CV lenses - an appreciation

kshapero

South Florida Man
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I do not know about you but I am continuously impressed by the CV lens offerings. They are relatively cheap and of great quality. Over time I have owned maybe 10 or 12 of them and was/is pleased with them all. I admit I would not know a turtle from a snail but still I am always happy with a CV lens on an RF body. And Mr K if you are reading this post maybe you could send me that groovy 75/1.8 new lens as a thanks for my unsolicited praise.:D
 
I've enjoyed virtually every CV lens I've owned. Big bang for the bucks.
Right now, I only own the CV 75/1.8 - and I absolutely love it.
 
I have said this before, but the VC 1.2/35 Nokton has saved my life more than once where any other lens would have let me down. I am going to marry it and my girlfriend will have to be ok with it.

Thanks to Tom and Mr K and the others.
 
The 25 f4 is a great lens. I'm on holiday with mine, beach, rain forest and 100 ISO slide film. One on the first roll required 1/30s. I've swapped to the 50 twice only in three days, and the camera sits almost out of sight and mind with this tiny lens. Can't wait to see the first pics. I've got the same focal length in the Biogon but the size and handling - love the Leica-style focus tab - led me to get this second 25. The hood is brilliant and the Voigtlander front cap is way ahead of the fiddly Zeiss ones. I definitely won't bother with a filter on this one either. I suspect that the supreme sharpness of the Biogon is going to see me keeping that in my kit, but for lots of jobs the Skopar will be the go to lens.
 
While I like and have used / use CV lenses, I haven't found them to be anything special just a good lens for the money.
 
I love my 28/2 Ultron - superb on film and excellent as a 42mm on my NEX-5 (no corner smearing either). Even compared to my hexanons, I have no complaints about the build quality. With hood, it's the most compact 28/2 ever made.

An M-mount 50/1.4 that focuses to 0.7m might get me to sell my M-Hex 50 :eek:
 
I shoot almost always B&W, and all the RF glass I own are old retro/vintage glass, except the two new CV lenses I own: a 50/3.5 Nickel Heliar and a 50/2.0 Nickel Heliar.

I love this glass, and CV got the perfect mix of the old and the new. The contrast is only moderate, there is a retro look that is distinct, but there is no flare like on my 50 Rigid.

The handling of the 50/3.5 is quirky. I can rotate the hood to change the aperture, LOL, but this lens is sharp without being too clinical like some modern lenses for B&W. I added an O-ring to the tube that collapses as a focusing ring, and because of the narrow diameter this is the fastest focusing fifty I own. For street this is a quick shooter.

The 50/2.0 has a very misunderstood signature that mistakenly some people say is unsharp. With an eleven blade aperture the OOF areas have a diffused transition into the sharpness that is quite different than my 50 Rigid, and pretty bokeh, granted the corners are soft wide open, a lot like my Rigid. I was also surprised under dim lighting conditions, where I had a marginal exposure (F-2.0, 1/15 second) how the image looked like it was shot under high-key lighting. How does a lens that has been judged as being unsharp do this?

To me these lenses both have a very different distinct signitures. The nickel finish looks superb BTW on my Ti Wetzlar M6.

Cal
 
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But they definitely are good value for the money and very usable day-to-day...

Right, just like many other lenses out there... I can't afford most of the "special" lenses so, CV is cool for me... though I do like that Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 ... I do see some magic there and the CV 28mm I find to be pretty damn good. The 35mm PII f/2.5 is a steal for the price.
 
I would like to humbly suggest that the CV 15mm is very special. I got one used this summer for $257.00 and it is an amazing lens. I've had a lot of fun getting to know it. Very, very wide and yet it makes wonderful images. I had it in Colorado hiking this summer and it brought home some lovely pictures. I also have a 75mm 2.5 and for what I use it, it works well. Thanks CV. Joe
 
I love my CV lenses over the classic leica lenses I've owned, not that they are better I just really like the more modern look of them on film. My 50/1.5,35/2.5, and 15/4.5 have all been great. The 15/4.5 is an amazing little lens though.
 
Taken with the lowly little CV 50/2.5 Skopar. Plenty of 'glow' for me.

Tired_Swimmer.jpg
 
I find the CV 28/3.5 has amazing color on my M8. Very saturated and beautiful. I never noticed before since I exclusively shot B&W film :)
 
I have said this before, but the VC 1.2/35 Nokton has saved my life more than once where any other lens would have let me down. I am going to marry it and my girlfriend will have to be ok with it.

Thanks for lending me that lens for a shot recently. I am really impressed by the low light performance. Definately a good lens, but I am not sure I would marry it.
 
It might upset some RF purists here, but also let's not forget the CV range of SLR lenses. I have a number of CV RF lenses and have a particular liking for the 15/4.5, but I also have a 40/2 and 58/1.4 in the new series and the rare 75/2.5 in the first series for my Nikon SLR's. I wish I could afford to get the 20/3.5.
 
They're lenses that real artists can afford. I throw the Zeiss lenses in there too because they've managed to match the 'Leica quality' (which is in my opinion a myth and a joke) and charge far less.

Not only is it great, it's responsible! It shows that Cosina cares about photography! No 20k+ collectors edition cameras coming out of that factory.
 
I have 4 cv's, two for my Nikon S and 2 for my Barnack/M's. I honestly can't find fault with any of them. I am especially grateful for the Nikon S mount offerings as otherwise I would be OUT OF LUCK. Try getting a 21mm lens for an S mount that's not a cv.
 
I perfectly agree, just good for the money, definitely not worth getting merried with.
Something like beer that have "bud" in title but it is not comming from Ceske Budejovice..

While I like and have used / use CV lenses, I haven't found them to be anything special just a good lens for the money.
 
The 4 CV lenses that I have are very unique. And a good beer doesn't have to come from Pilzen, Sapporo or Bitburg is just fine. :)
 
I have 11 CV lenses sitting on my desk at the moment... 2- 28's, 2 - 35's, 4 - 50's, 1 -75, and 2-90's, and the 50/1.1 and 75/1.8 have been lent to a friend for a week.

CV lenses represent great value and usability. The M-mount offerings are just plain hard to beat for everyday use. Yes, Leica and Zeiss are better lenses and should be and if you can afford or have a need for higher quality lenses, by all means buy them. CV has been able to provide an extensive range of working lenses at good prices which has benefited all players in the rangefinder market.

The real jewels are the LTM lens, the build quality of the 28/3.5 and 50/2.5 is just superb. The 12/5.6 and 15/4.5 are ridiculously cheap for super-wide angles and deliver amazing results. The 50/3.5 and 50/2 Heliars are simply in a league of their own in every way. The compactness of the 21/4, 25/4, 35/2.5 is amazing, these are definitely pocket lenses. The 50/1.5 is modern, sharp aspherical that can rub shoulders with the best, and the 75/2.5 and 90/3.5 are pure portrait gold.

The LTM lenses just beg you to forget all about the gimmicks and just take pictures... not the fastest, sharpest, glowful, bokehful, smoothest, closest focusing lenses in the world, but rather just practical and solid picture-taking goodness.

Yeah... I kinda like CV lenses!
 
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