180 cfe or cfi versus cf

[artie_kapell5]

Hi! It is time to select a second lens and I have read comparisons

of the 150 and 180 here. I believe I am going to choose the 180.

But I cannot decide whether it is worth spending the extra money to

go from a CF to a CFE. Has anyone had a chance to own/compare the

two and has an opinion? I am shooting with a 503, so the contacts

on the CFE doesn't warrant my purchasing it. Thanks.

[cpj]

Well you certainly want the 180 vs the 150 as it is a better lens all around and more useful.

If you think you will EVER buy a 203FE or 205--the prices are coming down a lot--then

go for the CFE if it is not more than 10% difference in price. The CFE will have a wider

resale market if you decide to unload your gear at sometime.

 

However, if you decide against the CFE, be sure to get the CFi and not just a plain CF

which doesn't have the improved internal reflective coating nor the improved spring

material.

 

Getting the CFi vs. a used CF might save you a lens repair because of the spring weakness.

(if they hadn't been having problems with it they wouldn't have changed the spring

material.)

[thomas_breazeale1]

From what I understand the CFi lenses have improved mountings across the board on all lenses..not just the 180.I have owned a 180CF for years with no problems ever and have never heard of any complaints regarding the mounts from anyone else who owns one but please correct me if I am wrong.I use this lens on my 205FCC all the time and the only noticeable difference between the CFE and the CF is that the CF does not transfer the aperture setting to the digital viewing screen for reference.This is irrelavent since YOU set the F stop manually anyway for both lenses.

[cameron_ertman]

I think you would be hard pressed to find any noticable difference in image quality between the CF, CFI or CFE version of the 180mm lens. Personally, I still like the solid feeling of the CF lenses over the newer versions, and I definitely like the CF filter mount better. I think you will be really impressed by the image quality of that lens regardless of the version.

[artie_kapell5]

Thanks for your comments. I will probably save myself the money and go for the cf over either of the others.