Any suggestions for a good third party 28mm M mount ?

[bluestar01]

Currently on my M-Mount R-D1s I have a Voigtlander Ultron APSH 28/1.9 which I love! My only real gripe with it is that it's a teeny bit on the larger and heavier side. It's quite long, and having my filter + step up ring only makes it that bit longer - it sticks out almost 6cm from the camera body.
Does anyone know of any cheap third party 28mm lenses prefereably around the f/2-2.8 max aperture mark that is on the smaller, more compact side? Looking to buy used for cheapest prices.
So far I have been looking at:

• Zeiss Biogon T* 28mm f/2.8 ZM - would there be much real size difference between this and the Voigtlander Ultron 28/1.9 that I have now? I haven't seen this in person so if anyone has any input that'd be great!
• Canon 28mm f/2.8 LTM - although to be honest these seem quite hard to find for me
• Minolta M-Rokkor 28mm f/2.8 M - again, seem pretty hard to come by
• Voigtlander 28mm Ultron II VM - this one I haven't found one used anywhere

Anyone got any good ideas on lenses to fit the bill? Preferably as small as possible and decently priced on the used market..!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The Voigtlander 28mm f3.5 is a screwmount lens, but works fine on M-mount with adapter. I have one for sale in the RFF classifieds. It is TINY, though not especially cheap. Probably the smallest 28 you'll find, though the Canon is also tiny.

 

[Out to Lunch]

I've used the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 4/25 with the R-D1's. Reasonably inexpensive and tiny.

 

[Coldkennels]

I'd second the 28mm Color Skopar. Yes, f/3.5 is a fair bit slower, but it's tiny, sharp, and a fantastic performer. I love mine.

 

[sebastel]

I like the Zeiss ZM Biogon 28mm f/2.8. It's quite a bit more compact than the Ultrons are. I sold the Ultrons, kept the Biogon.
The Minolta M_Rokkor very often suffers from Schneideritis. I can't recall having seen one without those white spots.

 

[Out to Lunch]

I love the Zeiss Biogon T* 2.8/28 ZM but it's not exactly 'tiny' and they've become a bit expensive. If you'd go for a second-hand one, make sure it doesn't have the dreaded 'wobble'. With the R-D1x

 

[raid]

I would find a clean CV 28mm lens, It is the most practical solution. There will be many online reviews and users' reports on CV 28mm lenses. The CV 25/4 is also an awesome option if this focal length suits your needs. I am still using my Rokkor-M 28mm/2.8, and occasionally, I use the Kobalux 28mm/3.5. Both are great lenses. They are also not heavy.

 

[oldwino]

The latest Voigtlander a Ultron 28mm f2 II is small, lightweight, and very sharp. It may not be “cheap” to purchase, but for what you are getting for the money, it is a “bargain”.

 

[Godfrey]

I've had the Voigtländer Ultron 28/2 and Color-Skopar 28/3.5 lenses. The Ultron 28/2 I found disappointing ... It was large, heavy, and had poor sharpness (and focus shift, and edge-darkening) until about f/5.6. The Color-Skopar 28/3.5 is small, light, and sharp wide open, still has edge darkening to f/3.5. The edge darkening with either is not an issue on APS-C sensor bodies (Leica CL, TL, etc), but it is noticeable on FF sensor bodies (M, SL, etc). The Color-Skopar 28 also color shifts a little on FF bodies (irrelevant on the Monochrom models).

I sold the Ultron; kept the Color-Skopar, still have it and use it. It would likely work well on the APS-C sensor of the R-D1. It works well on the Leica CL and M10 Monochrom (aside from the edge darkening, correctable in post).

Color-Skopar 28mm f/3.5 on M10-Monochrom​

Since I plan to buy another FF color body and the Color-Skopar is not at its best on FF bodies, I'll be in the market for either a Summicron-M 28/2 ASPH or an Ultron II 28/2. I've heard the latter is exceptionally good, and it's between the Summicron and the Color-Skopar in size (smaller than the Ultron 28/2 I had). I hope to borrow one of each to test them against each other before buying, but it's only significant to do this after I have the color FF body.

G

Addendum: Oh yes, the Color-Skopar 28mm f/3.5 works just fine on a film M. 🙂

 

[mapgraphs]

The latest Voigtlander a Ultron 28mm f2 II is small, lightweight, and very sharp. It may not be “cheap” to purchase, but for what you are getting for the money, it is a “bargain”.

