Wide-angle prime: DISTAGON 35 for C645
A review and photo examples of DISTAGON 35mm for CONTAX 645, a medium format/wide-angle lens manufactured by Kyocera/Contax
Table of contents
Gallery
- Photo example by LEICA S Typ007
Review
1．Overview
The Distagon 35mm F3.5 is the widest-angle lens for the CONTAX 645, released in 1999.
The lens is made up of 11 elements in 8 groups, weighs about 900g, and has a filter diameter of 95mm, the same as the CONTAX 645 lenses VARIO SONNAR 45-90 and TELE APO TESSAR 350.
When used with a Leica S, it is attached via the mount adapter 16038 [Leica S Adapter C]. When used with a Leica S, the aperture ring on the lens is ignored and the aperture value is set on the camera.
Even when using autofocus, the focus ring in the center of the lens can be used to manually interrupt the focus during focusing.
The lens hood is a special product, GB-101. The bayonet shape of the hood connection part is compatible with the GB-104 used with the VARIO SONNAR 45-90.
2．Usability
The Distagon 35mm F3.5 is a wide-angle prime lens for the medium-format camera Contax 645. When used with a Leica S, the focal length is equivalent to 28mm in 35mm format, multiplied by 0.8 for the sensor size.
When used with a Contax 645 film camera, the focal length is equivalent to 0.6x in 35mm format, making it a wide-angle lens equivalent to 22mm.
The lens is well-balanced when attached to a Leica S, and when I checked the first results on the monitor, I was pleasantly surprised at the sharpness of the images taken with the aperture slightly narrowed.
The autofocus (AF) focusing speed is faster than the SONNAR 140mm and DISTAGON 45mm, as it uses a rear focus method that is advantageous for AF speed. Like other Contax 645 lenses, it is not as fast as the high-speed AF of 35mm cameras, but it is still at a practical level.
Direct manual focus is also possible, and if the autofocus does not work, you can adjust it manually.
Like other Contax 645 lenses, when this lens is used with a LEICA S typ007, there is a slight time lag before it is ready to shoot.
Perhaps due to lens deterioration, when used without a hood, ghosts or flares occur in backlit conditions, and the contrast of the captured image can be reduced. For this reason, it is safe to use a hood when shooting outdoors.
If it is difficult to obtain the dedicated GB-101 hood, you can use the GB-104 for the Vario-Sonnar 45-90mm instead if you are using it with a LEICA S. The GB-101 is also difficult to obtain, but the GB-104 is also difficult to obtain.
Distortion is not noticeable with subjects such as landscapes. However, barrel distortion is noticeable at the periphery when shooting a grid-like subject at a distance of about 1 to 3 meters, which is common with wide-angle lenses. For subjects like this, correction is required using software.
The three wide-angle lenses for the Contax 645 are the DISTAGON 35mm, DISTAGON 45mm, and DISTAGON 55mm. To summarize the characteristics of each lens, the DISTAGON 35mm emphasizes resolution, the DISTAGON 45mm provides soft depiction, and the DISTAGON 55mm provides a medium-sized depiction in between.
The starting focal length of standard zoom lenses for 35mm cameras in the 2000s was 24mm or less, so the focal length of 28mm used with the Leica S is not particularly short.
It is a focal length that makes it easy to decide the composition when shooting with a medium-format digital sensor (45mmx30mm) and has a well-balanced shooting range.
I ended up selling this lens after using it for about a month. The main reason for this is that I have the HC35mm, which is compatible with the same medium-format camera, so I decided to sell the DISTAGON 35mm and keep the HC35mm, which can be used with the HASSELBLAD X2D.
3．Summary
In conclusion, the Distagon 35mm F3.5 is a compact mid-range lens, and as a wide-angle lens with a focal length of 28mm, it is a lens that offers both ease of use and image quality.
I would recommend it as a 28mm lens for the LEICA S series.
Specification
The Distagon 35mm can be compared to the Hasselblad HC35mm and the Leica Elmarit S f2.8/35mm ASPH. (Order no. 11077 | CS: 11078).
Unfortunately, the Elmarit S 35mm costs nearly 1 million yen, so it is unlikely that one can purchase and use it with personal income. As of 2023, the Elmarit S 35mm lens is no longer available, so you will have to search for it on the used market. As shown in the specifications and comparison, the Elmarit S is heavy and large in terms of specs on the desk. However, the lens specifications are excellent, with an open F value of F2.5, which is one stop brighter, and a lens configuration of 9 groups and 12 elements with aspherical lenses.
The Elmarit S uses a rear focus method that moves the small rear group of glass to focus quickly, just like the Distagon 35mm and HC 35mm.
In comparing MTF charts, Leica lists it up to 27mm, while ZEISS lists it up to 35mm, so the display range is different.
When comparing the Elmarit S and Distagon in the range up to 27mm after correction, the graph shows that the Elmarit wins by a landslide. The Elmarit S was released more recently and uses the latest design, so it is understandable why it is more expensive.
The HC35mm has the same filter diameter of 95mm as the Distagon, and the maximum diameter of the lens is almost the same. However, the DISTAGON 35mm has a shorter lens length, a slimmer focus section of the lens barrel, and is about 100g lighter. This is because the HC35mm has a slightly more complex lens structure and a shutter mechanism.
| Lens name | CONTAX Distagon 35mm | LEICA SUMMARIT-S 45mm | HASSELBLAD HC35mm |
| Focal length(mm) | 35.5 | 35 | 35.8 |
| Max aperture | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Min aperture | 32 | 22 | 32 |
| Lens Construction | 9elements in 7groups | 12elements in 9groups | 11elements in 10groups |
| Min distance(m) | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Lens length(mm) Distance from mount flange | 108 | 122 | 124 |
| Lens Max dia.(mm) | 108 | 88 | 100 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 95 | 82 | 95 |
| Weight(g) | 877 | 930/1030(CS) | 975 |
| Release date | 1999 | 2013/10/10 | |
| Price | ¥287,000- Y2023 Uesd price ¥80,000〜 | Non shutter ¥847,000- With shutter ¥979,000- | Y2023 Uesd price ¥150,000〜 |
Reference links
Update history
- 2025.5.13
- 2024.07.16
- 2024.2.11:Update
- 2023.05.20:First draft
Affiliate Link
- CONTAX・Ads by Amazon
- CONTAX645・Ads by Amazon
- CONTAXC books・Ads by Amazon
Leave a Reply