thafred
silver addict
Hi guys and gals,
Santa brought me an Ultron 28mm this christmas and I´m so impressed with its performance that I just had to post.
The lens sure is big and with it´s hood on blocks quite something of the VF but after ditching the hood and getting a cheap snap-in cap the lens feels right at home on my M6. (a little more compact than the Nokton w/o hood)
I love the focusing knob (I wish every lens of mine had this..makes prefocusing the lens much easier imho) and the short focus throw.
What surpises me is that the lens feels very different in operation compared to the Nokton. the focusing is a little slower and the aperture stops are much harder to click (on the nokton the aperture ring clicks smooth and soft into place on the ultron it needs some force compareable to my SummicronC)
the sharpnesss and rendition of the lens is awesome! it has quite low contrast wide open but catches very fine details in the center and isn´t too bad in the corners as far as I can tell. stopped down a few stops it has a very crisp rendition wich I really like.
Talking about f-stops....whatis this f1.9 for?? marketing only? I can´t see any difference at all between f2 and 1.9 when inspecting the lens closely...not a tiny bit of apertue blade coming in the way from 1.9 to 2.0....this is stupid imho cosina shouldhave gone with f/2.0..
The 28 fl is giving me a fun time so here´s some shots from the second roll I did with the Ultron:
this one is named box garden (@ f4):
closed downto f8:
f8 again:
larger versions on my Flickr!
attached is a shot at f/1.9 on Neopan1600 film....thats my granny on christmas eve........the crop is from near center and shows the sharpness.....you can see the mesh of the sweater (ok ok it´s not ideal because of the very fast film but it´s awesome nevertheless)
Santa brought me an Ultron 28mm this christmas and I´m so impressed with its performance that I just had to post.
The lens sure is big and with it´s hood on blocks quite something of the VF but after ditching the hood and getting a cheap snap-in cap the lens feels right at home on my M6. (a little more compact than the Nokton w/o hood)
I love the focusing knob (I wish every lens of mine had this..makes prefocusing the lens much easier imho) and the short focus throw.
What surpises me is that the lens feels very different in operation compared to the Nokton. the focusing is a little slower and the aperture stops are much harder to click (on the nokton the aperture ring clicks smooth and soft into place on the ultron it needs some force compareable to my SummicronC)
the sharpnesss and rendition of the lens is awesome! it has quite low contrast wide open but catches very fine details in the center and isn´t too bad in the corners as far as I can tell. stopped down a few stops it has a very crisp rendition wich I really like.
Talking about f-stops....whatis this f1.9 for?? marketing only? I can´t see any difference at all between f2 and 1.9 when inspecting the lens closely...not a tiny bit of apertue blade coming in the way from 1.9 to 2.0....this is stupid imho cosina shouldhave gone with f/2.0..
The 28 fl is giving me a fun time so here´s some shots from the second roll I did with the Ultron:
this one is named box garden (@ f4):
closed downto f8:
f8 again:
larger versions on my Flickr!
attached is a shot at f/1.9 on Neopan1600 film....thats my granny on christmas eve........the crop is from near center and shows the sharpness.....you can see the mesh of the sweater (ok ok it´s not ideal because of the very fast film but it´s awesome nevertheless)
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mtscherning
Member
I especially like the third, lens seems like a great buy at the ~$450 it's at, the shots you've shown here has nice contrast and are as sharp as one could ask for
R
Robert
Guest
Lovely photos, impressive lens
scho
Well-known
Very nice images, particularly the street shots. The 28mm Ultron has also become one of my favorite lenses. See first two shots in this gallery for color and B&W examples:
http://www.schophoto.com/gallery/list.php?exhibition=5
http://www.schophoto.com/gallery/list.php?exhibition=5
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
Carl: OT .... did they really curl with rutabagas? That would have been a riot to watch!
Krosya
Konicaze
Very nice indeed. I was never one to care for a 28mm FL, but this lens got me thinking. Not that I need another lens. 
Than again, I don't have a 28mm one and I like your shots. Time will tell, I guess. For now, however, I will wait a bit. But I would like to see more photos with it - so please post more.
Than again, I don't have a 28mm one and I like your shots. Time will tell, I guess. For now, however, I will wait a bit. But I would like to see more photos with it - so please post more.
kb244
Well-known
The first one I think is a really nice one, the way it almost seems like an optical illusion of three different worlds.
thafred
silver addict
Thanks all for your kind replies! very much appreciated!
