Color Skopar 21mm

A

angeloks

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I'm about to go buy that lens. I just wanted to see some samples taken with it. And also, is the additionnal hood worth getting ?
 
Julien,
I just put some new photos in my gallery here that were taken with my CV21.
I haven't got the additional hood but have been happy using just the one that came with the lens.
Rob
 
here's one. though, if it appears sharp - and it should, it has more to do with the web sharpening method than the lens. not to say that it isn't, i've been happy enough about mine, but i've never done any demanding shots with it either. the rectangular shade is probably somewhat better at shading, but it fits much worse in a bag... my personal conclusion about it is that i probably never would have gotten a 21 if it hadn't been for this one. and i'm really glad i did. price/performance is hard to beat,...
 
I bought one last week. Here's a frame from my first roll.

cv210546.jpg
 
 
For the money it is one of the best 21's you can buy. It is a stop slower than the 21/2.8 from Zeiss and Leica, but the compact size means that you will take it along rather tha saying "its too bulky for just a walk -a-bout!" I have both the LTM, the SC and the new P mount. The distorsion on the 21 VC is actually less than on the 21/2.8 Aspheric from Leica! Center sharpness is equal at 5.6 with the leica having a bit of an edge in the corners. The Leica lens is higher contrast which is can be attributed to the Aspheric elements. This can be good, but it also makes shooting black/white difficult as the negs are very contrasty, unles you develop the film with taht in mind.
The larger hood looks great and it works well, but it makes a screw-mount Leica and the lens rather large. The small round hood works very well and the lens has very good flare control.
In short, a great lens and well worth having!
 
Thank you all for your comments! I'll go get one next week (payday)! Some of the shots I've seen really convinced me, these are really what I'm looking to do with my RF!
 
Thanks Brian ! The review is interesting and the pictures are inspiring.

The only thing I wonder is why did you say "And CV is still using a black paint"? Is the paint of bad quality or something? Or you would simply prefer it silver? For myself, I want it paint in black!
 
Julien, the Cosina black paint is known for being thin.

However I've noticed that while it peels like a banana on my 50/1.5 it seems more resistant on the two 21/4's I've had - may be it's just down to them being smaller and less likely to catch on stuff.

Good luck with the lens, it and the viewfinder and wonderful.
 
I love the CV 21 too (sorry I don't have any images from it scanned) - 21 is a favourite focal length of mine, and the CV example is a great one. I like the CV 21 so much, in fact, that I recently sold my Olympus Zuiko 21/3.5 to help pay for a Bessa-R4A body mainly for use with the CV 21 - I reckon that whenever I want a 21 it will be the CV that I reach for and the Zuiko will go unused.

But I'm in undecided about the LH-1 hood. It is a good hood, and it can definitely help when shooting against the light, but on the R4A it does block quite a large part of the viewfinder. I think I'll always have the hood with me when I'm out with the 21, but I won't have it permanently mounted on the lens (in the way I have hoods permanently on my 35 and 50 Skopars)
 
The hood for the 35-50 looks very nice. The 21 hood seems a bit big and intrusive, but I like the design as well!

Anyway, can you use filters with that lens? Or it tends to do a lot of vignetting? Should I use a step up ring or something like that?
 
angeloks said:
Thanks Brian ! The review is interesting and the pictures are inspiring.

The only thing I wonder is why did you say "And CV is still using a black paint"? Is the paint of bad quality or something? Or you would simply prefer it silver? For myself, I want it paint in black!
Click to expand...
No prob and thanks for the kind words on my photos. I love the AOV of that lens...not so wide to be obnoxious like the 15 or 12 but wide enough to still deliver dynamic images. Also, the 1/2 meter close focus when using the lens hyperfocal can make even more dynamic images.

CV paint tends to wear easy. On my 21 there is already brassing at the 3 & 9 o'clock points on the aperture ring. Most of my lenses are silver (unpainted) not because I particularly like silver over black, but because I don't like how easy the black paint wears.
 
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