BradS Posted March 9, 2020 Share #1  Posted March 9, 2020 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm a little bewildered by the various 35mm M-mount optics from Cosina-Voigtlander. I'm aware of the following.... f/1.4 Nokton (version I and II), f/1.7 Ultron, f/2 Ultron, f/2.5 Color-Skopar, others? I get that they all have different maximum apertures and are different size and weight and some have aspherical elements, etc...but, I guess, I'm really unclear about the finer differences between them...if any.  Let's say I'm only using a film M body and between f/4 ~ f/11or so...what would distingush them ?  I very heavily prefer compact and light weight (and less expensive doesn't hurt either) so, am naturally drawn to the Color-Skopar but, what would the others do better or worse? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 9, 2020 Posted March 9, 2020 Hi BradS, Take a look here which CV 35mm? Nokton, Ultron, Color-Skopar ??. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
david strachan Posted March 9, 2020 Share #2  Posted March 9, 2020 Hi Brad They are nicely built lenses, and good value. I have several ltm Voigtlanders...very nice and perform well. BUT, the 35mm f1.4 M mount Nokton is famous for its back focus after fully open. It seems all of them do it. I find this back focus frustrating. Even though it's a beautifully built lens I try to avoid using it because of this fault. It's worse at f2.8 and f4 than anywhere.  So to answer your question I'd be looking at the focusing of any Voigtlander, to make sure you are happy.  all best... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spydrxx Posted March 9, 2020 Share #3  Posted March 9, 2020 I have the Color-Skopar and have not noticed any back focus issues. Its rendering is sharp and contrasty, very different from my previously owned Leica 2.8 Summaron. I've also used the CV on a digital body (m4/3) and it works well there also, although I remember people using it on a full frame digital body complained about purple edge fringing. Wide open it does vignette, but at the openings you mentioned that should not be an issue. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob L Posted March 9, 2020 Share #4 Â Posted March 9, 2020 Pretty soon they will have one more; 35 f/1.2 Nokton. Essentially a tweaked 40 1.2. Probably will be very good, but not small or light 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Prime Posted March 9, 2020 Share #5 Â Posted March 9, 2020 I have the Nokton 1.4 on it's way to me - i.e. my own research gave me enough confidence to choose this option as my first 35mm and I chose it partly because I consider the size and weight of a lens to be a good indicator of how often it gets carried into the field. It's nice to have a lens that nobody questions it's optical quality, but over the years I've discovered the weak link is never the lens, it's always the eye behind it and so I'm learning to accept some compromises if it means more keepers in the end. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted March 9, 2020 Share #6  Posted March 9, 2020 16 minutes ago, Mr.Prime said: I have the Nokton 1.4 on it's way to me - i.e. my own research gave me enough confidence to choose this option as my first 35mm and I chose it partly because I consider the size and weight of a lens to be a good indicator of how often it gets carried into the field. It's nice to have a lens that nobody questions it's optical quality, but over the years I've discovered the weak link is never the lens, it's always the eye behind it and so I'm learning to accept some compromises if it means more keepers in the end. Good analysis! I similarly bought the Nokton 1.4 ver 1 around 2010 for something faster than the Summicron I've had since 1970. The build quality seems comparable to my old Summicron, images at 1.4 looked like the Summicron at f2, and while distortion was higher, it gave lovely and sharp images. Eventually I realized the focus shift stopped to medium apertures gave sharper backgrounds than subjects, and I got a 2.5 Summarit for general use. However, I got the ver 2 Nokton 1.4 when it came out, and indeed the focus shift is improved to where it doesn't bother me. There are sharper lenses, but I could live with it as my only 35. (Except I have about 6 ...) I use the Nokton a lot on film and on my M9 where the speed is handy. The Summarit stays on my M10. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivi1969 Posted March 9, 2020 Share #7 Â Posted March 9, 2020 Advertisement (gone after registration) 2 hours ago, Rob L said: Pretty soon they will have one more; 35 f/1.2 Nokton. Essentially a tweaked 40 1.2. Probably will be very good, but not small or light The 35mm f1.2 has been around for ages, I had one maybe 12 years ago. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madNbad Posted March 9, 2020 Share #8  Posted March 9, 2020 Take a look at the new Vintage Line 35mm 2.0 Ultron ASPH. It’s compact, sharp, rendering is much like the Summicron ASPH and new they are $799 USD. