I am not a fan of 35mm lenses, as they do not capture what my eye sees, like the 50mm lenses do. However, there are moments in street photography when I walk among hundreds of people and all shots are taken within 15 meters. Street fairs and concerts offer such an environment and I have sometimes taken a 35 mm lens with me.
The other reason I am uncomfortable with what the 35mm captures on a frame is the amount of “noise” that distracts me from focusing on the story I want to witness and tell. I always end up cropping the photos under the enlarger. However, there are shots I would like to take, within 10 meters or so, that require a wider lens than the standard 50mm.
So, I opted to take my 1954 Canon rangefinder L3 camera with me to the downtown arts show equipped with a 1951 Canon serener 35mm f2.8.
I have used the camera around the globe with absolutely no mechanical issues. I like its simplicity and it fits nicely in my hands. It also has an adjustable viewfinder for 50mm, 35mm and about 100mm lenses, avoiding the use of an external viewfinder for each lens. That feature gave Canon rangefinder cameras a competive edge in the 1940s and 1950s.
As for the Serenar, it is a tiny, very well constructed and very smooth focusing Tessar formula 4 groups and 6 elements lens. It is known to flare easily in direct light and loses contrast, primarily because it is a not coated lens. So a shade is a must.
Here is the camera with the shade I adapted to it
And the lens naked of any shade
My goal on this trip was to capture displayed art works along with the artists when possible (with my bias for photographers and painters.) I wanted to use the view I could get with a 35mm lens.
The photo at the top of this page shows what the lens is capable at f8, and the flare it can capture when the sunlight hits the front glass directly. The artist and his work – with an almost mystical moment of a ray shining upon the artist from the firmament!
The next photo was a test of how the lens would render the grades of shape and their transition. There were two women in the photograph’s kiosk and the sun was bright outside. The first print I did was lower in contrast, as the lens is known to produce. So, I did some burning and dodging under the enlarger – 4 seconds of dodging for the hung photos and 5 second of burning regarding the women. I like the nostalgic B&W photo that resulted – the sharpness of the lens is also delightful.
Finally, a calm moment and a great photo by another photographer. I was about 25 meters away, so I did crop some of the people walking around the scene. To enhance the photo of the man and the horse, I dodged the hanging artwork for 3 seconds. Still, the sharpness of the lens captured the eye of the horse and that of the man beautifully.
I am pleased with the lens especially since the traditional darkroom work under an enlarger can remedy to the lack of contrast most users complain about.
For me it was just the appropriate old technique to be used to produce photos that look they were taken 75 years ago.
May 26, 2025
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2025
PS/ After I posted this entry yesterday, I got a few emails from readers. One of them said that he had used this lens, with an adapter, on his digital camera hoping that he would get that vintage photo feeling, but that it has not worked well. And he asked if I had a photo that I had not worked on it in the darkroom, that would show how the lack of contrast looks on when it is just printed as it is on the negative.
Ok, I did print a few photos other than the ones I posted yesterday. I chose to work on the above 3 because they had a story, and because dodging and burning did enhance that story. A few others went to the reject box because they lacked either the story or the composition was unexciting.
So, here is one of the rejects that shows bad composition but also some of this lens' weaknesses.
I wanted to get the artist with her works as she was behind the kiosk. But the mix of shade from the tall trees and the sun did not help the lighting of her works, and, she was moving too fast looking for something behind the stepladder.
But the flare is there on the left side of the photo, and the contrast is quite minimal.
Hope this helps!