Canon 25mm F3.5!

[Nokton48]

Hi All,

I've been watching prices, and searching, for several years for this one. Price is decent, as is condition. This is the last one I am looking for, now I have the 19, 25, 35/1.5, 50/2.8, 50/1.2, 85/1.5, 100/3.5, 100/2, and 135/3.5.

I am done (at least for a good while) 😀

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250871837177&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Any experiences with this lens to share? I know it's a Zeiss Topogon design, which is unusual in itself. Sharp at all apertures, by all accounts I've come across.

Should be great for those times, that my 19mm is just a -bit- too wide for my uses. Going from 19mm to 35mm, is just too big a jump for me.

So, I have been waiting for this one! 😛😛😛

 

[kbg32]

Congrats. You're gonna have to change your RFF name.

 

[Bingley]

Congrats! I'm looking forward to seeing pix (by the lens, and of the lens)!

 

[peterm1]

I had a chance to buy one a few months back and tried it for a few hours curtesy of the camera shop involved. I was suitably impressed with the quality of the images. However I did not go ahead with the purchase as a Voigtlander 28mm f2 came up and the faster lens suited my purpose better. Never the less I could have happily bought this lens.

 

[Mackinaw]

It's a good lens. Very light and compact, almost a pancake lens. Optically it is sharp at all apertures, though there is a bit of light falloff in the corners wide-open. The main downside, for me, is that it's hard to change the aperture without changing the focus (though this may be a characteristic of my particular lens).

Here's a shot on Kodak HIE film I shot about two weeks back:

Jim B.

 

[Bill58]

I strictly use mine for street shooting at hyperfocal distance settings--8ft. and f5.6 gives me a zone of approx. 5 ft. to 23 ft.

 

[Nokton48]

Mine Should Arrive Here Thursday or Friday.

Mine Should Arrive Here Thursday or Friday.

Hi Bill,
That is exactly how I use my 19mm F3.5, as it is not RF coupled. I'm extremely comfortable doing this, it is second nature for me, and very speedy and sure. Even when I bracket my exposures, and reset everything every time on the lens, before each exposure. So it's an automatic process for me.

But I think this one is RF coupled, so that will be nice as well. So was my 21mm CV lens, I just scale-focused it, most of the time.

But not as much DOF as with the 19! 🙄

BTW Peter has a very interesting photo of this lens, in his Canon Lens Book, of one cut in half, with a diamond saw. Then you can truly see the unusual Topogon-designed lens cells. It's an extreme design, no doubt. Very beautiful when light is shined through it, too.

I strictly use mine for street shooting at hyperfocal distance settings--8ft. and f5.6 gives me zone of approx. 5 ft. to 23 ft.

 

[Nokton48]

HaHa! You are right! 😉

Congrats. You're gonna have to change your RFF name.

 

[Bill58]

Hi Bill,
That is exactly how I use my 19mm F3.5, as it is not RF coupled. I'm extremely comfortable doing this, it is second nature for me, and very speedy and sure. Even when I bracket my exposures, and reset everything every time on the lens, before each exposure. So it's an automatic process for me.

But I think this one is RF coupled, so that will be nice as well. So was my 21mm CV lens, I just scale-focused it, most of the time.

But not as much DOF as with the 19! 🙄

BTW Peter has a very interesting photo of this lens, one cut in half, with a diamond saw. Then you can truly see the unusual Topogon-designed lens cells. It's an extreme design, no doubt.

I print charts for my different focal lengths (15, 21, 25, 35, 50) from this website (http://www.dofmaster.com/doftable.html) laminate and carry them in my bag. I can shoot faster than any digital because there's no delay for pre-focusing.

 

[Nokton48]

Hmmm,
That's good to know. I will make a set, for myself. Thanks!

I print charts for my different focal lengths (15, 21, 25, 35, 50) from this website (http://www.dofmaster.com/doftable.html) laminate and carry them in my bag. I can shoot faster than any digital because there's no delay for pre-focusing.

 

[astro8]

Ha!..good on you. I was watching this one. I've only ever read good things about the 25. Glad you got it.

 

[sleepyhead]

I owned one for a couple of years before the CV 25/4 "snapshot skopar" came out. I really liked the tiny size, but as mentioned above, the ergonomics of changing aperture and not focus weren't the best.

