ZM Sonnar like 28mm or 35mm

pevelg

pevelg

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I am now a happy owner of the M8. In the past, when I owned the RD1, I used 35mm lens mainly, ZM Biogon, which was basically a 50mm lens on the RD1. Well, I love that FOV and after letting go the RD1 and getting a M4 instead, I purchased the Zeiss Sonnar 50/1.5 A most spectacular lens. Just love its renditions. However, with the M8, I am getting a 66.5 FOV, a little too tight for me. I do like the 35mm FOV, so I now need a lens that is either 28 or 35mm (37 & 46.5 effective).

My question is which lens in those two focal lengths has a similar rendition to the Zeiss Sonnar AND is at least f2.0, though preferable faster. Any advice?
 
The only 35 that comes close in rendition is the Summilux ASPH, IMO. But, due to price, probably not what you wanted to hear ....

If f2 is OK, 35/2 Biogon, M-Hexanon, and any Summicron are nice, but not as smooth.
 
I've owned the 35/2 Biogon in the past and it was my favorite 35mm at the time ( I had tried 35mm Ultron, 40mm Nokton, a 35mm Jupiter, and maybe one other). However, if I remember correctly, it drew differently than the Sonnar. I'll post some examples from my M8 tonight.

Just read a couple reviews of the 35 Summilux ASPH and WOW, what an amazing lens. But, as you say, the price prevents me from going that direction.

Any other suggestions?

I am going to a street event this Friday and Saturday and will try getting used to the Sonnar on the M8. Maybe I'll have to stick with it until I get the M9 (once available used and much cheaper).
 
pevelg said:
However, if I remember correctly, it drew differently than the Sonnar. I'll post some examples from my M8 tonight.
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You remember right it draws differently. But i'm sorry to disappoint you the shortest Sonnar available is a Rollei 2.8/40 in LTM. It's not possible to build lenses of this kind in shorter focal length. The Rollei is a rela fine lens but very rare due to a short production time and low quantitiy (<1000 pcs.)
 
Bavaricus said:
You remember right it draws differently. But i'm sorry to disappoint you the shortest Sonnar available is a Rollei 2.8/40 in LTM. It's not possible to build lenses of this kind in shorter focal length. The Rollei is a rela fine lens but very rare due to a short production time and low quantitiy (<1000 pcs.)
Click to expand...

The Contax T3 has a Sonnar 35/2.8...I always wondered about the truth of that claim since, as you said, Sonnars usually don't go below 50mm...

Maybe a hack job is in order? 😛 😉
If you have enough duct tape, it may work?
 
Two lenses that also come close in rendering IMO, are the Ultron 28/1.9 and 35/1.7. Where the 0.9m min. focus of the 35 might bug you. Or maybe the 35/1.2 ? (never used that one myself, since it does obstruct the viewfinder too much for me).

Roland.
 
great thread - i've mulled this one over myself, being a big fan of sonnars ...

zm biogon 35/2: no, no, no, nuh-uh, not sonnar-like relative to bokeh and rendering, unless you shoot sonnars stopped down to f8. while it softens up a bit at f2, it just doesn't do the sonnar thing, at least for me.

zm c-biogon 35/2.8: just acquired one, so too early to tell. but even after a few shots wide open i feel it's fair to say its bokeh is a good deal smoother than its faster brother. sonnar-like? i'm hoping so.

vc ultron 35/1.7: had one awhile ago, very smooth bokeh at wide apertures. sonnar-like? a fair likeness, i think.

m-hex 35/2, uc-hex 35/2, m-hex 28/2.8: all good candidates, although i think they are more like the cron 35/2 IV than not, meaning they hold background definition more than a sonnar, shot wide open.
 
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xhrl said:
Such a beautiful photo there thomasw! Is that a W-Nikkor 35/1,8?
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Thanks heaps for the compliment. Yes, it is. As I have said elsewhere, it has become my go-to 35. In fact, right now my copy is being converted to M-mount! I got the inspiration from Nate here on RFF as Mister E; he was the first that I know to convert the re-issued 2005 W-Nikkor 35/1,8 to M-mount. Truly it is a smashing lens, xhrl!
 
Here are some examples from my Sonnar.

4901849094_2d8a311527_z.jpg

4901853532_58e2c261f7_z.jpg

4901264259_8c05beede9_z.jpg

4901262879_577fba6f5d_z.jpg

4901268641_7b41fc59cc_z.jpg
 
Here is the 28/1.9 on film, Pevel, so you see what I mean:

53320365_4BADS-XL-1.jpg


Remember, besides the smooth focus, the 50/1.5 has basically zero distortion. The 28/1.9 shares this feature.
 
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Wow, thats a great photo! I like the lenses price as well. I'll go over to flickr and browse photos from this lens. Any difference between the M-mount version verses yours?

EDIT: I am leaning towards the 28mm side to get the 35mm equivalent.
 
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Thanks ! I have never used the newer 28/2, Pevel. But what I know is that on the M8 you will have no problem with focus shift, etc, with the 28/1.9. A bunch of reviews (Puts, Reid, etc) confirm this.

If you decide to go for the 28/1.9, make sure you can test it. There is some sample variation.

Roland.
 
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