[shoplink 29193 ebay]
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Too bd the price is so high because otherwise this lens would be mine! The lens is currently available for preorder on [shoplink 29193 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink] for 1.299 Euro. The specs of the lens are amazing but I am surprised no big website posted any single image sample taken with it! So I spent some time to find them for myself. I got two images:
1) Full size image taken at full f/0.95 aperture on Flickr (Click here). There is a visible longitudinal chromatic aberration but the lens is very sharp and contrast is also good.
2) A small size image is available at Mapcamera (Click here). Aperture is unknown.
The [shoplink 15659 ebay]Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95[/shoplink] lens is smaller and lighter than the 17mm. And here is the lens on the GX1 and the lens on the E-M5. Let me know if you can find more image samples! Thanks!
P.S.: A cheaper alternative is the [shoplink 29238 ebay]Schneider 17mm f/0.95 (Click here to see it on ebay)[/shoplink] C-mount lens.
79 Responses
Ouch. If they ever manage to make these things with autofocus they will abso-flippin-lutely clean up. Till then, they always be a rich man’s niche.
Speak for yourself.
I for one enjoy using manual lenses, I even focus manually on autofocus lenses.
You might enjoy it but these lenses will still remain a small niche market, won’t they?
For Video users, not at all. More videographers are getting large sensor cameras and that trend wont stop.
Manual focus lenses like this are targeted to them, they are much more then a niche.
They can’t keep up with production as it is for the 25/0.95. Quite literally flying off the shelves. They are never in stock.
That doesn’t mean they’re a huge seller. It just means they make fewer than they can sell.
Niche market?
I’m not sure about that. In my country, whenever Voigt 25/0.95 is back in stock, it is sold out in few days.
@Vlad, I said ‘you talk “as if ” auto-focus were a sin’. I never implied anybody said those exact words.
Someone DID say “everyone should know how to manually focus and do it well…AF makes people lazy.”
I said these lenses were a niche. Is anybody prepared to suggest that a 1300 Euro manual-focus lens is mainstream? Not so far.
Most people want the option of auto-focus. If you think that isn’t true I don’t know what planet you’re living on.
This lens has such a thin DOF at the apertures that make this special, that it would be frustrating to try and use it in anger on any current m43 camera. If Oly put focus peaking on the EM5 then I would start saving for this lens.
The zoom magnification is absolutely simple to use. Why do you need something different? I’ve used the 25/0.95 wide open on my E-P3 with no problems at all.
Absolutely agree !
Magnification is very awkward to use espectially for subjects that don’t stay still.
Sony, Nikon, Canon offer the efficient manual focus system in their camera bodies. For instance, Nikon’s manual focus system is able to confirm accurately once a subject is in focus at a selected focus point. If the subject is not in focus, it suggests us how to adjust the lens (i.e. clockwise, counterclockwise).
For Sony, they implement a feature called “focus peaking” which greatly indicate the peak of contrast in their EVF. It is true that Sony’s focus peaking is not 100% accurate but it’s much more practical than magnification in reality. We can manually focus and do the image composition at the same time.
If it had autofocus you wouldn’t NEED focus peaking.
if you dont like to use magnification and want to work fast then peaking should help alot yes.
You make me think of an interesting question about focus peaking. Call me cynical but do you think if focus peaking would make people more likely to buy 3rd party lenses would panasonic or olympus be less likely to implement it? I wish they would.
I understand why people want autofocus- but everyone should know how to manually focus and do it well. It is how I learned to focus when I learned how to use a camera- and is not difficult or a deal breaker- and I am more comfortable using MF, AF makes people lazy.
Photographing is about photos not learning how to not be lazy.
Are you actually saying that autofocus wouldn’t improve their sales? What a bunch of elitist snobs you lot are. As it happens, yes, manual focus can be fun and useful. But you talk as if autofocus were a sin. Or made you a lousy photographer. I assume you all have huge plate cameras and spend your days with sheets draped over your heads. All progress is bad, you’re quite right. Don’t know why i didn’t see it sooner.
Auto-focus would make it a different lens.
