Voigtlander 28mm f/3.5 vs. Leica Elmarit 28mm f/2.8?

[efix]

js, the Zeiss 28 is such a damn fantastic lens ... its rendering blows me away each time a look at the pictures I took with it. Too bad you didn't like its size (which is exactly why I chose it over the bulky and heavy CV 28/1.9, which is also low on contrast and resolution and doesn't render colours as nice as Zeiss glass 🙂).

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Juan: thanks for the compliments! I can photograph only those people and cultures that I have a special feeling for.

The only reason I finally quit using the CV 28mm f3.5 was the speed. There were times when I would be invited into a home to shoot with dim light. Some of my photos were shot f2.8 at 1/30th or even 1/15th with iso 400 film. Because I am a "one camera, one lens, pocket full of film" type photographer, I settled on a f2.8 lens.

Yes, you're right about its speed... It's a lens for "half the shots"... I never go out with it as my only lens, but I use it a lot both for sun and overcast or shadows outdoors, at f/8 and 6-8 feet, so it's a point-and-shoot story, always having with me my Hexar AF with faster film for fast autofocus and AE at f/2 if necessary, or my R3A/40 1.4 for even more selective focus/speed... Lately I've been using my 28 3.5 mostly on a IIIF without finder, just composing my frame's center through the camera's one on sunny days: no metering, no settings, no focusing, and really small... A very sharp, mechanical point-and-shoot again... That lens' contrast is perfect for the pull I do on sunny scenes...

Well, you really use your 28 very well... I guess (some of) those images are from the trip you showed before (maybe last year) when you invited to a 28/35 guessing if I remember well... Really nice work: they must look wonderful on wet prints with such nice tone and grain they can offer... That's the fun thing about good negatives: they remain there waiting for fantastic, easy prints anytime...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

After all this time there is still a hung jury on the three lenses. You don't see that too often here with even two lenses let alone three.


P.S. Bob, great pictures.

 

[MCTuomey]

bob, great series, thanks for sharing. it would make my decade to have taken even a fourth of those images.

(my pick for the biogon 35/2: two boys at the rodeo.)

 

[Bob Michaels]

bob, great series, thanks for sharing. it would make my decade to have taken even a fourth of those images.

(my pick for the biogon 35/2: two boys at the rodeo.)

Mike: Thanks. I have to laugh at the 'how many keepers per roll" threads here. These were shot over 7 trips, each two weeks. I was walking searching for photos probably 85% of the time. I seem to shoot about 20-25 rolls per trip. It is getting less each trip I make because of my self imposed 30 photo limit.

The 30 photo self imposed limit is because I believe no one, not even your mother or spouse, really wants to see more than 30 photos. Our obligation is to pick out no more than the 30 best. I have had 30 photos after the first few trips. Every time I want to include a new one, it means I must decide if I really want to delete one of the existing ones. It sure does challenge you to edit well.

Oh, the rodeo photo was also shot with a 28mm but I would have to figure out which one. Actually the last photo in the series, a lady crossing the street corner with the writing "Viva el 26 de Julio" on the wall was the one shot with a 35mm. Odd circumstances cause me to remember that as I am no where near that anal normally.

 

[kermaier]

Bob, those Cuba photos are great. Straightforward, honest, with poetry and humor. Thanks for pointing them out to us. Oh, and nice captioning: "Their business is outside of the official economy" indeed.... 😉

 

[raid]

I like using the Kobalux 28mm/3.5. It is an excellent lens overall.

 

[MCTuomey]

Mike: Thanks. I have to laugh at the 'how many keepers per roll" threads here. These were shot over 7 trips, each two weeks. I was walking searching for photos probably 85% of the time. I seem to shoot about 20-25 rolls per trip. It is getting less each trip I make because of my self imposed 30 photo limit.

The 30 photo self imposed limit is because I believe no one, not even your mother or spouse, really wants to see more than 30 photos. Our obligation is to pick out no more than the 30 best. I have had 30 photos after the first few trips. Every time I want to include a new one, it means I must decide if I really want to delete one of the existing ones. It sure does challenge you to edit well.

The quality of the 30 proves your edit skills and your work ethic, Bob. I agree about the 30 photo limit. 20-30 pics is plenty for any viewer, regardless of the subject or how long one has spent shooting it.

 

[Turtle]

It depends on the variety and time scale IMO. 30 can be quite insufficient for projects of great duration and breadth where a larger number of prints can continue to interest the viewer. For most singular smaller scale projects I would completely agree and consider 20 to be a good aiming point.

