Congrats. It's sharper than 25mm 0.95, but not really easy to focus at max aperture. I use the body's screen magnification feature. Varavon loupe sounds nice.

For being able to blur the background for full body shot, I think it's worth. Yes this lens inherits all the good things from 25mm 0.95. Max magnification ratio is 0.4. Nice flare starting at f/2.8 and max at f/11. Tack sharp at f/2.8. Very nice color rendition.

I bought mine from Mainline too. They are the Australian distributor for Voigtlander. Their prices seem to be the best I've seen anywhere. Took about two weeks until new stock came in. The 25mm is also well priced @ $895.00 AUD.

Yeah, I couldn't believe my eyes, usually in austraila we have to pay through the teeth. Fingers crossed, I should have it in my hands today :)

@RRRR thanks mate

@Rerbreg http://www.mainlinephoto.com.au/category39_1.htm

congratulations. :)

Okay, so I've been playing with this lens for about a week now, and now I'm officially addicted to F0.95. I'm amazed how sharp they got it at that aperture while still retaining decent contrast. The soft edges and vignetting are there, but honestly, it doesn't bother me. If I want sharp everywhere, I can just stop down to F2.0. With the BMCC and GH3, it'll crop some of the edges anyways (in 16:9). I haven't tested it for field curvature yet, but I don't think it'll be a huge problem if I just focus somewhere between the center and edge of the image.

The focus ring has a long throw and makes focusing at F0.95 a breeze. The lens feels so tough and the ability to choose between clickless aperture and clicked is very useful for me since I take photos and video. I'm loving the focal length, but that's personal preference. For social gatherings, it's nice to be a bit wider to get that extra person in the shot. 25mm would be a tad bit too tight for me, especially on a GH3 with its 2.1x crop factor in 16:9. On the BMCC, the 17.5mm will be a perfect normal lens for me.

I haven't tried it yet, but I feel the focus ring may be a bit too stiff for my follow focus gears. I'll have to check out some better gears for it.

I got it used in Korea for about $1,000 in practically unused condition, and it's been worth every penny (I mean won).

What lens gear are you using for this lens? Gears from my previous set does not fit 100%. I need to put silicon band between lens and gear to make it fit but it's not best solution because it's so soft.

I don't like those rubber gears. I want it to be hard plastic or metal.

@mintcheerios

you won't be disappointed

http://zuikoholics.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/my-expression-voigtlander-17-5mm-f0-95/

Thank you! It was completely unclear intuitively without your explanation.

I need your help. Shame on me, I can't find the way how to de-click aperture on this lens. I use it about month. It came without operation manual.

Almost completely done with Voigtländer 17.5mm. Nearly fully open all the time.