Hi all!
when i look for a lens, i do some research first, but usually come up with very little in the way of reviews or porper pictures so i thought i d share my experience with this little but outstanding performer.
firstly, im a nikon shooter. i picked my 35 f2 up cheap here on CS and got it converted to Nikon F-mount. i wasnt expecting much and was prepared to use it more as a film lens. but the moment i put it on my d200 and took the fiirst couple of shots, i knew this was something special.
Build:
lens is solidly built. i like the overall styling especially the way the aperture ring is to the front of the lens. this way, i dont have to fight with the protruding prism to switch the aperture. i like the finish, but not so the rubber grip. nothing that affects the lens, more a personal feel kinda thing. overall, very nice and compact while being solid enough to withstand daily use.
Optical performance.
before trying the lens i had read 1 review saying the lens was next to useless at f2 and only got useful at f4 upwards. this got me worried, but i soon found that its is really the focus thats critical. the lens has an interesting way or rendering the infocus areas sharp and then quickly smudging it of into a very pleasant bokeh. this hence requires very close to perfect focus to ensure sharp results at f2. doesnt help then the DOF is quite thin.
my d200 has a calibrated split focus screen so this isnt too much of an issue for me.
flare is handled reasonable well, with the lens loosing contrast only when the sun is just out of the image. rainbow coloured lens flare is not common and have only seen it on 1 or 2 shots. see the picture of the green leaves below, i was pleasantly surprised by the contrast offered even udner such light.
for resolution, wide open it isnt stellar. but once stopped down to 2.8 onwards, it becomes very very good. however, i find that at close focusing distances, even f2 produces great results with creamy bokeh. seems the my lens lends itself more towards portrait and close distances.
for me, i look at the contrast and rendition of lenses more so than resolution. i dont print big, and being able to achieve the overall 'feel' of an image is more important to me. this 35mm gives good contrast and warm tones without being harsh. in fact, it has a very unique clean-ness to images and larger apertures, something i quite like. sets it apart from some of the all-about-sharpness lenses out there.
just to illustrate:
FYI, my work flow is raw from camera with v minor tweaks in Nikon editor which is freeware. so nothing is specialy manipulated.
when i look for a lens, i do some research first, but usually come up with very little in the way of reviews or porper pictures so i thought i d share my experience with this little but outstanding performer.
firstly, im a nikon shooter. i picked my 35 f2 up cheap here on CS and got it converted to Nikon F-mount. i wasnt expecting much and was prepared to use it more as a film lens. but the moment i put it on my d200 and took the fiirst couple of shots, i knew this was something special.
Build:
lens is solidly built. i like the overall styling especially the way the aperture ring is to the front of the lens. this way, i dont have to fight with the protruding prism to switch the aperture. i like the finish, but not so the rubber grip. nothing that affects the lens, more a personal feel kinda thing. overall, very nice and compact while being solid enough to withstand daily use.
Optical performance.
before trying the lens i had read 1 review saying the lens was next to useless at f2 and only got useful at f4 upwards. this got me worried, but i soon found that its is really the focus thats critical. the lens has an interesting way or rendering the infocus areas sharp and then quickly smudging it of into a very pleasant bokeh. this hence requires very close to perfect focus to ensure sharp results at f2. doesnt help then the DOF is quite thin.
my d200 has a calibrated split focus screen so this isnt too much of an issue for me.
flare is handled reasonable well, with the lens loosing contrast only when the sun is just out of the image. rainbow coloured lens flare is not common and have only seen it on 1 or 2 shots. see the picture of the green leaves below, i was pleasantly surprised by the contrast offered even udner such light.
for resolution, wide open it isnt stellar. but once stopped down to 2.8 onwards, it becomes very very good. however, i find that at close focusing distances, even f2 produces great results with creamy bokeh. seems the my lens lends itself more towards portrait and close distances.
for me, i look at the contrast and rendition of lenses more so than resolution. i dont print big, and being able to achieve the overall 'feel' of an image is more important to me. this 35mm gives good contrast and warm tones without being harsh. in fact, it has a very unique clean-ness to images and larger apertures, something i quite like. sets it apart from some of the all-about-sharpness lenses out there.
just to illustrate:
FYI, my work flow is raw from camera with v minor tweaks in Nikon editor which is freeware. so nothing is specialy manipulated.
