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on Apr 25, 2018 21:01:02 GMT
Posted: Apr 25, 2018 21:01:02 GMT
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on May 19, 2018 7:39:31 GMT
Posted: May 19, 2018 7:39:31 GMT
I would also mention the Tamron 35-80 #01A. Nice and compact for a fairly fast lens and reasonably well behaved all round.
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on Jul 10, 2018 5:01:54 GMT
Posted: Jul 10, 2018 5:01:54 GMT
For the prices I've just seen in the last round for Yashica 35-70/3.5 or 35-70/4 listings on ebay. today - with each listed at $600+ (US, price+shipping) - it seems the only logical alternative might be a Contax Zeiss T* 35-70/3.4. Granted, these are only the asking prices (and roughly double anyone's regular 'sold' price for Yashicas before now), but unfortunately this seems to be the climate and pricing expectations for the times they have shown up recently. Sold/won ebay prices on the Zeiss run mostly in the $225-400 (US) range
The Zeiss is a one touch, yes... but the macro is a bonus that you won't get in either Yashica. Not to mention it has cut-your-fingers sharpness and color/contrast/pop can rival primes. They might not be inexpensive at their going rate these days, but I'd be hard pressed to do much better if my primary purpose in a 35-70 is to use one, and not collect one. And if this is where prices are heading for rare ML's... then, wow. I'm glad I've got what I have, for the prices I've paid - whether they're the rare ones or the shooters.
Some other offerings outside the 35-70 range if you're not tied to a constant aperture...
On the low cost end is a Yashica ML 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5. Better than the 42-75mm, or either of the later 35-70's or the MC version, IMHO - and includes macro functions throughout the 35-105 range. [ $30-50ish ]
Although there are some occasional lemons found, there's the Yashica ML 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5. Same macro functionality through the whole range as the 35-105mm. There are some Kiron (a.k.a, Kino Precision) 28-85mm f/2.8-3.8 in C/Y with limited Macro, and it's the underlying lens sold by Vivitar as a Series 1. I've used a Kiron / Lester Dine 105mm macro that's superb, and a Kiron 80-200mm 'ZoomLock' that's great too... but I have no hands-on with the 28-85mm... however it does have very good reviews. [ Yashica: $60-ish on up, and the Kiron: $30-75 ] . There's also the Sigma 21-35mm f/3.5-4.2 in C/Y. This is a sleeper, and an overlooked gem. The barrel can get soft/sticky and the one-touch can get a bit (or a lot) sloppy, but it's optics can be fantastic. Pair it with a 50MM prime (ML or Zeiss, 1.7 or 1.4) and you're good for some lightweight walk-about lenses for the wide end. This is almost an equivalent on APS-C to the 35-70mm setup on full frame, but without the constant aperture in the zoom part. This is the only legacy Sigma I've ever wanted to own, period. [ Sigma runs @ $100-150 ]
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on Jul 14, 2018 23:10:47 GMT
Posted: Jul 14, 2018 23:10:47 GMT
After my last post, I starting wondering about the 35-105mm as a reasonable substitute, but not as a replacement, per se. I dug out my better copy and did a quick test. I used it for 2 images that I've added to my gallery (ironically, shots of the Zeiss 35-70, since I don't have the ML myself) and 2 'views' of several I do, that can quickly evaluate lenses and find their weak spots. (The plating on the antenna mount and the u-bolt can really wreak havoc with lens glass and coatings) These are the tests at 800px, with later links to higher res JPG's. The hi-res versions are still only half quality to keep the browser render time short - but they're still the full 4912x3264 APS-C frame size @ 16MP. If you want to pixel-peep they should still show adequate detail. I haven't post processed these, other than to correct for exposure on the bus... it was a bit too 'hot' in the highlights/whites. Also... I normally shoot in AdobeRBG, but to make that a non-issue for anyone's standard monitors - I switched these to sRgb and 8bit, so they might look a bit hazy with the compressed color set. Close focus distance (no Macro) @ 35mm, f/5.6 At about 100 yards away, 105mm @ f/8 Link to Hi-Res photos, plus what's in this post : drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Azz2YLsxA5iAq0jlgwY0UaIy9v_mfrk6The 2 for the gallery were processed with both Lightroom and PhotoShop to color correct, do noise reduction and spot brushing - but no sharpening or CA removal was done. (neither was needed). The vignette was added by me, and not by the lens. Larger versions are posted in my gear gallery. Here's the 800px versions... Macro mode @ 35mm, f/5.6 Macro mode at about 50mm, @ f/8 Hi-res versions, in the gallery : lumiworx.com/tags/zeiss+vario-sonnar+35-70mm/They may not be at the same material and build standards as the constant aperture Yashica 35-70's, but I don't think the results are too shabby. There certainly are a lot more of these available, and if you're on a budget and can't make a Zeiss purchase yet... then you can judge for yourself to see if these will make a good enough fit. Just keep in mind that these were all taken with the lens on a cropped sensor Sony F-3, so full frame users may have different results.
