CV lenses

[sean_reid]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

The Zeiss 15 will be here this week so I can finally do the ultra-wides comparison test: CV 12, CV 15, Zeiss 15, WATE.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Joe Mondello]

The Zeiss 15 will be here this week so I can finally do the ultra-wides comparison test: CV 12, CV 15, Zeiss 15, WATE.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Really looking forward to that one, Sean.

[hdrmd]

There is not much wrong with either the 12 or the 15mm CV lenses. Here are two examples of peonies blooming early here in KY. The horizontal is the 12; the vertical is the 15mm.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[mikelc]

i have 4 cv lenses,,,the 15, 21, 28 Ultron and 75 ...i also have now 3 leicas (24, 35 cron and 50 lux)...i really like the cv lenses and their value is incredible for the quality...i bought the cvs based on sean's reviews and they are every bit as good as he reported them to be..

[sean_reid]

i have 4 cv lenses,,,the 15, 21, 28 Ultron and 75 ...i also have now 3 leicas (24, 35 cron and 50 lux)...i really like the cv lenses and their value is incredible for the quality...i bought the cvs based on sean's reviews and they are every bit as good as he reported them to be..

 

Glad to hear it Mike.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[cme4brain]

i have 4 cv lenses,,,the 15, 21, 28 Ultron and 75 ...i also have now 3 leicas (24, 35 cron and 50 lux)...i really like the cv lenses and their value is incredible for the quality...i bought the cvs based on sean's reviews and they are every bit as good as he reported them to be..

 

Based on Sean's reasonable and objective assessments of the CV lens line, I now have all CV lenses - 15mm Heliar, 21mm skopar, new RF coupled 25mm (on order), 35mm f/2.5 Skopar, 50mm f/1.5 Nokton, 75mm (on order), 90mm APO. Were it not for the excellent-but-cheap CV lenses (relative to Leica prices), I would not have bought the M8 in the first place as the cost of the M8 body PLUS Leica glass is prohibitive for this serious amateur photographer. I own seven excellent CV lenses for less than the cost of one Leica lens, and my hobby will never know the difference. I appreciate Sean's ability to buck the "Leica only" trend and give objective assessments of CV glass. I may buy leica glass in the future- would like to- but in the mean time I am perfectly happy. Thanks Sean!

[Chuck Hatcher]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

...I own seven excellent CV lenses for less than the cost of one Leica lens, and my hobby will never know the difference...

 

It's interesting that much of the appeal of a digital M camera was access to the outstanding Leica glass, and now that the M8 has arrived, even with a few warts, it has transcended that role.

 

I went with older 35, 50, and 90 Summicrons and pledged to stick with them for a long time, until I had thoroughly explored their capabilities and limitations. But then I had a pressing need for a wide lens to photograph a building, so I decided to buy a CV 15. But then I needed a suitable finder to use it on the M8, and since the CV 21 comes with one for not all that much more than the finder alone, I bought it, too. If new Leica glass was not so expensive I would want a 28 Summicron and maybe a 24 Elmarit, but neither is likely at my house any time soon. The CV lenses are very nice, especially considering the price.

[Joe Mondello]

 

Based on Sean's reasonable and objective assessments of the CV lens line, I now have all CV lenses

 

I own seven excellent CV lenses for less than the cost of one Leica lens,

 

Thanks Sean!

 

YES!

 

YES!! (well OK I only have 4, but am seriously thinking of 3 more!)

 

YES!!!

 

I evangelize for Sean since http://www.reidreviews.com has saved me a hundred fold it's subscription cost!

 

Being able to see Sean's results from a variety of lenses I was able to make an informed decision based on actual test results rather than simply my emotional response to a beloved brand name (sorry Leica -- but I DID buy the M8!)

