a real focus tab (the half-moon type, like my other lenses). In terms of performance, I have no complaints -- at all.

 

[Takkun]

It is confusing, but I did! I bid on and won what I thought was the Biogon at a ridiculously low price and a confusing item title. I didn't look too hard (or hard enough) st the pictures. I didn't realize my mistake until I received it and went out shooting. The title was one of those kitchen sink "L@@K ZEISS BIOGON PLANAR MACRO SUMMICRon" attempts at SEO.
Wrote this thread in the interim. But I was so thrilled with it, I ended up keeping it--see my other thread--and got the Biogon anyway.