35mm best lens for the GH2

Alexauwa

I film on the 14-140 mm kit lense which handles shot on daylight pretty well. I am know looking for a 35 mm lens which handles night scene well and provides better DOF.

You guys have any recommendations or experience to share?

Looking forward to your reply.

itimjim

I'm currently trying to source a 35 at the moment too. On my list at the moment is:

Mir 24M/N 35/2
Super Takumar 35/2
Canon FD 35/2

triton

Thanks soundgh2,
I also have a Bolex 16mm Zoom lens and a Zenit. Any suggestion?

soundgh2

Konica and old Rokkors do indeed rock but after drunkenly buying a set of Lomo F2 ish primes and ciecio7s work of art great chunk of design adapter (for me) fallen in love with this old industrial beautiful glass - only lens in my legacy pile that I still am in love with is the 58mm 1.2 MC Rokkor - older than me and pristinely chucking out alpha particles from its Thorium dunking - love it.

If you gonna buy some old AR Konicas - 1st stop 40mm - beautiful and so so cheap! - 50mm 1.7 sharp and characterful, if you want explore Rokkors - similar to Konica 16mm fisheye on a GH2 is fun 58 or 50 1.2 is currently a bargain and alive with character - (like the difference between a valve amplifier and a modern day 3rd harmonic beast :)

triton

Hello,
Any suggestion about 35mm Konica lenses?? I have some old prime ones and I would like to know if is worth it to use them!
Thanks

Mimirsan

Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX
Sharp..Cheap..Lovely!

Shaveblog

Lucas is right, both versions of the Canon FD35mm f2 are great, though I prefer the older concave version once it's been cleared up with UVB light. Easily my favorite FD and maybe my favorite lens period.

For those on a budget, the cheap, plentiful, and excellent Konica Hexanon 40mm f1.8 pancake fits the bill nicely. Its 80mm equiv FOV isn't that far off from 70mm and tack sharp stopped down one click. Much smaller and lighter than a Canon FD as well. You can pick these up all day long on eBay for 50 bucks and the M43 adapter is another 20.

kazuo

@hishimaru
The Voigtlander lenses were developed for rangefinders, not filmmaking. The President of Cosina, which makes Voigt lenses, is a Leica nut. Legend has it that he once took apart his own Leica lenses and wondered how he could emulate the dynamics inside those pieces of glass. He then got his men at Cosina to design and build a similar range of lenses just so he could use them on his Leica M cameras. He found they were so good, he decided to market them. But he could not label them under the Cosina brand, as it has been too much of an OEM maker, and he knew it would not sell. So he scoured around and found Voigtlander, a defunct German brand. He bought the rights from Zeiss, and viola!

Anyway, i have since sold off my Voigtlanders cos of the ergonomics. You can't use them with a follow focus, and you can't turn the aperture ring smoothly if your fingers happen to be fat.

hishimaru

Sorry, I should clarify what I mean by the ergonomics.
It's mostly an issue if u have the camera attached to a tripod/rig.
it works ok going handheld solo as you can access the focus tab.
However, with a long-ish tripod plate attached and no full focus ring to grab onto,
it can be tricky to use,
Just a heads up to try it before committing to it.

telkitachki

@Jspatz i have a mir24 35mm f2 too, but "M" m42 version, and it is great lens with almost macro possibilities. I love it, and sometimes i love it more then 25mm 1.4. It is sharp and good in all ways, but get a lot of flares when it direct to the sun.

Alexauwa

@kazuo thanks for sharing. I guess in 22/23 second mark you used the Planar and in 30/31 the voigt? Voigt is a bit softer, right? But it like the look.

yapa

Voigtlander Nokton 35 f1.4 is my favourite walk on lens(with Lumix14)...and I dont have any problems with ergonomics...it does flare as its not MC version but on 1.4 has a really nice glow which i like...short focus throw suits me well

hishimaru

I would avoid the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm and 40mm just for the ergonomics. I have the 40mm and love it on my m6. But it's a pain to use on the gh2 cos of its tiny size and focusing tab. There's no gripped focus ring so you might wanna try one out before making the plunge.
Personally I shoot with a Pentax M 35 f2. Love the lens. Most legacy 35mms are generally good with great ergonomics.

LucasAdamson

Any of the Canon FD 35mm f2 lenses are excellent. I mean truly superb! They are fast, sharp as a tack, have excellent colour (except perhaps the sought after thorium glass old one which can be a tad yellow, though I never much noticed a problem). I now use the newer nFD 35mm f2, and I love it!

They also all have 8 blades, much better than the standard 6!

kazuo

@Alexauwa

go to this address - http://personal-view.com/talks/discussion/1116/a-poem-shot-on-gh2

There you'll find a short film I shot using a Zeiss Planar 50mm / 1,7 and Nokton Classic 40mm /1,4 (Voigt)
The film was really an exercise for me to try out the lenses. Have a look and see if you could tell the lenses apart

Alexauwa

@andres Which one you like best in terms of sharpness? Is the Voigtlander very soft at 1.4?

Alexauwa

Thanks for your comments! I've also heard a lot about canons FD lenses. The 35 Samyang seem to be a beast of lens, so big. And Voigtlander is so well known and recommended. Hard to make up my mind...

kazuo

I shoot with Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35mm /2.4
Wonderful lens even in not so much light
Been checking the market for CZ Jena lenses lately, and noticed the prices have soared sky high almost everywhere.

Think they will continue to shoot past the roof come next yr with the advent of NEX 7 and possibly GH3

driftwood

Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f2 if you can find one. Terrific.

plasmasmp

I like my nikkor-o 35mm f2. It has a nice interesting flare that acts as a nice diffusion if the situation calls for it

andres

Voiglander for leica m 35mm 1.4
The leica summicron f2.0 is to expensive IMO tho suberb.
Fujian c mount seems good but I haven't tried it.
Samyang 35mm 1.4
It all depends on how much are you willing to spend.

Jspatz

I got a MIR-24n for $150. Lots of CA but very sharp and a pleasant image.

RRRR

There are a lot of options.. "better DOF" I presume means shallower depth of field in this case. "Best" = highly subjective.
I have an fd 35mm f2.0 ssc that I'm considering selling.. It's a good lens but I've found myself using it less on the gh2 than I did on the gh1. The sweet spot is sort of different (than on the gh1). I like my 40mm f1.8 konica lens.

I want to try out a cheap Fujian c-mount..

nomad

Apart from the Canon FD 35mm 2.0 the Minolta MD 35mm 1.8 is a great heritage lens – but both are pretty much sought after these days.
Want something new? Get Samyang/Rokinon.

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