leica vario elmarit 35-70/3,5

[christian amann]

hello to all,

 

does anybody know if this leica r lens 35-70/3,5 features any differences to

the 35-70/4 besides the different filter size?

are they the same quality?

 

i am interested to buy one of these lenses. This lens is quite compact and

should be better than the leica r 28-70mm. ist this true?

there ist one lens in new condition that sells today. i don?t know if to buy.

 

greetings, chris

[sonny_chastant]

I have one and have read about the various models. There is alot of discussion about the use of a filter because the front lens rotates as your focus, but I dont find this to be a problem. However, it seems that the F4 model is a little sturdier. The 28-70 should be,but is not, a better lens. It was made by Sigma for Leica. The 35-70 is a great travel lens and generally a good proformer used at smaller F stops. Thanks, Sonny in Louisiana

[ronald_moravec1]

I have both and the 4.0 is better construction, true Leica quality, and the 3.5 is lesser. Optically there is less difference, but the 4.0 is still better.

 

My 28/70 3.5 is a sharp lens that suffers pretty bad distortion at both ends of the range. Numerious types of photoediting programs will easily correct the distortion like photoshop CS2 and 3 and PTLens. Construction is on a par with the 35/70 4.0. I use mine when I need a wider zoom and do not intend to do optical printing where I can not correct the distortion.

[lenk]

If you're looking for optical excellence in this focal range, why not step up to the newer 28-

90mm Vario-Elmarit-R?

 

IMO it is clearly superior to the other two Varios you mention, based upon my personal

experience. In fact, the 28-90 is now my current lens of choice on my R8.

 

If price is an issue, then consider the 28-70 f/4 Vario, as it is lighter and optically superior to

the earlier f/3.5 lens.

[l_dasousa]

I had 35-70 f/3.5. It was sharp but the tube became very loose and wobbily. At some point I did try out the 28-70 and it was also sharp but highly distorting at either end of the zoom. I found later that Leica took back the 35-70 from Japan and put the glasses into a German tube that was better constructed, but I had decided then to use 28 and 50mm single lenses plus a 70-210 f/4 zoomlens that was excellent. At some point I sold all of it and bought an M6.

[bob in seattle]

I can heartily endorse the Vario-elmarit 28-90 Asph which I bought new 2 years ago.

 

It has become my "on-camera" lens for either my R8 or R9 when I travel. I'm

especially pleased with the performance between 28 and 50mm.

 

I've used it for color landscape, environmental and B&W Street Photography and have been

gratified by the results.

 

Everything is what you'd expect from Leica; butter-smooth zoom, focus, aperture detent,

etc.

 

My other lens is the 70-180 APO but I must confess that I use the 28-90 75% of the time.

 

Regards,

 

 

Bob in Seattle