Voigtlander COLOR-SKOPAR 28mm F2.8 Aspherical VM

[madNbad]

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4 minutes ago, 28framelines said:

Well if you do shoot any at wide open on film, I’d love to see them to compare against Fred Miranda’s photos on digital!

I'll post a few over on his site. There already a few on his lens review thread. 

I plan on heading to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum within the next week. I probably take the 28 Ultron too. That should provide some good images.

[Product Details]

More about Voigtlander 28 mm F2.8 Ultron Color Skopar

Available at Amazon and B&H Photo Video

[madNbad]

Took a trip to Albany, Oregon about an hour south of Portland. Volunteers raised the funds to build a museum to house the carousel. They also carved and painted all of the creatures. The museum houses not only the carousel but a gift shop, a collection of antique carousel animals and an active workshop where new creations are carved.

The light was good but not quite enough of it for the 2.8 lens. I could have used an extra stop or a bit faster film. If I had some HC-110 I would have exposed the Tri-X at box speed.  If I was more comfortable with Rodinal I would have pushed it past the 200 ISO I normally use.

M4-2 Voigtlander 28 2.8 Color Skopar V2, Tri-X @ ISO 200, Rodinal 50:1

The stationary photos were exposed at 2.8 @ 1/60th, the ones with motion were f4 @ 1/15th:

 

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[hansvons]

4 hours ago, madNbad said:

The stationary photos were exposed at 2.8 @ 1/60th, the ones with motion were f4 @ 1/15th:

The lens shows much less vignetting on film, which is often the case with M wide-angle lenses. Thanks for the images!

 

4 hours ago, madNbad said:

M4-2 Voigtlander 28 2.8 Color Skopar V2, Tri-X @ ISO 200, Rodinal 50:1

Have you tried Xtol or Adox XT3 (which is essentially Xtol, only more user-friendly)? I defaulted to that developer because it delivers 100% speed and full DR, develops as fine-grained as it can get, and shows tons of acutance, plus it's relatively environment-friendly. It's somewhat the modernised version of D76, which always has been Kodak's Tri-X developer. I think I'd not go out for a limb by stating that you will gain at least one stop without getting more grain or losing detail in the shadows. Developed at IE 640- 800 in Xtol, you probably will get a similar gamma/contrast curve as with Rodinal now at IE 200.

Nice images, BTW!

 

[Smudgerer]

My 28mm Color Skopar arrived yesterday, ( with a new 35 Color Skopar too ), I love the sizes of these lenses. I am sure that they'll perform better in regards to vignetting on film than they will with the digital M's sensors but a swift comparison using the M10-R with the 28mm Skopar then my 2022 28mm 2.8 Elmarit shows not a lot to choose from between the two lenses. We M users are very fortunate that there's a wealth of excellent alternative choices for lensing our M's these days.

[shirubadanieru]

On 8/16/2023 at 10:30 PM, earthmover said:

I just received it. It’s tiny! 50mm APO for scale 😀

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Beautiful design, probably my favorite so far from Voigtlander…also I wonder why doesn’t Leica do Black chrome paint for their lenses to match the black chrome in the bodies. Voigtlander started doing it with the 35 f1.5 and now with this one, and they fit perfectly the black chrome bodies. 

[madNbad]

A few more from the carousel museum. Most were wide open at 2.8 with a 1/30th or 1/60th shutter speed.

M4-2, Voigtlander 28 2.8 Color Skopar V2, Tri-X @ ISO 200, Rodinal 50:1

 

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[madNbad]

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A couple out in the sun. f16 @ 1/250th

 

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[28framelines]

1 hour ago, madNbad said:

A couple out in the sun. f16 @ 1/250th

 

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Okay damn, the images look fantastic on film… basically no vignetting at all. I… I might actually get this lens and sell the 28 Elmarit after all…

[Smudgerer]

14 hours ago, 28framelines said:

Okay damn, the images look fantastic on film… basically no vignetting at all. I… I might actually get this lens and sell the 28 Elmarit after all…

I'd keep them both, ( I have both ), the new VM 28mm isn't an expensive lens at all and although it's results on initial looks are very close to those of the Elmarit I think for those who would nit-pick on any the characteristics of any particular lens there's a qualitative difference to be found between the two lenses, whether it makes any difference to you is something else of course, for me it doesn't. Where the Skopars really stand out is in their excellent build, their more than reasonable pricing and most important for me their compact sizes. I now have the 21 / 25 / 28 / 35 Skopars and collectively they take up about the same amount room in a camera bag as my 35 & 50mm Summicron lenses, so there is that.

