Etherton wrote:
Never done this. Do they ship the box, ect... after purchase?
Yes if you purchase it and request it. They shipped me the box and all accessories free of charge and deducted my rental charge from the total price. I have no affiliation with LensRentals but I'm happy with their customer support.
For those who are using close-up lenses with the CV 40/1.2, I came across a really neat accessory.
It's called Xume and lets me attach any filter (including close-up lenses) very quickly without cross-threading. It uses a strong magnet to keep the filter in place. For me it works well when quickly adding or removing close-up filters like the Leica Elpro4 or Elpro3 on the go.
Fred Miranda wrote:
Just a thought for those wanting to buy this lens and can't find it in stock anywhere...There is always the option to rent it from LensRentals and purchase it if desired. That's how I got mine a while back.
Agree, I rented 40/1.2 from lensRental last month, and regretted so much that I didn't keep it. The copy I got was from 2018 Jan, pretty new and mint condition.
I also highly recommend lensrental.com, I recently rented another lens from them, but picked the wrong version by my own mistake, they refunded me the full price! Unbelievable customer service!
Fred Miranda wrote:
For those who are using close-up lenses with the CV 40/1.2, I came across a really neat accessory.
It's called Xume and lets me attach any filter (including close-up lenses) very quickly without cross-threading. It uses a strong magnet to keep the filter in place. For me it works well when quickly adding or removing close-up filters like the Leica Elpro4 or Elpro3 on the go.
I second the Xume -- I've been using it since Page 59 of this thread, and it works great. See my post for more info on vignetting, clear filters, lens hoods, and lens caps:
It's stupid-expensive for what it is, but you can't beat the convenience. And, for this particular application, you're quite likely to want to mount the close-up lens quickly for one shot then ditch it again for the next unlike, say, an ND filter that you install and leave on a while. Xume is made by Manfrotto. I hate to say it, but they really need some cheap Chinese competition here to rationalize their price.
Phillip Reeve wrote:
Got to play with mine today after Bastian had it for two weeks for a soon to be published comparison with the CV 1.7/35. Seems to be a lens with a steeper learning curve.
But on these 1st and 2nd I find boke really ugly @ f/1.2 - Does boke stay as ugly on this kind of subject distance & background distance if you close the lens to f/2, or does boke improve and boke comes smoother?
If boke is this ugly I could care less how great focus plane is.
Samuli Vahonen wrote:
Phillip, thanks for interesting sample images - majority of earlier samples has been "portrait like" or "large distance boke" where lens seems to work fine.
But on these 1st and 2nd I find boke really ugly @ f/1.2 - Does boke stay as ugly on this kind of subject distance & background distance if you close the lens to f/2, or does boke improve and boke comes smoother?
If boke is this ugly I could care less how great focus plane is.
Samuli
Just used it twice but my impression was that bokeh doesn't improve as you stop down.
Phillip Reeve wrote:
Just used it twice but my impression was that bokeh doesn't improve as you stop down.
The bokeh on this lens is very varied, but it can be very nervous at some distances especially towards the corners. Like Phillip says, when you strike these conditions stopping down doesn't help. But it does other things so nicely that all is forgiven. But it's a lens if you were using it professionally you would want to have a long long learning period, because of things like the distance sensitivity of bokeh, focus shift, FC etc. If you are taking images for fun, on the other hand, there is an entertaining lucky dip aspect to it early on. You never know what you have got until you see it on the screen!
Samuli Vahonen wrote:
Phillip, thanks for interesting sample images - majority of earlier samples has been "portrait like" or "large distance boke" where lens seems to work fine.
But on these 1st and 2nd I find boke really ugly @ f/1.2 - Does boke stay as ugly on this kind of subject distance & background distance if you close the lens to f/2, or does boke improve and boke comes smoother?
If boke is this ugly I could care less how great focus plane is.
Samuli
i don't think you'd really like the lens, bokeh stays funky till f/4 or f/5.6 and is pretty contrasty. i haven't fully come to grips with the lens myself yet, but here's an aperture series (hand held with that decentered adapter).
Samuli Vahonen wrote:
But on these 1st and 2nd I find boke really ugly @ f/1.2 - Does boke stay as ugly on this kind of subject distance & background distance if you close the lens to f/2, or does boke improve and boke comes smoother?
