25mm 1.4 lens for m4/3?

[aleksanderpolo]

Hi,

I am late to the party, are there any 25mm 1.4 lens that have full coverage (or just slight vignetting), not too expensive yet (<=$150-200), decent image quality? Or has these lens's price skyrocketed beyond reach already? Thanks.

[kds315*]

Zeiss Tevidon 1.4/25mm if found cheap and converted yourself. Excellent quality, slight vignetting only.

[wilson.c]

I think the prices may have been hiked up already. Maybe I need to look for some other Japanese/Chinese made Cine lenses.

[apicius9]

I never tried the Tevidon but from what I have seen it looks like it is among the best in that class.

There are a few CCTV lenses out there that produce really decent images, maybe not quite like the Tevidon or an Angenieux but still very acceptable. The Pentax 25/1.4 is very nice, I only sold mine because I had alternatives and it is really small (and I have big hands...): http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546271-REG/Pentax_C22525KP_C22525KP_1_C_Mount.html - it may be available directly at other places. I have also seen great pictures from a Computar 25/1.3 1" CCTV lens. That is not produced anymore, so it is a bit harder to find and you will have to kep an eye on ebay or surplus places. I got mine for $50 but haven't used it, yet - it needs to be slightly modified and I just found out this week what to actually do to make it reach infinity.

Of the older c-mount cine lenses, the two 'lower-priced' ones that stand out for me are the Canon TV-16 25/1.4 and the Wollensak Anastigmat 25/1.5. Recently, both have just gone up to fetch over $200, though. I really like the Canon because of its excellent handling. You may want to look here for more info on vignetting: http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8410&highlight=shootout .

Hope this helps,

Stefan

[aleksanderpolo]

Stefan,

Thank you so much. Do you know of other fast and cheap C-Mount lens between 25-50mm? Most of the example I've seen are 25 1.4, wonder if the slightly longer lens are common or not. Thanks again.

[apicius9]

Well, the 'fast and cheap' is the problem, I think I have tried more 25mms than other lengths, so my experience there is limited. I am sure there will be CCTV lenses outhere in 50mm but I have no personal experience with them. I like 75mm lenses, and there are a few Fujinons on ebay at 75mm and somtimes under $100; I remember mentioning people on forums that they perform great, but I never had one of them. A little slower, but the Kern 75/2.8 Yvar is easy to find on ebay and is a very nice lens if it is clean (but usually also a bit over $200). For a long time, Schneider c-mounts went way under value on ebay, not sure if that still is the case. I have a really nice and small Schneider 35/2 that is a very nice lens on MFT. I also have hopes for another one I recently got but haven't tried out, yet: A Schneider 40/1.9 for Robot cameras. Downside: You need an adapter for the Robot lens, but that is just a flange that goes into a c-mount adapter, so you can use the c-mount for other lenses as well. With a little luck you can get adapter and lens for around $200.

Stefan

P.S. On another note, for a little over $100 you will get a Canon FD 50/1.4 plus adapter, that may be the better choice over many c-mount alternatives.

P.P.S. Just saw you have an FL, even easier... And I sold my FD50/1.4 after I got the C/Y Planar 50/1.4, just beautiful on the GH1...

[aleksanderpolo]

Thanks again, I was looking for something around 28-35 1.4 as I am shooting f2 at iso800 a lot of time which has quite a lot of chroma noise on GF1, need as much light as possible. 50 1.4 is a bit too tight and 20 1.7 is a bit too wide... Sorry for being so picky