[madNbad]

On 8/20/2023 at 11:32 AM, 28framelines said:

Okay damn, the images look fantastic on film… basically no vignetting at all. I… I might actually get this lens and sell the 28 Elmarit after all…

It's a nice lens but it's not an Elmarit-M ASPH. I've owned the 28 Elmarit and it's a fantastic lens. Sold it because it was really more than I needed at this point in my life and bought both the 28 and 35 Ultron V2 for my M4. I wanted a small 28 to add to the 35 1.4 Nokton and the 50 2.5 Color Skopar LTM I keep in the bag I use with the M4-2, the Color Skopar fills the bill. Using film simplifies lens choices, especially when using Tri-X. 

Edited August 21, 2023 by madNbad

[Huss]

The Elmarit Asph has less vignetting and better flare resistance.  But is a whole lot more $$$.  If I already had an Elmarit Asph, I'd keep it.

I have a feeling that if I had the CV, I wouldn't want for the Elmarit though.

[madNbad]

On 8/16/2023 at 3:26 PM, 28framelines said:

Well if you do shoot any at wide open on film, I’d love to see them to compare against Fred Miranda’s photos on digital!

Posted a bunch on Fred Miranda’s review thread. Most of the ones from the Carousel Museum workshop were taken wide open and hand held at 1/30th. I’m getting some motion blur but it’s more likely during the scan than when taking the photo.

[BastianK]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb Steven:

My decision to go with the type I wasn’t based on look, but on the fact that I’m looking at this 28mm lens mainly for zone focusing. 

What about the Type I do you consider being a benefit for this application?

[Tessar.]

Good point re. the "expanded" scale on the type 1 and LTM versions. 

From the posted samples and FM review I had decided not to go for the version 2 and keep using my V1 Elmarit-M ASPH and ZM on my M262, but I may get the screw mount version to sit on my 1c Barnack.  It currently has mounted a converted Contax G28, but it's massive.

[TheEyesHaveIt]

2 hours ago, Steven said:

Just received it, returning it immediately. The aperture ring is linked to the focus ring, which means that when changing the aperture, you also change the focus point unless you're holding the focus lever with the other hand. Makes it unusable for me. 

Maybe try the type II? Doesn't exhibit this. I just tried it to confirm. Focused, stepped through various apertures, took a photo for each one. Focus point remained fixed where I originally had set it.

[Huss]

4 hours ago, Steven said:

Just received it, returning it immediately. The aperture ring is linked to the focus ring, which means that when changing the aperture, you also change the focus point unless you're holding the focus lever with the other hand. Makes it unusable for me. 

Yeah just like the 40 2.8.  I’m a bit surprised you weren’t aware.

How I use these type of lenses is set the exposure first, then focus.

[Huss]

On 8/23/2023 at 3:42 PM, Steven said:

The scale. It’s precise like on the 28 summaron. 
On the type II, it looks like the terrible scale from the ultron. 

I find something amusing about precise scales and zone focus.  Seeing there is nothing precise about zone focus!

Precise DOF scales are useful when you are focusing precisely.

[Bronco McBeast]

The 1,3 and 5 meter marks are the most important. This is where getting used to a lens is imporrant, the focusing tab placement becomes second nature, and no need for the patch anymore.

 

As for changing exposure for sun or shadow, I use the shutter speed: simply faster.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Bronco McBeast]

Don’t lnow why I had 35mm in mind. For 28mm, the 5 meter mark is obviously not as necessary. The idea is to find the marks where people are waist-up, full body, and then a group of people, to remember the focus’ tab position for these distances and you are ready to shoot without any distractions, just pure concentration on the subject

[Bronco McBeast]

1 hour ago, Steven said:

For me the most important marks on a 28 are 2,25 and 3. The 28 Summaron has a precise marking for 2,25 (and 3 obviously) and it makes it such a pleasure to use, aside from its absolutely gorgeous rendering. 

But what happened, I remember you laughed at the summaron rendering, and you were all about wide open shooting making f5.6 a huge no-no.

Personnaly, with any lens, I’m always at f8-f4 except when the light is fircing me to go f2.8-f1.0.

f1.4 shooting is only nice when the lack if light commands it, and this is where it’s beautiful. But if one is at 1/500 and f1.4, I guarantee the photos will be way better at 1/60 and f4.