Avenon, Komura, Kobalux LTM Jackpot!! Deadstock Avenon 21mm f2.8!

Avenon, Komura, Kobalux lenses
Can anyone say how the Kobalux compares to the Voigtlander or the Contax Biogon? I know the Voigtlander is only f4 but as far as sharpness, distortion? Thanks in advance!
 
I have not compared mine to a CV 21mm/f4 but WRT distortion my sample exhibits no rectilinear distortion whatsoever. With the lens wide-open vertical lines remain vertical (and straight) out to the edges of the frame. That was one attribute that was articulated on the now-no-longer-available Kobalux web page on this lens. The lens appears sharp and has, as you might expect, an unbelievable DOF. It is a good lens and its a pity that it is discontinued as the Leica and Zeiss offerings in this focal length/aperture are extremely expensive. :( The one thing that mitigates against the lens is its size - it is not small but to be honest, it is not particularly heavy either.

 
Mike, I definitely want one of these black beauties but if someone pulls out let me know because I might take two!
 
WOW, This is exactly the sort of thing that makes this Forum so special!
Thank you Peter for taking over and answering the questions etc. whilst I was
off sleeping through the night!. Global coverage. What corporations dream of
and try to attain. Done here without any coordination and planning!.
Now isnt this the sort of thing that Zeiss should lookinto for their new range.
Drop the Pricepoint and get us to distubute their Lenses!!

Well, as for the Avenon 21mmLenses all 9 are now spoken for, But if there are other
members that are interested please let me know I will put together a waiting list.
You never know. I might find that they have a couple more when I go tomorrow!
My Card company is gonna love me tomorrow when I pay for all these lenses!!

There are still two of the 28mm available.

Cheers
Mike
 
I would recommend all with interest in this lens to read the following
thread by Jlw Here
It decribes the need to be careful in the choice/purchase of L-M adapters,
especialy when using on focal lengths shorter than 50mm.

Mike
 
Well, LTC,
I personally do not have a problem with my 21mm with regards to
Front Focus, But then again I also don't have a problem with my 35mmASPH Cron
And I seem to recall someone had problems with that lens also.
I really can not comment but although david did mention that he has tried a couple
of L-M adapters, perhaps there is a chance of a problem there as he seems to be
content with the results on his M2.

And as far as my logic goes as he is not experiencing the same type of problem
on the M2 it does not seem that the lens needs adjusting.
I will however mention that the RD-1 is not a very forgiving camera and any
discrepencies and or technical problems seem to be almost magnified in the results.
FYI the adapter that I use on mine is designated for use on a 135mm Lens.
I really need to find my Calipers!
And my Leitz L-M adapter does not seem to sit properly (Thread completely)
with my silver 21mm Avenon, but is fine with my Non Branded adapter.

Mike.
 
Mike,
Given the problems of Cam compatibilty with certain lenses (note my posts on the 35mm Crons) do you think you could check (or have you) if there are any forward or back focus problems with this lens on the R-D1. Your Temple Donation Box picture looks pretty good but as there is plenty of DOF I suspect that this is stopped down a bit. Full aperture at less than 5 feet is what I am interested in as I expect a lot of my pictures with this lens would be at that focusing distance. Is your lens from the same series as the Deadstock? Many thanks again for your time and help.
 
Before people begin to fret perhaps someone should ask David Kieltyka what version of the Avenon 21mm lens he was using.

Its my understanding that there were at least three versions of this lens and that supposedly there was an improvement both in optics and build quality in the 3rd generation lens. The third generation lens has the short focus, .7m compatibility and has 8 aperture blades....although I am not sure how many the earlier versions had...

The lens that Mike is offering to run around after for people here is the latest and greatest version of this lens, is the 3rd generation lens.

AKALAI
 
I have a proposal / Idea.
Tomorrow when I go to check the lenses (I can actually do this at lunch)
and haggle, plus see how many there actually are. I can choose one of
them at random and take a series of shots.

I would imagine the following shots would give a rough coverage:

Shot of the sky - f2.8 & 22 Show Vignetting
Shot of a subject at min focus dist - f2.8 & f 22 to show Dof & Focus & OOF & Bokeh

If there are others that would be useful Please let me know.
Now, I would like to have requests in in the next 12 or so hours this will
allow me to check the site before I set out in the morning.
If there is anything else I can do to test the lens Let me know.
I'm getting one of these for myself as well so I do want to be sure as well.
As Akalai has pointed out these are the Last Generation
which from reading around the web do seem to be the ones to go for.

Cheers
Mike.
 
akalai said:
Its my understanding that there were at least three versions of this lens and that supposedly there was an improvement both in optics and build quality in the 3rd generation lens. The third generation lens has the short focus, .7m compatibility and has 8 aperture blades....although I am not sure how many the earlier versions had...
Click to expand...
Akalai is correct. There are three generations. The third generation is considered the "best" lens. I have the second generation which also has a short focus throw, 0.9M closest focusing distance and 6 aperture blades. I understand the major differences between the two versions are closest focus distance and some adjustment in the optics to allow this. I believe that optically the 2nd and 3rd versions of the lens are otherwise very similar.

 
My Kobalux 21mm is from the third generation. But I wouldn't assume because my particular lens has an issue (front focus) with my particular R-D1 that all samples of this lens have the same issue. I've used my Kobalux on other cameras, two Leicas and two Bessas, and haven't noticed focusing discrepancies with any of them. This includes a careful lens test on my M2 after first noticing the problem on the R-D1. It may be my R-D1 is slightly out-of-spec in a way that only manifests itself with wide lenses. Dunno. I may have DAG take a look at it to be sure.

-Dave-
 
My Kobalux 21mm is from the third generation. But I wouldn't assume because my particular lens has an issue (front focus) with my particular R-D1 that all samples of this lens have the same issue. I've used my Kobalux on other cameras, two Leicas and two Bessas, and haven't noticed focusing discrepancies with any of them. This includes a careful lens test on my M2 after first noticing the problem on the R-D1. It may be my R-D1 is slightly out-of-spec in a way that only manifests itself with wide lenses. Dunno. I may have DAG take a look at it to be sure.
Click to expand...

Have you read the thread I just started about variations in screw-to-bayonet adapters? An adapter that's too thick would cause wide-angle lenses to front-focus, and the wider the lens, the more the deviation would be.
 
jlw said:
Have you read the thread I just started about variations in screw-to-bayonet adapters? An adapter that's too thick would cause wide-angle lenses to front-focus, and the wider the lens, the more the deviation would be.
Click to expand...

Yep, I have read it. I've tried out the Kobalux with a number of different adapters...from Cosina, Kobalux themselves (both made to order by other companies no doubt) and today a Leitz. The front-focusing behavior is the same with all of them. Now I guess all the adapters could be a little out-of-spec. But I'd expect to see this with the 28mm Ultron too and I don't. At close range the discrepancy is small enough that DOF covers it by f/4. But at infinity it's quite obvious even at small apertures. This leads me to suspect the R-D1, but since focus is on-the-money with longer lenses and I rarely use the 21mm (I prefer to go from 28mm right to 15mm) I may not bother doing anything about it.

-Dave-
 
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