50/2.5 Color Skopar - Any Experience?

[jlw]

I'm thinking of buying a new 50mm lens to use on my R-D 1 (and film RFs) specifically for studio shooting -- generally at apertures around f/5.6, with electronic flash.

That means I don't need a wide maximum aperture (I already have some very nice Canon glass for low-light shooting) but do want the best I can get of "microcontrast" (e.g. texture rendering) and sharpness.

I figure the new Zeiss 50/2 Planar would do well in these categories, and it's right at the top end of what I could afford.

But I've been wondering if the 50mm f/2.5 C-V Color Skopar might turn out to be a "sleeper." (Click here and scroll down for CameraQuest's writeup on this lens.) Its price is certainly friendly, and its formula, with 7 elements in 6 groups, ought to be capable of more than adequate correction for a lens with such a relatively modest maximum aperture. I've been pleased with the optical and mechanical quality of the other C-V lenses I own, so I thought it might be worth considering.

Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks for any info...



PSes -- I realize that a Leica lens would do very well in the qualities I want, but new ones are out of my price range. And yes, I'm looking for a lens I can buy new rather than used -- I'd rather avoid the old used-car-buyer's dilemma of having to find not only a good model, but a good example of that model...

 

[fraley]

Most of the recent b&w pics in my gallery were taken with a 50/2.5 CV lens. I find it to be excellent. Very sharp, good contrast. Can't speak highly enough of it. Also it's relatively compact.

 

[Jim Watts]

Attached is a test picture from my friends 50/2.5 taken yesterday on my R-D1, full frame view and 100% corner crop. Fine jpeg, ISO 800 handheld at 1/60 at f2.5 full frame resized and both resaved as jpegs (but no sharpening etc.).So not ideal test conditions to test a lens but "real world" and will give a rough idea of the quality possible.

While not as good as my 50mm Cron wide open, its still pretty good and at f5.6 really excellent. Nice drawing (the curve in the bookselves is due to the weight of books & LP's 🙂 ) Wonderfully compact, good build quality, smooth focusing, I love the focus lever as I think it makes focusing easier on a lens this size, but I know others don't. I would say its a bargain at the price asked. My 50mm f2 Cron is quite compact anyway so I don't really need its qualities but if I did I wondn't hesitate at the price.