GH3 Voigtlander 0.95 lenses - 17.5 or 25?

A

andrew00

Well-known member
Hey,

I'm thinking of picking up either the 17.5 or 25 f/0.95 Voigtlander lenses.

Has anyone got any thoughts on which is 'better' for video, i.e. does one have a good/bad focusing, has one for crappy corner or anything like that?

I'm not expecting miracles at f/0.95, just trying to plan which is the smarter purchase between the two and seeing if there's a tangible reason for one over the other.

From what I can see the 17.5 has a 'no click' mode that the 25 doesn't, although I'm not sure it'll necessarily be a big thing for me, more interested in the focus smoothness, I hate all these focus by wire electronic lenses.
 
IMO

Fast wide angles are hard to come by and it's a unique look. 17.5mm being wider would help sharpness at .95 vs 25mm at .95
 
I rented the 17.5mm for a shoot once and loved it. It was fairly sharp even close to wide open. Like was said before, depends on the focal length you want. Haven't used the 25mm.
 
First get a cheap zoomlens to see what focal length you prefer. Also keep the sensor crop mode in mind, this basically provides you with two AOVs per lens.
 
Everybody needs a fast normal lens and the 25 f/0.95 Voigtlander is king of the hill. It's very sharp and wide open it gets a little soft but in a good way and vignettes but also in a good way. It's one of my favorite lenses I own.
 
Get both!

FOV is going to be the bigest issue here. As far as a image quality stand point the 17.5mm looks like it behaves better wide open lower coma and CA.

I already have the 25mm and will be picking up the 17.5 soon. I really wish they would come out with a 12mm f.095 and a 42.5mm too.
 
I own both and a set of other Voigtlaenders and my feeling is similar to Erik's: Get the 25 first, it's the perfect all around lens both for video and photography. And buy the 17.5 later. But then it depends on what you are shooting. If you need wider it's of course the other way round....
 
If you want wide angle try out the Lumix 7-14. I use it for everything wide. It's not fast at f4 but it's a crazy cool and a fun lens to shoot with, and you really don't need a fast wide angle unless you shoot in low light a lot and shallow DOF isn't going to happen anyway with wide angles.
 
+1 on trying single focal length similar to both before buying one or the other. I personnally prefered the 35mm (full-frame) angle of view rather than the 50mm, so I went with the 17,5mm instead of the 25mm. Both make beautiful images though, no doubt about it.
 
Its just really the perspective that is at question here. The 17.5mm is more of a dramatic perspective, but still a pretty standard FL equiv. The 25mm is much more standard and "normal" feeling angle wise. The 17.5mm preforms a little better wide open too.
 
I just jumped onboard the M43 wagon, GH3 just arrived. I've not used the 17.5 yet, but I was in the same boat. I bought the 25mm first, echoing what Erik said above, a fast normal lens is almost indispensable in any kit. I do plan to get the 17.5 as soon as I can find a nice used one. Fast semi wide (FF 35mm) normal lenses are definitely a "look" particularly on faces. I have a Zeiss 35mm f1.4 and it's maybe my favorite lens. As an alternative to the VC 25mm you may want to check out the new SLR Magic Noktor 25mm 0.95. I just ordered one to test against the VC 25mm should have it in 5 weeks. In my 2 days of Nokton ownership I'm extremely happy with the lens' performance wide open, I was expecting more flare/bloom at 0.95.
 
Erik Naso said:
Everybody needs a fast normal lens and the 25 f/0.95 Voigtlander is king of the hill.
Click to expand...

I seldom disagree with Mr. Naso's posts. In this case however, I guess I will. A little.

In my years as a press photographer (long time ago) I covered a wide range of subjects, from sports to political soirees to features (as in -- go out and find some interesting "local color"). I had access to a couple of floor to ceiling cabinets -- just about every lens Nikon made at the time.

What I ended up liking enough to buy for my own personal kit, was a 35mm and a 105mm. Those were the only two lenses I owned, and I found that I did 95% of my shooting with them. Some of the guys on staff liked a 28mm instead of the 35mm. And a couple did, in fact, like their 50s.

Video is different than still photography, that's very true. But I find myself preferring, still, a wider than normal field-of-view, or a longer than normal field-of-view. I think everything has shifted a little wider for me since I started video and the "always horizontal" frame of mind. Where I used to use 35mm / 105mm, I find now I like 28mm / 85mm.

But I still don't like the "normal" perspective. It just doesn't work for me and the way I shoot. I don't know why. But personal preference is just that -- personal. I'm just saying that not *everybody* needs a "normal" lens. Which puts me in the 17.5mm camp on this one.
 
Bruce Watson said:
But I still don't like the "normal" perspective. It just doesn't work for me and the way I shoot. I don't know why. But personal preference is just that -- personal. I'm just saying that not *everybody* needs a "normal" lens.
Click to expand...

Exactly. My favorite duo by far is the 17.5 and a Summicron-R 90... the latter even more on the "longer than normal" end. I shoot interviews with the 17.5 all the time, which (as I understand) is against the "rules." Love the look, though. The 17.5 also does a decent job as a ~90mm equivalent when you throw a GH into ETC mode.

Nothing wrong whatsoever with my PL25, but I don't tend to use it that often.
 
I just received today my voigtlander 25mm, I was playing a bit with the GH3 (I'm a big newb) and wanted to ask, Program mode, and other semi automatic modes don't work with this lens right? as it is fully manual lens?

Sorry if the question is to naive but I need confirmation since I'm a uber newb.
 
Yes. No camera auto-focus. No camera aperture control. So most auto modes are out, with the possible exception of Aperture priority.
 
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