Well, had the chance to test a brand new SLR Magic (SLRM from here on) 25mm vs. the Voigt and a Zeiss Contax myself now and I must say, I'm a bit disappointed after all that rave.

The SLRM is much softer in the corners with some nasty radial distortion plus some CA and corners never get to the same level as the Voigt even when stopped down. This might be nice for portrait, but quite bad for exteriors, landscape or architecture. Even the famed sharpness WO is not really that much better, just a tiny bit in the center. But the Voigt looks like a better balance over the whole area, slightly softer center WO but corners far better than the SLRM (which is also quite yellow, BTW).

When stopped down to 2.0, the Voigt is as sharp in the corners as in the center and even better than a Zeiss Contax 25mm at 2.8 – which is not Zeiss' best, but nevertheless a Zeiss and made for FF! The SLRM stays soft in the corners and in the sides at 16:9 on a GH2 even at 4, where both the Zeiss and the Voigt start to look like a bloody scan.

Regarding bokeh: admitted, the SLRM is a bit creamier, but not that much. Plus, it shows quite some halo on strong lights at night. May look nice, but not always wanted. OK, if I could afford it, I might keep one for portrait only, but if you can afford only one in this price range, it's the Voigt for me. I can always soften corners in post if needed ;-)

Sample variation? Maybe, but how to select a lens that you can't try out in a local photostore or send back no questions asked if you don't like it?

Price: Well, with all the taxes added here in Europe and a street price for a near-new Voigt well below 800,- it's not that much cheaper.

Mechanics Pro: cine gears, while the Voigt has that knurled ring. Cons: the fiddly situation regarding filter threads and the funny, much too short sunshade. I found some play in the focus ring too, where the Voigt has none, but not so much to be a dealbraker. The front cover is fiddly too, nice solid protection to show off, but in practice you'll want to replace it with something faster to handle.

Just my two cents…

@matthew, @vicharris, @theconformist, I just wanted to chime back in on the step up to 77mm issue some of us had been discussing a while back and is now being re-discussed.

I got my SLR Magic 25mm and found a solution to buying their expensive lens hood step-up ring to use a 77mm ND fader. I got a 49mm extension ring and then a normal 49mm-77mm step up ring and there is plenty of room to focus to infinity. A normal 49-77mm step up ring alone def does NOT allow the full range of focus.

I got this Cokin 49mm extension ring from Adorama for $9.77 - http://www.adorama.com/CKER49.html

And this generic step up 49-77mm ring also from Adorama for $6.95 (any generic step up ring should work)- http://www.adorama.com/FLU4977.html.

So my grand total was $16.72. Much cheaper than SLR Magic's expensive version. Hope this helps!

@Stonebat Good points, mate! But if you have the money for two in this class, I might rather opt for the SLRM 25 plus the CV 17.5 with it's clickless aperture and wider angle. You'll need to color grade, though.

Got round to doing some filming on this lens at a carnival on Saturday. The lens handles well, but try focusing at 0.95 on a fast moving target! The image the lens gives is excellent.

@Matthew Actually, SLR's step up ring does make a difference with the 12mm. I thought it didn't but there's just a hair of vignetting with even the slimmest after market step up ring. I don't mind it and nobody has ever said anything about it but it is there. Andrew came out here and explained it to me first hand with Kholi backing him.

@Matthew Yeah, it's alot, I know. I thought about seeing if I could grind the inside edge of mine down just a hair to see if it works but just keep forgetting. If you look in the 12mm thread, I think I posted a Hurst Castle video. I just got the lens and shot all of the footage with it. You can check the edges there.

Not sure. I was lucky to get one free when I preordered my 25mm but I know there's a guy on that made it work with cheap stuff.

@Matthew, @vicharris I don't see any reason not to get the 49mm extension and generic step up. Works fine for me. Plenty of clearance at infinity focus. See attached photo of this combo with focus at infinity to see all the clearance.

As far as vignetting, I don't think I see any but maybe I'll take some tests shots to be sure there's not something small. I've never tested vignetting, so what's the best way to do that? Take a photo of a blank wall?

Never said it didn't work. I got SLRs for free. What can I say. Didn't want to waste anymore time or money on the idea so I conceded to ya'll.

T/0.95 is very usable, with care to ensure accurate focusing, as the depth of field can be very shallow at this aperture value. Sharpness here is good in the centre, but fairly poor towards the edges of the frame. Stopping down improves sharpness across the frame, with outstanding sharpness in the centre from around T/2 onwards and good clarity towards the edges of the frame from around T/5.6 onwards.

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/slr-magic-25mm-t-0-95-hyperprime-cine-lens-review-22999

@magnifico

49mm extension: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/14249-REG/Cokin_CR4949_Extension_Ring_49mm.html

and

49mm to 62mm step up ring. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/160233-REG/Heliopan_700175_49mm_62mm_Step_Up.html

There are cheaper alternatives of the step that are aluminum. Brass is better and more expensive.

If this makes sense to you, great! If not, read the entire thread, as it's discussed in detail why you need to use this approach.

Hope that helps.

O

Received the SLR 25mm and it is sitting a little loose in the bayonet :( When I change the focusing direction, it makes hearable CLACK noise. Seems like it can affect the image stability as it makes a tiny impact. I'm also curious if the on-camera mic will pick this noise.

I'm going to do some tests over the weekend and decide if I want to ask for replacement.

I remember this thread having few mentions of similar problems, but I'm not sure what was the resolution. Can you guys share your experience?

I remember this thread having few mentions of similar problems, but I'm not sure what was the resolution. Can you guys share your experience?

Resolution was replacement as far as I remember.