Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 ZM

This Zeiss prime is a 35mm manual-focus lens for Leica M mount, and it covers full frame. A 35mm lens frames a scene with room around the subject, so it suits street, travel and reportage work.

That view is wide enough for tight interiors, yet controlled enough to keep clutter out. It also serves environmental portraits, where the setting tells part of the story. The f/1.4 aperture makes the lens a natural choice after dark. Focus falls to you alone, since there is no autofocus, so candid moments demand practice.

Zeiss launched this design in 2014, so it is an older model.

The lens weighs 13.4 oz (381 g) and is 2.56 in (65 mm) long, with a body 2.48 in (63 mm) across. For a full-frame 35mm f/1.4 prime, that counts as light and compact, so it carries easily all day. A screw-in filter must match the 49mm thread at the front.

The f/1.4 maximum aperture is the heart of the lens. Wide open, it lets you keep shutter speeds high in fading light instead of raising ISO. That keeps noise low when the light drops, a real gain for evening reportage.

At portrait distance, f/1.4 narrows depth of field sharply, so a face stands clear of a busy background. Stopped down a little, the lens renders enough depth to keep a near subject and its setting sharp together. For street work, that middle range often delivers the more useful result.

The ten-blade diaphragm stays close to round as you stop down. Out-of-focus highlights then keep smooth edges rather than hard polygon shapes, which matters for night streets lit by distant points of light.

The lens focuses as close as 2.3 ft (70 cm), which at 35mm reaches a half-length portrait or a laid-out table. You focus by hand through a dedicated ring, so accuracy rests on your eye and the camera's focusing aid. Our optics score is 73 out of 100.

The lens has no image stabilisation. At 35mm, camera shake affects handheld shots far less than on a telephoto, so the missing stabilisation costs little for this kind of photography. Slow exposures remain possible if you steady the camera on a table or a wall.

There is no weather sealing, so keep the lens out of rain and dust rather than relying on it outdoors. It also lacks a fluorine coating, which on many lenses helps oil and water slide off the front glass. Give the front element a careful wipe after coastal or dusty shoots.

The formula packs 10 elements into 7 groups. Two aspherical elements carry specially shaped surfaces that help correct distortion and spherical aberration, faults that can curve straight edges in street scenes.

Three low-dispersion elements help reduce chromatic aberration, the coloured fringes that can appear along high-contrast edges such as neon signs at night. Our construction score for this lens is 54 out of 100.