when i bought a used m6 , the shop didn´t have any used leitz /leica lenses for the camera. i couldn´t afford a new one so i bought the voigtländer lens. the guy i the shop told me that he´s gonna call me when he has a used leica/leitz lens, so i can trade the voigtländer for a used leitz if i want to. any experiences ?? what is good/ bad about the voigtländer ?. couldn´t find a review of the lens. thanks..

-- oliver (moengi@zip6020.com), March 16, 2002

Answers

Response to voigtländer ultron 1,7/35 apo should i keep it

Oliver,

I never used the lens you ask about, but here is an on-line review. Go to thelink and scroll down a bit.

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

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), March 16, 2002.

Response to voigtländer ultron 1,7/35 apo should i keep it

... and some more general information. Again, scroll down. This link is slow to load due to numerous photos.

http://www.cameraquest.com/voigtlen.htm

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), March 16, 2002.

Response to voigtländer ultron 1,7/35 apo should i keep it

Hi Oliver,

Yes keep your Ultron 35/1.7. It is a very good lens. Erwin Putts has a review of it. Please check some of the recent postings here from me. It is not up to the new Leitz asphericals, but it holds its own. I've seen comparative night / city lights shots done with various 35mm lenses and your Ultron was a top performer. It wiped the floor with Contax 35/2 and the Hexar 35/2--and, of course, my beloved non-asph. 'lux 35/1.4. It even gave the new 'lux 35.1.4 ASPH a run for its money. For the price it is a great deal.

Even if you get a Leica 35mm lens, do hang on to this character. There is nothing wrong with owning two 35mm lenses. Some day you may want to get a screw mount RF camera, and the Ultron would be the perfect match.

Cheers,

Alex

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4-u.or.jp), March 16, 2002.

Response to voigtländer ultron 1,7/35 apo should i keep it

For some reason I ended up with both a Ultron 35/1.7 and a 35/2 Summicron. Here are some pictures shot with both lenses on the same occasion. Can you spot which are shot with the Voigtlander? Caveat - the pics are not Mike Dixon Hall of Fame material so dont flame me.

VC or Summicon?

-- Fred Sun (redsky3@yahoo.com), March 16, 2002.

Response to voigtländer ultron 1,7/35 apo should i keep it

I've had my Ultron 35 since last August, and its more of a lens than I'd hoped it to be optically.

The only thing I really want on it, is a finger lever for better focusing with my hammy fists.

-- Charles (cbarcellona@telocity.com), March 16, 2002.

Response to voigtländer ultron 1,7/35 apo should i keep it

Oliver, I understand your situation. Whether you keep it depnds on what lens you are wanting to trade it for. If you are asking us whether it is a great lens or good value for money, these answers are obviously stated throughout the forum.

More obviously, you should be telling us if it is good, seeing you bought it. If you are asking whether or not you will gain any benefit from trading the lens for a Leitz, it will depend on which Leitz. Your lens would probably beat many older lenses, but only come close to the newer "asph" lenses.

The fact is this. Getting the newer "asph" will be of technical/performance benefit, but at a cost of which you can only decide the amount of worth. Value wise, the VC always wins from what i have heard. Ultimate quality will always go to the newer "asph" and some older LEITZ lenses.

-- Kristian (leicashot@hotmail.com), March 17, 2002.

Response to voigtländer ultron 1,7/35 apo should i keep it

Keep it, because what you'll get for it isn't worth as much as what it is. Without getting too philosophical about "value," CV lenses purchased new represent a great value. However, as non-Leica lenses they depreciate faster. (The black paint seems prone to quick wear in my experience.) So a dealer can't resell them for much, so he will offer you even less. So at the price you can get as a used item, Keep It!

-- Phil Stiles (Stiles@metrocast.net), March 17, 2002.

Response to voigtländer ultron 1,7/35 apo should i keep it

I have mixed feelings about the Ultron 35mm. I bought it together with the Heliar 15mm. The Heliar is great, easier to use than the best lens in this cathegory, the Zeiss Hologon. THe Ultron, however, is much less outstanding. Widely open it will give quite soft image and what makes me even more sad is the distorsion. Compared to Summicron 2/35 it bends the striaght lines on the edges quite visible like my old Canon FD 2,8/35. Sharpness from 2.8 on is OK. THe black paint disappeared in two months and my Ultron looks now as a 20 years old Leitz lens. Curiously the Heliar had a better coting. All Voigtlander lenses are prone to reflections.

I regret not to have bought the Skopar 35 mm that is much smaller and lighter.

Could somebody tell me more about the new Leica digital body?

Rudolf

-- Rudolf KLEIN (ruklein@attglobal.net), March 18, 2002.