matthewm
Regular
- Location
- Sumter/Charleston, SC
- Name
- Matthew Morse
Hi guys,
I recently acquired a 25mm f/1.4 CCTV lens from eBay. I think I paid about $30USD for it and I have to say that I wasn't expecting much. The delivery date wasn't until the end of the month, but HK Post surprised me and got it here late last week. I snapped a few pictures with it over the Easter weekend and I have to say, it's a neat lens. I probably won't use it all that much but when I want "that look" I'll be sure and put it on the camera. I think a lot of people have been buying the SLR Magic brand lenses for the m4/3 cameras, but I just couldn't justify the cash for it. I think this little lens (and many others like it on eBay are meant to recreate a similar look but at a fraction of the price. I've thrown together a small pro/con list below:
Pros:
• Cheap. At around $30USD, it's sort of a fun thing to have around. Even if you don't use it much, it's worth it to have in the bag.
• Small. This thing is tiny. If it weren't for the adapter, you could put it just about anyplace. Removing the adapter creates a much smaller package that will slip into a pocket on your camera bag.
• Solid. It's actually really solidly built. It's all metal construction with some decent little knurled focus and aperture rings. The lenses seem to be made of multi-coated glass.
Cons:
• Small. Yes, it's a pro and a con. The problem with it being so small is that the focus ring is close to the body and actually sits tight against the adapter so it's pretty hard to get to.
• Aperture. I think this thing was designed to shoot wide open. The aperture has no clicks. It's just a smooth rotation. But it gets kind of dim and vignettes at smaller apertures.
I like the swirly look this lens affords. I wish Panasonic would release focus peaking in a firmware update to make using lenses like this much easier. I know the NEX system has it, but they don't have the 14/2.5. Anyway, I've posted a few images below. I love the low-contrast quality these photos took on. Interested to hear your thoughts and if any of you have tried these or anything similar to them on your m4/3 setups.
Enjoy!
I recently acquired a 25mm f/1.4 CCTV lens from eBay. I think I paid about $30USD for it and I have to say that I wasn't expecting much. The delivery date wasn't until the end of the month, but HK Post surprised me and got it here late last week. I snapped a few pictures with it over the Easter weekend and I have to say, it's a neat lens. I probably won't use it all that much but when I want "that look" I'll be sure and put it on the camera. I think a lot of people have been buying the SLR Magic brand lenses for the m4/3 cameras, but I just couldn't justify the cash for it. I think this little lens (and many others like it on eBay are meant to recreate a similar look but at a fraction of the price. I've thrown together a small pro/con list below:
Pros:
• Cheap. At around $30USD, it's sort of a fun thing to have around. Even if you don't use it much, it's worth it to have in the bag.
• Small. This thing is tiny. If it weren't for the adapter, you could put it just about anyplace. Removing the adapter creates a much smaller package that will slip into a pocket on your camera bag.
• Solid. It's actually really solidly built. It's all metal construction with some decent little knurled focus and aperture rings. The lenses seem to be made of multi-coated glass.
Cons:
• Small. Yes, it's a pro and a con. The problem with it being so small is that the focus ring is close to the body and actually sits tight against the adapter so it's pretty hard to get to.
• Aperture. I think this thing was designed to shoot wide open. The aperture has no clicks. It's just a smooth rotation. But it gets kind of dim and vignettes at smaller apertures.
I like the swirly look this lens affords. I wish Panasonic would release focus peaking in a firmware update to make using lenses like this much easier. I know the NEX system has it, but they don't have the 14/2.5. Anyway, I've posted a few images below. I love the low-contrast quality these photos took on. Interested to hear your thoughts and if any of you have tried these or anything similar to them on your m4/3 setups.
Enjoy!