Manual focus is neither difficult, nor particularly time consuming. An EVF is preferred, but not necessary. It really depends upon the situation, whether or not you choose to use MF or an AF lens. The Nokton 25mm is very easy and sure when focusing. You should really try one some time.
There’s nothing elitist about using, or even preferring to use manual focus. It’s about controlling exactly what you want to have in focus and not leaving it to the camera. This is especially important shooting macro or in low light with very wide apertures, with shallow DoF, like the Nokton f0.95 lenses.
I started manually focusing my auto-focus capable lenses recently, and the images are much more memorable. Only time sensitive things likes moving cars, children, etc… are where I use autofocus anymore…
Doing mostly photos of stationary objects – portraiture – I’ve realized manual focus produces far better results. Especially when using big aperture lenses that allow you to really control everything.
Print 50 of your favourite images. Make 45 of them auto-focus and 5 manual. Then ask all your friends to tell you which ones are manual.
Do you honestly think they will know?
Then ask them which are their favourite images.
If the 5 manual ones get a higher rating than the others, perhaps you have a point.
Personally, I find the camera focuses where I tell it to, in a fraction of the time it would take ME to do it. That’s one of the great things about touch focus. Of course, REAL photographers don’t use touch focus, because it’s too easy and it wasn’t available in the film days.
Are the focus distance scales on side of the lens accurate?
Close enough, I guess. Judging distance by eyeballing isn’t.
I usually don’t carry a measuring tape with me. 😉
Thank you,
Dear Mr. Reee,
I’m not implying that YOU are elitist, but it seems to me that there is a certain attitude, quietly bubbling under the surface, which implies that the more arcane your methods, the better you are.
If you still use film, you’re implicitly more of a real “photographer” than if you don’t.
If you use primes, you’re better than someone who uses zooms.
If you use manual focus…blah blah..
If you only use RAW…you get me?
If you like an OVF better than an EVF…etcetera.
This is classic human nature. Everything new is treated with suspicion, or derision. The new is somehow not quite as…”authentic” as the old. Ego comes into this. It’s much easier to take a photo with auto-focus, therefore if you’re doing it by hand, you MUST be better than the average Joe. Right?
I take the view that if I put a hundred photos up in a gallery, and half were focused manually, with the other half focused automatically, nobody would be able to tell me which ones were which.
As I said in my original post, manual focus can be fun and useful, but the idea that these lenses are somehow superior because they CAN’T focus without the MK1 left hand seems preposterous to me.
All I said was they are niche. At 1300 Euro and manual-only, who honestly can disagree?
P.S. Sorry, I missed an “e”.
Funny how you create stuff out of nothing. Your “elitist snobs” definition is based on someone saying that AF is a “sin” and would “make you a lousy photographer”. Which no one actually said. You did.
About AF making people lazy, it might be an overstatement, but you actually do less work. Same like auto mode.
+1
@ Admin In my opinion the second image is not shot wide open. The bokeh is not circular.
you may be right.
Sigh. And again we have CV’s characteristic polygonal highlights and busy bokeh.
I really want to love their lenses, but depending on subject matter, they are close to unusable when stopped down even 1-2 stops past wide open. I’ve shot with the CV 50/1.1, 35/1.4 and 75/1.8 on my GF1, and they all exhibit this same characteristic. The 35/1.4 in particular had ugly pinpoint artefacts in highlights in addition to its busy bokeh.
Are circular diaphragm blades really that expensive?
There are 10 iris blades on both the 25/0.95 and the 17.5/0.95. I have the 25 and have not had issues with the bokeh. The Leica DG 25/1.4 has 7 blades.
My old Summilux M 50/1.4 has 12 blades.
While this is no dreamy Rokkor 58mm f1.2 bokeh, it’s far from what I would call a busy bokeh.
If you want to see busy look at the Hexanon lenses.
This CV has neutral bokeh.
it would be boring if all lenses had the same bokeh. Me for instance, like the busy bokeh.
CA (chromatic aberrations) could be an issue at wide-open.
I don’t need autofocus, if the MF is implemented so nice.
But I want electronic contacts if I buy a 1200 Euro lens designed for µFT.
