The past year or so has been a voyage of discovery with regards to vintage lenses. There are so many wonderful old lenses that can be adapted to modern camera bodies. Recently, I was impressed by the quality of images shot with a Leica Vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f/4 lens. The images that I saw had a magical feel with impressive detail and beautiful color. After doing a bit of research, I purchased one and it arrived a few days ago.
Once the lens was in my hands, I inspected it to make sure that it did not have any problems. The glass was clean and the operations worked just as they should. I set about my home looking for opportunities to use the lens and to see what I can expect from it. When working with a lens for the first time, my cats are often some of my first subjects. I find that their fur can provide a lot of information on how sharp a lens is and the level of detail that can be discerned.
The feature shot of the cat’s eye and face was photographed using the macro mode of the Leica Vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f/4 lens. Details of the eye and fur are very well resolved. Colors are true and color resolution is remarkable. It seems as though every little detail of the eye can be seen. This fine result had me thinking about the possibilities for images that this level of quality provides. This image was just a casual test shot – hand held in macro mode. Using better technique, i.e. a tripod for close-up work, images should be stunning.
This image is just one of many that I shot the day that my lens arrived. It is such a pleasing photograph and although its story is simple, it shows that wonderful images can arise out of something as mundane as trying out a lens.
Image was shot using a Leica Vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f/4 lens on a Fuji X-T2.
Although this post is geared toward the experience behind the image and is not intended as a gear review, anyone interested in buying the Leica Vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f/4 lens can shop for it on eBay using this link: Buy on eBay
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4 Comments
Very nice example of what a classic lens can offer.
Absolutely. And, there is a real joy in the discovery of what a lens like this can do as well.
Thanks, for sharing this great exposure. I have three dogs and they have beautiful eyes, too. Only with vintage lenses I was able to make them visible in my pics.
Your Leica Vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f/4 lens is a modern vintage lens – it is only lacking autofocus and image stabilization. The lens is still competitive. I like it, too.
I can recommend the Olympus Zuiko Auto-Macro 50mm f/2, it has also wonderful colors. When you want to try out 3rd partie lenses like Tokina, Tamaron …, look for lenses with contax/yashica mount. These are usually in a better condition and the price is not so high like the samples with canon or nikon mount.
But if you can buy Leica, … there is nothing to add 😉
Jörg, thank you for your comment and suggestions. I will look into the Olympus Zuiko Auto-Macro 50mm f/2 and appreciate the suggestion. I actually have a Zeiss C/Y 35-70mm lens that is really nice and works very well for infrared too. I will certainly keep your tip in mind about the 3rd party lenses with C/Y mount. These older lenses are so much fun and I love the rendering on so many of them.
I recently acquired a Zeiss Skoparex 35mm f/3.4 in Icarex mount. It is a really cool lens and I love the way that it renders.