I was under the impression that a well performing 28 3.5 should be a superb performer and it is a well regarded lens. I have a number of Leica, Zeiss and CV lenses and I can think of very few cases when the lens characteristics really made a stamp on the image (rather than my abilities as a photographer, good or bad). Speciality lenses are another matter, but I have learnt to stick with what I have as long as it meets the main requirements and work at shooting better images. One luxury I have afforded myself are a few smaller, cheaper, lighter, slower CV lenses for when I want a tiny kit and cant be bothered carrying larger faster lenses. One or two of my lenses stand out as being favorites for their rendition but as soon as I get the negative under the enlarger, other things quickly matter and awful lot more.

 

[Bob Michaels]

It depends on the variety and time scale IMO. 30 can be quite insufficient for projects of great duration and breadth where a larger number of prints can continue to interest the viewer. For most singular smaller scale projects I would completely agree and consider 20 to be a good aiming point. ..............................

That max of 30 photos certainly is a personal decision. It is also a function of the overall quality of the work and the depth of the number of really good photos, but highly subjective calls.

Besides my own exhibits, I watch people spend time looking at each photo in 18 real great exhibits per year as live within an hour driving distance of the SE Museum of Photography. Somewhere around 30 is when they frequently cease to stop in front of a photo and glance as they walk past. I especially watched the amount of time people spent with each photo in 4 different exhibits of my South Apopka work. That represented about 120 days worth of shooting. If there were 24 photos, they usually stopped at each. If there were 30, they were frequently not stopping at the final ones no matter which way they started. Maybe that was a reflection on the quality of the work, I don't know.

It is my arbitrary decision to limit my Cuban work to 30 photos. That is a challenge to implement. I could exclude the 30 on my website (also exhibited) and be comfortable doing an exhibit of photos #31-60. That work comes from about 85 full time days of shooting and some 5,000 negs.

My Cuba - people work is being exhibited at the University of Central Florida for the month of September in a venue big enough for 60 prints. I am choosing to show 28 or 30.

A combination of my Cuba work and my South Apopka work is being shown as "Cuba y Sud Apopka - dos culturas similares" in Galeria Carmen Montilla in Havana in October - November. I am only doing 24 prints total there.

I am strongly convinced of one thing. It is much better to leave your viewers wishing for more than thankful they are finished.

 

[gfspencer]

I've owned an Elmarit, which I found unpleasantly contrasty.

The Elmarit is contrasty but I, for one, like a lot of contrast so the lens suits me just fine. (The 90mm Elmarit has even more contrast.)

 

[Bingley]

Ah, looking forward to it. I've never used the 28/2.8 asph and it was the only lens I was really tempted to buy but the CV stopped me. Having said that I miss the 28mm FOV and considering 'replacing' the VC28 with the Panasonic 14/2.5 (totally different animal but gives me the equivalent FOV)... looking forward to reading your impressions of the 28/2.8 asph (living vicariously through you 😉

Interesting thread. Enjoying the discussion and especially Bob Michaels' photos.🙂

The post above prompts this question. I love my CV 28/3.5 and have no thoughts of replacing it, but I'm also intrigued by the Panasonic 14/2.5 (on my E-PL1) as an option for interiors and low light. Is anyone here using this lens?

 

[peewee]

Bob, I like your photos very much I would be pleased to have taken one..Can you tell me what lens did you use to take the farming couple at home? Beauuutiful!

 

[andredossantos]

Bob: Spectacular series from Cuba!

 

[Bob Michaels]

Bob, I like your photos very much I would be pleased to have taken one..Can you tell me what lens did you use to take the farming couple at home? Beauuutiful!

Peewee: I think it was the Hexanon 28mm that I shot the farming couple with. . I would have to do some searching to be positive. I do remember it was wide open as I was shooting so slow that I had to sit and rest my elbows on my knees to hold the camera steady. I used the same position to shoot the nursing mother in Cienfuegos. I think that was 1/15th. Pretty sure the nursing mother was shot with the Zeiss Biogon 28mm.

 

[Turtle]

Bob, I would completely agree on keeping the viewer hungry, but I strive one day to be able to produce show much interesting work as to leave them famished and too weary to continue through the rest of the exhibit. I want them to have to sit there, saddened by all that their poor stamina is forcing them to miss. Thats how I felt when viewing a Salgado exhibition in London. I just wanted to go round and round but was too weary and short of time to do so!