Joseph wrote:
>
> I think if you sell your 35/2 and buy a 35-80, the day will come that
> you will regret the decision.
>
> Joseph
>
What you will regret is that you didn't do it sooner. The 35-80 is a
pro-grade lens, producing B+ to A grades almost exclusively. The same
can't be said of the 35/2. The zoom is as good or better wide open than
the prime is at F/4, so you actually gain a stop! The 35-80 has no coma
at F/2.8. The 35/2 has plenty at 2 and 2.8 and still some left at F/4.
With the zoom, you get, in addition to 35mm, 36mm thru 80mm, a bit more
versatility. You will find plenty of compositions where the zoom will
allow you to crop in the camera, rather than in the darkroom, thus using
the full range of the film. Therefore, an enlargement will be less
magnification and thus a gain in print detail will be realized.
Now for the downside: it is heavier, it costs more and it has one
unfortunate problem, pronounced barrel distortion around 35mm. I have
seen it in one slide and it is a problem. The prime has some barrel
too. Of course, this is a problem only with obvious straight lines near
the edge of the frame. In my case, an ocean horizon. Perhaps I'll scan
... wait, I've already scanned the slide. I'll put it up sometime over
the weekend.
george
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