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on Jul 18, 2018 2:28:44 GMT
Posted: Jul 18, 2018 2:28:44 GMT
Good enough results for me. I've been thinking of expanding the Contax kit.
PF
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on Mar 31, 2019 14:35:17 GMT
Posted: Mar 31, 2019 14:35:17 GMT
+1 for the ML 35-105, I haven’t owned the best of the ML 35-70 zooms but the 35-105 and 28-50 both did very well for me. In particular I took the 35-105 to Lille for the Braderie weekend a few years back and was very impressed with the results on Ektar using a Contax 167MT.
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on Aug 17, 2019 11:29:11 GMT
Posted: Aug 17, 2019 11:29:11 GMT
Today I received a TOKINA AT-X 2.8/35-70 in "nearly as new" condition. A splendid lens, as I already know. (It was a stupid idea then to give it away. But sometimes you are just crazy. So, my AT-X 28-85 can go away, if anyone is interested)
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Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
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on Aug 22, 2019 19:25:56 GMT
Posted: Aug 22, 2019 19:25:56 GMT
Did anyone recommend the TOKINA AT-X 2.8/35-70? I owned both, ML 3.5 and AT-X 2.8, both are splendid lenses - and I regret that I sold them. Hi Matthias,
I've never even see a Tokina AT-X 35-70 - at f2.8 it must be quite a size unless it has a variable aperture. I will keep an eye out for it.
Tokina's AT-X manual focus lenses were a bit special back in the day and quite a few have stood the test of time. But also, a lot of them had a problem over the years with balsam separation in their larger lenses; I lost two 400mm f5.6 and three 100-300 lenses to this problem so if you are thinking about buying either of these, check for any signs of haze. It was really sad as they were great performers; I still have a 50-250 which is another top lens but I've never tried their short zooms.
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on Aug 23, 2019 19:53:54 GMT
Posted: Aug 23, 2019 19:53:54 GMT
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on Oct 18, 2019 20:21:32 GMT
Last Edit: Oct 18, 2019 20:23:05 GMT by lumiworx
It took 3 tries to get one to compare with, but now I have a Tamron 35-80mm 01A model, and as bp_reid mentioned earlier, it can be a reasonable alternative to the ML 35-70mm fixed aperture versions. There seems to be some differences that are worth noting with what I've seen in a quick one day tour with it on a Sony 7R. First and foremost, it doesn't render colors in quite the same way, so depending on how you use it, and where you output the results... you may need to make some workflow adjustments. If you start on film or digital and end up with a digital file to manipulate, it will be easy enough to do the color grading. If everything stays on film, you're more in the hands of the lab for developing and/or printing if you need color matching. That's not to say the results are bad - just different. My color perceptions are probably more sensitive and I can be overly critical, so this is certainly subjective and may not be an issue for others. This lens isn't built in the same way a Yashica or Contax C/Y lens would be, and its macro functionality is in no way 'locked out' while you focus. It is entirely possible to set the zoom to 35mm, and when using only the focus ring you can twist your zoom right up to 65mm - with maximum magnification - and your fingers would never know the difference. One other thing that became a serious issue with this lens on a Sony A7R is that focus peaking is absolutely not helpful. I don't have a ready explanation, but anytime I didn't use a zoomed view for critical focusing on a subject, I didn't even come close to an acceptable focus for anything in the frame. I don't mean it was a little fuzzy, I mean it was clearly beyond a reasonable focus point. Those caveats aside, the lens can be coaxed into doing some decent images with pretty good resolution across the frame. It's a 2-touch zoom if that matters, and it's fairly well corrected for flare and CA. It physically is in the same ballpark in weight and size, so there's no handling or balance problems. With it being an Adaptall 2 mount, there's a C/Y connection for adaptability to suit film or digital use. The only other issue might be in finding a good sample at a reasonable price. Attempt #1 got me a hazy mess, and #2 had mechanical issues, but #3 was the charm at $45 (including shipping). A before/after 1:1 crop at 80mm, f/4 at a distance of about 20 feet - color/contrast corrected w/sharpening in the 'after' version... There's more snaps uploaded here.
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on Oct 19, 2019 18:54:57 GMT
Posted: Oct 19, 2019 18:54:57 GMT
You might also want to look at the Vivitar 35-70mm f2.8/3.8 Macro Focusing Zoom. It was made by Komine. It is very small, but fast at f2.8 (at 35mm). It is also a ONE-touch zoom, unlike many others. Also, it gets great reviews for sharpness. The filter thread is 55mm. It has f-stops to f22 with half-stop settings. Focusing at 35mm goes down to 2.25 feet, but at 70mm in "macro" made, you can get down to 1:4 -- about a foot away. The focusing ring turns about 270° for very accurate focusing, and in "macro mode" it has a blue magnification scale. Multi-coated, of course. It is a fixed mount lens, but it came out during the Yashica/Contax era, so it's a good bet that it was sold with the C/Y mount. It might be a little hard to find, but I'll bet it will be inexpensive.
A very well thought out lens. There are three on EBAY right now. Look for ones that have a serial # starting with 28.
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