Optically, my copy had some pretty bad vignetting in the corners, flared pretty easily (but it had front element cleanign marks), and was decently sharp, but it didn't "scream" SHARP like the CV snapshot skopar. Contrast was also lower than the 25mm CV lens, which for me was a plus (low contrast).

I'll try to post a couple of sample shots later today.

 

[bobkonos]

I saw this as well and probaly should have bid. Congrats! You have an impressive number of positive feedbacks (999!).

Hi All,

I've been watching prices, and searching, for several years for this one. Price is decent, as is condition. This is the last one I am looking for, now I have the 19, 25, 35/1.5, 50/2.8, 50/1.2, 85/1.5, 100/3.5, 100/2, and 135/3.5.

I am done (at least for a good while) 😀

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250871837177&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Any experiences with this lens to share? I know it's a Zeiss Topogon design, which is unusual in itself. Sharp at all apertures, by all accounts I've come across.

Should be great for those times, that my 19mm is just a -bit- too wide for my uses. Going from 19mm to 35mm, is just too big a jump for me.

So, I have been waiting for this one! 😛😛😛

 

[SixtiesM2]

Had one of these long ago, and loved it, as it made lovely images on Plus-X.

It is coupled, as previously noted, but works wonderfully, if set to f5.6-f11 and hyperfocal distance pre-set.

Foolishly sold it, and have not felt like spending what it would cost to replace. (Wanted a 25mm Skopar, jumped on a 28mm/f3.5 instead, happy enough!)

Fine lens, I am sure you will love it!

 

[uhoh7]

Can't wait to see some samples.

I was looking at the skopar forever and finally went for a Pen Zuiko 25/2.8, which does cover my sensor (nex), and is really nice--but does have some spherical aberation.

I had not even considered the canon---but maybe I should have.

bigger
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6080/6047286881_f685908aa4_b.jpg
2.8 can be nice--fast enough for indoor work at this length.
25mm is a fantastic length for 1.5x crop sensors--prolly great FF too 🙂

 

[Nokton48]

My New 25mm F3.5 Is Here!!

My New 25mm F3.5 Is Here!!

Surprisingly small, it's a gem.

Love it.

Here it is on Canon7:
And also, one from the Nex3 at F8, focused hyperfocally:

Looks right at home on 7.

 

[Nokton48]

Been using the 25mm mostly on VT, as I have a 25mm VT finder from Hong Kong, in pretty good condition, except it has a large scrape on the front glass, which is visible as an out of focus smudge when viewing. But I love the automatic auto-parallax correction with the VT!

Lens is in generally excellent shape, although the helical needs some more lubrication, it is kind of dry, and wants to bind really close-up. I'll be sending it to Essex Camera Repair soon, for their standard CLA, as I have done with all my other Canon lenses and bodies.

Slight learning curve with this gem, -MAN- the reference "tick mark" on the barrel is HARD TO SEE. Have to search really hard to find it! And Yes, the aperture ring does rotate as you change focus. Gleaned from PeterK's excellent "CANON LENSES" book, Canon stated at the time, that that decision was made, because it made the lens easier to manufacture.

Absolutely LOVE my new 25! It probably will become one of my most used lenses. I'm WAAAAYYY behind on film processing, but will scan some film images soon, taken with this sweet little baby.

 

[kermaier]

Yeah, it's a great lens -- I love mine. I sold my CV Skopar M-mount and kept the Canon (yeah, I know, the CV is much "better", but I like the look from the Canon). Works great on my R-D1.

It's one of those lenses that I'll buy a 2nd copy of if I can get an irresistible bargain.

Congrats and enjoy!

::Ari

 

[kermaier]

I have the 19, 25, 35/1.5, 50/2.8, 50/1.2, 85/1.5, 100/3.5, 100/2, and 135/3.5.

I am done (at least for a good while) 😀

How can you be done without either the 28/2.8 or the 28/3.5 and without the 50/1.5 sonnar??? 😀

::Ari

 

[Nokton48]

I took a long walk (through our local botanical garden) yesterday, with VT, 25mm F3.5 Canon, and an entire roll of Tri-X. Very very enjoyable equipment to use.

Absolutely love this lens, the Topogon lens design is amazing. It is perfect as far as FOV, it scale-focuses quickly and easily (although the front tick-mark is very hard to see) and using the rangefinder coupling is very quick and a very welcome feature, I have to say.

This is definately a keeper for me.