Due to the characteristics of the Canon consumer DSLR that have a crop factor of 1.6 the 35mm starts to be a normal to slight tele lens on these cameras. Having a set of cheap 35mm lenses, a comparison was inevitable, even if the competitors were slighly different. The Canon 35mm f2 is the only AF lens in the test. even with it's older design and motor, it is a nice little lens, and has it's share of believers. The other two lenses were two CZJ 35mm lenses : the multi-coated f2.4 and the older 2.8, both with M42 mount and a M42-EOS adapter. The test was carried out using a tripod but no remote, in a rather unprofessional manner, but it might be interesting to some photographers looking for a lens in this segment. Let's let some pictures speak:
CENTER CROPS:| Canon EF 35mm f2.0 | CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.4 | CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.8 | |
| f2.0 / f2.4 | |
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| f2.8 | |
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| f4.0 | |
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| f5.6 | |
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| f8.0 | |
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| f11.0 | |
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| f16.0 | |
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| f22.0 | |
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| Canon EF 35mm f2.0 | CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.4 | CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.8 | |
| f2.0 / f2.4 |  |
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| f2.8 |  |
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| f4.0 |  |
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| f5.6 |  |
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| f8.0 |  |
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| f11.0 |  |
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| f16.0 |  |
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| f22.0 |  |
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Before everyone yells at me about their sharp copys, let me put this straight: I have only tested the lenses that were available to me, meening one piece of every lens, so it might be possible to get other results with other copys of these lenses.
So, what's the storry ?!? Well, first of all, it has to be said that the CZJ Flektogons are a little bit narrower than 35mm. The Canon is wide open very soft, both in the center and in the corners. starting with 2.8 and especialy from 4.0 on it is much better. On the other hand, the CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.4 is sharper than the Canon wide open ( but that's half a stop slower ), and is performing better until f8.0. From there on the multi-coated Flektogon has a drop in performance so it's recomended to keep it between 2.8 and 8.0. Also, the drop in quality is most noticeable in the corners ( even on a crop camera like the 300D ). The older CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.8 is pretty good in the center, even wide open, but the corner performance is a big dissapointment, because the corners never get nearly as sharp as for the Canon or the other Flektogon ( o a full frame camera this might be a desaster ). So, who is the best performer of all ?!? Well I would say it's the CZJ Flektogon 35mm f2.4. On the other hand, the Canon is a solid performer from f4.0 in the center and from f8.0 in the corner, you can still shoot at f2.0 and put a USM over it afterwards, and even without the new USM AF motors you can take pictures of a 1 1/2 yers old. Ok, the older CZJ Flektogon is a poor performer in the corner, but center performing it's kind of a surprise.