If boke is this ugly I could care less how great focus plane is.
Samuli
I think you'd quickly hate this lens.
The bokeh doesn't really improve with stopping down. This is the reason why I'm not getting one. In many shots the bokeh looks horrible (for my taste). A pity because I do like the color rendering of this lens.
Jochenb wrote:
I think you'd quickly hate this lens.
The bokeh doesn't really improve with stopping down. This is the reason why I'm not getting one. In many shots the bokeh looks horrible (for my taste). A pity because I do like the color rendering of this lens.
+1
This is really not a Samuli lens. The bokeh is very nice at medium-close distance, and nice in the middle even at ~5 meters or so. But the corners are really funky at distance and don't improve much at all when stopping down.
Parariss wrote:
I second the Xume -- I've been using it since Page 59 of this thread, and it works great. See my post for more info on vignetting, clear filters, lens hoods, and lens caps:
It's stupid-expensive for what it is, but you can't beat the convenience. And, for this particular application, you're quite likely to want to mount the close-up lens quickly for one shot then ditch it again for the next unlike, say, an ND filter that you install and leave on a while. Xume is made by Manfrotto. I hate to say it, but they really need some cheap Chinese competition here to rationalize their price. ...Show more →
thanks parariss and fred. I've ordered an elpro3 and all the xume, step-down stuff... Is there a difference in the various elpro 3? I've seen some of leica, some from leitz-wetzlar and some are leitz-protugal.
Fred, I'm curious about your findings of the marumi +3. Did you already got it?
Thought to share my experience with the lens so far, it might help someone on the fence for the same reasons I was.
All the positive reviews and the hype got to me and I've decided to buy one. Well I ended up buying 3 copies so far unfortunately. My main intent was to have a more simplistic approach - less lenses, less bulk, while having the multi-purpose-portraits-landscape lens - the usual stuff. The lenses to be replaced were Loxias 35 and 50. The Voigt, while gorgeous for portraits, stopped down is nowhere near the Loxias. All 3 copies that I used had some level of smearing toward the edges (stopped down well past f/8). Only one copy was close to the Loxia 35 (which is the weaker of the two), save for the left upper corner which still suffered due to the centering issues.
At this point I've given up, all this reminds me too much of the Voigt 15 and 6 copies I had to try out before finding one which was excellent. If the lens is to be used solely for central sharpness and separation qualities, it's a definitive must IMO. I really like its output, to the point I regret not having unlimited funds to just have one in the bag regardless. As it is, looking purely at stopped-down across the frame sharpness Loxias are a much better choice (although I prefer cooler rendering of the Voigt).
Phillip, David, Derek, Jochen, Martin - thanks for comments.
Derek's aperture series was super useful. Super nice rendering of the subject, but way too much contrast in boke and specially corners are way too ugly/rough.
Once in a lifetime there would be non-Zeiss lens which focus plane rendering seems truly enjoyable (for me based on samples). But then it seems that in my "main usage scenario" boke is pretty awful. Focus shift etc. behaviour problems I could deal with, but high contrast boke and rough corner boke there just is no wayaround.
Plan B initiated: ordered 58mm +3 close-up, which was recommended for CV 1.2/40 as well, but I'll use it for Zeiss ZE 1.4/50, which I love very much but would prefer same rendering style for close-ups which it has at medium distances. I try to survice summer 2018 with combo of Loxia 25, Zeiss ZE 1.4/50 and Loxia 85. Maybe sometimes Loxia 25, 35mm (either ZA 1.4/35 or ZM 2/35) and Loxia 85, just wish that I would not hate shooting with 35mm so much.
Derek's test is a tough one. This is worst condition you'd expect for Bokeh shot None of lens I know will survive this test.
TBH, I haven't see a single super fast lens have nice bokeh over all condition yet. I like 50mm lux ASPH most of the time, and I like planar 50mm mid-distance after f2.2. (The reason I got it back again after review my past images with it).
40mm at "certain condition" has nice oil paint bokeh, but not low contrast or traditional gaussian bokeh, it gives you "quantity" of bokeh no other wide angle can give with good isolation and low light capability. And it is sharp at WO, very sharp stop down, quite small with nice color. This is the selling point for me.
f2 is already sharp cross frame for MP240
F1.2 can give thick rich bokeh but not too busy in this subject and background condition
and under harsh light, mid-long distance. all f1.2. Vignette is from my hood and cpl.
and f5.6 can be great for any system.
