A new lens! Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1...

[Godfrey]

Back in the days when I was shooting with the Pentax DSLRs in APS-C format, the Pentax-DA 21mm f/3.2 was one of my most useful lenses, so I've been looking for a nice, compact 17 to 21 mm lens for the Leica CL. I tried a TT Artisans 17mm f/1.4 in L-mount, but it just didn't impress me at all ... I sent it back. Once upon a time, I had the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/4 but I sold it when it simply had too many issues on the digital sensor for my taste.

But Voigtländer has recomputed the Color-Skopar 21mm and theoretically tuned it better for the digital sensor cameras. And I'm working with APS-C now, not FF. So I decided to give it a try ...

Leica CL fitted with Voigtlander Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1
​

I like the V1 focusing mount, it's very similar to my LTM Color-Skopar 28mm f/3.5. The new styling is a little glitzy but classic looking.

I took it with me yesterday on my morning bicycle ride and breakfast gathering...

San Jose Frontrunners with Jack - San Jose 2022
Leica CL + Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1​

21mm really hits a sweet spot for me on this format.

Now, group shots in a cafe aren't what I normally do photographically, so I took the lens out on my afternoon walk as a more formal test... Here's an album with 17 of the photos I thought were 'in my zone'...

Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 Test​

I'm happy with that!

G

 

[rfaspen]

Thanks Godfrey! Some folks have reported a very "wavy" field curvature with this lens that resulted in unexpected parts of an image in/out of focus. Something that's more noticeable at wider aperture. I've seen it in the example images of the reviewers, but not so much in shared images. Might this be a consequence of curation and folks tending to cull images that show weird FC/focused areas? Or maybe it's not so bad and shows up infrequently?

in short, did you see this in any of your images?

 

[Godfrey]

Thanks Godfrey! Some folks have reported a very "wavy" field curvature with this lens that resulted in unexpected parts of an image in/out of focus. Something that's more noticeable at wider aperture. I've seen it in the example images of the reviewers, but not so much in shared images. Might this be a consequence of curation and folks tending to cull images that show weird FC/focused areas? Or maybe it's not so bad and shows up infrequently?

in short, did you see this in any of your images?

You're welcome.

Many of the photos in this set were made at f/5.6, kinda my standard aperture for shortish lenses in APS-C; a few at f/3.5 and a few at f/8 or f/11. "f/5.6 and Be There" as the saying goes, modified for APS-C.

I don't see much that might indicate a "wavy" field curvature. I tend to shoot a lot of fairly planar subjects where such an odd field curvature would likely be exaggerated in its appearance ... You can see mostly planar subject matter in 11 of the 17 shots presented, at a range of different aperture settings (although I didn't specifically record each one), and no such oddity in field curvature.

Sometimes I think people just delight in finding some kind of fault—any kind of fault—in order to have something to complain about. Because people like to complain! I find minor faults in nearly every piece of gear I've ever used ... perfection is simply unattainable in any practical sense. My interest is to use the gear in such a way that whatever minor faults it might have don't appear in the products I make with them.

:angel:

G

 

[Godfrey]

More walking with the Color-Skopar 21mm yesterday. Posting some more photos soon. Lovely lens, a pleasure to walk with.

G

 

[Godfrey]

Cypress Against Jet Trail


VinH Likes...


Crossed Overhead


Open For Anything


Leaves On Pavement


Retaining Wall


Electrical Box


Condominium Under Milky Sky

Santa Clara 2022
Leica CL + Color-Skopar 21mm f/3.5 v1​

 

[Nitroplait]

Many excellent photos. Thanks for sharing.

I had the Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/4 but I sold it when it simply had too many issues on the digital sensor for my taste.

I think a lot of early experiences with adapted lenses depended on the sensor properties at the time rather than the lens. I had a 2009 Lumix GH1 (micro four thirds 2x crop sensor) and I couldn't take a decent photo with any adapted lens with a focal length wider than 35mm, regardless of origin; Leica, Nikon or whatever.
My Voigtlander 12mm/5.6 and 21mm/4 would be completely smeared except for a tiny circle in the center.
That has completely changed with the BSI sensor on my Nikon Z6ii. Both lenses are now very useable.

 

[Godfrey]

Many excellent photos. Thanks for sharing.

I think a lot of early experiences with adapted lenses depended on the sensor properties at the time rather than the lens. I had a 2009 Lumix GH1 (micro four thirds 2x crop sensor) and I couldn't take a decent photo with any adapted lens with a focal length wider than 35mm, regardless of origin; Leica, Nikon or whatever.
My Voigtlander 12mm/5.6 and 21mm/4 would be completely smeared except for a tiny circle in the center.
That has completely changed with the BSI sensor on my Nikon Z6ii. Both lenses are now very useable.

Thank you! And .. You're welcome!

I have been adapting all kinds of lenses to various digital bodies since the middle '00s. RF lenses are a harder adaptation than SLR lenses, since they weren't designed in general to clear a swinging mirror and by that very fact have a somewhat less telecentric design, particularly older lens designs like the short Elmars and Color-Skopars.

The FourThirds and Micro-FourThirds sensors, as well as the Sony A7 I and II, in my experience have a thick sensor stack that exacerbates/exaggerates these issues. Leica M sensors are typified by a thin design to minimize these issues with older, symmetrical lenses, and most of the newer sensors (like the one in the Nikon Z6) have thinner sensor stacks and less problems. It's the specific optical coupling between lens and sensor that makes a difference, and both sides contribute almost equally to success and failure.

The older Color-Skopar 21mm f/4 was a pretty simple symmetrical ultra wide design, designed for film use which is almost completely insensitive to the angle of incidence. The new Color-Skopars have been recomputed for better performance on the digital sensors that are now the assumed receiver medium, and they perform much more consistently across the board.

I don't know about the older Voigtländer HyperWide 12mm f/5.6. The one I bought about four or five years ago shows amazing quality and performance even on sensors LARGER than what it was designed for, like the Hasselblad 907x/CFVII 50c 33x44mm sensor. It's sharp and unsmeared right to the corners, even past the vignetted area due to the stub lens hood.

Fun stuff. I've got such a nice, compact lens kit for the Leica CL and coming Pixii, I'm entirely happy.

G