28mm f/1.9 Questions

[richard_l]

Richard are you using the current (metal) one that Cameraquest sells or the old (plastic) one?

The new metal one.

 

[tedwhite]

If I were to buy the 28/1.9 I'd also buy the separate viewfinder and mount it all on a Bessa L, which has a good meter and is dirt cheap at $69 from CameraQuest. Makes the entire kit way cheaper than Zeiss-Ikon or the R2/3a choices. I've been running roll after roll through my Bessa L, which is fitted with the cv 25/4 and it's the best camera body buy for the money. Period.

I'd love to have the 28/1.9. The only 28 I've got is a Super Takumar 3.5 on a Spotmatic body. Both the cv/25/4 and the ST 28/3.5 are wonderful lenses, but the low-light possibilities with a 1.9 are sucking me into a GAS vortex.

Ted

 

[tedwhite]

Oh, and by the way, just how good is this cv 28/1.9? Obviously a fast lens, but we all know there are some definite "fast" duds out there.

 

[Doug]

I'd love to have the 28/1.9. The only 28 I've got is a Super Takumar 3.5 on a Spotmatic body. Both the cv/25/4 and the ST 28/3.5 are wonderful lenses, but the low-light possibilities with a 1.9 are sucking me into a GAS vortex.

Ooohh, dangerous waters ahead, Ted! The idea of limited DoF and seeing some bokeh in a 28mm is seductive too. Here's some commentary by Irwin Puts on the 28mm Ultron...
http://www.imx.nl/photosite/japan/voigt2890.html

 

[rover]

Yes Ted, I believe Irwin says that the 28 Summicron is ever so slightly better than the 28 Ultron. That is like saying one Victoria Secret's model is prettier than the other. The Ultron is no dud.

Here are some of my first shots with the Ultron. She is a better lens than I am a photographer (or film processor and scanner for that matter).

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11168&highlight=ultron

 

[tedwhite]

Nice gray scale, and good images despite scanning, etc. Did you notice ist image was reversed?

Well, I might get one. Just sold, on ebay, a 4X5 Crown Graphic for $310, a Seal dry mount press for $115, and an ancient drum dryer for $20, so I'm getting close.

Ted

 

[richard_l]

Oh, and by the way, just how good is this cv 28/1.9? Obviously a fast lens, but we all know there are some definite "fast" duds out there.

I haven't used mine wide open yet, but Puts sez that it's not quite as good at f/2 as the Summicron (well....duh 😛 ). However, stopped down a bit it is as good as the Summicron. Moreover, overall it is better than the older Leica 28mm lenses. (That doesn't stop me from wanting an Elmarit, however. 😀 )

Richard

 

[globetrotter]

thanks manolo!
what about the 1:1 lifesize viewfinder,and the Aperture Priority mode?
If i'm not wrong these features are not present in the r2?

 

[globetrotter]

Hey🙂

The widest frames on the R3a are 40mm; that's much wider than 28mm. So unless you want to have absolutley no idea what is going to be in shot, then yes you would need the aux finder.

However, as has already been stated, the outside edge of the R2/R2a viewfinder gives a rough approximation to a 28mm filed of view, although of course you wouldn't get any parallex correction. If it were me and I shot mainly wide angle, I would go for the R2/R2a over the R3a.

ManGo

thanks manolo!
what about the 1:1 lifesize viewfinder,and the Aperture Priority mode?
If i'm not wrong these features are not present in the r2?

 

[jlw]

...the ZI becomes a very attractive alternative even considering the price because of the parallax issue, the improved metering, quieter shutter, improved shutter control, longer base line, higher magnification, & better QC.

Bear in mind, though, that some of these subjective qualities are still speculative, as practically nobody has actually used a production ZI yet; I believe Huck is one of the few who has even handled one.

I know there were some people who had ordered them; anyone gotten one yet?

 

[meyman]

Chaser, the CLE will most probably have focusing issues @1.9. The lens [as it's biggish] may even obscure the rangefinder to some degree. I haven't tried the combination though, so I'm not 100% positive [er, negative🙂]

 

[Doug]

Could be right, Meyman, about the 28 Ultron encroaching upon the viewfinder in the CLE, although its viewfinder window is as far to the left as it can be. The largish size of that lens was one factor that pushed me to the tidy little 28 'cron... and the CLE easily focuses that one wide open. Errr, ManGo, I rather like the CLE's AE 😛

 

[tedwhite]

With the 25/4 lens hood attached to the 35/2.5 on an R you can see a good deal of the hood in the viewfinder. Don't remember if you can see any of it in the auxilliary finder when it's atached to the 25/4 on the L. Perhaps a bit. But a large lens? Quite probably.

Ted