CV 25/4 photos, anyone?

I also feel that the max aperture for the 25/4 is rather small and not very useful for available light photography. On the other hand, its cost is rather low, and it is a very useful lens for general applications.
 
thmk said:

Thomas-Michael: The first image in the group, along with the last image in the group are simply wonderful.

The range of contrasts in the church are immense, and you handled this extremely well with both your camera exposure and your processing.

The outdoor statue shows a wonderful tonality, especially in the whites and off-whites.

Magnificent work. The lens seems wider than 25 to me. A beautiful piece of equipment, no doubt.

I was considering the 21, but gosh...the 25 is pretty darn wide. I know it isn't RF coupled, but when I see your work like this, I get inspired.
 
Vince, NICE work man. Clean, clean, clean images. Nice looking kids too...they look happy and upbeat. I was looking for the 21 for my Bessa L that should be here mid-week, but now I'm leaning towards the 25. It seems plenty wide. My venue is landscapes, mostly mountain and subalpine scenes, so I wanted a wide lens. But perhaps the 21 might be a little too much. It's all good though...
 
Laurence, Thanks for the comments.
(EDIT: The little one is so upbeat she's under probation on her kindergarten school bus ... she has such a good time visiting everyone that she can't stay in her seat.)

Many people love the 21mm focal length. But I've always preferred the 24/25 -- the extra five or six degrees with the 21mm is very subject to wide-angle-perspective-distortion, so you've got to be very careful with how you fill it, and on an RF the finder usually doesn't give me an accurate idea of how the lens is handling the distortiion.
 
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I've shot with the L + 25/4 exclusively for nearly a year, even taking it on holiday to Mongolia and India. You can find a lot of photos shot with the 25/4 on _my photo portfolio blog_. Check the PAWs from 2003 and 2004 for most of those shots.
 
RML said:
I've shot with the L + 25/4 exclusively for nearly a year, even taking it on holiday to Mongolia and India. You can find a lot of photos shot with the 25/4 on _my photo portfolio blog_. Check the PAWs from 2003 and 2004 for most of those shots.

Your portfolio is stunning. A large percentage of wonderful shots on there. Wow, how nice.

I see shots with a Jupiter-8/50. I don't know much about these lenses, but I see some beautiful results with that lens. Out of curiosity I went to that auction site, and was amazed at the cheap bidding prices. Is this a possible bargain lens for the 50mm range?

I will be going through your photos on the blog some more, they are very much worth it. I love your sort of sepia-toned negative shots.
 
Vince,
I hear many good things about this cheap Jupiter-8 lens. If you don't have one, get one. 50mm lenses are fun and are excellent buys.

Yes, RML has an excellent portoflio indeed.
 
Another nod for the J-8, it's my favorite 50mm lens. Many photos in my gallery were made with the J-8.

Question about accesory VFs: when mounted on your camera body, how do you keep the front elements from being scratched or otherwise damaged? I often find myself being overly cautious with the VF for the 25/4. The front elements are large and bulbous on the Cosina wide-angle VFs.
 
cbass said:
Another nod for the J-8, it's my favorite 50mm lens. Many photos in my gallery were made with the J-8.

Question about accesory VFs: when mounted on your camera body, how do you keep the front elements from being scratched or otherwise damaged? I often find myself being overly cautious with the VF for the 25/4. The front elements are large and bulbous on the Cosina wide-angle VFs.

Chris,
I place the cameras in a small canvas bag with dividers and the L with the 25/4 plus viewfinder sits alone in one of the compartments. I find myself more and more using a rather small canvas bag and not any larger bags. I can pack at least three rangefinder cameras with lenses in it. I am now ready to go with my family on a 2 day trip (more business than fun) and I have packed my camera gear for "just in case" situations. It has a Bessa-L with the VC 25/4 plus VF; a Zorki-4 plus J3 lens (adjusted by Brian Sweeney) and a Fuji Natura (since I am still in the first roll, trying out the camera) plus one tiny Canon 35/1.8 lens.
 
raid amin said:
Vince,
I hear many good things about this cheap Jupiter-8 lens. If you don't have one, get one. 50mm lenses are fun and are excellent buys.

Yes, RML has an excellent portoflio indeed.

