I’ll be curious to see a Bastian or Fred review of the Kasana 35/2.
Curiously, I don’t see an optical diagram on their page for the lens. I wonder if it will draw super similarly to other existing m-options like the 21/35/50/75 did or is more of an original design like the 28.
I have to say that I really like the draw on the images shown in the two videos with the 35/2. Both photographers used Sony cameras and it looked great. Looking forward to seeing results on digital Leica rangefinder bodies.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
I’ll be curious to see a Bastian or Fred review of the Kasana 35/2.
Curiously, I don’t see an optical diagram on their page for the lens. I wonder if it will draw super similarly to other existing m-options like the 21/35/50/75 did or is more of an original design like the 28.
I am no expert at reading MTF curves. I showed Claude and it said:
On the MTF — and the big caveat: Thypoch is only showing f/2 (wide open). No f/5.6 or f/8 reference, which is unusual. So everything below is about wide-open behavior only. Center performance is genuinely strong: 10 lp/mm sits above 0.9 across nearly the full frame, and 20 lp/mm holds 0.85+ out to about 18mm. The story gets more interesting at 30 and 40 lp/mm, where you can see a clear dip around 5–8mm field height, then a recovery hump near 13–15mm, then a fairly steep crash into the corner. That mid-zone dip-then-recovery is a field curvature signature — the plane of best focus is curving back toward the camera in the mid-frame and then flattening again. Combined with the sizable sagittal/tangential separation at 30 and 40 lp/mm (those dashed-vs-solid gaps), there’s noticeable astigmatism off-axis at f/2.
Reading the character: This isn’t a Sigma Art / Apo-Summicron clinical-flatness curve, and that’s clearly intentional — it lines up with the same Ksana design philosophy you got with the 21mm. Wide-open you’ll get a bright, contrasty center with some off-axis softness and field curvature that gives the rendering some three-dimensionality rather than a perfectly flat field. By f/4–5.6 most of that mid-zone behavior should tighten up considerably (we just can’t verify from the chart Thypoch published).
Fred Miranda wrote:
Received the Thypoch 21mm f/3.5 and 35mm f/2 M-mount lenses today and will start the review soon!
I’m so curious about the 35mm f2, it’s looks more than promising. And they said it flares, man every manufacturer is so afraid of that word now even those who do make 1960 remakes.(we made a perfect replica but don’t worry we eliminated the flares…Nooooooo! Oh well…)
Sonnar-7 wrote:
I’m so curious about the 35mm f2, it’s looks more than promising. And they said it flares, man every manufacturer is so afraid of that word now even those who do make 1960 remakes.(we made a perfect replica but don’t worry we eliminated the flares…Nooooooo! Oh well…)
It's really tiny. I have the black paint version, and it focuses down to 0.5m. The best feature for rangefinder shooters is that when the rangefinder disengages around 0.65m, it has a tactile feel that clearly lets you know.
Sonnar-7 wrote:
I’m so curious about the 35mm f2, it’s looks more than promising. And they said it flares, man every manufacturer is so afraid of that word now even those who do make 1960 remakes.(we made a perfect replica but don’t worry we eliminated the flares…Nooooooo! Oh well…)
Video folks are definitely more open to the idea of having a lens that flares. Someone even built a database to map out how lenses flare. https://lenses.cineflares.com/login
Tim Zhou wrote:
Video folks are definitely more open to the idea of having a lens that flares. Someone even built a database to map out how lenses flare. https://lenses.cineflares.com/login
Nice. I indeed saw that video people are more aligned with what I think of modern optics. It was almost shocking to me, since I bought a Sony Fx2 I dabble with video and learnt about that aspect.
My lens collection that could be considered almost useless in the modern photography world is top class in that new world.
Fred Miranda wrote:
It's really tiny. I have the black paint version, and it focuses down to 0.5m. The best feature for rangefinder shooters is that when the rangefinder disengages around 0.65m, it has a tactile feel that clearly lets you know.
The lens doesn’t look ugly and manages to have its own identity in terms of design it seems. I quite like the silver version, I begin to have a change of heart with the colors of my lenses recently, silver is my way to go now.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
Pumped! Do you by chance have a CV 35/2 to comp it with? Or which 35mm will you use?
I'm planning to compare it against the LLL 35mm f/2 8-Element. I no longer have the Voigtlander Ultron, so that is out of the equation.
