Standard Lens Sets New Standard!
Written: Nov 09 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Superb resolution and contrast from wide open, colors to die for. Virtually faultless image quality.
Cons: Some barrel distortion at wide end. Use of circular polarizer difficult if not impossible.
The Bottom Line: Users of this rave about its qualities and it's easy to see why. Possibly the best choice for anyone wanting a manual focus zoom no faster than f/4.
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| Andrew_Lim's Full Review: Leica Vario Elmar R 35-70mm f/4.0 Lens |
A Note to the Reader: In this review I describe the use of this Leica lens on a Canon DSLR by means of a Leica-EOS adapter. Lots of people have done this for years and now I understand why. It gives me the opportunity to combine superb Leica optics with the characteristics of the Canon CMOS sensor which I have come to love.
Short Intro
About 10 months ago I lay my hands on the Leica Summicron-R 35mm f/2, which was my first serious attempt at the use of manual focus lenses. Since then I've acquired a number of other Leica lenses and I'm happy to report that all of them have been an absolute joy to use. As long as I get the focus spot-on, the results are pleasing, time after time.
The Leica 35-70mm f/4 (with ROM contacts), sometimes called the 'R9 kit lens', is my newest acquisition. Unlike its predecessor, the 35-70mm f/3.5 (Minolta-designed), the f/4 is designed by Leica but manufactured in Japan by Kyocerca. It is an example of a modern high quality zoom lens with a moderate aperture. On paper this looks fairly unexciting, and the majority of people wouldn't even pay $200 for a run-of-the-mill autofocus f/4 standard zoom. The Leica has a going rate of approximately US$600 on Ebay (and sometimes more if in good condition as a full box set). Is it really worth the price?
Initial Impressions
This is a two-touch zoom lens sporting an all-metal barrel in black-paint finish, with rubberized zoom and focus rings. There is some friction to the zoom ring while the focus ring is buttery-smooth. Compared to the Summicron 35/2, the Vario-Elmar has a very short focus throw which makes it quicker to focus but less precise.
Like other Leica lenses, the 35-70mm f/4 feels like it was built to very tight mechanical tolerances. The barrel is engraved with numerals that are large and easy to read. There is a 'Macro-Release' button on the zoom ring that allows the user to access the Macro function when the button is depressed and the ring is turned towards the right, past the 70mm setting.
There is no distance scale. The aperture ring clicks crisply in half-stops from f/4 to f/22. A round metal screw-in lens shade is included in the package. The lens takes unusual E60 (60mm) screw-in filters which are rather expensive. The front lens group extends or contracts depending on the focal length setting and rotates when the lens is focused. Regardless of the focal length setting the front lens group never extends beyond the hood when it is mounted, which makes the use of polarizing filters a frustrating process. I have decided to never use a polarizing filter with this lens.
The optical design features 8 elements in 7 groups. One of them is an aspherical lens despite there being no mention of this in the lens' name, and interestingly four out of the eight elements are made of highly-refractive glass. The Vario-Elmar is obviously no ordinary 'kit lens'.
When working normally, the closest focusing distance is an unremarkable 0.6m at all focal lengths. But push the lens into Macro mode and the distance drops to 0.26m for a reproduction ratio of 1:2.8, excellent for a standard zoom. This zoom weighs in at around 500g, compact and easy to handle despite the first-rate construction and finish.
The Quirks
As with all other kinds of 'alternative glass' that is adapted for use on a Canon camera via a detachable adapter, the Vario-Elmar is an all-manual lens. The lens must be focused manually and preferably done with the aperture wide open before stopping down to the desired setting and then taking the picture. This is hardly a speedy process.
As an aid to manual focusing, there are some detachable adapters on the market that feature AF confirmation chips, prompting the camera to beep and/ or display the focus confirmation light in the viewfinder, depending on your camera settings. But they aren't always accurate. Alternatively the user may opt to search for other focusing screens to make manual focusing easier on the eyes.
If your camera has a large viewfinder, then you have the advantage when it comes to manual focusing. Because of the moderate aperture of the Vario-Elmar the viewfinder can already appear visibly darker and manual focusing becomes more difficult.
Optical Quality
As with any lens review I am quick to admit that I'm just an enthusiast, not a professional lens tester. Any opinions pertaining to the optical quality or characteristics of this lens are purely subjective, but sample images have been included for your perusal.
