looking for a great 35mm lens, for any system

mrjames

mrjames

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I really really like shooting the 35mm focal length (and the 50mm focal length)

but i've never found a lens i'm happy with

i'd been shooting the 16-35 at the long end, and liked it a lot, but it's just a 2.8 lens- I wanted something faster

I bought the sigma 30mm art 1,4, which works out really well on full frame, just a little vignetting- but the focus wasn't always 100% on, i've shot nearly 4000 frames with it, and created some amazing images but often found myself using live view to focus, as even when doing focus adjustment it was never consistent on a 5d3, although worked absolutely fine on a 5d2 (i'm convinced that canon purposely screwed up compatibility with 3rd party lenses)

I bought the sigma 35mm 1,4, which I thought would fix the focus problem, and it was absolutely brilliantly sharp, but again had focus issues- namely it would be fine in daylight, but back focus terribly under indoor light- and when there was a mix of light it was ver hit or miss- but I absolutely loved the lens, although using live view to focus was a pain

I bought the 35L, which isn't anywhere near as sharp as the sigma, the CA and fringing is really bad, the focus is quite slow, and it was double the price, but it focusses accurately in all light, all the time- although it still looks out of focus compared to the sigma! Not really happy with the lens but it gives me less hassle than the sigma- really don't think it's usable under f2 though, and it's heavy, big, and expensive. I was convinced I had a bad sample so I bought another one which is in the post- we'll see if its any better, or quicker to focus (as my copy has a stutter, where it gets stuck half way during focus- I really don't trust it as a professional tool)

the sigma had this amazing 3d look with lots of micro-contrast and sharpness that caused the point of focus to jump out against the blur- from what i've seen so far the canon 35L doesn't have this, the canon 50 1.4 (a lens I really like, also has this lack of micro-contrast, and although it's sharp at 1.8, it lacks a crispness that i've noticed shooting the fuji 35mm 1.4- and again although there's more background blur shooting the canon 50mm at 1.8 compared to shooting the fuji 35mm at 1.4, the fuji seems to have more depth to the images)

i'm really really tempted to try either the:

fuji 23mm

canon 35mm f2

or get a sony a7, and manual focus the sigma 30mm, or a voigtlander 35mm f1.2


all i'm looking for is a sharp lens, with good bokeh- price is relatively unimportant, but it needs to be f2 or faster, ideally 1.8- if sony made a 35mm f2 i'd buy that- but I couldn't live with a 2.8 lens
 
if you got a a7 and then a adapter that does cannon AF, you could have okish focus speed but good accuracy i guess, as its going from the sensor plane

would also open u up to mf leica lens :O
 
pingu666 said:
if you got a a7 and then a adapter that does cannon AF, you could have okish focus speed but good accuracy i guess, as its going from the sensor plane

would also open u up to mf leica lens :O
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I just bought an a7

if the focus speed is as quick as the fuji x-e1, or the canon live view focus i'd be happy with that

but i'm sure that manual focus with peaking would be fast and accurate- i'm really excited to try it out
 
its pretty good, i think range finder of leica quality is the best focus method for 2 to 50 meters or so, manual
 
manualfocus-g said:
If you don't mind manual focus then you can't go wrong with the Zeiss Distagon ze/zf 35/1.4 or 35/2. They have tremendous micro contrast and wonderful pop. Even the 35/2.8 in Contax/Yashica mount is great.
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the 35 f2 is certainly an option, thanks
 
The Canon 35mm F2 IS is such a nice lens to use, having fallen in love with the 35mm focal length and tried the 35mm f1.4 I feel the F2 IS is the best compromise on size/price/functionality but the output is always excellent.
 
The Fuji 23mm is a very nice lens. Well balanced (on the X-Pro1), sits nicely in the hand and intuitively switches from AF to MF with a push-pull of the focus ring. Only negative is the gawdawful petal hood - but that can be changed for an eBay metal vented hood for a couple of pounds.

With a lens turbo type adapter on the Fuji X-series, any standard MF 35mm lens will give the 35mm field of view - plus you'll gain a stop of light into the bargain.
 
manualfocus-g said:
If you don't mind manual focus then you can't go wrong with the Zeiss Distagon ze/zf 35/1.4 or 35/2. They have tremendous micro contrast and wonderful pop.
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I have both of these in ZE mount and the f/2 is a real peach of a lens.

Bob
 
Have you serviced your 5d? You are reporting loads of odd uncommon problems with multiple lenses on the same body which would point to the body being at fault for me.
 
mrjames said:
all i'm looking for is a sharp lens, with good bokeh- price is relatively unimportant, but it needs to be f2 or faster, ideally 1.8- if sony made a 35mm f2 i'd buy that- but I couldn't live with a 2.8 lens
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I never expect the best bokeh from wider lenses and I hardly use my 35mm as 50 tends to be my most used length and if looking for wider 35 seems a bit close to 50 and I'll probably go for 28mm instead, and not really expect mind blowing bokeh. On the subject of expectations I don't think sharpness is a major worry for me and I don't think I've ever uttered or even thought the phrase "micro contrast."

Just for fun I shot my gladioli with a 35mm at f1.8...



100% crop.


I don't think that the crop lacks sharpness even though I was shooting handheld and the flowers were blowing in the breeze and all in all a decades old manual 35mm seems to be good enough for me. If going for AF and price and bulk wasn't an issue I think I'd be tempted by the Sigma Art as many seem to say it's very very good but bulk is often an issue for me and I'd probably end up going for something less "good" but adequate.

I've never had back focus issues and now that I've gone mirrorless I hope I never do.
 
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