I want exif data, automated focus assist (magnification), automated focal lenght recognition for IBIS etc. Shouldn’t have been that hard…
+1
Why on earth they designed lenses with a digital mount but without any benefits of digital is beyond me. I believe adding a chip would cost almost nothing anyway.
Wow ! these two samples don’t make me want to spend 1300 euros…The first image has high chromatic aberration and the second harsh bokeh…In any case, I will never spend 1300 euros in a lens…Maybe, in a high quality, waterproof, bright zoom, I can think of such a price but for this type of lens….no way !
thats not harsh bokeh, i call that bokeh with character 😉
@JF — this is what happens when the morons at a photography company release info on an upcoming lens, make if available for sale – and then do not even release any official sample images. Based on the 25 mm lenses that is already out, the images will surely be stellar, but for people who have not seen the 25 mm samples, they may base their initial opinions on these pathetic image samples.
The company definitely has these lenses available for testing, at least internally, so why not release some goddamn sample images? Are they that f-ing stupid?
I’m a little disappointed after the performance of the 25mm. And while I’m enjoying my Nokton a lot, I’m not going to buy another MF lens until someone implements focus peaking.
“I’m not going to buy another MF lens until someone implements focus peaking.”
+10
+1 at least something like the Oly 12mm
+1000000000
I have Carl Zeiss and Voigt (Leica-M mount) lens. In the past, I was frustrated with the MF system of both Olym and Pana. I now switch to NEX temporarily. Now I’m happily using these lens with NEX. Its focus peaking helps me a lot. I will switch back to Oly surely if they offer something similar to NEX’s focus peaking.
little bit purple fringing???!
srsly, guy must be blind to call that little. not to mention how’d this perform in backlit scenes.
Thats not purple fringing.
Its called longitudal chromatic aberation or LoCA. Only parts that are not in focus gets color and usually limited only to wide open and maybe one-two stops from there.
As you can see, parts that are in front of focus point have magneta tint, parts that are behind focus point have green tint.
Very common with fast lenses, most 1.4 or 1.2 have that too. It would need really expensive lens to get rid of this, having f0.95 isnt exactly for free.
That or spherochromaticism. Good comments made in this thread about it (not related to this lens):
http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Ko8F?start=10
my canon FD 50 mm f1.4 and even more 85 mm f1.8 do quite the same !
its because of the imperfections, the various abberations, that a fast lens can get that special looks. Imagine an optimal corrected lens, it would get quite clinical in character, but maybe thats what some people prefer. I have always liked the Helios 85 1.5 for its crazy bokeh. Don.t like the crazy prices of this Helios right now. I think the 17er Nokton might be a very interesting lens.
Yeah, it looks pretty bad, based on that one shot. But it is only ONE shot.
I’ll reserve judgement until I see a wider variety of samples in different lighting conditions.
Maybe not the ideal motive for such shallow DOF. I would prefer more sharpness, and that would reduce the color errors too. Just stop it down.
stopping a 0.95 lens down? blasphemy!
How is 1.29 Euros a high price? At the local exchange rate that’s about $1.70. Locally I can’t even get a gallon of gasoline or a Happy Meal ™ for $1.70! People in Europe sure have it easy, I’m sure this lens will go for over a thousand dollars in the US and rest of world.
In Europe you write 1.299 and in USA you write 1,299.
Nah. In the US you always write $1,299.99.
Never forget those 99¢! 😉
🙂
And that, Admin, is what makes you more culturally aware than that other fool. 😉
This is a tough one… I checked it on Wikipedia. They say that what is normally called the decimal mark, in math is known as a radix point.
In Europe, UK, Ireland and Malta use a point, “.”, as radix point/decimal mark. The other countries use a comma “,” as radix point. HOWEVER, Switzerland uses a point, “.”, in currency, and a comma elsewhere — those Swiss people! (In Spanish handwriting, they sometimes use a superscripted comma…, but they also use symbols like ¿ and ¡ 🙂 ).
So… If it is the language that dictates the radix point, then €1299.99 is correct. If it is the currency that dictates this, then €1299,99 is correct.
