Loxia 35 anyone?

[Paulo Bizarro]

Hopefully next weekend a friend of mine will lend me the above lens. He likes it very much. My objective is to try this lens, as I am partial to 35mm focal length.

I think it would fit well between the two Batis:)

[Paul Roark]

A critical test of the off axis performance of that lens would be most appreciated.  The MTFs are underwhelming but consistent with what one would expect of a lens that is essentially a re-heated ZM design. 

To get a top notch manual focus 35mm (at f/8) on the Sony I've resorted to a Canon FD 35mm f/2.8.  For a comparison of the center and corner performance of the Canon v. Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/2.8, see http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Canon-v-Sony-35mm.jpg .  Note that from f/2.8 through 5.6, Zony wins.  There is more to this story in the thread at
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/conversations/messages/108662 .

Some who have explored options for manual focus 35mm lenses on the Sony a7r line have noted that the Canon FD 35mm f/2 (there are actually a number of different Canon FD 35mm f/2 designs) performs about like the Loxia.  I don't know, but from what I have observed, I'd say there is a good chance that is true. 

I doubt the edges of 50mm and shorter optics on the Sony can be well corrected without either a retrofocus design or aspherical elements, or both.  The old ZM designs do not seem like a good place to start.

I suspect that Zeiss now sees the size of the Sony a7 market and will have future MF, relatively compact optics for that platform that address the realities of its thicker (than Leica M) cover glass.  In the meantime, it's likely to be a frustrating compromise.  I'm betting the soon to be released Loxia 21mm is the first of what will be a better set of manual focus options.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Paulo Bizarro]

Paul, thanks for the feedback. I am not too concerned about performance over the entire image area, as I will use this lens for street, not landscapes. The MTF of the Loxia is a "classic" one, as a traditional 35mm lens would look like.

The Batis 25 is a different ballpark, it's MTF is insanely good all over the entire image area, which must be a first for a wide angle lens?

[Paul Roark]

I agree that the Batis 25mm has the best MTF at f/2 that I've seen.  My gold standard has been the Leica Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 (but, sadly, it's useless on the Sony).  See http://paulroark.com/Leica-Elmar-M-24mm-MTF.JPG for a screen grab of it's MTF.  The Leica MTFs are available in downloads from http://us.leica-camera.com/Service-Support/Support/Downloads?category=93719&subcategory=&type=&language=93871 .  In my experience the Leica MTFs are the most conservative (and, dare I say, honest); they correlate much more highly with what I see after I buy the lens at issue and examine my photos closely.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Manoli]

I've no experience with the Loxia 35, but I did originally have a look at the Loxia 50 when it was first released. In brief, the lens was sharper corner to corner than the a pre-ASPH 50mm Summicron, but the Summicron resolved better in the centre. Resolution-wise nothing to get excited about and, IMO, a poor trade-off

The uptake on the Loxias has been more from the 'motion' crowd who value the click-less aperture controls rather than the resolution and rendition demands of the stills photographer. I just hope they expand the Batis range to include a 35. Up to now I still think that apart from a manual Zeiss zf.2 wide there's nothing that beats the Sony 35/2.8 - yet. Also, not often mentioned, but the Sony (non-zeiss) 28/2 is a much better lens than it's given credit for.

But, regrettably, I agree - nothing to touch a Leica Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8.

[Telecaster]

I love the ZM version of this lens on my M8.2s. On these cameras it functions much like a 45mm would on a "full frame" camera. Note that the Loxia is more than a remount of the same optics…the design has been tweaked for the Sonys' thicker sensor stack.

In general I'm not a big 35mm fan, much prefering the 40–50mm focal length. So the Zony 35/2.8 is all I need or want from a 35.

IMO a 45mm would be the perfect Batis companion to the current 25/85mm pair. 

-Dave-

[E.J. Peiker]

I did a short write-up of the Loxia pair here:
http://www.naturescapes.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=259242

[Paul Roark]

For those curious to see how similar the Loxia is to the ZM, I put the two designs, as represented by Zeiss, on separate Tiff layers.  The file is at www.paulroark.com/Loxia35-v-ZM.zip .

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Paulo Bizarro]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, most interesting. Of course the Zony 35 f2.8 is another option for me, but I do like the operation side of the Loxias, a nice mix of old fashioned construction/manual focus and electronic information passed on to the camera.

As I said, I don't much care for across the frame perfection (a la Batis 25) on a 35mm lens for street, travel, and reportage. One of the best 35mm lenses I used in this realm was the also not "perfect" Nikkor 35 f1.4 AIS.

[dchew]

Paulo,
I have both the FE 35 f/2.8 and the Loxia 35 f/2.

In my opinion the Loxia is better, especially for the uses you list above. Two places it falls down: In the corners and astro. Stars show coma quite badly wide open. Both of course are related. I think it is marginally better than the Zony, but much better control-wise if you like manual focus. The only other issue is for me the aperture ring is too close to the body and opens in the opposite direction I like. Those are just personal preferences.

Dave

[Paulo Bizarro]

Thanks Dave.

I now had the chance to shoot the lens for a few days, and under two circumstances. In the streets of Lisbon, and in trekking in the Sintra hills. The lens is just a joy to use, handles like a precision instrument, and balances really well in the Alpha 7II.

[Paulo Bizarro]

Just posting some images taken with the lens, from Lisbon. I really like the lens.

More here:

http://blog.paulobizarro.com/?p=307

Regards.