New XCD 25V F/2.5 lens?

[JoeC]

I have two arriving tomorrow, one from B&H and one from Hasselblad's online store. I don't need both. Before I return one of them, if anybody wants one, just let me know.

Joe
joe.colson@me.com

[xoda]

Available on BHPhoto now. Please, stop me.

Ordered the 25mm f/2.5V B&H yesterday and is to arrive FedEx tomorrow! I will make some non-scientific comparisons this weekend against my XCD lenses which include the discontinued 21MM f/4, 30mm f/3.5, 38mm f/2.5, and the 35-75mm f/3.5-4.5 which is on my X2D most of the time. Cheers

Looking forward to your comparisons, in particular to the 21mm

[maxct]

Was surprised to see the announcement this morning and almost ordered one, despite having the 21mm and 28p. But upon checking, the 21mm is 600g vs new 25mm at 592g? Plus the MTF's aren't overwhelmingly better, and FOV less wide for my landscapes, where the wider aperture also isn't critical with most being shot at F8; so GAS subsided and will stick with the 21mm; when light weight is needed, have the 28p at 245g for the bag; so will stick with the 2 lenses for now.

Really puzzled by HB's strategy. Good to make new lenses, but they should be materially improved over the legacy, or provide key motivation to switch. The 25v doesn't weigh materially lighter, nor perform much better, providing less FOV, albeit the programmable button is a good feature, not sure it's compelling enough for existing legacy lens owners; perhaps new owners is the audience if they can't buy the original 21mm.

Ted Forbes claims that 25v is optically better than 21 (distortion, sharpness, vignetting). I have not watched his full review, nor have I any experience with 25v yet:
https://youtu.be/hz-1Ea5959A?si=N7yk8FiSxcp-uPiK

I questioned Ted Forbes' claim about the 25v being optically superior to the 21 in the comments to his video. No response (yet). Sometimes I suspect the YouTube reviewers who get this gear for reviews can go a little overboard on the praise of the latest gear, but I am happy to be proven wrong. As a 21mm owner, I plan to keep it, but if the 25v is shown to be optically superior (especially re: sharpness), I would consider adding it to the bag. 

[Ralf]

I don't know where or how the 21mm could be optically improved. I don't know of any other super wide angle with such optical performance. Compared to the new 25mm, the 21mm is still quite a bit wider. The more extreme the wide angle, the more complex the construction effort.

[mjhillsc]

Was surprised to see the announcement this morning and almost ordered one, despite having the 21mm and 28p. But upon checking, the 21mm is 600g vs new 25mm at 592g? Plus the MTF's aren't overwhelmingly better, and FOV less wide for my landscapes, where the wider aperture also isn't critical with most being shot at F8; so GAS subsided and will stick with the 21mm; when light weight is needed, have the 28p at 245g for the bag; so will stick with the 2 lenses for now.

Really puzzled by HB's strategy. Good to make new lenses, but they should be materially improved over the legacy, or provide key motivation to switch. The 25v doesn't weigh materially lighter, nor perform much better, providing less FOV, albeit the programmable button is a good feature, not sure it's compelling enough for existing legacy lens owners; perhaps new owners is the audience if they can't buy the original 21mm.

Ted Forbes claims that 25v is optically better than 21 (distortion, sharpness, vignetting). I have not watched his full review, nor have I any experience with 25v yet:
https://youtu.be/hz-1Ea5959A?si=N7yk8FiSxcp-uPiK

I questioned Ted Forbes' claim about the 25v being optically superior to the 21 in the comments to his video. No response (yet). Sometimes I suspect the YouTube reviewers who get this gear for reviews can go a little overboard on the praise of the latest gear, but I am happy to be proven wrong. As a 21mm owner, I plan to keep it, but if the 25v is shown to be optically superior (especially re: sharpness), I would consider adding it to the bag. 

I agree with this comment that it is hard to imagine the 25V being optically superior to the 21mm. The 21mm is just that good in the middle and at the corners throughout a reasonable range of apertures.  Now, the one area where the 25V might shine is astrophotography. All this said, I am enthusiastic about seeing the findings of someone on the forum who now owns both and is willing to do some side-by-side testing.

It is hard to take the YouTubers seriously. They are reviewing a lens that has no software correction available in either Phocus or LR. Without a profile, it is impossible to compare this new lens to the previous generation. Lens correction in Phocus and/or in LR just does too much–as it should. They are getting all wound up over the cool new features like the focus clutch and/or the programable ring. I get they need thumbs up clicks and subscribers. But, it is hard to maintain any sense of credibility when the core of their content is hype over something just being new and they presume better.

