Thinking about a 35mm Lens Shootout

[dcsang]

I've been reading a lot of threads here; most of them asking the following question:

Which 35mm lens should I get for my M mount camera??

and it seems that the question NEVER dies 😀

I myself have been considering a "smaller" f2 lens vs the Voigtlander Nokton that I currently own. I love the Nokton; awesome even at f1.2 imho but it's a specialty lens and by that I mean the lens is great at f2 but if I'm going to shoot at f2 and onwards it's a bit bulky for a "walk around" 35.

So, in looking at the various 35mm threads over the past week or so, and searching at other sites (LUF, Pnet, etc.) I am now thinking of buying two modern 35mm lenses and putting them up against each other in a simple test. I would, of course, include the Nokton even though it's a "specialty" lens. I was thinking of the current 35 cron ASPH and the Zeiss Biogon 35. The only issue I was wondering about, and couldn't find in any of the Zeiss documentation, was if the Zeiss had aspherical elements. The cron and Nokton both are Aspherical so I want to kind of keep this "informal" shootout "even" 😀

I guess I'm just tired of hearing the "this one's better because of x" or "that one is terrible because of y" and want to see the results for myself.

I know Sean Reid did a comparison (according to what I've read elsewhere) but his site is subscription based and I'm really only interested in the 35 comparison.

So.. I guess what I want to know, before I decide to shell out a lot of $$$$$ and, eventually, end up selling one of the two that I purchased back into the "wild" per se, is regarding the Zeiss Biogon and its elements.

Feel free to comment or call me crazy 😀 (if you call me anything else I'll put you on my "watch list" 😉 )

Cheers
Dave

 

[rover]

I think this is an excellent idea.

I always like to know what an image from a lens may look like and having a home for such a display seems like a no brainer.

I would suggest that photos be posted with some technical detail if it is available, film, exposure, hood......

 

[dcsang]

I think this is an excellent idea.

I always like to know what an image from a lens may look like and having a home for such a display seems like a no brainer.

I would suggest that photos be posted with some technical detail if it is available, film, exposure, hood......

Oh.. of course 🙂

I've got my Moleskin still - as compared to that other type of skin that gets snipped away by.. oh.. well.. that's probably TMI anyway 😉

I'm thinking one part of it will be the 'standard' brick wall test using 'standard' equipment - tripod but likely no hood - I'm not a fan of them but do realize that others do use them.

The other part of the test would be 'walk around' - I would carry the three 35's and just pick a spot to sit at and shoot from that spot with both lenses. I may test flare as well but I usually don't point my lenses near the sun lest it burn their wings and they plummet to the earth a la icarus 😀

Cheers,
Dave

 

[40oz]

maybe this is an ignorant comment, but does it matter if the Biogon has aspheric elements if it is better? or for that matter, worse in some way? I mean, it could have cubic elements and if the result was exceptional, I don't think it would be relevant, you know?

 

[dcsang]

maybe this is an ignorant comment, but does it matter if the Biogon has aspheric elements if it is better? or for that matter, worse in some way? I mean, it could have cubic elements and if the result was exceptional, I don't think it would be relevant, you know?

Well.. I guess.. in the interest of "science" 😀 I'm trying to limit the variables in the test subjects.

I know they're made in different factories, and they come from different far away lands but if I can at least say "ok.. they're all 35mm.. and they're all aspherical.. and they're all M-mount" - to me.. that's about as close as I can get to saying that they're all "modern 35mm lenses".

🙂

Dave