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakontil Posted March 9, 2020 Share #9 Â Posted March 9, 2020 19 minutes ago, rivi1969 said: The 35mm f1.2 has been around for ages, I had one maybe 12 years ago. They are releasing the version 3 soon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCPix Posted March 9, 2020 Share #10  Posted March 9, 2020 I have the Color Skopar, to compliment my 35 FLE. I really like the very small size, tab focus - and it is really a very good performer. The slower max aperture is only a problem when the light gets worse than 1/30th at f/2.5 and ISO3200 😉 Comes with a good recommendation from me.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivi1969 Posted March 10, 2020 Share #11  Posted March 10, 2020 10 hours ago, jakontil said: They are releasing the version 3 soon You are right. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivi1969 Posted March 10, 2020 Share #12  Posted March 10, 2020 10 hours ago, madNbad said: Take a look at the new Vintage Line 35mm 2.0 Ultron ASPH. It’s compact, sharp, rendering is much like the Summicron ASPH and new they are $799 USD. As soon as I manage to sell my Zeiss ZM 35mm F2 I'll get the Ultron. Love the rendering and its looks too! Will be a nice match for my M9P. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceVentura1986 Posted March 10, 2020 Share #13  Posted March 10, 2020 On 3/8/2020 at 10:03 PM, david strachan said: BUT, the 35mm f1.4 M mount Nokton is famous for its back focus after fully open. It seems all of them do it. . . . I find this back focus frustrating. Even though it's a beautifully built lens I try to avoid using it because of this fault. It's worse at f2.8 and f4 than anywhere.  all best... I find that it is most pronounced at f/2.8 and f/4 but even then only within 6 feet (2 meters) or so. Beyond that distance the depth of field becomes so great that it resolves any focus shift. So, for me I just don’t use this lens at that distance and these apertures. Otherwise, it’s a fine lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ko.Fe. Posted March 10, 2020 Share #14  Posted March 10, 2020 They are different lenses under different types of film, digital. And if you are willing to see the difference. I had 35 2.5 all three versions. M version is not for heavy use without fixing focus tab and lens block wobble.Same optics, same flat rendering on bw film. Fine on color film and digital. Ultron 35/2 is same size with better optics. 1.7 was totally awesome on bw film, prints. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haikos Posted March 10, 2020 Share #15  Posted March 10, 2020 Not to hijack the thread but I too have been curious about the color-skopar because I have a huge f2 biogon. For anyone who has had any x100 iteration, do the two lenses render similarly? Just to get an idea... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejg1890 Posted March 11, 2020 Share #16  Posted March 11, 2020 Replying after reading several comments but not all. I have both the 35m 1.4 II SC and 35 2.0. First to clarify the 35m 1.4 as there are multiple versions; 35m 1.4 v1, 35m 1.4 II MC and 35m 1.4 II SC. Each have different characteristics. The focus issue was resolved or mostly resolved in vII. The MC version is more of a "today's" style photo while the SC is more of a vintage look photo where you will get flare and other items you make not like shooting in light. Personally I think the 35 f2 is over all a better quality photo and use the lens significantly. I chose the SC over MC because I do have the 35m f2 and wanted a look that was different from the f2. I like the way the B+W come out with the SC lens. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ko.Fe. Posted March 11, 2020 Share #17  Posted March 11, 2020 On 3/10/2020 at 8:56 AM, haikos said: Not to hijack the thread but I too have been curious about the color-skopar because I have a huge f2 biogon. For anyone who has had any x100 iteration, do the two lenses render similarly? Just to get an idea... x100 has two different lenses. Pre X100V and X100V mark II lens. The difference is very visible. Skopar is similar to X100V lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haikos Posted March 12, 2020 Share #18 Â Posted March 12, 2020 8 hours ago, Ko.Fe. said: x100 has two different lenses. Pre X100V and X100V mark II lens. The difference is very visible. Skopar is similar to X100V lens. That's the kind of input I was after so thank you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del-Uks Posted March 12, 2020 Share #19  Posted March 12, 2020 Last year I replaced my Ultron f/1.7 with a Lux FLE. I just kept the good looking Voigtländer lens shade to use it on my Luxes (35mm & 50mm, both with ø 46mm). Honestly, when I look at the pictures I can’t really say the 35mm Lux is any better than the Ultron. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Prime Posted April 30, 2020 Share #20 Â Posted April 30, 2020 (edited) I have been using the Nokton 35/1.4 for a little while and I have been very pleased with the results. In fact, the colours and clarity are a big draw for me. I have been using RAW conversion on my iMac as the OOC JPEGs from my Leica CL are generally not up to the job. Based on the results to date, I can not see any reason to consider a Leica branded 35mm lens. The only criticism is that I find the focus tab difficult to get used to as this is not the only camera/lens combo I have and switching between lenses is a PITA because they lack consistency in focus ring/tabs. Edited April 30, 2020 by Mr.Prime Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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