choosing a lens for the rd1

back alley

back alley

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ok, a lame topic, i admit.

but i am obsessing about the rd1s that's in the mail with my address on it and i want to talk about the camera till i can get my arthritic little hands on it.

from those of you who actually own or owned one...is there a lens or better yet, a focal length, that you have decided on as a near permanent mate for your camera?

joe
 
It really just depends on what FOV you like on your film camera and then apply the 1.5x crop factor on the R-D1S.

I happen to like the FOV of a 50mm on a film camera and I like fast lenses, so for me, the CV 35/1.2 is just about perfect. In fact, it is the lens that is on my R-D1S about 95% of the time. The other 5% is split between the ZM 25mm (using the 28mm framelines) and the CV15mm.

Most, if not all of the color images in this set were shot with the above combo (CV 35/1.2).

http://flickr.com/photos/kleonin/sets/72157606324884140/

BTW, it REALLY HELPS to get the 1.3x magnifier from megaperl.

Keith
 
The lens I keep on the R-D1 is the Zeiss 28mm Biogon. Maybe someday I will get a faster 28, but the R-D1 loves this lens. The 15mm Heliar is also pretty interesting.
 
i'm not missing the 25 although on the rd1 it might have been ideal.
but i'm liking the smaller lenses better these days.
 
I shot a lot of 35mm and 28mm (ultron) when I had mine, though I probably used the 28mm more than anything else.
 
Aside from the CV 28/3.5 & the 28/2.8 Elmarit, I think all the other lenses (at that particular FOV) will be about the size of the Biogon you used to have.

Just checked the net & CV also has a 24mm/f4 that's RF coupled. It's an f/4 lens though...
 
back alley said:
too bad zeiss doesn't have a c model of a 28.
Click to expand...

The ZM 28 is just barely longer than the C 35, Joe. It is slightly wider (46 vs 43 filter size). In practice I don't think it makes any difference.

I think a fast 35 works best on the R-D1, but that's because I think viewfinders are at their best when you have lots of room around the framelines. I found the 35/1.2 balances very nicely on the R-D1 provided you add a side grip. I think it blocks a bit of the VF however. Since you don't really need speed and like small, why not consider the CV 28/3.5, or if you want to stay in the ZM line, the 28? You could augment that with a CV 35/1.4 for times when you need speed...

Hahaha, I told ya so. :D
 
Another option - and it was one of my favorites on that camera - is the old canon 28/2.8 in LTM.
I don't believe it is possible to find a smaller lens. Of course, it does take a bit more searching to find one. I've haven't been all that impressed them wide open, but stopped down a bit, they are wonderful as a daytime/walkabout lens - for B&W, at least.
 
I keep a CV 35mm f/2.5 Color Skopar Pancake II on mine. Very compact combination. I keep it in my car's glovebox (I also have a M8 and 5DmkII).
 
I've found that my 28 skopar vignettes pretty noticibly on the r-d1 (not as much as I'd like though :)), while not at all on film. I don't know if you guys have had a similar experience. Jes' sayin'...
 
If I ever get an R-D1, I think I would probably use it with a 24mm or 25mm lens, with a 35mm finder atop the camera. That would give you your 35mm FOV. For the 21mm FOV, the closest i can think of is the 15mm CV lens, which would give a 22.5mm equivalent field. There is a CV finder for this application; or else the 24mm leitz finder would probably do. However, the comments I have read here and elsewhere suggest that vignetting becomes an issue with the 15 when used on the R-D1.
 
The most lens on my rd1 is the 40 m- rokkor. I use it with the 35 frame lines. The other lens that travels with the camera is the cv 28 ultron. The 28's only drawback is its relatively large size. Heck, even my industar 61 works right well on the camera.
I hope you enjoy your rd1 as much as I've enjoyed mine.
-- michael
 
I started out with a 28 (CV Ultron), but then moved to 35 - mainly because of size / speed. So now its 90% / 95% 35 with a 50 for the remainder.
 
When I had my Epson R-D1s, the lenses were the CV 15mm Heliar, the 35/2.5 PII and the ZM Biogon 25/2.8. The latter was the top match for the camera.
 
With film, I used a 50mm most, and with the R-D1, 35s. I really like the look of the Canon 35mm 2.8 you sold me. But I also agree with Majid about the 35mm CV Pancake II. With a wrist strap, it feels the best, for me, on the R-D1. However, I find myself often using the CV Nokton 40mm for speed (I bought it before the CV 35mm 1.4 came out), and between that and the above-mentioned Canon, the pancake kind of gets squeezed out.

I would like to use 28s more, but as a glasses wearer, I find it hard to see the framelines.

Another enjoyable lens to use is the Heliar 15mm.
 
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