Anyone have any experience with Voigtilander Bessa Color-Skopar 21mm f4 lens? If you have any info about lens review or user comment, please let me know. The price of this lens is just $375, but I am not sure the quality. Also, when use this lens to M6, needed adapter. Is there any problem in focusing & metering? Thanks. www.i.am/naki

-- NAKI (sn4396@pacbell.net), July 17, 2001

Answers

What about Bessa Snapshot Skopar 25/4 lens? It has no focusing ring, is it O.K. to focus with 'click stop' distance meter? Which lens do you want to recommend between 21/4 and 25/4? I like both range of wide angle lens.., just want to know quality of lens... Thanks.

-- NAKI (sn4396@pacbell.net), July 18, 2001.

Here are some tests of the Voigtilander (Cosina) lenses but not the 21.

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/japan/voigtl01.html

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 18, 2001.

It does require an adapter but there are no problems metering or focusing (it is rangefinder coupled). It has been favourable compared to the 21/3.4. Here is one review from a person I trust:

http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/v19/msg12840.html

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), July 18, 2001.

I have the 25, I Think it is as good as the 24mm Nikkor I have used, but it has limited use in low light with the f4.0 aperture. Image quality is good enough for excellent 8X12 prints and larger, especially from f5.6 to f11. Flare is not a problem, and distortion is well controlled. You'd have to spend 4X the amount to get a better lens than the Voigtlander 25. Only near the minimum focus does scale focusing errors become an issue. The lens is super compact-you won't even know you have it in the bag. I know 4 or 5 other people using the 25 and everyone seems to really enjoy using it and are happy with the results they are getting with it.

Everything I've seen on the 21 Voigtlander lens places it as one of their best lenses in a line of very good glass. Their finder alone is worth half of what they sell the lens and finder for. These are bad times for Leica shooters who don't want to be spending any more money on lenses! You can really go broke saving money on all these new lenses from Voigtlander.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), July 18, 2001.

I have the 15, 25, and 35/1.7. All of them are fine lenses for the price. I've got only two complaints with the Voigtlander line: speed, I want speed; and close focusing--I wish some manufacturer would make all its RF lenses crank down to about nine inches. I'll take responsibility for making them work at that distance, and I don't need the rangefinder to follow past the normal 29 inches, or whatever it is that's normal. It's especially irritating to me that the 35 won't move in closer than three feet, and since the 25 is scale focus anyway, what's the harm in making it go closer???? The 21 has the same two problems: speed (how about an F 2.8, like everyone else these days--in the 21 and 25 we're looking at vintage 1955 speeds, and likewise in the new 90!) and close focus.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), July 18, 2001.

I have not personally seen the lens, but plan on getting one. Regarding the close focus, according to Cameraquest... "On my M6 the 21 rangefinder couples from infinity down to about 2.5 feet, but will SCALE FOCUS even closer to about 18." Sounds good to me.

Nick

-- Nick (shredder@daemonworks.com), July 18, 2001.

I have the Skopar 25/4 I use on my IIIc. I am very impressed with it's sharpness, even to the corners ,contrast,color saturation and ability to bring out detail in shadows. I purchased it because it is very compact, had good reviews and could be purchased new including a finder for under $300. If it was faster, focused closer and had coupled focusing and didn't come with the finder, we would be complaining how "at that price" I might as well by a Leitz lens.

-- Gerald Widen (gerald@sfa1.com), July 18, 2001.

The lens is GREAT. I bought one of the limited Nikon RF batch which has the same optics. Its naturally superior to any of the older nikon RF lenses and I can confirm thats its better than my pre-ASPH Elmarit 21 2.8 in both distortion and light fall off. Yes its slower but its COMPACT and its so wide you can hand hold at slowers speeds anyways. I have switched to Minolta CLE & Leica CL as back up because my old M3 was just a bit large/heavy for remote area stuff I do now. As soon as I sell the Emarit 21, I will be sure to buy another Voigtlander 21 for the CL/CLE, which I can also use on my collection of screw mount Leicas & Canons when i feel like dusting them off. At a guess the 21 f2.8 ASPH would be better than the Voigtlander but when im lugging it up a hill short of breath I think the more compact Voigtlander will be the one to choose. I wouldnt cry as much if I dropped the Voigtlander over the Leica lens either!

-- Joel Matherson (joel_2000@hotmail.com), July 19, 2001.

Right after I bought the Voigtlander 28/f1.9 and went to Italy and returned I bought the 21/f4 (black). It's a gem. The shots I got are sharp and contrasty. The great thing about it is its size and weight. For street photography you need somethng that feel good in the hands. I have the Ricco 21/f3.5. A lovely lens but heavyish. Tended to stay home. I've mounted it on my Canon VT and it's fun and funky there.

The 21/f4 is a good lens, friends. As is the Voiglander 25/f4 and the 35/f2.5.

The other nice thing about the 21/f4 is its depth of field scale. Very easy to use.

There is a screw in tab that makes this lens great with the Rapidwinder.

My only little gripe is the tiny lens shade. But never mind. Flare doesn't seem much of a problem.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4u.or.jp), July 21, 2001.