Canon 28mm f2.8 LTM

[Range-rover]

Hi all, Just need a bit of info on this lens, there not much on the
internet about it so I'm wondering about the owners of this lens is
is great, good or you know just average. I also saw a few voigtlander
lenses 25mm f4, how does that compare.

 

[Calzone]

Hi all, Just need a bit of info on this lens, there not much on the
internet about it so I'm wondering about the owners of this lens is
is great, good or you know just average. I also saw a few voigtlander
lenses 25mm f4, how does that compare.

Bob,

Single coated glass. The rarer version has a black focus ring. This is the Garry Winnogran lens that he used on a M4.

It has a retro look, soft contrast, and wide open displays soft corners of a vintage lens. Not modern rendering.

I happen to own a black version Canon 28/3.5. It offers better ergonomics than the earlier chrome version because it features a real focus ring. The chrome version is smaller though. Same optical formula.

My version has the distant scale in feet only. Know that I owned the earlier chrome version also. I live this lens for film, but not so much for digital. For digital I use a version 1 28 Cron on my Monochrom.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Thanks Cal, that's great info.

 

[css9450]

I have the all-chrome version. A tiny lens! Mine is soft in the corners even in the middle f-stops, but who knows how its been treated for all these many decades. I like it though.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Hi Bob,

Cal's right, Garry Winogrand used the Canon 28mm f2.8 LTM on his Leica M2 for a number of years before he upgraded to the M4 and the Leica 28mm f2.8 Elmarit (Mandler design).

I've got the lens and love using it with my Leica IIIc. It's soft off center and vignettes below f5.6, but it's surprisingly sharp on center, even wide open. This lens and the Canon 35mm f1.8 LTM perform similarly with film, dead sharp in the center wide open, then falling off focus-wise and light-wise.

The image below is part of a series I was working on before the Coronavirus shut everything down. This was shot wide open.

Leica IIIc w/Canon 28mm f2.8 & Tri-X

Classic rendering lens.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Range-rover]

Thanks Timmy.joe, that's a nice shot and thank you for the info.

 

[DHK]

It’s my favorite lens- what would you like to know?

 

[Range-rover]

It’s my favorite lens- what would you like to know?

Is it sharp, are the colors good for color film and digital, you know.

 

[dourbalistar]

I also saw a few voigtlander
lenses 25mm f4, how does that compare.

I can't speak to the Canon 28/2.8, but the Voigtlander Snapshot-Skopar 25/4 LTM is not rangefinder coupled. Scale focus, with some detents at 1m, 1.5m, and 3m. Hard stops at the 0.7m near focus distance and infinity.

Beautiful, classic image, Tim! Nothing that gives away that it was taken only a few months ago (though pre-coronavirus days do seem like a long time ago).

 

[DennisM]

Canon 28mm f/2.8

Canon 28mm f/2.8

Hi all, Just need a bit of info on this lens, there not much on the
internet about it so I'm wondering about the owners of this lens is
is great, good or you know just average. I also saw a few voigtlander
lenses 25mm f4, how does that compare.

I have one recently purchased from a RFF member. I use it with a screw to M adapter on various cameras. I've shot B&W, developed the film, scanned and printed on a Canon Pixma Pro 10. Outstanding results IMHO. PM me if you want; I can e-mail you jpegs..

 

[DHK]

I will never sell it. Ergonomically it's perfect, can set hyper focal distance without looking. It's extremely compact and fits on an m body in a pocket. The glass is set back so it's protected. The color photos were with an a7ii and the black and whites were with trix a yellow filter, and m5.

It's sharper than needed. Colors are wonderful. It does fine with color film too.

https://imgur.com/a/4Te4285

edit: sold the a7ii, the m5 became unrepairable, and i'm still looking for a suitable body to put it back on.

edit2: but if i remember correctly, it was way soft wide open at 2.8. most of my shooting is by hyperfocal at f8-f16 though.

 

[Range-rover]

I will never sell it. Ergonomically it's perfect, can set hyper focal distance without looking. It's extremely compact and fits on an m body in a pocket. The glass is set back so it's protected. The color photos were with an a7ii and the black and whites were with trix a yellow filter, and m5.

It's sharper than needed. Colors are wonderful. It does fine with color film too.

https://imgur.com/a/4Te4285

edit: sold the a7ii, the m5 became unrepairable, and i'm still looking for a suitable body to put it back on.

edit2: but if i remember correctly, it was way soft wide open at 2.8. most of my shooting is by hyperfocal at f8-f16 though.

Great shot's the little girl adorable!.

 

[DHK]

Great shot's the little girl adorable!.

Thanks!

Also, Youxin Ye cla'd mine about a year ago and he is recommended.

 

[Calzone]

I also tend to shoot this stopped down and using a "kill-zone." I find the rendering remarkable, perhaps because it is not a modern lens. Something about the rendering remains organic and lively.

On Canon lenses the focus gets mucho stiff to the point that is why it needs service. Haze does not seem to be a big issue like single coated Leica glass.

Cal

 

[DHK]

I also tend to shoot this stopped down and using a "kill-zone." I find the rendering remarkable, perhaps because it is not a modern lens. Something about the rendering remains organic and lively.

On Canon lenses the focus gets mucho stiff to the point that is why it needs service. Haze does not seem to be a big issue like single coated Leica glass.

Cal

Definitely true. I sort of liked that it was stuff because it held my distance so well, but yye did a great job on it. My eyes lit up when I saw that black M6 that’s on hold in the classifieds.

 

[Calzone]

Definitely true. I sort of liked that it was stuff because it held my distance so well, but yye did a great job on it. My eyes lit up when I saw that black M6 that’s on hold in the classifieds.

Nothing wrong with set and forget. Pretty much point and shoot.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Picked up a mint later copy of this lens (28mm f2.8 LTM) looks
real good, even has the original leather case.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Beautiful, classic image, Tim! Nothing that gives away that it was taken only a few months ago (though pre-coronavirus days do seem like a long time ago).

Thanks dourbalistar. The Canon 28 does a nice job at rendering the classic look.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Timmyjoe]

Picked up a mint later copy of this lens (28mm f2.8 LTM) looks
real good, even has the original leather case.

Did you pick up the one JoshuaCohen had for sale on the auction site? Saw that a couple days ago and was hoping someone here would snatch it up.

Best,
-Tim

 

[f.hayek]

No experience with the Canon 28s, too soft for me from photos I've seen. Winograd's masterful images with that lens highlights the brutal reality that perceived 'sharpness' isn't "all that". Innate talent, well-practiced is "all that".

I own the very tiny CV 3,5/28 LTM. More modern design but subtle B&W tonality. Better balance of lower contrast, and improved central resolution compared to the Canons. The Canons are now 60+ years old, much more likely to require a thorough cleaning and you run the greater risk of permanently hazed, fungus-etched elements. Caveat emptor.