Canon 25/3.5 LTM

[cam]

i've been wanting to try out Canon glass on my Epson for a while, but today is the first time i got to try it out. well, actually i bought it 😛

anybody else using this lens? any advice on the sweet spots, etc?

thank you in advance!

cam

 

[laptoprob]

I have the 25mm quite some time now and love it. Very compact and low old-fashioned contrast. On the Epson the lens makes around 38mm. Nice! Viewfinder set on 28mm and frame outside, fullframe. Check to see the effect.

 

[kermaier]

I also have the 25/3.5, acquired a few months ago, and I love the old-fashioned look it produces in B&W on my R-D1. It seems to have a tendency toward veiling flare wide open, so avoid strong backlight. Here are a couple of examples:

Canon 25/3.5 LTM @ f/4 on Epson R-D1 @ ISO 1600

Canon 25/3.5 LTM @ f/4 on Epson R-D1 @ ISO 1600

 

[cam]

thank you both!

i really didn't mean to limit this to only Epson users, but always glad to have others around 😀

it does, indeed, give a very beautiful old-fashioned look to the images. i noticed the flare (wide open in the metro) and set the exposure to -1. oops! still, i was amazed at the amount of detail in the shadows!

getting used to the off-to-the side settings will be a bit of a chore, and i imagine i will set it for zone focusing. do you all stick to f/8 or go further with this? i imagine it will be a wonderful sunny day lens. will the flare be somewhat controlled at f/8? i tend to be drawn to bad lighting conditions 😛

it seems b/w is the only way to go with this, but that's what i prefer anyways. i got this because i needed something wider and wasn't sure what i was looking for. i can already tell it will be an unexpected treat! shots i took out of the metro window -- 1600, overcast, fading light, -1 exposure, and through glass made Paris look like days of old. fascinating!

does anybody know if this has the same signature as the Canon 35 LTM that Raid has up for sale and the 28/2.8? i find it very distinctive, even after only a bit of use, and am really intrigued.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Wait, wait, is that Raid's daughter attending your daughter's party?!?

 

[bennyng]

I agreed that the lens is very compact. Handy to stuff in the pocket if you don't lose the cap.

ISO 800, 1/30 sec, f/3.5 on Epson R-D1s at -1 stop exposure compensation.

Cheers,

 

[sleepyhead]

I owned one for a while and uswd it both on my R-D1 and on a film Leica. I loved the fact that it was so small and compact.

For me, it was better on the R-D1 than on film due to heavy vignetting and somewhat soft corners when shot wide open. This was obvious with film, but not so much on digital due to the smaller sensor.

Either way, i liked the more gentle contrast compared to the Voigtlander 25mm skopar that I ended up replacing it with.

Enjoy it!

 

[januaryman]

thank you both!


does anybody know if this has the same signature as the Canon 35 LTM that Raid has up for sale and the 28/2.8? i find it very distinctive, even after only a bit of use, and am really intrigued.

You mean the 28mm lens that Raid has for sale, right? I don't see a 35mm lens for sale. I also have the Canon 28/3.5 - a twin of Raid's and yes, the low contrast and overall sharpness are pretty much like the examples I see here. Of course I'm using film not digital, so results are different due to that. I don't have a shot to post, as I am not home, but my landscapes in BW have an ethereal look that I love but that others think "awful" and need to pump up the contrast. Looking at the photos here, I guess the sepia-like tone works real well with this and i may try a few. I have only a couple of actual "people" shots, but they do, as I said before I guess, look like these examples. I had a hard time tracking down a Canon 28. There are not a whole lot out there!

 

[januaryman]

Wait, wait, is that Raid's daughter attending your daughter's party?!?

That's funny, I thought at first that the poster WAS Raid for the same reason! She's become a very familiar face thanks to Raid's welcome lens comparison tests. ..... and she a really cute kid! (If you have to have kids, that is.) 😉

 

[Bill58]

I usually set mine on f5.6 or 8 at metered speed w/ Lucky 100 film and snap away (up-very close) streetshooting. It's so small and light, you hardly notice it. Mine pretty much stays on my L1 or P, unless I need a shot requiring a 50 or 85.