What stands out is that the Thypoch 35mm f/2 is actually even shorter in size than the LLL 35/2 8-Element, while also offering a much closer minimum focus distance.
The 21mm f/3.5 Ksana will be going head to head with the Voigtlander 21mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar. I know the Cosina will do better in the flare department but I'm curious to see what the Ksana's coatings bring to the table.
Btw my copy of the 21/3.5 Ksana brings up the 50/75 framelines. Not sure if that's normal for this lens or just sample variation. That said, both the Thypoch 21mm and 35mm are perfectly calibrated with the rangefinder.
Thinking about this more, I'm going to try to get a copy of the Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f/2 for a comparison. I think it would be really interesting to see how much the rendering and overall performance actually differ between them.
For the 35, looking at Bastian's samples, the out of focus area looks very smooth, but I saw this video about the lens,, the background looks pretty swirly. It's possible Bastian was focusing much closer.
Fred Miranda wrote:
Thinking about this more, I'm going to try to get a copy of the Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f/2 for a comparison. I think it would be really interesting to see how much the rendering and overall performance actually differ between them.
That is the best natural comp in my opinion! Or the 35 Cron asph but that's sky high in price and I think the CV 35/2 does quite well against the Cron. Curious to see what we see with the Thypoch.
I expect it to have worse flare resistance and be less contrasty than the CV. I love a short MFD. If it draws much differently too that would be a plus.
The cherry on top would be if it performed better on a Sony than the CV 35/2 but not holding my breath or expecting it.
I can tell the 21/3.5 is not my couple of tea with the flare with a modern performance otherwise and I don't need/care about the lens aesthetics. All that is gimmicky to me and often hurts ergo. From any maker.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
That is the best natural comp in my opinion! Or the 35 Cron asph but that's sky high in price and I think the CV 35/2 does quite well against the Cron. Curious to see what we see with the Thypoch.
I expect it to have worse flare resistance and be less contrasty than the CV. I love a short MFD. If it draws much differently too that would be a plus.
The cherry on top would be if it performed better on a Sony than the CV 35/2 but holding my breath or expecting it.
I can tell the 21/3.5 is not my couple of tea with the flare with a modern performance otherwise and I don't need/care about the lens aesthetics. All that is gimmicky to me and often hurts ergo. From any maker....Show more →
The Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f/2 also focuses close, down to 0.58m, though not quite as close as the Ksana. We already know the CV 35/2 Ultron is capable of very high resolution and contrast even wide open, and from my initial tests the Ksana seems able to keep up at least at center, but I'll confirm that in the review.
What clearly separates them is the rendering. The Cosina lens is known for its highlight outlining and more structured bokeh, giving it a more classic look. The Ksana, on the other hand, produces smoother transitions with almost no outlining, so the rendering feels more modern overall.
A side by side comparison should make the differences pretty obvious, but that's the short version.
Fred Miranda wrote:
The Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f/2 also focuses close, down to 0.58m, though not quite as close as the Ksana. We already know the CV 35/2 Ultron is capable of very high resolution and contrast even wide open, and from my initial tests the Ksana seems able to keep up at least at center, but I'll confirm that in the review.
What clearly separates them is the rendering. The Cosina lens is known for its highlight outlining and more structured bokeh, giving it a more classic look. The Ksana, on the other hand, produces smoother transitions with almost no outlining, so the rendering feels more modern overall.
A side by side comparison should make the differences pretty obvious, but that's the short version. ...Show more →
Yes--that also follows with Thypoch lenses generally. I am curious to see outside the mid-frame and corners--I expect the Ksana to be worse but would love to be surprised.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
Yes--that also follows with Thypoch lenses generally. I am curious to see outside the mid-frame and corners--I expect the Ksana to be worse but would love to be surprised.
Will you be testing the Ksana on a Sony as well?
Yes, I will test it on the Sony and Nikon.
Ksana 35/2 at 0.65m, where the rangefinder disengages.
Ksana 35/2 at infinity hard stop compared to LLL 35/2 8e Stainless Steel
Voigtlander 21mm f/3.5 Color Skopar vs 21mm f/3.5 Ksana
21mm f/3.5 Ksana adapted to the Nikon Zf using a close-up adapter (adds 5.5mm macro extension)
