RE: [Leica] 35/2 ASPH vs. 35/1.4 ASPH

["bdcolen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

Thank you, Tom!

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From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On Behalf Of
TTAbrahams@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2003 3:25 PM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: RE: [Leica] 35/2 ASPH vs. 35/1.4 ASPH


I have had the 35/1,2 for two months now and I have shot about 60-70
rolls of black/white with it (Tri-X, Acros, Delta 100 and 400 and Tech
Pan). I also have the 35/1,4 Asph (2nd generation), the 35/2 Asph. and
the classic 35/2 and 35/1,4. The weather has been co-operating here in
the North-West so I have shot in March gloom, in April sunshine and a
variety of shots indoors. I have also been doing a test of a developer
that supposedly gives very sharp and smooth contrast results so the
reason for testing 35’s was valid (at least in my mind). At the moment
my take on the various lenses is as follows:

35/1,2 Voigtlander Aspheric: As sharp as the 35/1,4 Aspheric is at 1,4
at 1,2. You gain ½ stop with this lens, something that can be critical
in low-light. Contrast is lower wide open than the 35/1,4 but goes up by
f2/2,8 and stays even all the way to f22. It is a heavy lens (450 grams)
but with the classic style knurling and large diameter barrel it is
surprisingly comfortable to hold (if not to carry). Extremely resistant
to flare, which is critical for low light lenses as you more often than
not shoot in dim interiors with bright spotlights in the picture area.
It is a special purpose lens, just like the Noctilux or Summilux 75, but
when you need it, there is no substitute. Dramatic drop-off on the
sharpness plane at 1,2. It makes the subject “pop” and the back-ground
goes “fuzzy” very quickly. Bokeh is quite smooth, but typical for
Japanese lenses.

35/1,4 Leica Aspheric: Used to be the bench mark lens for fast 35’s. I
have had mine since it was announced long time ago. Very sharp and
contrasty, but not very well corrected for flare. Mine went back to
Solms for a rebuild in 1998 after it started to flare badly enough to be
useless. I never got an explanation what had happened, but after 6 month
it was back in my hands and has behaved well ever since. Still you have
to watch for strong lights at the edges. Wide-open performance is very
good, sharp and contrasty, but that also means some burning and dodging
when printing black/white as the contrast is almost too high. Less
dramatic drop-off of sharpness than the 35/1,2 and a fairly unpleasant
“Bokeh”. It almost looks like digital pixilation and lacks smoothness.
The 35/1,4 Asph. weighs less than the 35/1,2, but not by much and it is
a bit smaller. However, it does have a focusing tab which makes it quick
to focus. I am not sure that the benefits of the 35/1,2 outweigh! s
those of the 35/1,4 Asph. if you already have the 1.4 lens, but if you
are in the market for an ultra-fast 35 I would look at 35/1,2.

35/2 Aspheric: This is a strange lens. It is very sharp and contrasty,
but it has a very unpleasant “texture” to the image. “Bokeh” is strongly
“pixilated” and very edgy. It is also a heavy lens compared to the old
35/2 and it feels clumsy. It has a very high sharpness wide-open,
probably as good as any other 35 lens. Not very sensitive to flare and
contrast is “printable” although high. Noticeably sharper wide open than
the old 35/2, but it lacks the smoothness in the image. I call it a
“technical” lens the way it translates a 3D world into a flat plane.

35/2 Classic: I have several versions of this lens (I do not trade or
sell 35’s!) and it remains one of my favourite. Smooth quality and, in
most cases, more than enough sharpness. Earlier 8 element lenses are
more sensitive to flare, but they do have a “signature” that modern
lenses lack. The post 1980 version of this lens is probably my
favourite. Small, lightweight and consistent in performance. It is easy
to pull a 16x20 from a Tri-X neg with this lens. The “Bokeh” is the
epitome of smoothness; you go from a sharp plane to a creamy smoothness
in a seamless transition. There are certain lenses in the Leica arsenal
that are classics in my mind. The 21/3,4, the 50/2 DR, the 75/1,4 and
above all the 35/2. The 35/1,4’s and the 35/1,2 are lenses for the time
when the f2 is too slow.  The 35/2 Classic is the perfect “walk-about”
lens on a M2 or a 0,58 M6/M7/MP.

35/1,4 Old style. The first version with the OLLUX hood was not very
good. Wide-open it exhibited Bokeh and sometimes only Bokeh! The 2nd
generation of this lens is not a bad lens, It has a very smooth tonality
and, although not super-sharp wide open, it is usable at f1,4. It is
just about the same size as the 35/2 Classic and you do get a stop more
speed out of it. It has one of the more interesting qualities when it
comes to field of sharpness, it curves somewhat and that gives it a
quality all its own. If you shoot wide-open and focus at 10 feet, the
corners are sharp at 7-8 feet and the sharpness “curves” to the center.

One of the unsung lenses in the Leica production is the 35/2,8 Summaron.
If you don’t need the speed, this is a great lens. Remember that to get
high speed performance in a lens something usually got to give (size,
weight or mid f-stop performance). The 35/2,8 is as sharp as the other
35’s at f4 and 5,6 and sometimes I suspect that they are sharper than
the “faster” counterparts. They are also usually cheaper and in better
condition than the used 35/2’s and 1,4’s as they most likely were bought
by non-professionals and treated much more gently. I have a couple of
these lenses and what always strikes me is the close-up performance (0,7
to 1,5 meters), noticeably better than the 35/2’s or 1,4’s.

All of these statements are based on my own experience with these
lenses; the results are based on my style of shooting, handheld and with
black/white medium speed films (400 ASA). This said, I think that I
could survive for a long time with a M2 and a 35/2 Classic and a bag
full of Tri-X. It is amazing what you can coax out of a negative shot
with this combination! Now I am going out to shoot a couple of rolls of
Tech-Pan with a M2 and my old 35/1,4. The sun is beating down on the
beach and life is good. Tom A

Tom Abrahamsson
Vancouver, BC
Canada
www.rapidwinder.com
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