Another vote for the 28mm f/2 Ultron II.I have all three 28mm Ultrons and the new f/2 II provides much the same quality as the Ultron f/1.9 LTM (at least on an M), but in a somewhat smaller package. As I understand, the Ultron f/2 II seems to be based on the older f/1.9 design rather than the f/2 version I.

 

[kermaier]

If you go for one of the Canon LTM 28mm lenses, you'll likely get a more "vintage" look in your photos -- lower contrast, different color rendering -- than with newer lenses like the CV offerings.
Among the Canon 28mm lenses, the f/2.8 will be scarcer, more expensive and likely not as sharp/contrasty, as compared to the f/3.5 variants.
Another vintage option is a Nikkor 28/3.5 in LTM -- better performer, IMO, than the Canons, although worse ergonomics -- but that will be scarcer and pricier.

My favorite moderately-priced M-mount 28mm on the R-D1 is the M-Rokkor, but examples with clean glass are scarce.

You also might get good results with the M-Hexanon 28/2.8, though I haven't tried it myself (I found the M-Hexanon 50/2, 90/2.8, 50/1.2 and UC-Hexanon 35/2 LTM to be fantastic).

 

[Larry H-L]

I have an RD-1 and tried the 28mm f3.5 Color-Skopar. It’s a fantastic lens on film but it vignettes too heavily on the RD-1 for my taste. I don’t believe the Epson has the micro lenses over the sensor as Leica bodies do.

Currently using a 28mm Elmarit v3 on the RD-1, it exposes more evenly over the entire frame.

 

[Coldkennels]

I have an RD-1 and tried the 28mm f3.5 Color-Skopar. It’s a fantastic lens on film but it vignettes too heavily on the RD-1 for my taste.

This statement got me thinking, because I've used the Color Skopar on various Fuji X-mount bodies via an adapter (X-Pro, X-T1, X-Pro 2), and never saw particularly heavy vignetting. So while I waited for dinner to cook, I took a little walk in the neighbourhood and shot a couple of photos with it wide-open at f/3.5 on the X-Pro 2. Here's one that's fairly evenly lit on all corners:



And here's one in a much darker, more unevenly lit situation:



It definitely gets more blurry in the corners on an APS-C sensor than on film but I'm not seeing particularly heavy vignetting. Sadly, I don't have an RD-1 to see if that sensor behaves any differently, though.

Oh, and as a special bonus, here's it being forced to flare, shooting directly into the setting sun:



Not really relevant to the whole vignetting thing, but I thought it was too pleasing to leave out!

 

[Bill Blackwell]

... Does anyone know of any cheap third party 28mm lenses preferably around the f/2-2.8 max aperture mark that is on the smaller, more compact side? Looking to buy used for cheapest prices. ...

Zeiss Biogon T* 28mm f/2.8 ZM
Canon 28mm f/2.8 LTM
Minolta M-Rokkor 28mm f/2.8 M
Voigtlander 28mm Ultron II VM

The Minolta and Canon are easy to find used and are relatively cheap, but difficult to find without haze or other optical issues. The Zeiss Biogon and the CV Ultron II are both excellent choices and both can be found used on Cameraquest, eBay, or B&H. Just keep your eyes open.

The Ultron would probably be the best performer in your group - with the Biogon not far behind; both lenses have their own characteristics.

 

[bluestar01]

Thank you to everyone that gave some input on this!

In the end I went for the Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron II. It was close between that and the Zeiss 28/2.8 Biogon (as well as some others like the Konica M Hexanon 28/2.8 and Minolta M Rokkor 28/2.8), but I went for the Voigtlander mainly for the design, with it being the smaller and lighter lens of the lot, which was very important to me, as well as that extra stop of light, as it was the only one of the bunch at f/2; I take a lot of pictures in low light so I'll take every stop I can get..!

Should be arriving tomorrow, lookin' forward to gettin' that thing on my R-D1! Thank you again for all your inputs !

 

[maddoc]

The M-Hexanon 28/2.8. Before that lens I had the Leitz Elmarit 28/2.8 vs 3 (2 copies), the Zeiss Biogon 28/2.8, the M-Rokkor 28/2.8, the Ultron 28/2.0.