what's with the serenar 35/3.5 ?

[ampguy]

I have this in a bundle with 3 other great LTM lenses, and no one wants the bundle, but between here, and another photo site classifieds, I have a half dozen requests to buy this lens alone.

This has prompted me to do the unthinkable. I'm going to mount it with my screw to M adapter and shoot a roll of film through it before selling it alone.

Any good tips on what to shoot to test a lens out?

 

[bob cole]

what's with the serenar 35/3.5 ?

I have this in a bundle with 3 other great LTM lenses, and no one wants the bundle, but between here, and another photo site classifieds, I have a half dozen requests to buy this lens alone.

This has prompted me to do the unthinkable. I'm going to mount it with my screw to M adapter and shoot a roll of film through it before selling it alone.

Any good tips on what to shoot to test a lens out?

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AMPGUY, I, for one, wanted to buy it because it's a Canon lens and I have a Canon 7 with the Canon flash attachment and the Canon case but no Canon lens... If you try it on your Leica M [with the adapter], you'll like it; Canon lenses are often underrated...If you decide to sell it alone, I'd be interested...regards, bob

 

[Graham Line]

I have this in a bundle with 3 other great LTM lenses, and no one wants the bundle, but between here, and another photo site classifieds, I have a half dozen requests to buy this lens alone.

This has prompted me to do the unthinkable. I'm going to mount it with my screw to M adapter and shoot a roll of film through it before selling it alone.

Any good tips on what to shoot to test a lens out?

I always shoot my 'test' rolls -- which are not scientific tests at all -- at the same locations because I have a very good idea of how the pictures can look. In my case, here in Portland, Ore., it's the Vietnam Memorial which has some engraved granite, a sweeping walkway, foliage, etc. I also owe a debt to some friends and visiting is my way of repaying it. Another favorite spot nearby is the Japanese garden. Again, I know what to expect.
For such 'tests,' I don't vary film or anything else, just the one variable -- a lens in this case.

Nice older wide angle LTM lenses are scarce and I'd venture to say the Serenars are as good or better than the contemporary Leicas. The later Canon-labeled RF lenses I'm familiar with are very nice.

 

[raid]

I love my Canon 28mm/3.5 and 35mm/2.8 lenses. Both result in great looking images for me. They are small and look classic. I also believe that the Canon Lenses are underrated.

Raid

 

[John Shriver]

Optically, it's a copy of the 35/3.5 Elmar, thus basically a Tessar. But, sure to be coated, and likely to have good hard coating, where any coated Elmar 35/3.5 would be a soft coating.

Presumably the results are similar, soft in the corners with light falloff when wide open.

My Canon 35/2.8 obviously leaves the Elmar 35/3.5 optically in the dust. But it's heavier.

The finder is very nice for a non-bright-line finder!

 

[ampguy]

Thanks all, I did end up shooting a test roll, so the first 7 shots (unless the minilab cut and re-arranged are with the Serenar 35mm 3.5 here, going from 3.5 in the shade to f22 in the brightest light all at 1/125 to 1000 on the CL.

Now I switched lenses 3 times (to also test 3 LTM 50's) in daylight, and I should have changed in the dark, or at least out of the sunlight, so it's likely these photos have some light coming through the shutter:

http://www.tedm.com/photos/ltm

Obviously some of the shots are just framed bad or focused badly on my part, in addition to guessed exposures on all shots, and the drugstore processing. I like the 35mm a lot, as well as the I-22 and a couple from even the I-50 and I-61, but the looks of the silver Serenar on the black CL is kind of weird, even though it smaller, much less stealthy than the black rokkor lens.

Since I deal with adapters all the time with K/M42, I'm hoping to just stick to M mount lenses, though seeing the results of this first roll is tempting me to keep them around, definitely if I can't sell them for a portion of what I paid.