Canon F1.2 on CV Bessa R?

[Daniel Unkefer]

Hi All,

I have two Bessa R bodies, and a 50mm f1.5 CV Nokton, along with quite a few of the CV lenses. I'm thinking about adding a Canon LTM 50mm f1.2 for really low light shooting. I'm impressed with the "look" of photos I've seen, and the lens' unusual bokeh. Sort of a poor man's Noctilux🙄

Has anybody here used the Bessa R's rangefinder with the 1.2? I wonder if there are any problems focusing such a high speed lens, seeing how the Bessa's rangefinder base is rather short.

Anybody?

 

[triplefinger]

i had one of the canon 50/1.2 on my bessa R3A. the lens was VERY soft wide open. I sold it immediately at a loss. I however am VERY satisfied with the low light combo of my jupiter-3 and neopan 1600(rated at 1250)

see here... http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26401&highlight=neopan

I may have a sample of the canon 1.2 lens if you want to see it but WOW was it bad.

 

[ferider]

Daniel,

IMO, this will be dependent on yourself and the bodies. Using your Nokton wide open, try to shoot some close-up test photos of a tape measure or a raster on a piece of paper. See for example (using a Nikkor):

http://ferider.smugmug.com/gallery/1362402/1/64292953

http://ferider.smugmug.com/gallery/1362402/1/64292955

Repeat by refocusing several times. If the outcome is good, you have a steady hand, good eye, and good Bessa bodies. Then you should have no problem with the Canon. Some Canon lenses are not well collimated so try to buy a "prooven" lens.

Also: the larger the distance, the less of a concern EBL is, so it depends on what you want to shoot.

The DOF of a 50/1.2 wide open at 1m distance is around 3cm (a bit more than 1 inch).

Like triplefinger says, there are other great "bokeh" lenses that might be easier to handle, like Sonnar variants (J-3, Canon 50/1.5). But the Nokton is not so bad either ...

Roland.

PS: The Canon 1.2 looks very cool though, clearly a "chick magnet" 🙂

 

[Silva Lining]

I've been using a Canon 50 1.2 on my Leica M3 for some time, with results that I am very pleased with. I have just got a R3M, and will be trying out this combo soon. I'll let you know what I find.

Triplefinger, I think you must have been unlucky with yours, my 1.2 is soft at 1.2, but you'd expect that, it sharpens rightup by f1.8 / f2...

 

[triplefinger]

I think that kinda defeats the purpose of the lens if the goal is speed, don't you think? I have a J-3 that's very sharp at f1.5. I have heard good things about the canon 1.4 LTM, which may also be an alternative.

 

[Fred]

I think the advice from Roland is spot on for any Bessa R body with a fast lens like the one your looking at. Personally at closer quarters I'd hang on to the CV 1.5.

Whilst 1.2 might be fine with a Leica M, a Bessa has a much shorter effective base length which will make a difference close to at widest aperture. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Daniel Unkefer]

Hey Everybody,
Thanks for your responses!
My Bessa R's are good to go wide-open with my Nokton 1.5
I have a collimated Canon 1.2 on my radar screen right now,
it's -very- tempting:bang:

Of course the proof in the pudding will be to focus-test it, it will be interesting to see where it goes out of tolerance

I'm sure the Nokton will blow it into the weeds, but then, it isn't a 1.2🙄 I would only use such a lens wide-open, otherwise, it's the Nokton😀

 

[Silva Lining]

I think that kinda defeats the purpose of the lens if the goal is speed, don't you think? I have a J-3 that's very sharp at f1.5. I have heard good things about the canon 1.4 LTM, which may also be an alternative.

I too have a J3 that is good at f1.5, but it is better at f2 and better still at f2.8. I guess I was referring to the fact that most lens have a 'sweet spot' of optimum perfromance that is not usually when the lens is wide open or closed right down... my Canon 1.2 is sharp enough for use wide open and produces pleasing results at 1.2, but the sweet spot for this lens is f1.8 - f8.

At the end of the day it is a trade off - after all the J3 is a lot more portable than the Canon 1.2.

I agree with Fred on the rangefinder base length, I forsee this being an issue with the R3M

 

[triplefinger]

no prob!

first image is from canon (weird drag queen)

2nd from jupiter-3 (foxy girl)

maybe I just got lucky with the J-3 but... PuhLEEZE!

 

[triplefinger]

I'll have to dig them out. because they were so bad i deleted them from my library, i still have the CD. they were however, equally bad.

 

[N.H.]

RD-1 with Canon 50/1.2 LTM

RD-1 with Canon 50/1.2 LTM

I used this lens awhile ago, still using it and enjoying it. Go to the last posting with the attached photos:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25497

 

[Daniel Unkefer]

Just won an auction for a nice-looking Canon LTM 50mm f1.2 with rear cap and filter. Can't wait to try it out on my Bessa R🙄

Dan, paid $177 plus shipping. Now I need to find the right kind of lenshood.

 

[Chris Lynch]

daaaaaaaaang that's gonna be fun!
make sure to show us the pics!

 

[Daniel Unkefer]

Hi Chris,

Yes it's gonna be fun. 😀

Hope the huge lens barrel dosen't block the rangefinder or the metering cell.
I have a 50mm Voigtlander finder, will probably use that, some. I do with my Nokton.

Should be a kick!

 

[venchka]

Hi Chris,

Yes it's gonna be fun. 😀

Hope the huge lens barrel dosen't block the rangefinder or the metering cell.
I have a 50mm Voigtlander finder, will probably use that, some. I do with my Nokton.

Should be a kick!

By the time you move your eye to the viewfinder, you could be out of focus. Just a thought.

 

[Daniel Unkefer]

Hi Wayne,

Yes I'm sure the focus is -very- touchy, DOF sure looks especially paper-thin from the photos I've seen posted from this lens. That superthin DOF is one thing that looks -especially- interesting to me. Some consider this lens' bokeh "mushy", I think once again, that it is quite interesting.

A different signature from the Nokton to my eye. Most comments seem to be "love it" or "hate it".

 

[Daniel Unkefer]

Roland,

I will see if I have around a thin sky 55 filter. If not, I will get one. And that's great info, regarding the 55mm f1.2 Olympus lenshood. I am confident I can find one of those, although maybe not the original Canon (at least at a reasonable price).

Many Thanks!

 

[Daniel Unkefer]

Hmmmm that Olympus 55/1.2 hood looks -perfect- on that lens. I'm presently searching for one for myself. Thanks for your help!

Should get the lens sometime early this upcoming week.

 

[Daniel Unkefer]

Hi All,
Well the lens is here, and it's a beaut!
Focus is silky smooth, almost like a new lens.
I see a tiny small amount of hazing in the back elements,
it's not too bad, just around the outer edges. Could be oil.

It fits and balances surprisingly well on the Bessa-R.
The rangefinder seems to function properly, of course,
I'll immediately start to test it. 😀

Without a hood, I can see all but the lower right corner.
I have a 55mm Minolta screw-in hood that fits, so I can
use a hood. With the hood, I loose about 1/3 of the
viewfinder image in the lower right. Without the hood,
the lens cuts into the 50mm frame about 25%. Something
I could probably get used to, but I will go for a better hood
for this jewel.

 

[Silva Lining]

Heres a shot of the R3M with the Canon 50 f1.2 and the original hood..

and another

Yes I know lens cap is not original, but the hood is!

Daniel - would love to see some shots taken with yours!