@ Krosya
I´ll post new images tomorrow as I´m about to get out soon and snap night pictures with a friend of mine who has got a 400d for xmas. I´ll testdrive the Ultron at small apertures with iso100 film (and tripod) and we´ll see what I get.
in the meantime here´s a shot at 1.9 on HP5...contrast bumped up with PS.
Thanks kb244! I like the first one too for exactly that reason!
I´m out now shooting, good light to you guys!
@ Krosya
I´ll post new images tomorrow as I´m about to get out soon and snap night pictures with a friend of mine who has got a 400d for xmas. I´ll testdrive the Ultron at small apertures with iso100 film (and tripod) and we´ll see what I get.
in the meantime here´s a shot at 1.9 on HP5...contrast bumped up with PS.
Thanks kb244! I like the first one too for exactly that reason!
I´m out now shooting, good light to you guys!
scho
Well-known
Earl: Yes they really do have an annual world championship rutabaga curling match at the Ithaca farmer's market. Hilarious.Trius said:
RayPA
Ignore It (It'll go away)
thafred said:
Great shots! That first one is like an optical illusion.
I agree with your assessment of the lens. And speaking of the f1.9, I think you're correct there too—it's kind of like selling something at $9.99.
Aurelius
Well-known
scho said:
scho,
Do you use the 28 Ultron on your RD? Is it fun, good, nice, OK!
/TBS
scho
Well-known
Yes. There are some 28mm Ultron shots with the R-D1 in this gallery:Aurelius said:
http://www.pbase.com/scho/rd1&page=all
Flyfisher Tom
Well-known
very nice shots ... I particularly like the 1 and 3.
x-ray
Veteran
All very nice and very well done. I believe it's really the photographer and the lens is secondary. The lens can do nothing without the creative mind and technical excellence behind it. I agree the ultron is very fine. I purchased Toms ultron a couple of months ago and want for no other 28. It surpasses the two elmarits that i previously owned. Wonderfully sharp and beautiful tonality. Well balanced tonality, sharpness and contrast. Even the 28 summicron has little to offer over the ultron even at 4 or 5 times the price.
R
rpsawin
Guest
Thafred,
Very nice work. I really enjoyed them all. And the lens performed wonderfully.
Thank you for sharing,
Bob
Very nice work. I really enjoyed them all. And the lens performed wonderfully.
Thank you for sharing,
Bob
boilerdoc2
Well-known
How about adding the 35/1.2 if you want BIG! Nice shots, sir.
Steve
Steve
Ororaro
Well-known
Well, actually wouldn't it be that the lens is indeed f1.9 and Cosina just didn't care to make it close to F2? After all, an f stop is purely geometric in relation to the focal length and f1.9 vs. f2 is so small, I doubt any company would even bother making the aperture close a bit at f2.
Why is it hard to believe it is a f1.9 lens?
Why is it hard to believe it is a f1.9 lens?
Krosya
Konicaze
I think it's a selling pont as well. I looked at my 35/1.7 and there is a huge difference from 1.7 and 2.0. On my Canon 85/1.9 - same thing significant enough to see from 1.9 to 2.0. But really - in this case - who cares - looks like a wonderful lens and I can't wait to see more of your photos with it. BTW, what scanner do you use for BW film?
davidbivins
Established
Mathematically, you're getting roughly 10% more light at 1.9 than you are at 2.0 on a 28mm lens. I can see the diaphragm blades closing in a touch at 2.0 over 1.9 on my 28mm Ultron. I can't say that I've seen the difference, but technically it's there and might make the difference of a bit more shadow detail wide open in a dark room (or on a dark street). I love this lens. I have a 28mm M-Rokkor 2.8 which is a lot smaller, but I tend to keep this one (with a M adapter) in my bag.
Attached are two stopped down (the second scale-focused and hand-held by the handsome devil on the right) and the third in more difficult low light (the Carsten Hoeller exhibit at MassMoCa earlier this year).
Attached are two stopped down (the second scale-focused and hand-held by the handsome devil on the right) and the third in more difficult low light (the Carsten Hoeller exhibit at MassMoCa earlier this year).
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davidbivins
Established
I forgot to add that your photos look wonderful!