Skopar 25mm f4

[nobbylon]

i'm looking at getting one of these and wondered does anyone who has one miss the extra stop down to 2.8
I know it's just a question of using faster film but a lot of my photos are done in low light and wanted to find out from users of this lens.
At the moment for this view i'm using my zuiko 24mm 2.8 on an om1 but would like something in m-mount that doesn't break the bank!
thx all j
ps if anyone has both the zuiko and skopar, how do they compare?

 

[tedwhite]

I had the 25/4 Skopar, and it's a fine lens, but it won't do low light as well as a faster lens.

UNLESS, you either push the film speed or buy faster film. Fuji makes an ISO 800 in color neg, and in b/w a Neopan 1600. Both are very good films.

 

[Doug]

I have the older screw-mount 25 Scopar, and planned to use it extensively for indoor environmental portraits. Wide open, with Fuji's excellent 800Z film, I get acceptable shutter speeds in most office & store interior illumination. Fine as the film is, it's grainier than I like. And the non-coupled lens wide open at portrait distances meant good focus was uncertain. Still trying to be rational economically, I went to a 28 Skopar f3.5, gaining a little speed but more focus confidence. I STILL needed more speed, prompting me to bite the bullet and go for a bargain-priced 28 Summicron. Glorious lens.

If your 25 is the new bayonet-mount RF-coupled version, and you don't mind using ISO 800 film, then it might work OK for you, but borderline.

Here's one of my first shots of the environmental portrait project, in 2003, using a CLE with the 25 Skopar at f4... (outdated Kodak 1000 ISO film)

 

[kshapero]

I had the CV 25. It was too slow. I sold it. And am looking for a ZM 25/2.8.

 

[raid]

I like to use this lens for its sharpness and small size. The 4.0 max aperture is not a problem if you have a faster lens with you. I often have a 50mm/1.2 and the 25mm/4 with a slow 90mm/4for small size. The trio are perfect.

 

[David Murphy]

I own one and love it -- great value

 

[OpenLens]

I own one and love it -- great value

I have to agree. I have it and love it. I got it as an easy to take along wide angle, much more for it's extremely compact size then it's speed. For wide & fast I have the 28/1.9 Ultron.

If you want a faster 21 you're going to get a *much* larger lens.

 

[tedwhite]

Hi, Doug. I'm surprised at the amount of grain in your environmental portrait. I have used Fujicolor Press CZ135 for some time and haven't had a grain problem - seems about the same as ISO 400. I don't know where you're having it processed, but perhaps you might consider going elsewhere.

By the way, that's a very nice picture and the focus (from what I can tell) seems OK.

Open Lens: Larger? I have the 21/4 Skopar in LTM and it's tiny.

 

[like2fiddle]

I, too, have the LTM version of the 25/4 and like it very much. I've found that I can use it without the external finder by using the entire viewfinder of the M2 or M6 as the field of view- makes it even more portable than it already is. Good value. I used mine indoors yesterday for a family Easter gathering with 100 speed film. The scene metered at 1/15 and f4 so no problem for the M2.

 

[pvdhaar]

I've the LTM 25/4, and there's only one situation where I think it's slow.. it's when you need to stop subject movement indoors in low light. But, realistically speaking, even if you manage to go from 1/8 to 1/15 by having 2.8, that's no real help.

On the other hand, the 25/4 compensates its slow aperture with a couple of features that make it a very worthwile package in my view:
- It's not expensive
- It's compact
- It's got focus click stops where it counts (1, 1.5, 3 meters)
- It gives very nice contrast, also in situations with little light

 

[D.O'K.]

As to the original question as to how the 25mm skopar compares with the 24mm 2.8 zuiko, although I have both I don't compare them directly as for me they are different tools for rather different styles of working. If very quick operation in 35mm is required (usually based on pre-calculated depth of field) I might take the RF/Skopar, where its smallness and lightness can also be a (slight) advantage; but for slower work and/or where accurate framing can be more critical (e.g. landscapes) it's more likely to be the SLR/zuiko, which is more controllable via its coupled focussing mechanism and (a little) more versatile generally.

Because I don't do much low light work handheld I haven't noticed the disadvantage of f4 as against f2.8.

Having said all that, in terms of absolute optical quality I prefer the zuiko. The skopar is a fine lens and very sharp, but to me it gives a slightly hard/harsh contrast and (in some conditions) a rather bluish cast, where in similar conditions the zuiko is more neutral (of course that problem is avoided if you shoot in B+W like nature intended...). I find the zuiko also slightly less prone to flare; although with neither lens would I describe that as a problem.

Just my personal experience.

Regards,
D.O'K.

 

[silverliner]

For me, I can shoot my Skopar 21/4 at 1/4 sec and more than half of the pictures came out with enough sharpness. If I shoot my EOS 5 with EF 20/2.8, at 1/8 sec, less than a quarter of all pictures are sharp enough. That Skopar 25/4 is very light and mount it on any Bessa body with BW film ISO 400 push to 800 or 1600 makes handheld shooting at dawn or night (with some light) easy!!! Go for it, it surely brings out more pictures than your OM1 with 24/2.8.

 

[nobbylon]

thx everybody for the replies. D,O'K thanks very much for that. I'm going to hold off after reading everyone's comments as although people seem happy on the whole, I don't think i'm going to gain much over what I already have and the lack of 2.8 or more would start to annoy me.

 

[oscroft]

I have a Zuiko 24/2.8 and I had an uncoupled Skopar 25/4 (I sold it in order to buy the coupled version, but have not done so yet), and I think both lenses are excellent. I haven't compared them directly, but I generally feel that the Skopar has a bit more contrast, and is possibly a bit sharper (though that might just be apparent sharpness due to the extra contrast).

 

[thefsb]

i'm looking at getting one of these and wondered does anyone who has one miss the extra stop down to 2.8

i think this is a very personal thing.

the only fast lenses i have ever owned are on my yashica electro and my canonet, which i hardly ever used. so i don't miss 2.8 on the 25 snapshot-skopar. fast lenses just aren't part of my experience.