Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5: My experience [1/3]

The Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5 is an old wide-angle triplet lens. Today it is rare, but in its time it was a cheap and simple lens.

All images were taken with the Sony a7c (FF, 24MP).

The lens is slow. It is difficult to focus because of the large depth of field. Sometimes I use the focusing scale to focus, even though the scale is only in feet.

At f/4.5, the vignetting is very noticeable.

It is easy to correct with software, but I leave the vignetting untouched, it gives a vintage look.

At f/8-f/11, the vignetting is reduced and the resolution is higher.

f/4.5:

f/8:

But most of the time I shoot at f/4.5, even landscapes.

Unexpectedly, fingers (of the focusing hand) can show up in the corners of the frame. For example, in the lower right corner:

This is because the optical elements are located deep inside the lens body, the front part of the body acts as a hood.

However the lens is prone to flare:

I also noticed that the 35mm focal length is real. The field of view at infinity is the same as the Pentax K 35/3.5 and slightly wider than the Samyang 35/2.8. This is good, I was expecting a real focal length of 37-40mm.

See part 2, part 3.

See also related notes:

• Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5: My experience [3/3] (2023-12-13)
• Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5: My experience [2/3] (2023-12-11)

Image albums:

• Staeble-Werk Choro R 35/4.5