What's the worst 35mm lens you've used?

[Photo_Smith]

A soft almost, soft focus lens that sharpens up at ƒ8? I would pick the Leica Summar it has a 'glow' (yes Leica glow 🙂 ) about it and a very wonderful signature.
A quick google turned up this:
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/07/12/then-and-now-the-50mm-summar-and-summilux-with-a-leica-m9/

 

[Photo_Smith]

I can't imagine anyone wanting a "bad" lens. For something soft and a little fuzzy, I would reccomend a Canon 35mm f1.8 LTM. It isn't THAT bad but a bit too soft for my liking.

Hey that's my favourite LTM lens! 🙂

May be soft wide open but by ƒ4 it's great.

 

[Kent]

Perhaps regularchickens can clarify. What is meant? A 35mm lens (FL = 35mm) or any lens for the 35mm format?

 

[regularchickens]

35mm focal length.

I ended up deciding on a Holga lens for NEX and a Pentax 110 24mm f/2.8. They'll keep me busy for a little while. But sometime in the future I'll get into trying out some M42.

 

[mugent]

I used to have 50mm russian Helios Tessar clone, it was bloody awful wide open (2.8), but quite sharp stopped down, they are about $20 in M42 mount, so it's worth a go.

 

[Tin]

the Meyer-Gorlitz Primagon 35/4.5 for the Exakta. It is soft when used normally, but flares like mad when shooting back lit subjects.

 

[nobbylon]

Worst 35? summilux pre aspheric wide open. I've had 4 to date and they were all awfull wide open and sound exactly what you are looking for!
From f2 onward they are however a magical lens. I still dont like the handling side of things though.
V4 summicron? best 35 for R/F made. Not as nice build as some but from 2.8 on it's perfect.
I'd just get a filter on anything you have, polish the glass with toothpaste and transform any 35 into a summilux at 1.4 replica!

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

get a pinhole lens...

 

[jsrockit]

He did mention "soft" and "hazy". The Summitar is neither bland, soft or hazy; a soft bland and hazy copy of a Summitar is in a serious need of a CLA.

I think you're thinking of the Summarit, which are more often than not soft and hazy (but never bland), since they often have lots of, well, haze...and scratches; their literally bland and hazy-prone coating is to blame.

That may be what I'm thinking of then...

 

[giellaleafapmu]

get a pinhole lens...

Voi voi voi...isn't "pinhole lens" an oxymoron?


GLF

 

[giellaleafapmu]

lens baby composer pro with sweet 35 - optically it was rank, but fun to test/play with & return.

For as bad as it is I know a chap here who sold several food pictures taken with a Lensbaby, probably he is still getting money from them from time to time...but I agree with you, I don't like it!

GLF

 

[giellaleafapmu]

I think the thread was bout lens in the 35mm focal length but I pretend to misunderstand as if it was lenses for the 135 format. My worst lens in the format is the Zoom-NIKKOR Auto 43-86mm f/3.5 lens. It shows more or less all the kind of coma, aberration, ghost which you might read about in photography books and probably you could never find in a single lens. Still I got fine pictures with it and I like the soft feeling it has at the long end.

GLF

 

[ramosa]

version 4 Summicron.

Summicron ASPH ... (in my eyes, certainly worse than the Cron v4 and Lux ASPH v1, which are the two others I have used) ...