The Biogon 35/2 is one of the lenses I've been testing for an upcoming review of fast lenses on the R-D1. I can't speak to it's performance on film but here are a couple summary excerpts from the current 19-page draft:
"Leica 35/1.4 Summilux ASPH – This lens, its 50mm brother, the Zeiss Biogon, and the Nokton 50/1.5 were my favorites in the test. The 35/1.4 is very fast, compact, lightweight, sharp and has an absolutely beautiful way of rendering both in-focus and OOF areas. It includes a vented hood that allows one to see most of the area within the R-D1’s 35mm frame lines. This is an all-around wonderful lens with a slight tendency to over-expose the highlights in contrasty light.
Zeiss 35/2.0 Biogon – This is a very impressive little lens. Wide open, it’s not as sharp on center as the Leica 35/1.4 is at F/2 or even at F/1.4 but it’s even sharper than the Leica in the outer zones. Micro-contrast is a little lower than that of the Leica 35/1.4. This is one of those lenses that made me pause and just stare for a moment when I first opened the files in Photoshop. Like the two Leica F/1.4 lenses, it has a beautiful way of rendering both in and out of focus areas. The Zeiss is about the same size and weight as the Leica 35/1.4 and, with a Voigtlander vented hood mounted, it blocks just a small amount of the 35mm frame line area on the R-D1. It is a great lens, although like the Leica 35/1.4 it does have a slight tendency to overexpose the highlights in contrasty light. I’m sure that many are curious as to how the 35 Biogon compares to the Leica 35/2.0 ASPH but unfortunately, I didn’t have one of the latter on hand to compare with. The Zeiss draws differently than the Leica 35/1.4 but is equally worthy of consideration for photographers who don’t need the extra aperture speed of the 35/1.4. The Zeiss is also less than half the price of the Leica. I’d love to see an F/1.4 35mm Biogon.
Canon 35/2.0 – This very compact and lightweight lens can’t match the more modern lenses in the outer zones at large apertures but its center sharpness is quite good. If a lower contrast lens with strong center sharpness appeals to you, the Canon 35/2 is worth considering, especially as a “sunny day” lens. By F/8 it’s fairly sharp across the frame. Its size and weight are strong assets and its design provides a certain amount of lens shading even without a hood. It does not block the R-D1’s 35mm frame lines at all."
I'm waiting for a new copy of the 35/1.7 to test before I draw any final conclusions about its quality but I'm fairly certain that the Zeiss will significantly outperform the Ultron in the outer zones at wider apertures. I'm not going to make any judgements about its on-center performance until I test the new copy.
The Biogon 35/2.0 is an excellent lens.
Cheers,
Sean
