it was the x-mas lights, we couldn't find a 144 degree shutter angle to combat the flicker

Slightly off topic: I wonder if John Brawley and some others have bad copies of the voigt 17.5 judging from the comments on vimeo.. In my experience it´s sharper and more well controlled wide open than the 12mm slr magic (wide open) and much better than the voigt 25mm wide open.. The 12mm does look very good on the BMD cam though, it has to be said.

There doesn´t seem to be too much jello either, handheld.. (at a glance)

@johnbrawley Sounds like you got a bad copy, because the one I´ve got can be used wide open at infinity without hesitation. In some conditions it can be pushed towards displaying some abberrations and flaring is obviously not the best wide open.. But my copy feels sharp enough wide open already. So if most of your shots where directly into the sun I might understand your results but it really does sound like you didn´t get the best copy...

In my experience the 12mm looks good at 2.8 and above.. (definately useful for closeups at larger apertures). But it´s also considerably softer in the corners on the gh2 (which I used it on) relative to a smaller sensor, so it definately favors the BMD cam and the gh3 f.i.

Edit: Pm me if you want some stills samples wide open, for comparison.

@kholi, I´ve had both the 12 and 17.5mm and seen plenty of footage from the 25 wide open. The 25mm IMO is unusable wide open because of its fringing.. it´s also softer than the 17.5 hands down. Soft is not always bad, though. A 25mm voigt shot at f0.95 really shines through in an edit, in a bad way due to it´s purple fringing. The 12mm IMO is unusable (on a gh2) below f2.8 unless it´s for details or a facial shot f.i. where you only make use of the center sharpness. Don´t get me wrong - some lighting can induce fringing on the 17.5mm as well, and fringing can be mitigated by how you set the focus.

The voigt´s focal field is REALLY narrow, which makes it very difficult to use wide open. For night shots (low budget) I would not think twice about it, however. For day shots I would not use a wide open aperture in general.

If you send me a pm I can mail some quick samples, for comparison.

Still waiting for the bmd cam to arrive, so I can´t do any comparisons between cameras..

Thanks for the offer, I've had time with the 17.5mm, just speaking from my experience.

That´s exactly why I´d like you to take a look. I know there is quite a bit of fluctuation in the quality of the 12mm slr magic, especially early on but it would be interesting to see if there is a similar kind of fluctuation with the 17.5.

I´m sure you could say off the cuff if my results are similar to your experiences. If not, then that might warrant a thorough test; but that´s a whole different kettle of fish of course!

I´ll try to find the proper topic.. upload a few samples.

Check here: http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/2207/17.5mm-f0.95-voigtlander-topic#Item_158

@daisuke, there´s a specific topic on the 12mm lens, check the gear>lens section.. I sold my copy of it, but would very much like to see some new sample comparisons.

Well, I´d really like to see some examples from your 12mm slr magic, since my copy was obviously softer than the 17.5 wide open..

Mind, I have not used the 17.5 extensively for film-making, nor the 12mm slr magic.. Both are pretty extreme lenses IMO, and I rarely have any use for a lens with a wider angle of view than 64 or so degrees, other than when it´s practically necessary – for the way I like to shoot, normally.

Thanks @kholi – It´s funny.. while center sharpness is certainly ok on the 12mm, I find it way too soft for wide shots (in general) unless stepped down to 2-2.8 or more. On the gh2 I´d avoid wide shots alltogether with it because the corners never really get there. Ok when there is clear background separation, not ok for a wide scene with focus in the distance. Mind, the samples I provided of the 17.5 were intended to show the behaviour of the lens rather than a typical shot I´d do with it.. and while it also has a pronounced field curvature and quite a bit of vignetting I prefer how it renders small detail at a distance. In the center, up close, I don´t see much of a difference between 1.6 and 0.95.

I can´t say the 12mm differs much from my conception of it from John´s footage, either – the wide shots are very soft, but it works in those particular conditions.. and occasionally in others.

Two good lenses, the 12mm definately works better on the bmd than on the gh2.

I´m also looking forward to the 25, 35 f0.95 and hopefully they will not dissapoint!

@chef how the heck do you already have a MFT mount?

wanna sell it? lol

@GravitateMediaGroup I dont own it dude, just found on a tweet this vid and posted it here,you gotta ask @johnbrawley ;)

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