CV 12mm on M9?

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I wonder if people could speak about how the 12mm does on the M9, particularly since the last firmware update. How are the images uncoded? If you code it, what do you code it as? Need cornerfix? Any advantages the M-mount has over the LTM? Is the more expensive finder worth the extra dough?

Also, has anyone tried it on the NEX-C3?

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

c'mon, y'all, lay it on me!

 

[SciAggie]

I would comment, but I don't have an M9...I still use an M8.
I like the lens although I only use it occasionally.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I only speak with secondhand information but I saw a photo taken by a LUG member BEFORE the M9 firmware update and it was fantastic. Made me want a CV 12mm. I'm willing to bet that it got better with the new firmware.

Interestingly, my Super Angulon f/3.4 was coded as a 21mm Elmarit pre-asph before the upgrade to the firmware. After the upgrade, I tried doing a new profile and noticed that the image actually looks better without coding at all. Before it was awful, now the colored vignetting is much more neutral but still colored red/cyan/magenta/etc, just not as strong. Far easier to correct now in post.

Phil Forrest

 

[meven]

I only speak with secondhand information but I saw a photo taken by a LUG member BEFORE the M9 firmware update and it was fantastic. Made me want a CV 12mm. I'm willing to bet that it got better with the new firmware.

Interestingly, my Super Angulon f/3.4 was coded as a 21mm Elmarit pre-asph before the upgrade to the firmware. After the upgrade, I tried doing a new profile and noticed that the image actually looks better without coding at all. Before it was awful, now the colored vignetting is much more neutral but still colored red/cyan/magenta/etc, just not as strong. Far easier to correct now in post.

Phil Forrest

Yes, this is correct, the new firmware is a big improvement for the CV12. I still code my CV12 as a 21mm Elmarit pre-asph, it gives the best result IMO.

You can check out some of my photos taken with the CV12 on the M9:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=7259870@N06&q=heliar 12mm M9

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

very nice shots, thank you! And I kind of like the gray border you put on your photos--an interesting idea.

I think the ideal combo for me would be the old version of the lens and the new version of the finder, for minimum size.

 

[Alnitak]

I need to update my write-up on this topic, but the bottom line is that the 12mm is superb on the M9, especially with the latest v1.162 of the M9 firmware. Just code the lens as the 21mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M pre-ASPH (11134). The correction is perfect, no red edges, no cyan drift, and excellent vignetting correction.

I do prefer the LTM version for a couple of reasons. First, it's much smaller--much, much smaller. Second, it focuses much closer--down to 0.3m. Yes, its scale focus, but at that FL, you pretty much have infinite DOF if you stop it down even a little, so it's not an issue. Finally, after trying several copies, I've consistently found that the LTM version is just a bit sharper overall. Theoretically the optical formulas are the same, but something about the LTM version is better.

That said, the coupled version is nice because, well, it's coupled. It can also take a filter if you feel the need to use one.

The new finder is a huge improvement in quality and is much smaller. I use the new finder with the LTM lens. Best combination out there.

Jeff

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

The coupled version is kinda useless to me. At 12mm? The idea of having to move between two finders is ludicrous when it's so easy to scale focus such a wide lens. So I think old version lens, new version finder is the way to go for me.

DELIGHTED that the new firmware does so well with it! How do pics look uncoded? I have to admit I really dislike having the wrong lens info in my metadata.

 

[Alnitak]

Well...uncoded looks like crap, as you might expect. All the wides look like crap uncoded, even my Leica lenses. 🙂 If you want, you can use an EXIF editor to correct/change the EXIF data.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Well...uncoded looks like crap, as you might expect. All the wides look like crap uncoded, even my Leica lenses. 🙂 If you want, you can use an EXIF editor to correct/change the EXIF data.

I might! What's a good one for OSX? Or is it possible to do this in Lightroom 3?

My ZM 28 looks pretty decent uncoded on the M9, but then again, I'm not very fussy.