a couple of lenses

[Bimjo]

Got my CV 50/2.5 today. Now I'm really in the SWMBO doghouse. I had to borrow money from the savings account to get the 50 & the M-Rokkor 90 I got the other day. Now I really need to sell some stuff after Christmas. Bye bye dslr & lenses!

Anyway, here's the CV lineup as it sits at the moment. From left to right- 15/21/35/50. The gap in the middle is for the 28/3.5 that I don't have yet. It's is even shorter than the 21 or 35. They are fairly rare, but I will find one eventually. Also missing is the 12/5.6, but that's farther out. They made a 25/4, but the overlap is too close. Might get one later just so I can have the whole set, but probably not. Eh, it could make the meat in a 3 lens set for lightweight travel maybe- 12/25/50. [shrug]

I should have stuck the Tak 55/1.8 in there for scale, but I forgot.

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So why did I decide to go with all Leica Thread Mount Cosina Voigtlander rangefinder lenses? Well, size- they aren't very big. Commonality- all 4 of these lenses share the same lens cap (as does the 28). Except the 15, they all take the same size filter. Except the 15 they all use the same size hood. They all work the same way- the aperture and focus rings rotate the same way on the whole series.

Are there better lenses out there? Absolutely. But these have enough image quality for what I need and they don't overwhelm the camera when they are mounted. For me they are the right choice, ymmv.

 

[Dioptrick]

Slurrrrrrp!!

 

[RalllyFan]

I have the 35 and will probably get the 21 and 15 as well (if not the 12). My rational is similar, they all work the same way, they're tiny and weigh nothing, and If a full frame NEX (or other mirrorless) comes out, they all still work perfectly. And...I've been eyeballing a few LTM film cameras.

I really like my 35, I think it's photo's have a nice character to them.

My friend and her newborn:

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[Ad Dieleman]

I'm really curious about your experiences with the 15mm. I've read stories about green-magenta colour shift in the image when using the 15mm on a sensor (as opposed to film), apparently caused by the extreme angle with which the light rays hit the sensor near the edges. Do you see any nasty colour shifts? Thanks!

 

[kevistopheles]

Wow

 

[Jefenator]

I've been eyeing the 15mm. I'm afraid to get it, though - once I try using one compact rangefinder lenses on my NEX, I may have to try 'em all!

 

[Bimjo]

I've been eyeing the 15mm. I'm afraid to get it, though - once I try using one compact rangefinder lenses on my NEX, I may have to try 'em all!

That's how it starts- first the 15 to replace the SEL16. Then the 21 cuz I got a steal on it. Hey, these are really nice lenses, and they're sooooooo small! Hey, that's a decent price on the 35- go for it! Oh no, a M-Rokkor 90 for a decent price & look! a CV50 the same day. Hmmm… I need a 28 to round things out. And a 12 too.

It's a slippery slope, fraught with peril. But satisfying none the less. Proceed at your own risk.

 

[Bimjo]

I'm really curious about your experiences with the 15mm. I've read stories about green-magenta colour shift in the image when using the 15mm on a sensor (as opposed to film), apparently caused by the extreme angle with which the light rays hit the sensor near the edges. Do you see any nasty colour shifts? Thanks!

Hey Ad, the CV15, 21 and probably the 28 all color shift on the NEX 7. I am one of those fortunate few that has a 5N that has the same issues. It is easily fixed using a program called CornerFix. Here's an example of what it looks like before and after.

There are those times when it really doesn't matter, but for those times that it does matter it can be handled. It adds 2 steps to the work flow, but it all happens before you get to PS/LR (although LR apparently has made great strides in this department lately). My MF lens work flow (on a Mac) goes like this:

1- open files in ExifChanger to add lens info
2- open files in Adobe DNG converter to convert ARW files to DNG (this step only necessary for files needing CornerFix)
3- open files in CornerFix and apply the proper lens profile (this step only necessary for files needing color shift/vignette correction)
4- open files in ACR and process as you normally would

If you shoot jpg then you'd skip step 2, and if you don't care if the lens info is in exif data you could skip step 1 as well.

It does add the extra steps, but it's a batch process and doesn't take long to do. Well worth the effort to my mind, especially since I'm already doing ExifChanger to the files before processing anyway.

 

[Bimjo]

I have the 35 and will probably get the 21 and 15 as well (if not the 12). My rational is similar, they all work the same way, they're tiny and weigh nothing, and If a full frame NEX (or other mirrorless) comes out, they all still work perfectly. And...I've been eyeballing a few LTM film cameras.

I really like my 35, I think it's photo's have a nice character to them.

My friend and her newborn:
View attachment 2447

Yeah, there is that film thing. If (big if) I were to ever shoot film again it would be with a rangefinder, so I have the lenses covered already. The 12 on film would be astounding I think.

 

[Ad Dieleman]

Hey Ad, the CV15, 21 and probably the 28 all color shift on the NEX 7. I am one of those fortunate few that has a 5N that has the same issues. It is easily fixed using a program called CornerFix. Here's an example of what it looks like before and after.
...(deleted)

Thanks! That looks quite doable to me, concerning that I use Lightroom so the use of DNG files won't be a problem. Now if someone makes a shift adapter (are you listening, Novoflex?), the CV 15mm and 12mm would make nice shift lenses on the NEX. I have a shift adapter for my µ4/3 cameras from Fotodiox, but that's a piece of cr*p.

 

[hodad66]

really nice collection.....

 

[Bimjo]

Thanks! That looks quite doable to me, concerning that I use Lightroom so the use of DNG files won't be a problem. Now if someone makes a shift adapter (are you listening, Novoflex?), the CV 15mm and 12mm would make nice shift lenses on the NEX. I have a shift adapter for my µ4/3 cameras from Fotodiox, but that's a piece of cr*p.

Shift adapter would be cool. As far as I know the only one is the Kipon for Nikon F lenses. Huh, I just looked and Kipon has a tilt-shift adapter for Nikon F as well. Somewhat spendy though.

 

[Bimjo]

Thanks.

 

[Ad Dieleman]

Shift adapter would be cool. As far as I know the only one is the Kipon for Nikon F lenses. Huh, I just looked and Kipon has a tilt-shift adapter for Nikon F as well. Somewhat spendy though.

I've tried the Kipon shift adapter for Nikon F, but it was equally unsuitable. It wasn't play-free as well and my Nikon 50/1.8 AIS got almost stuck, scraping metal off inside the adapter with its flanges ; I returned it the same day. So that shattered my dream of using a Zeiss ZF 18mm as a shift lens on the GH2 .

 

[Bimjo]

I've tried the Kipon shift adapter for Nikon F, but it was equally unsuitable. It wasn't play-free as well and my Nikon 50/1.8 AIS got almost stuck, scraping metal off inside the adapter with its flanges ; I returned it the same day. So that shattered my dream of using a Zeiss ZF 18mm as a shift lens on the GH2 .

Well, I wasn't planning to buy any Nikon lenses any time soon anyway. Sucks that it performed so poorly though.

 

[eno789]

It must be a joy looking at these lenses, using them, and seeing the wonderful result. A CV 40 (Nikon mount) is on my list.

 

[Bimjo]

It must be a joy looking at these lenses, using them, and seeing the wonderful result. A CV 40 (Nikon mount) is on my list.

It is. I've not heard a single bad thing about either the CV 20 or the CV 40 in Nikon mount on the NEX. Here's a nice writeup of those lenses.