As much as I like this lens, I have only take it out for one time, and I don't like that day's color I got from under harsh light. I haven't used much for it and it will not replace 50mm SUmmilux in my leica kit. If I am travelling. 21SEM, 50lux and 90APO are still the anchor piece. This is a single len out shooting setup especially for low light ocasion.
I must say the enthusiasm for this lens is out of portion in FM forum IMO though.
Of course its "out of portion".
People get swept up in the chatter and like the rush of buying new lenses.
zhangyue wrote:
Derek's test is a tough one. This is worst condition you'd expect for Bokeh shot None of lens I know will survive this test.
TBH, I haven't see a single super fast lens have nice bokeh over all condition yet. I like 50mm lux ASPH most of the time, and I like planar 50mm mid-distance after f2.2. (The reason I got it back again after review my past images with it).
40mm at "certain condition" has nice oil paint bokeh, but not low contrast or traditional gaussian bokeh, it gives you "quantity" of bokeh no other wide angle can give with good isolation and low light capability. And it is sharp at WO, very sharp stop down, quite small with nice color. This is the selling point for me.
As much as I like this lens, I have only take it out for one time, and I don't like that day's color I got from under harsh light. I haven't used much for it and it will not replace 50mm SUmmilux in my leica kit. If I am travelling. 21SEM, 50lux and 90APO are still the anchor piece. This is a single len out shooting setup especially for low light ocasion.
I must say the enthusiasm for this lens is out of portion in FM forum IMO though. ...Show more →
zhangyue wrote:
Derek's test is a tough one. This is worst condition you'd expect for Bokeh shot None of lens I know will survive this test.
TBH, I haven't see a single super fast lens have nice bokeh over all condition yet. I like 50mm lux ASPH most of the time, and I like planar 50mm mid-distance after f2.2. (The reason I got it back again after review my past images with it).
40mm at "certain condition" has nice oil paint bokeh, but not low contrast or traditional gaussian bokeh, it gives you "quantity" of bokeh no other wide angle can give with good isolation and low light capability. And it is sharp at WO, very sharp stop down, quite small with nice color. This is the selling point for me. ...Show more →
Not too god (image 5):
Better, but showing why I think of the CV40/1.2 as a lens made for 1:1 or sometimes 1:1.2
(...) I must say the enthusiasm for this lens is out of portion in FM forum IMO though.
Thank you zhangyue.
I sold my Nokton. Partly as I think an A7(x) and the 40/1.2 is too much to carry all day and partly as I don't like the images beyond an aspect of of ratio of 1:1 or just a little wider.
Sometimes the Nokton works wonderfully but I had too much problems with the transition zone and the borders. I didn't feel happy with it as the only lens to carry around. If I am to carry that much it better be a very good all-rounder. I'm back to the RX1 for now. Of course, what the Nokton does well it does very well!
Thank you zhangyue.
I sold my Nokton. Partly as I think an A7(x) and the 40/1.2 is too much to carry all day and partly as I don't like the images beyond an aspect of of ratio of 1:1 or just a little wider.
Sometimes the Nokton works wonderfully but I had too much problems with the transition zone and the borders. I didn't feel happy with it as the only lens to carry around. If I am to carry that much it better be a very good all-rounder. I'm back to the RX1 for now. Of course, what the Nokton does well it does very well!
I agree with you. This lens offer pop not seen in any f1.2 lens before at affordable price and small size, but it neither offer classic Double-Gauss design bokeh (can be both funky and very beautiful) nor offer modern smooth funky free bokeh such as OTUS or Leica APO S I have.
I also agree with your focus transition comment. Post process (reduce contrast and clarity locally) can be used to partially address it. This is trade off between pop and smooth you have to pick
I like what I got and what I have seen most indoor pictures shown in here, I guess those might be a sweet spot for shooting this lens under such a subject and background condition.
The bokeh is very nice at medium-close distance, and nice in the middle even at ~5 meters or so. But the corners are really funky at distance and don't improve much at all when stopping down. 