[johnll]

I have the CV 28/3.5, 35/2.5, 50/2.5 Skopars, the 90/3.5 APO Lanthar and the 35/1.2 Nokton, which I use on my M7. I don't do comparative tests, but they all produce great pictures. The only noticeable issue I have occasionally found is some CA, but it's quite rare and I'm not even sure which lens it is that produces it. It's a non-issue except when viewing 3200 dpi scans on screen at near 100%.

[Ben Marks]

Favorites are the CV 15, 35/1.2, 40/1.4. The 40 and my RD-1 are a great combination. I have been playing around with the 35/1.2 on my new M8.

 

I also own the 21/4, 25/4, 28/1.9 and the 50/1.5. Briefly owned the 75, but sold it (nice results, but I needed the extra speed of the Leica 75's).

 

Ben

[scho]

I also want to thank Sean for his comprehensive and objective lens reviews that helped guide my lens selections. I'm currently using several CV and Zeiss lenses that are more than adequate for my needs. The only two CV lenses that didn't quite work out for me on the M8 were the 40mm Nokton (great on my R-D1, but mount was too tight on the M8 and also had weird bokeh) and the 21 f/4 skopar which had blurry corners. My favorite CV lenses on the M8 are the 15 Heliar, 28 Ultron, 50 Heliar, and the 90 Lanthar. I also use and like the Zeiss 35 Biogon and 50 Planar. The latter is night and day different from the CV 50 Heliar (lower contrast) but not really "better" - just different. I'd opt for the Heliar when doing portraits. Frankly, if these high quality alternate lens options were not available for use with the M8 I would not have been able to afford all of the equivalent Leica lenses and would most likely not have purchased the M8.

[sean_reid]

Thanks for these great comments. The 21/4.0 is soft in the corners (as discussed in the review) and the 40/1.4 does have an unusual look in the OOF areas (as discussed in the article that came out today). The latter also shows some focus shift. I was speaking with Leica, again, today about the importance of remembering the customers who *will* buy the M8 if it is useable (in color, with wide angles) with a variety of lenses. I'm trying to get them to see that its better to gain a camera customer who (at least initially) buys some CV and/or Zeiss lenses than it is to have that customer decide against the M8 all together. The "old guard" of M camera owners are important but its also important to expand beyond them.

 

For those who are interested, I think the strongest performers among the CV lenses (on the M8) are the: 15/4.5, 25/4 Skopar, 28/3.5 Skopar, 28/1.9 Ultron, 35/2.5 (any version), 35/1.7 Ultron, 50/1.5 Nokton, 75/2.5 and 90/3.5.

 

The 12/5.6, 35/1.2 and 50/2.5 will likely go on my "recommended" list as well but I need to do more testing before I can add them. Carl mentioned the exact two CV lenses that I have some reservations about, the 21/4 and 40/1.4 (although I really like the latter at F/8). I haven't yet done the formal M8 tests on the 15/4.5, 35/2.5, 35/1.7, 75/2.5 and 90/3.5 but I've worked enough with those five to feel pretty confident about them.

 

The introduction of John's LT-M8 adapters mean that the coding issue (for LTM lenses) has essentially been solved. That, in my mind, is a huge step forward for any M8 owner who wants to work with screw mount lenses (Leica or other).

 

Every single Zeiss ZM lens I've tested has been excellent, as has been every modern Leica M lens I've tested. I think that the access to great lenses is still a strength of the M8 but that those lenses are made by more than one company.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

I have been contemplating purchasing the 75mm lux and had not thought about the CV 75mm. thanks for the tip, i will give it serious thought. Anyone has any thought about the 28/1.9 ultron?

 

I have nokton 40mm and I like it very much. The only downside is that the focusing barrel is very stiff compared to Leica lenses. Anything recommendation?

 

I must have missed this earlier but the 28/1.9 is a great lens.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[querstrommotor]

greetings to you all here...

 

I think we have the following situation:

1. A M8 costs more than 4000,-€

2. With the 1,33 sensor you have a wide angle problem, if your widest lens was the 35mm or the 28mm in your analog system.

