Buying a 50mm when already owning a 28-70mm zoom?

In terms of Zooms, the question for me is speed and distortion. Starting with Zoomar lens made for the Swiss Alpa followed by the S1 zooms made for Vivitar then Canon L glass and Nikon Ed zooms along with Minolta G, Leica and Contaxt zooms, zooms are sharp enough to reslove Tmax 100. Some zooms still suffer from distoriton at the long and short ends which in noticable under some sitatuions, most of the time not critical, but loss of speed with film, unless you shoot Tamx 3200 that is an issue in low light. If you can live with a F4 to 5.6 and want to travel light a zoom is peferct. In terms of Leica R mount, the Leica versions of the 28 to 70 are likely to be good enough. Too bad that Sigma did not make the Art lens in Leica R mount, there are likely best zooms ever made.

I‘m of the opinion that technical performance of tools are important, and it is a factor to consider if budget allows for it. The other factor, and I believe it is of greater importance, is how the 50mm focal length fits into your style and work as a photographer. Will a 50mm prime elevate your style and you as a photographer (Rhetorical)?

RezaLoghme said:

No other 28-70mm Vario Elmar R lovers here?
Nobody?

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Well, I have the "original" version - the Sigma UC 3.5-4.5/28-70mm. As already correctly explained in this thread, the optical design of this lens and the Leica variant are identical.
But the Leica has different and much better mechanics and built quality, and was produced with better QC and tighter tolerances.

I bought this lens as a young student when I started my studies at university. I bought it mainly as a lens for travels. The reasons for my purchase = the advantages of the lens:
+ very good sharpness
+ high contrast
+ very compact
+ very useful zoom range for my purposes (mainly travel, shooting landscapes and cityscapes, and my girlfriend at that time)
+ low price (about 230 DM)
+ excellent price performance ratio.

The disadvantages of this Sigma lens:
- strong barrel distortion at the wide end
- the colour transmission of the lens is not optimal, there is a visible yellowish-greenish colour cast
- now after the decades the "ZEN" surface finish Sigma used at that time has become very ugly and sticky
- the mechanics (focus and zoom ring) is not operating smooth anymore (it is bucking / stuttering); a general problem with budget-optimised lenses in the past and today: To keep the price down compromises have to be made, and that is almost always done in this area (mechanics, built quality), because the disadvantages mostly occur later, over the years.

I hope this info is a bit helpful for you.

Best regards,
Henning

The 28-70mm is gone now and replaced by 2 50mm Summis.

You cannot have too many 50mm lenses, period.

A friend has offered me the 28-70 for a silly price. Please help me!!!

skahde said:

Friends help each other, don't they?

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The 28-70 has visible pincushion distortion at the 28mm end. But it simply looks nice on the modern (R 6/7/8/9) bodies. HELL!!

RezaLoghme said:

The 28-70 has visible pincushion distortion at the 28mm end.

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Which frequently doesn't matter aesthetically, when it comes to many photos that one might use the 28mm for.
For architectural work, it matters.

MattKing said:

Which frequently doesn't matter aesthetically, when it comes to many photos that one might use the 28mm for.
For architectural work, it matters.

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Have you used the 28-70 Vario Elmar?

No - but I've used a somewhat similar (28mm - 48mm) Olympus Zuiko zoom, and have a decent feel for when it is highly usable, and when its limitations are a problem.
Distortion matters a lot for some photography, and very little for a lot of photography.
Just as portability and convenience in use matters a lot for some photography, and not much for other photography.
In my case, I tend toward a 35mm lens as my standard lens, so I replaced my 28mm Zuiko with a 24mm Zuiko.
But when I was using 50mm and 28mm Zuiko lenses, the 28mm wide end of the zoom Zuiko was still useful - I just would decide which of the two choices - fixed 28mm or 28mm-48mm - would end up in the bag that day.

OK.

So I am now thinking about either taking up the offer from my friend, or be happy with what i have. I am specifially thinking about the Vario Elmar 28-70.

UPDATE:

28-70mm is here now. Will have to glue the loose lens hood into its place. Then use it.

UPDATE: So far, the 28-70 stayed at home. There are so many more tempting alternatives in the cupboard.