Get the best results from CV lenses

[Dingo]

Hi everybody,

This is my very first day in this forum, and thank you Peter, you lead me here.
I have been shooting for about 20 years and in recent years I shoot only with CV equipment. I have 3 Bessas, 5 CV lenses, a Leica IIIF, a Summitar, a 90f4 Elmar, a few other rangefinders and dozens of Russian stuff.
In choosing lenses, I tend to find out their characters. So here I want to hear from everyone on how to get the best results from each lens, and in what settings or under what circumstances would each CV lens performing its best. And the most important of all, the characters of CV lenses. I am particularly interested in lenses of same focal length.
Hope it is an interesting thread.

 

[jdos2]

I too would be interested in the "personality" of the lenses, and really, which ones have the most of that elusive quality. That's a bit different than "how to get the best results..."

Does CV even make a Tessar clone? (not for our rangefinder mounts, I believe)

 

[Peter]

Hello Dingo! Good to see you here. How's things going over at your end? I own CV Color Skopar 35mm/2.5, Ultron 35mm/1.7 and Color Heliar 75mm/2.5. Starting with Skopar 35mm, I seem to get the best results at f-stop 4 to 5.6. Beyond that constrast and sharpness suffer at 2.5 and increased grain with high speed film at f22.

 

[Dingo]

Hi Peter ! Nice to hear from you that quick.

Talking about apertures, f/16 to f/22 is not a wise in any CV lenses, especially the 15, it ruins the pictures! And yes, f/4 to 5.6 is always the safe choice.

What about other characters you notice ?

To me, all CV lenses tends to give a cold tone ( a little blue ), and among them 28/f3.5 is more neutral, but flare is a serious problem, not like the 21, which controls flare to its minimum.

About Nokton, it is a great lens, fun to use.
Like many people say, if you buy a fast lens, you should use more its maximum apertures, otherwise pick up a slower one. But in f/1.5 to 2, Nokton doesn't perform that well, resolution drops quite seriously. And Nokton handles flash light not that well too, may be due to its high contrast.
Stop here, looking to hear from others.

 

[rover]

Great info Dingo. I would love to hear more. I have to be honest and say that I have not used my 75 enough to have a opinion and didn't pay attention to the settings when I have used my Ultron. I am very happy with both though. I am aiming to complete my outfit with a Nokton and a 21mm. I think I will be good to go with my Bessa R and those 4 lenses.

 

[Peter]

Hi Peter ! Nice to hear from you that quick.

Talking about apertures, f/16 to f/22 is not a wise in any CV lenses, especially the 15, it ruins the pictures! And yes, f/4 to 5.6 is always the safe choice.

What about other characters you notice ?

To me, all CV lenses tends to give a cold tone ( a little blue ), and among them 28/f3.5 is more neutral, but flare is a serious problem, not like the 21, which controls flare to its minimum.

About Nokton, it is a great lens, fun to use.
Like many people say, if you buy a fast lens, you should use more its maximum apertures, otherwise pick up a slower one. But in f/1.5 to 2, Nokton doesn't perform that well, resolution drops quite seriously. And Nokton handles flash light not that well too, may be due to its high contrast.
Stop here, looking to hear from others.

I would not know about the color tone of CV lens as I do mainly B&W. But when I tested my Ultron with color kodak film, it does look at bit on the cold side. As for flare, I agree that CV lens tends to flare quite a bit if there is strong light source or when you are using filters. That is why my Skopar 35mm/2.5 is equipped with the square hood. As for the Ultron, I have yet to experience flare as most of my usage of this lens are indoors and under poor lighting. At f 1.7 and 2, the resolution is much lower when compared to that of f 2.8. That is why Skopar 35mm is a much better choice for a general 35mm lens than the Ultron in daylight usage if you want a light and compact outfit.

 

[Taipei-metro]

Photographers have general ideas about brand lenses w/cool or warm character,Nikon,Leica cool,Canon,Konica M, warm.Maybe it's the climax or film;Kodak warm,Fuji,cool.Hong kong,Taipei,Singapore,Shanghai;warm.Tokyo,N.America,Montana,B.C., cool.
What do you think?

 

[Dingo]

Besides warm/cool, there are still lot more to explore, for those who are interested in CV lenses, what should be considered ?
Eg, best aperture for resolution, flare, ... skin tone rendering...

 

[Taipei-metro]

For all lenses,I am most interested in 28mm and 35mm.IF Leica made the best ones,and I feel unwise to pay the extra high wages of German workers,I buy Japan lenses,and unconvinced that their 28/3.5 CVs,Ricoh gr28s, 28 ti 28/2.8 Nikkors,Hexar M 28/2.8 and 35/2,Minolta 28/3.5 TC are performing inferior to those of Leica counterparts.
On the field,shooting in Taidong last October,I carried EOS,Hexar and Fuji DL mini zoom w/28-76, some carried M6,M7, one,Noblex.I'd preferred a 3.5 at 28,instesd of f4.5 on the Fuji.
Excellent result with 400 fuji print film.
Maybe the 28/2.8,US$1,795(that's One thound seven hundred ninty five US dollars,or 61,030 Taiwan Yen, Sumicron)should stay home since the Taidong dust may kill it.
I notice one Avelon 28mm 2.8, L or M mount on Japan camera market ,any one has any knowledge on this lens?