The first Voigtlander COLOR-SKOPAR 28mm f/2.8 Aspherical VM/L39 lens reviews are already out (pre-order: B&H Photo | Jo Geier) – the first one is by Fred Miranda:
“Summing up, the Voigtlander 28mm f/2.8 Color-Skopar by Cosina is an impressively compelling choice. It’s an incredibly compact, lightweight, and affordable lens that excels as a versatile wide-angle option. With a modern optical design, it captures images featuring high resolution and contrast across most of the frame, even though there’s a minor resolution dip in the mid-field. Ideal for street photography and landscapes, its optimal performance lies at f/4 for achieving sharp corners.
When focusing on subjects at the minimal focus distance (MFD), it surpasses expectations in performance. Additionally, when focusing on subjects at a mid-distance, it exhibits a distinctive and classic rendering style.
The Voigtlander 28mm f/2.8 Color-Skopar maintains its position as a category leader, all at an affordable price, despite a few minor drawbacks, including ‘cats-eye’ shaped specular highlights, significant vignetting, and noticeable purple color at the edges.
This lens produces well-defined 10-pointed sunstars starting at f/4 and boasts excellent resistance to ghosting flare, although veiling flare remains slightly less controlled. Its performance matches that of the higher-priced Leica 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M ASPH and the faster Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron II lenses. However, the latter maintains a slight advantage in terms of resolution, lateral chromatic aberration control, and vignetting.
For those who prioritize compactness with the right compromises, the Voigtlander 28mm f/2.8 Color-Skopar stands out as an enticing option at $699. When you put the Voigtlander 28mm f/2.8 Color-Skopar up against the Leica 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit-M, which costs a lot more at four times the price, the biggest difference becomes apparent in terms of size and weight. This is something that works to the advantage of the Voigtlander lens. You’ll especially notice the size difference between these two lenses when you attach the lens hoods.” (Fred Miranda)
“One of the attractions of both rangefinder cameras and manual focus lenses is their simple and reliable operability. Attaching the “COLOR-SKOPAR 28mm F2.8 Aspherical Type I VM” to the “M11” gives it an indescribable sense of comfort, and the shooting is light and comfortable. The experience of “manipulating” a lens with a sophisticated retro design and taking pictures one by one will give you a high degree of satisfaction in the field of cameras, which are highly tasteful. Contrary to its compact and nostalgic appearance, it has the latest optical performance inside and supports comfortable shooting. For all those who want to be able to shoot exactly as they want.” (translated from Kasyapa For Leica)
“For those who will adapt the lens to a non-Leica-M body, I will suggest the Type II simply because it is the only model here that focuses closer to 0.5m, a real advantage. Type II is the lightest at an incredible 106 grams, but my frank opinion is that I would prefer a bit of heft in my optics, and the Type I and L39 versions will nicely fill in the gap for those whose knees go weak at any design that hints vintage.” (Keith Wee)
Additional information on the new lenses can be found here:
Three new Voigtlander COLOR-SKOPAR 28mm f/2.8 Aspherical lenses VM/L39 announced