Images from the Vario-Elmar are characterized by subtle colors and tones, with greens and browns appearing especially rich and reds somewhat muted compared to what I remember seeing with Canon L lenses in the past.
Straight from wide open and at all focal lengths, the lens astounds with both high resolution and stunning contrast, lending a life-likeness to its subject and almost a tactile response to textures. There is a clarity to the images that nearly makes the lens a window to the world. The images from the Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 are similarly crisp at f/4 but the performance of the Vario-Elmar is more even across the field and certainly better in the extreme corners. The term 'sharp from corner to corner' describes this lens perfectly.
Reading of a lens with outstanding contrast and resolution, you'd at first be forgiven for thinking that the 35-70/4 is a terrible lens for portraiture. Quite the contrary. Despite these characteristics, the subtle rendition of tones actually seems to render a pleasing smoothness throughout that looks incredible for skin (at least for the subjects that were photographed to date).
In my previous review of the Summicron 35/2, I attributed this 'smooth yet sharp' appearance to high contrast but low resolution. But this characteristic seems common to most of the Leica lenses in my bag, being the Summicron 35/2, 90/2, Elmar 180/4 and also the Vario-Elmar that is reviewed here. Is this one of legendary signatures of a Leica lens? Regardless, this characteristic, and the richness of tone and color makes an image more attractive in my eye (composition and lighting aside).
Bokeh
The Vario-Elmar is not a 'cream machine' when it comes to producing bokeh. With a short focal length even at its longest setting plus a moderate aperture, the bokeh is difficult to analyze in an image that has been resized for web viewing. But when a full-sized image is viewed at 100% the bokeh is very pleasing and the subject has good 'pop'. Considering the focal length and aperture the bokeh is excellent.
Chromatic Aberration
During a recent pre-wedding shoot for my cousin I photographed the couple against a bright overcast sky. Because of the high contrast conditions the sky was blown completely white against the groom's black coat. A terrible scenario to say the least, but despite careful examination of the entire picture the level of CA is almost negligible.
Vignetting & Distortion
Similarly, vignetting is a non-issue from wide open. The only fly in the soup is the visible barrel distortion at the 35mm end, which is actually noticeable in the viewfinder of a FF camera. That said, it's minor and hardly a deal-breaker for all but the most critical photography for architecture and the like involving lots of straight lines. Distortion is not visible at the 50mm and 70mm setting.
Flare Resistance
While I have yet to note incidences of flare in my actual photos, I once pointed the lens towards a bare sun while it was very low in the sky, and found it possible to induce flare spots in this lens (visible in the viewfinder) when the sun was just out of the frame. The included lens shade did little for this scenario at the 35mm setting.
Macro Setting
Featuring a 'macro' setting that drops the minimum focusing distance to just 26cm, this lens surprises in its ability to hold its performance down to the closest focusing distance. This is indeed commendable, because just about every other lens I've used has demonstrated an obvious drop in image quality at MFD, while the Leica lens behaves almost like a true macro lens, just that it doesn't focus down to 1:1 magnification natively.
Conclusion
If it sounds as if I'm very excited about the Vario-Elmar 35-70mm f/4, it's because I am! Aperture and focal length differences aside, this is perhaps the greatest lens I've tried to date, sporting unbelievable clarity, attractive color, pleasing [if albeit too subtle] bokeh. It is commonly assumed that zoom lenses are convenient but compromise on lens design. While this is partially true where barrel distortion at the 35mm end is concerned (it is more than that of the Summicron 35/2), the lens breaks barriers with great performance corner to corner, extremely low CA and eye-popping resolution even at its minimum focusing distance.
As a package, it represents great value as a walkaround zoom but unfortunately does not appeal to everyone because of the lack of AF and electronic aperture control. The moderate aperture is a double-edged sword: providing almost perfect amount of depth of field for portraiture, negating the need to stop down in most instances, yet darkening the viewfinder and making accurate focusing more difficult.
If you are already involved in the world of alternative glass, do yourself a favor. Pick up a copy of this lens, and experience the imaging for yourself.
Final Notes
Samples here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=596615
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Andrew_Lim
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Member: Andrew Lim
Location: Singapore
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 81 members
About Me:
Veterinarian working at RSPCA (Burwood), Australia
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