My experience with the V lenses to this point is that they just aren't optically equivalent to the original series. Faster yes, programable yes, lighter yes. Someone, please put the 25V and the 21mm together and prove me wrong...

By the way, this is a great review that ticks all the boxes about how great the 21mm is. Worth a read if for no other reason than to illustrate how garbage the YouTube reviews are.
https://www.vieribottazzini.com/2019/07/hasselblad-xcd-21mm-f-4-in-depth-review.html

[MGrayson]

If, and that's a big if, Hasselblad's data sheets are to be believed, the XCD 25V at f/5.6 has very close to (or slightly better) MTF curves than the XCD 21 at f/8. The (uncorrected) distortion curves are almost identical. I'm optimistic.

[flash]

Well the new 90mm is slightly improved on the already excellent original. But the 25 is not an alternative to a 21, IMHO. If I need 21mm a 25 isn't the lens I'll go for.

I have found I really like the 28mm focal length and I've been very happy with the 28 for my uses.The 25 won't replace that either. It's much bigger.

Having said that, if the 90 is anything to go by, these larger lenses semm to be equal to the originals. Maybe we'll get more lenses this size with highest IQ as well as some slightly smaller lenses (38 and 55) prioritising size.

For me, the 25mm will need to stand on its own.

Next lens is supposed to be a wide zoom. I'll take it. Would prefer a 70-200 first. And a 63mm with the optics of the 90V. And a 135 with the new build and AF.

Gordon

[SrMi]

Phocus 3.8.1 supports XCD 25, but Adobe does not yet. The lens needs distortion and vignetting correction.
It is an excellent lens, but as mentioned, it cannot be compared with 21 because of the different focal lengths, nor is it a replacement for 21.

[xoda]

Phocus 3.8.1 supports XCD 25, but Adobe does not yet. The lens needs distortion and vignetting correction.
It is an excellent lens, but as mentioned, it cannot be compared with 21 because of the different focal lengths, nor is it a replacement for 21.

So where would Hasselblad take the new lenses? Is 25 the terminal point for me? Or are we going to see something wider than the 21 (I feel a new 21 would be too similar to the 25)? Any rumors at all?

[o2mpx]

Perhaps just wishful thinking, but given the new V lenses are lighter weight, perhaps HB will work on newer teles and zoom(s) to replace/augment current 120/135/35-75 lenses.

Given how good the legacy lenses are that's been written for a number of years, HB has a self inflicted challenge as to how to offer additional differentiated value with new lenses when the legacy range is known to be excellent.

Leica seems to have chosen to market 2 lines for their SL series, customers can choose the APO's and non-APO's, zooms and primes, made in Germany, Portugal and Japan, plus reengineered from Sigmas or Panasonic(?).

HB isn't clear if all will end up being V and P ranges, as none of these new lenses are overwhelmingly heads and shoulders above the legacy so that customers both new and existing, will switch. Given people say the original manufacturer of legacy lenses are not in the picture, likely when supplies run out, there'll be only the newer V and P lenses.

[Gsmith]

The XCD 25mm f/2.5V is going back to B&H tomorrow and not something, after too many lenses to count, that I have done. Let me explain why and please don't take this as anything more than an n=1 opinion. Comparisons included the XCD 21mm f/4 and 38mm f/2.5, on or off a RRS tripod, auto or manual focus, VR on or off, and camera was zoomed from the 38mm to 25mm to 21mm on my feet to the same relative image sizes as I would in RL. I judged sharpness largely at infinity of a landscape with wood and brick structures near the edges. The amazing 21mm lens was sharp f4 - f8 center and edges and as Vieri Bottazzini said in his blog "draws as beautifully as any ... if not better". The 38mm f/2.5 held its own compared to the 21mm when stopped down a bit to f4.

All good so far, but the 21mm f/2.5 was soft in the center and edges and remained so until f/8 and even then never equaled the 21mm or 38mm for sharpness try as I might to eliminate any errors in focusing, vibration, etc. Everything else about the the new 25mm is great; build quality, focus clutch I love, color, freedom from flare, and zero chromatic aberration. Maybe I had a poor copy or maybe the XCD 21mm and newer XCD 38mm set the bar too high. If there are more positive reviews, I may try another copy. Cheers

[FloatingLens]

Could your results be due to slight focus shift?

[MGrayson]

My first copy of the XCD 28P was soft, and I'd never before had an optically bad new MF lens. (My first Fuji GF 250/4 had a bad aperture control ring). I hope it's teething problems of a new lens line and not a sign of lower QC in general.