Kobalux and VC both 28mm, f3,5 any experiences?

Spider67

Well-known
Local time
11:37 PM
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
1,143
Are the characteristics of those two comparable?
Or are there any quirks one has to consider?
I left out the Canon 28mm 3,5 as it's an older lens but if anyone can compare that one to the others that would also be very welcome.
Best regards
Des
 
CV 3.5 is sharp, good contrast

CV 3.5 is sharp, good contrast

But is slow, and not smaller than other faster 28s like the Canon 2.8. No experience with the Kobalux.

Are the characteristics of those two comparable?
Or are there any quirks one has to consider?
I left out the Canon 28mm 3,5 as it's an older lens but if anyone can compare that one to the others that would also be very welcome.
Best regards
Des
 
The 28mm Kobalux has a very smooth palette that is very good looking. It also is very sharp. I find it to be an overall excellent lens.

The Canon 28mm/3.5 is tiny and very sharp.

I have not used a CV 28mm lens, so I cannot comment on its performance,
 
The VC 28f3.5 is an outstanding lens - one of my favorite slow 28's.
The Kobalux 28f3.5 is a good lens, it doesn't have the "snap" of the VC 28f3.5 but it is sharp and with medium contrast. I always liked the "fake" infinity stop on it too!
The Canon 28f3.5 I have limited experience with. The couple I have had were a bit prone to flare and they are a bit difficult to find without "cleaning marks" 1.e scratches and/or fungus in them. Remarkably small and compact though.
Another good compact LTM 28f3.5 - though a bit difficult to find - is the Ricoh 28f3.5. It was a limited run in the late 90's. Very well built and high performance. Similar in character to the VC 28f3.5 in may ways.
I would pick the VC 28 as a "winner" here - particularly as it is still available at reasonable cost.
 
Thanks for your advice folks! As I found the kobalux and the VC for the same price at one place.
@ Tom: You got me interested : What is a "fake" infinty stop?
I have bid several times for a Canon. Another contender for this position would be the Ultron because I would like to have a fast wideangle and would not like to pay extra for a 35mm an FL I already have.
The next weeks I am going to use my 28mm on my Retina IIIs and my Nikkor 28mm to see if I am comfortable with that.
The thing which kept me from buying a 28mm f3,5 was that I use my 21mm very often whose f4 is rather close to 3,5.
 
Kobalux 28f3.5 has, what looks like a Leica infinity stop, but it is just a focussing tab. Looks cute and works fine.
If I had to choose between the Kobalux 28 and the VC 28f3.5 - my vote would be for the VC 28/3,5. The difference is not huge - but I think the VC has a bit of an edge @3.5 - but I have to admit, it could be just me. To put it in perspective, I have 3 VC 28f3.5's (1 chrome,1 black and 1 in Nikon RF mount!) and I got rid of my Kobalux 28!
 
Back
Top Bottom