So you have to invest in a 28mm, 21 or 15mm lens.

3. If you by them brad new from Leica the only acceptable price is 1300,- for the new 28mm - if you can get one....

 

4. The other choice is to by second hand, but here you get normaly older constructions (which are also fine) and the price tag is also pretty high.

 

5. With the CV lenses you get brad new products - with used stuff I had in the past often the problem, that the lubrication was in a bad shape or the lenses were not correctly adjusted - this risc is much smaller if you by brad new lenses fron CV.

 

6. The quality...

I own since a couple of days a 75mm, a 15mm(have it for one year now) and a 25mm CV and I am really surprised about the quality, even if you forget about the price.

The hardware is not as good, as with the Leica lenses and also the paintig on the black lenses get in a used shape very quickly, but if you compare them with other lenses on the market today, you get a full metal outstanding design and quality.

The picture quality compared with older Leica designs is on the same level - maybe not so much in the tele section, but the wide angle lenses perform outstanding.

If you want a set of 21mm - 35mm - 50mm - 90mm in analog transmitted to yor M8 digital cam, you need

15mm - 28mm - 40mm - 75mm.

If you by that from Leica you have to spent money on a WATE and a Cron or Lux 75mm - the 40mm is only available in the used market with the cron CL (by the way a beautifull lens)....

That is what I call the M8 lens problem, because if you want to have equal perspectives with yor analog M and yor M8, you have to spend a serious ammont of money.

In Leica advertisment texts according to the M8, they speak about the usage of yor lens collection, but that is for most of the analog M shooters only half of the story....

 

7. If you shoot most of the time in B/W, as I do, you don´t have to care so much about coding the lenses - I´m so satisfied of what my CV lenses bring out of the box, that I´m not even thinking about the coding problems...

 

8. It is a great thing, that Sean tested so much of the CV stuff, so that we all speak about facts and not anymore about religion - it is wonderfull, that we have a choice beneeth the great Leica glass and also the Zeiss lenses - the positive thing about the M8 and the RD1 is, that the whole rangefinder scene start to become new impulses - we had never in the past such a big choice arround our system depending to lenses and additional gear.

 

9. What I dream of is a sort of TriXXX from CV - imagine a telephoto TriXXX - 75-90-135 or a ultra wide 12-15-21 all on stop 4 that will be a dream;-))))

 

10. Imagine you want to have a collection of the fastest lenses - you will find them not only in the Leica-sortiment...

Nokton 35mm-Noctilux 50mm.Summilux 75mm - what a dream outfit...

 

So to put things together, CV offers us outstanding quality for a very interesting price, the design fits to our beloved M´s, even on an M3 or M2 the silver color skopars look phantastic.

Even if we need highest performance according to the speed of our lenses, we get interesting offers from CV, which we do not find in the Leica range.

In my bag they all live in peace together

[sean_reid]

What I am glad to see happening is that more and more people are willing to take an objective look at the rangefinder lenses from all three companies. Neither the Zeiss nor the CV lenses are as well-made as the Leica lenses (in general) but, as Ekkehard points out, they are made of metal (in the era of the plastic lens) and the build quality is quite good nonetheless. There can also be sample variations in the CV lenses sometimes (lenses that come through with de-centering or other problems) but an exchange with the dealer can solve that. I have not seen any sample variation in the Zeiss or Leica lenses, to date (other than Leica lenses that have sometimes shown some press abuse prior to reaching me).

 

In a what is a poorly-timed move (for M8 owners) CV is increasingly switching their lenses over to M mount. The LTM lenses can be used with the Milich adapters and so are much easier to use (with codes) on the M8. Some very good CV LTM lenses are being discontinued right at a time when many current and potential M8 owners are getting interested in them. I'm hoping that Cosina realizes this and reverses the engines to keep those LTM lenses in production.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[querstrommotor]

@sean_reid

 

Greetings to you,

as I am not so much into the sales politics of CV, can you tell us, which lenses are, or will be discontinued???

