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I love my Flektogon 35mm 2.4, what else can I look for?
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:18 pm    Post subject: I love my Flektogon 35mm 2.4, what else can I look for? Reply with quote
I picked up my Flektogon 35mm again after some time this weekend while in London, and though I did have almost no time for shooting (my daughter had a nasty flu), I was amazed by the quality this lens has: simply mounting it on the camera and looking through the viewfinder I can see a difference with my other lenses. Scenes looked at through the Flek are crisp, detailed, with brilliant colours and lots of contrast in the right places. Now I remember why I loved this lens so much.

I don't own that many lenses, I think I have 15 or 20, and though some are cheap most are decent quality, but I don't think I have another one that impresses me like the Flek (the Flektogon 20mm f4 that I have leaves me a bit cold for example). So now I'm thinking that instead of trying different lenses like I've done up to now, I should concentrate on finding a couple that have similar characteristics to the Flek 35: I'd like a reasonably fast 50/55m, a 24/28mm, and possibly a short tele (I have 4 100mm already, but I think the Nikon 100 2.5 non-AI might be what I am looking for).

Have you got any suggestions on what I should look for? I hate to think it (for budget reasons mainly), but I'm starting to think that maybe Leica R lenses are what I should look for. Unless the zebra Pancolar I got last week (which needs some relubing) manages to surprise me.

A couple of not so good pics from this weekend which express some of the things I love in the Flek, both are preview jpegs from my *istD (no time to develop the raw files), resized with almost no pp.





PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
congrats, great portrait!
the flek 35 is a normal lens on your *istD and it is appropriate for this kind of portrait
if it impress you, work it more and more
I have so much lenses that impress me and not enough time to enjoy them
sometimes I wish I had only one lens


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
you have beautiful women in your life. a great lens to capture them is a must. i think you have found it ... Very Happy


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
What can you look for?
I constantly look for good photo subject. Wink

If you want the best quality, go for Leica, Zeiss, Nikkor or Zuiko.
Pentax/Takumar, Yashica and Carl Zeiss Jena are also nice.

Wait, you've got a Pentax, right?
OK, you need an expensive special adapter for Leica lenses. Well...


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks everybody for the kind comments.

LucisPictor wrote:
If you want the best quality, go for Leica, Zeiss, Nikkor or Zuiko.
Pentax/Takumar, Yashica and Carl Zeiss Jena are also nice.


Ehm, I hoped for something a bit more specific. Smile

I'm looking for lenses with a behaviour and rendering (sharpness, color, contrast, etc.) as similar as possible to the Flek 35, not just "good lenses". I have a few of those, but somehow the Flek always seems much better to me than anything else I tried.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A leica adapter, yes, and an Elmarit 2,8/35 (if you want, and elmarit 2,8/90 too). And if you want to ad a luxury lens, ad the 3,4/180 APO telyt. If you like to do, can ad the old telyt 500.



It's very difficult to know when the last word had been said.

Rino.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
estudleon wrote:
A leica adapter, yes, and an Elmarit 2,8/35 (if you want, and elmarit 2,8/90 too). And if you want to ad a luxury lens, ad the 3,4/180 APO telyt. If you like to do, can ad the old telyt 500.


Well, I already have a 35mm I love, I don't need another one (but maybe a second copy of the same sometimes in the future, in case something happens to this one). Smile

I was looking for a 50/55mm, a 24/28mm, and maybe an 80/100mm.

What do people say about the old Nikkor 50mm? I might "borrow" one from my girlfriend's old Nikkormat, and it will probably fit on my Pentax.

Last edited by ludoo on Sat Mar 27, 2010 10:34 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Seems like you could be backing yourself into the Zeiss corner Laughing

The Planar 1.4/50 is another of those "wow" lenses like the Flektogon, and the Distagon 2/28 would my first choice in the 24/28mm bracket.