However, I luv my 28/3.5 too, but not as good a streetshooter for my style due to less DOF.

BTW-the front caps for both are rare, so I've gotten in the habit of taking it off first and stuffing it in my jeans pocket til I'm finished shooting for the day.

 

[kermaier]

cam:

The way the 25/3.5 has the aperture and focus rings on the same rotating barrel collar, you have to set the aperture before focusing. This definitely lends itself to a set-it-and-forget way of shooting, which is fine with a wide lens that can't really give you much in the way of selective DoF.

The 25/3.5 is nice in color too, at least on my R-D1, but it's a muted, again old-fashioned-looking palette. (My high-ISO shots from that party are probably not the best example for color.)


I have the 28/3.5 also (in the later black/chrome version) which is a great compact lens. Similar high-resolution/medium-contrast rendering, but more consistent across the frame and more flare-resistant than the 25/3.5.

mabelsound: That's funny, they do look a bit alike, but no -- just my daughters and their cousins at the party. You can't tell, obviously, but mine are redheads. 🙂

::Ari

 

[kermaier]

And, BTW, the Canon 35/2.8 is another great hi-res/medium-contrast lens, and the chrome version is noticeably more compact than any other 35mm RF lens I know of (f/2.8 or faster, that is -- the Leitz 35/3.5 Summaron might be smaller).

 

[raid]

does anybody know if this has the same signature as the Canon 35 LTM that Raid has up for sale and the 28/2.8? i find it very distinctive, even after only a bit of use, and am really intrigued.

I am selling a Canon 28mm 3.5 LTM. The 3.5 lens "supposedly" is a better lens than the 2.8 lens by Canon.

 

[raid]

You mean the 28mm lens that Raid has for sale, right? I don't see a 35mm lens for sale.!

Jim,

I may put up the Canon 35mm 2.8 for sale soon.

Canon 35mm 2.8: [I never saw it that way!]

 

[Al Kaplan]

I'm through lusting after lenses and Leica bodies. It's too much trouble to train them to make good photos.

 

[raid]

This image was taken with a Kobalux 28mm 3.5. I am struggling with the decision which 28mm to sell; Canon 28mm 3.5 or Kobalux 28mm 3.5.

 

[cam]

This image was taken with a Kobalux 28mm 3.5. I am struggling with the decision which 28mm to sell; Canon 28mm 3.5 or Kobalux 28mm 3.5.

sorry i got the lens you're selling wrong -- my bad!

of the two photos you put up, i prefer the Canon. though the Kobolux does seen to have richer colours.

 

[kermaier]

Raid, sell the Kobalux -- if you want a lens with "modern" drawing as a foil to the Canon, get a CV 28/3.5 in LTM. (Great vintage chrome-over-brass build on the CV, by the way -- I just got one today, but haven't used it yet.)

 

[raid]

Raid, sell the Kobalux -- if you want a lens with "modern" drawing as a foil to the Canon, get a CV 28/3.5 in LTM. (Great vintage chrome-over-brass build on the CV, by the way -- I just got one today, but haven't used it yet.)

Ari,

I also have a Rokkor-M 28mm 2.8 that performs like a Leica lens optically. I am now tempted to switch the Canon 28mm 3.5 and the Kobalux in my ad at RFF. Once I get home, I will do the switch.

 

[raid]

I also have the 25/3.5, acquired a few months ago, and I love the old-fashioned look it produces in B&W on my R-D1. It seems to have a tendency toward veiling flare wide open, so avoid strong backlight. Here are a couple of examples:

Canon 25/3.5 LTM @ f/4 on Epson R-D1 @ ISO 1600

Canon 25/3.5 LTM @ f/4 on Epson R-D1 @ ISO 1600

These are wonderful images.