Well Wikipedia is not always correct. In Switzerland we can use either 34.95 or 34,95, people have the choice. But you won’t see both in the same document, whether you are quoting prices or lengths or whatever, because thongs have to be coherent.
What is very weird is to see the coma used as a separator for the thousands. Here again, we have the choice : we can use either 1’000.- or 1 000.- aka a space or an apostrophe. My favorite way is to use a space for the thousands and a dot for the decimal mark. But with the last version of Excell this is no more possible which drives me nut. I can make a personal format for the 1 000, but the billions won’t get right, it will look like that 1000 000 instead of that 1 000 000.
Apostrophe for thousands..? Now *that’s* weird 🙂
It looks fantastic on the OM-D, hope my 25mm will look just as great 🙂
The Schneider is not cheaper. IF comparing New lens to New lens the Schneider is more expensive at $1850 also will not cover the M43rds sensor as only a 2/3 inch C-mount lens. Hopefully the Voigtlander will follow general practice and be $1299 US, That would make it possible for me to buy in around 2 years.
the samples are typical stuff; closeups where it is obvious to get extreme blurred backgrounds wideopen. I wait for people/street photos.
I have seen a video made with this lens earlier, and it struck me that the bokeh there was also not so nice. As it is here in the second pic. I know it is not wide open, but bokeh should also be nice when stopped down a little. I don’t think this lens is good at that.
if you look at cinema movies, quite alot lenses give nonsmooth/busy bokeh
From the e-bay site selling the C-mount Schneider Kreuznach Xenon 17mm F/0.95. “Not appropriate for 4/3rds cameras unless you like heavy vignetting.”
@ Admin — New EM-5 image samples on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hypselodoris/6866562147/sizes/l/in/photostream/
@Jason
the exif data has been changed not taken with a E-M5
I doubt anybody has had the chance to make studio shots like that with the new camera.
B&W E-M5 sample: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goodi/6883177975/
Another: http://www.flickr.com/photos/contandopixeles/6886305059/
@jason
I wouldn’t be too sure about this one either…
Check out interview with Terada in Amateur Photographer yesterday (Frisay):
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Olympus_Financial_troubles_will_not_affect_launch_of_new_products_news_311502.html
* new Pen this year?, and before the next OM-D
* new lenses 75/1.8 etc in late summer; the 75 will come first
* etc
would be nice if the 75 would be available already in aug/sept
Doesn’t look like anyone has mentioned this – the listing for the Schneider Kreuznach 17mm/f:0.95 mentioned as an alternative states it is not appropriate for micro 4/3rds unless you like a lot of vignetting.
It is not just vignetting but the coverage (17/0.95 Schneider) is only good enough for the toy cams from Pentax and Nikon.
Not to mention the toy camera from Ikonoskop: The A-Cam DII, which shoots uncompressed RAW footage in full HD.
http://www.ikonoskop.com/dii/
A pity that there are no real photographs with this lens out there. They need to learn a lesson from the guys at SLR Magic who distributed a few lenses ensuring plenty of photos/video available for people to see.
Two image samples that illustrate why one should not consider buying this lens.
Anymore sample images like this? 😉
Manual focusing question: Does anybody know if you get Manual Focus assist/confirmation through the EVF?
I’ve been reading the EM-5 info & manual and what I have seen is Live View related capabilities, i.e. one can set the MF Assist Select [On] to automatically magnify the image for precise focus when the focus ring is rotated in manual focus mode. Is this also true for the EVF? I seem to remember reading somewhere that all the monitor info can be replicated on the EVF and one can customize how much of the monitor info is displayed on the EVF…
Page 14 of the EM-5 manual says:
“• The AF confirmation mark (• or o) will be displayed and focus will lock.
• Lenses that supports Hi-Speed Imager AF*
o Lenses with other Four Thirds mounts”
In my current Nikon world I get a Focus Confirmation green dot on the viewfinder and also a Rangefinder focusing assist scale. Is there something similar in the Olys?
So I am assuming that with a Cosina lens attached one would get at least get the “o” Focus confirmation on the monitor… but I would like to have that same capability on the EVF and ideally also a rangefinder scale.
Thanks.