However, there are many other options available to you: the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1.4/50 is a wonderful lens, and my current favourite 50-something is the Nikkor-S 1.4/50. It's got that wow factor you like. Two 28s I've used and loved are the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 3.5/28 and Kiron 2/28.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lovely shots of your family at the Natural History Museum, Ludoo. It was a great idea to take your daughter there. What did she think about the Diplodocus? Smile

About the lenses, I think for your Pentax camera you should concentrate on PK and M42 lenses. That way you'll only need one cheap adapter. If you like the Flektogon I think the other CZJ lenses and the prime Takumars (not the zooms) will all suit you perfectly. The 135/3.5 CZJ S is a super lens and very easy to find. In the Takumars, the 28/3.5, 85/1.9 and 135/3.5 will give you a great start. Also the 55/1.8 if you don't take to the Pancolar, but I think you will. I don't think you'll find many other lenses with the close focussing of the Flek unless you go for a macro lens, for instance the Takumar 4.0/50 Macro.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
For 50ish lenses I like my S-M-C 1.8/55 Tak, Helios 44-2 or the original Biotar,

For around 80-90mm try a M39 mount Jupiter 9.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Great replies! Smile

Mal1905 wrote:
Seems like you could be backing yourself into the Zeiss corner Laughing

Yes I think so too. Smile

Quote:
The Planar 1.4/50 is another of those "wow" lenses like the Flektogon, and the Distagon 2/28 would my first choice in the 24/28mm bracket.

I stupidly missed buying one when a local used store sold a batch of them (Planars) for 50 euros each a while ago. But I still am unsure if I want (and have the funds, probably not) to switch to Canon, or go to the hassle of adapting the lens mount.

Quote:
However, there are many other options available to you: the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 1.4/50 is a wonderful lens, and my current favourite 50-something is the Nikkor-S 1.4/50. It's got that wow factor you like. Two 28s I've used and loved are the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 3.5/28 and Kiron 2/28.

I had a Super Takumar 50 1.4 and it did not impress me much, but I understand the SMC is a different lens, will probably keep my eyes open for one. I had the Kiron 28/2 too and traded it for a Jupiter-9 (which is now in pieces), I probably should have used it more before thinking of giving it away. The Nikkor sounds interesting, what is its going price?

peterqd wrote:
Lovely shots of your family at the Natural History Museum, Ludoo. It was a great idea to take your daughter there. What did she think about the Diplodocus? Smile

Hah, she had a nasty flu so she was not at her best, but she absolutely loved the museum, especially the animated T-Rex.

Quote:
About the lenses, I think for your Pentax camera you should concentrate on PK and M42 lenses. That way you'll only need one cheap adapter. If you like the Flektogon I think the other CZJ lenses and the prime Takumars (not the zooms) will all suit you perfectly. The 135/3.5 CZJ S is a super lens and very easy to find. In the Takumars, the 28/3.5, 85/1.9 and 135/3.5 will give you a great start. Also the 55/1.8 if you don't take to the Pancolar, but I think you will. I don't think you'll find many other lenses with the close focussing of the Flek unless you go for a macro lens, for instance the Takumar 4.0/50 Macro.

Ehm, I have a Sonnar 135 (which I traded with a Gossen Profisix some time ago) but never used it yet. Smile I'm convinced it's a great lens, I just do not seem to find the right moment for its longish focal length. I hope to be able to clean and lube the Pancolar this weekend, and to really like it.

As for the SMC Tak 55/1.8, I bought a cheap one that had some fungus and managed to clean it: its colors are nice, but it does not have the wow factor of the Flek, and it's less sharp.

I almost never shoot macro so the minimum focusing distance is not an issue for me, but the maximum aperture is as I often shoot in low light. I am also thinking of giving a cheap Zuiko 50/1.8 a try, any impressions compared to the other 50s mentioned above?


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
martinsmith99 wrote:
For 50ish lenses I like my S-M-C 1.8/55 Tak, Helios 44-2 or the original Biotar,

For around 80-90mm try a M39 mount Jupiter 9.


I have the 55/1.8 and as I wrote above (you posted while I was writing my reply Smile ) I quite like it, but I don't find it as sharp as the Flek, and it has a more subdued presentation. My Helios 44-2 is nasty, and seems quite similar to the Tak but on a lesser scale. I like the 44-6, but it's quite prone to flare which is a big no-no. A Biotar would be nice, but they are a bit on the expensive side, I should sell some of the lenses I never use and raise some cash...

As for the J-9 mine is in pieces, I need to find a way to replace the small screw that transmits the aperture movement: I'll ask my dentist tomorrow if he can use one of his special tiny screws, and hopefully it will be fixed by tomorrow night. Smile


PostPosted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Iam also "in love" with the CZJ Flektogon 2,4/35 but I also love the distagon 2,8/35 my one is a bit sharper in terms of infinity focus.
Other lenses I like for sharpness & contrast are the leica Summicron 50 (especially the old version gives high contrast wide open and has a very soft bokeh), the leica summicron 90, and the leica elmarit 180.

At least I think most Zeiss and Leica primes should fullfill your expectations to be sharp and contrasty.


Timo
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