What next after 28mm....

[csxcnj]

I have the CV 28/3.5 and would like to go even wider. Would the 25mm be a noticeable change in size or would the 21mm. make more sense. Any pluses or minuses for choosing one over the other? I'm talking the CV len?es, the Nikkors are a little out of my price range from what I've seen on Ebay and other sale lists.

TIA, Bob

 

[back alley]

when deciding on either a 25 or a 28 i came to the conclusion that they were different enough from each other to be considered as very different lenses. i went with the 25 for that edge one gets with a slighhtly wider lens.
if i had a 28 i think i would go with the 21.
i have a 25 and plan on getting a 21 next.

 

[csxcnj]

Hmmmm....from reading that I'm thinking that maybe I need to try a 25 AND a 21 😀

G.A.S. pains!!!!! 🙂

 

[VinceC]

25 and 28 are pretty close. 21mm is probably a more flexible choice. (Nikkor 21mm lenses are astronomically priced collectibles. Excellent optic and only a couple hundred made ... they start at $4,000 and head up from there).

 

[rbsinto]

I recently bought a CV 21, and from what I can see of my images it takes lovely shots. I say that because I've got big hands and I seem to get some of my right-hand middle finger in most of my shots. This rangefinder business is taking me a little getting used to. I never have this trouble with SLRs. Is there a trick to holding the camera when using wide lenses to keep the unwanted fleshy bits out of the image?

 

[rover]

I recently bought a CV 21, and from what I can see of my images it takes lovely shots. I say that because I've got big hands and I seem to get some of my right-hand middle finger in most of my shots. This rangefinder business is taking me a little getting used to. I never have this trouble with SLRs. Is there a trick to holding the camera when using wide lenses to keep the unwanted fleshy bits out of the image?

Yes there is a trick, buy the bigger rectangular hood. I also have a lot of pictures of my knuckles and that stopped when I got the accessory hood.

 

[ZivcoPhoto]

Get a 21mm and after some practice you'll appreciate the very noticeable difference between it and your 28mm. I think you will find they are two very much different tools with greatly different results and that you will always find occasion to use both.

To me 28 and 25 are too close and I for one, would get to like the slight difference in one and use it all the time at the expense of not using the other (when indeed I could have got some other focal length instead and be using it too).

 

[Bryce]

You know what will happen next.... You should be looking for a 12 or 15mm. If you feel then that you need something in between, then worry about a 21.

 

[back alley]

yeah, the 21 and then the 15.

 

[Bryce]

I feel like the devil for saying all that, but I know what happened to me... I bought a cheap Russian 20mm lens for my Pentax, then wished for more. Thats when I bought the 15mm and Bessa L.
Later I wanted something with some real resolving power and bought a Brooks Veriwide (think Bessa L and permanently attached 21mm lens, scaled up to 6x9 format). I sure wish it were wider now...

 

[aizan]

see how wide you can go. buy a 24/25 now, then 21...15...12.

 

[rbsinto]

Rover,
I checked Steve Gandy's site, and unfortunately, the only bigger hood for the CV 21 is for the Leica mount lenses, and it will not mate with the Nikon S mount versions.
It's really too bad that Cosina has given Nikon users the short end of the stick. Cosina came out with a really vanilla selection of lenses and accessories for Nikon, and now even some of the more interesting items such as the F-S adapter are no longer available. Their policy has resulted in a self-fulfilling prophesy; We'll only give them a poor selection because they're not interested, and they're not interested because we're only giving them a poor selection.
Too bad. I'd love an affordable 35 1.8 and an 85 f2 for my S3.

 

[BillBingham2]

I'd go for the 15, I am not a 21 lover. Love the 25 though. From what I hear, the adapter I would want is not available any more. It is the F-S adapter that would allow you to purchase a 15mm lens with a F mount on it and adapt it for your S mount Nikon Rangefinders. You could get a F-L adapter to adapt it to an LTM screw and then any LTM-M adapter would allow her on any M mount camera. You might be able to get the F-S adapter used though.

While I do not use my 15 often, when I do need her, I love her.

B2 (;->

 

[VinceC]

You might use your SLR lenses as a guide, if you have some wides.

By the numbers:
Field of view
21mm -- 81 degrees wide, 60 degrees high, 92 degrees diagonal.
25mm -- 70 degrees wide, 50 degrees high, 80.5 degrees diagonal.
28mm -- 64 degrees wide, 45 degrees high, 74 degrees diagonal.
All have minimum focus distance of 3 feet / 0.9 meter in the Nikon RF mount.

Each has its own character. In SLR, I vastly preferred the extra "stretch" of the Nikkor 24/2.8 compared to a 28mm lens. When I put together a user Nikon system close to twenty years ago, the 25mm Nikkor was too scarce and valuable for my taste, so I made due with a Nikkor 28/3.5 and a Zeiss Biogon 21/45. I used the 28/3.5 about 90 percent of the time and the 21mm Biogon when I reallyl needed the extra coverage. That usually means either interiors or showing the relationship of a subject to its surroundings. Last year, I ended up buying a Cosina 25/4 to fill the long missing gap. At this point in my shooting journey, I have become so adapted to the 28/3.5 that I still carry it about three quarters of the time, and carry the CV 25/4 instead only when I think I'll need to go wider, usually when traveling.

For what it's worth, here are some kitchen table shots of the 28mm, 25mm and 21mm. The subject changed considerably for the 28mm shot, but you can use the lamp in the upper right corner to judge relative sizes of background elements and coverage.

W-Nikkor 28mm f/3.5, wide open, 3 feet focus.

Cosina Skopar 25/4, wide open, 3 feet focus

Zeiss Biogon 21/4.5, wide open, 3 feet focus

 

[csxcnj]

Thanks everyone...I'll go with the 21mm and see how I like it...I don't have much experience shooting wide, seems folks have their preferences on how much wide they like, what looks "right" to them....cool, I like exploring...😉