I thought I'd do a little write up on my recent Rokkor purchases...
MD 24mm f2.8.
It's a compact lens and it's physically smaller than my Rokkor MD 28mm f2.8. Other than that there isn't too much to say about it other than it appears to be a very good lens and use usable and sharp from f2.8.
I'd read reviews of the 55mm thread version and it's apparently thought to be an excellent lens, so much so that Leica bagged it and sold it as one of their own, allegedly, that's what I read anyway... but that's the 55mm thread version and I went for the later and more compact 49mm thread version. There's less about this version on line but I have to say that I just can't see anything wrong with this lens at all and I'd be amazed if in use I could see any great improvement in real world images taken with the 55mm version.
Anyway, I'm happy with the lens, it's usable from f2.8 and the bokeh seems to be quite good. One thing I normally do is check how easy it is to fill the frame with a lens and in this regard the 24mm does a little better than the 28mm.
One minor quibble is that the lettering on the lens isn't as pretty as my other Rokkors. The 24mm has sort of dull white distances in meters and goldish distances in feet whereas my other Rokkors have brighter white distances in meters and bright green distances in feet.
MD 35mm f1.8.
I recently bought a f2.8 version and liked it so much that I bought the more expensive f1.8 version. It's sharp from f1.8 but the bokeh is very subject dependant, for example if the background is busy (such as foliage/flower shots and the like) the bokeh can look unattractive, but at f2.8 I think it's actually better and as good as I'd hoped it would be at that aperture. On the positive side it'll focus a little closer than the f2.8 version making it possible to fill the frame more but at f1.8 and at these distances the DoF is minuscule and any subject or camera movement matters.
So, another really good lens and the only thing to watch is the possibility of unattractive bokeh at f1.8 and minuscule DoF at minimum focus distance.
MD 85mm f2.0.
There seem to be differing opinions as to which is the best version of the various Rokkor 85mm lenses. Some seem to go for f1.7 versions but I went for the later f2 49mm thread version.
Again, there's nothing to really criticise. It's sharp from f2 and the bokeh seems to be rendered smooth and looks very good to me.
One thing to watch with longer legacy lenses is the shutter speed. When mounted on a non stabilised body like my G1 the equivalent focal length of 2 x 85mm means that unless you're Superman on beta blockers you're going to need a shutter speed going into the 1/100's and above... or tripod. I can't see myself using the 85mm much for that reason just as I can't get much use out of my 135mm but it's there if I want it and if there's enough light to keep the shutter speed up and the ISO down.
So, three really good lenses