Hey Raid, I think you were meaning to address the post to me, Laurence. I thank you for the nudge on the Jupiter. I AM going to get one. They are certainly cheap...even if I get a dog, I could just get another one until I find a good one, at those prices.

Thanks, man, and I look to a good dialog in the future between us. I appreciate your reply.
 
raid amin said:
Chris,
I place the cameras in a small canvas bag with dividers and the L with the 25/4 plus viewfinder sits alone in one of the compartments. I find myself more and more using a rather small canvas bag and not any larger bags. I can pack at least three rangefinder cameras with lenses in it. I am now ready to go with my family on a 2 day trip (more business than fun) and I have packed my camera gear for "just in case" situations. It has a Bessa-L with the VC 25/4 plus VF; a Zorki-4 plus J3 lens (adjusted by Brian Sweeney) and a Fuji Natura (since I am still in the first roll, trying out the camera) plus one tiny Canon 35/1.8 lens.[/QUOTE

Interesting, Raid. I utilize a canvas bag as well, for my medium format Pentax 645. Sometimes a very simple system, such as the canvas bag, can be world's better than convoluted carrying packs with multiple pockets, especially using the canvas bag with simple dividers.

I will probably utilize the bag now for my upcoming Bessa-L (hope to have it by Thursday), so it will be put to more good use.

Here's a question (that probably I'll need to answer through my own experience, but maybe you can shed some light here): I don't see why I can't use something like the Jupter-8 50/2 with the Bessa-L, what do you think? I realize that I'll need to be watchful of depth of field, but a lot of my images are "infinity" landscapes anyway, so I don't see a huge problem there. I heard that the Bessa-L should only be used with wides and ultra-wides, but that's probably only for "convenience" reasons, I'm betting.
 
Here are two of mine. They are from last summer, but I only bought my print scanner on Sunday; first posted photos.

I've since sold the lens to somebody here, but not because it wasn't any good!

Tom
 
Laurence said:
raid amin said:
Chris,
I place the cameras in a small canvas bag with dividers and the L with the 25/4 plus viewfinder sits alone in one of the compartments. I find myself more and more using a rather small canvas bag and not any larger bags. I can pack at least three rangefinder cameras with lenses in it. I am now ready to go with my family on a 2 day trip (more business than fun) and I have packed my camera gear for "just in case" situations. It has a Bessa-L with the VC 25/4 plus VF; a Zorki-4 plus J3 lens (adjusted by Brian Sweeney) and a Fuji Natura (since I am still in the first roll, trying out the camera) plus one tiny Canon 35/1.8 lens.[/QUOTE

Interesting, Raid. I utilize a canvas bag as well, for my medium format Pentax 645. Sometimes a very simple system, such as the canvas bag, can be world's better than convoluted carrying packs with multiple pockets, especially using the canvas bag with simple dividers.

I will probably utilize the bag now for my upcoming Bessa-L (hope to have it by Thursday), so it will be put to more good use.



Here's a question (that probably I'll need to answer through my own experience, but maybe you can shed some light here): I don't see why I can't use something like the Jupter-8 50/2 with the Bessa-L, what do you think? I realize that I'll need to be watchful of depth of field, but a lot of my images are "infinity" landscapes anyway, so I don't see a huge problem there. I heard that the Bessa-L should only be used with wides and ultra-wides, but that's probably only for "convenience" reasons, I'm betting.


Laurence,
I have no problems with using a 50mm lens on a lens without a ramgefinder. Things can get quite delicate if you happen to need wide apertures. Then you need to be very careful about estimating the correct distance. This comes with experience, and it certainly is not a problem when using smaller apertures. I have now loaded the Leica Standard with film, and I attached to it an old Elmar 50mm/3.5 lens. The Standard has no viewfinder or rangefinder, so it is an more prestigious Bessa-L if you like.
 
cbass said:
Bertram, beautiful photos!

Thanks, glad you like them ! :eek: Actually this lens (mounted on a L) is my universal tool for street during the day, but with a monopod it works fine at nice too.

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=15160&cat=5110

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=15158&cat=5110

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=14308&cat=5110

For such places one needs a level, but it is worth the money. A demonstration btw of a
completely distortion free super wide, you can't see any bended lines:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=14289&cat=5110

Don't know which SLR lens of the same FL can produce such a result !

Bertram
 
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