 

Are there also informations which lenses they will switch from LTM to M mount in the future??

 

Thank you so much

Ekki

[ChrisC]

...... CV is increasingly switching their lenses over to M mount. The LTM lenses can be used with the Milich adapters and so are much easier to use (with codes) on the M8......

 

Sean - I had not realised that CV switching to M mount was a general strategy until I read it on RR last night. It would be a terrible irony that now John Milich [bravo JM] is offering us his LTM to coding M adapter, we might lose the CV threaded line; unless of course, their M mounts were detachable for milling and suitable for coding too.

 

As always; thank you for sterling work. I'm looking forward to your wide angle review [shame the Zeiss 18mm won't be available] and I'm curios to see what the CV 50mm Colour Skopar performs like.

 

..................Chris

[scho]

@sean_reid

 

Greetings to you,

as I am not so much into the sales politics of CV, can you tell us, which lenses are, or will be discontinued???

 

Are there also informations which lenses they will switch from LTM to M mount in the future??

 

Thank you so much

Ekki

 

There is a summary of the changes in the CV lenses here:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40513

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[sean_reid]

Sean - I had not realised that CV switching to M mount was a general strategy until I read it on RR last night. It would be a terrible irony that now John Milich [bravo JM] is offering us his LTM to coding M adapter, we might lose the CV threaded line; unless of course, their M mounts were detachable for milling and suitable for coding too.

 

As always; thank you for sterling work. I'm looking forward to your wide angle review [shame the Zeiss 18mm won't be available] and I'm curios to see what the CV 50mm Colour Skopar performs like.

 

..................Chris

 

Hi Chris,

 

It is ironic alright but I don't see any reason why CV couldn't reconsider this and keep some of the LTM lenses in production. I'm going to talk to Stephen about this today.

 

BTW, CV doesn't have any kind of public relations department or press pool in the USA. The fact that I have access to all these CV lenses for testing is because of Stephen Gandy at CameraQuest. I do recommend him - without him there would be far fewer CV lenses tested.

 

Needless to say I have no commercial affiliation with any photographic company, dealer, etc. but I do appreciate that Leica USA, Zeiss USA, Tony Rose and Stephen Gandy all make the effort to get me the lenses I need to test.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

Here's an overview of what's what with the CV screw-mount lenses, as of today and *to the best of my knowledge*. See also: Voigtlander Lenses Leica Mount

 

CV 12 Heliar - in production, am currently testing

CV 15 Heliar - black version sold out at factory, production supposed to begin again in June, am currently testing

CV 21 Skopar - black version sold out at factory, production supposed to begin again in June, soft in corners, tested very with me well otherwise

CV 25 Skopar - discontinued, replaced by 25 P with RF coupling and M mount, tested very well with me

CV 28/3.5 Skopar- discontinued, tested very well with me (deserves more attention than it gets, in fact)

CV 28/1.9 Ultron - in production, tested very well with me

CV 35/2.5 Skopar - in production, is testing very well so far

CV 35/1.7 Ultron - discontinued, is testing very well so far

CV 50/2.5 Skopar - discontinued, will test in future if possible

CV 50/1.5 Nokton - in production, tested very well with me

CV 75/2.5 Heliar - in production, is testing very well so far

CV 90/3.5 APO Lanthar - in production, is testing very well so far

 

Obviously, many of the discontinued lenses are still around at dealers right now and will be until they sell out.

 

And, to keep things balanced, every single Zeiss and Leica lens I've tested so far has done very well. Zeiss/Leica lenses I'm testing now (or will in near future) are ZM 15, ZM 35, WATE, 35 Summicron Asph., 35 Sumilux Asph, Leica 75/2.0, both Leica 90s

 

Cheers,

 

Sean