First couple rolls with the 25mm Snapshot Skopar

I like using mine on my IIIa - it's a perfect Barnack lens and the external viewfinder obviates the awkward viewfinder of these ancient cameras. Pop one of these on the front and it's rejuvenated - small, light with that satisfying Leica mechanicalness and now a great modern lens on the front.

I also like the Snapshot Skopar on my M8.
 
i had this lens and did not seem to be using it much so traded it for a 28 for my contax ..... well when i started going through the photos i had taken the last couple of years iwas startled to see how many of my favorite shots were taken with this lens, so i decided that i need another one. I jusst got the second one about two weeks ago and I am having a ball rediscovering this lens. not sure why i had slowed down using it but i will not be making that mistake again.
and hey , head bartender or anybody from voightlander if you are listening, I especially love the clickstop focus and would pay extra to have this feature on some of my other lenses. It cetainly speeds up my shooting process. And yes it looks pretty good on my bessa L but looks even better on my Leica Standard.(BTW the inside shots are inspiring.... think I will be taking it with me when I go out tonight)
 
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the snapshot and the color skopar? Is it the same glass in different cases.? Thanks
 
As far as I know it's the exact same optics on all the 25mms
Yes.
BTW I've had a Snapshot Skopar and found that focusing and aperture rings were too loose for my taste. I kept moving them accidentally. Are they all built this way or that was just my sample that needed some adjusting?
 
Love the 25mm focal length. I have the Zeiss Biogon, which is much bigger. Your inspiration regarding how slow you can go with f4 is encouraging as this is such a great compact lens and the hood is also compact. By the time I have the Biogon, hood and finder rigged up on an M2 it's a fair size and weight.
 
Yes.
BTW I've had a Snapshot Skopar and found that focusing and aperture rings were too loose for my taste. I kept moving them accidentally. Are they all built this way or that was just my sample that needed some adjusting?

Yes, I think your sample needed adjusting. Mine is not loose or sloppy to focus or for the aperture adjustment.

Here is a sample from my Snapshot Skopar 25/4:

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...
 
25/4

25/4

i've had a couple different snapshots, chrome and then black; sold one to a friend then bought it back, then traded it for a black one...foolishly sold it...but last week bought the current m-mount version and it hasn't been off the camera. just finishing up a couple weeks of travel so will post something soon, image wise. it feels so good as a fov and i love the compact nature of it. it is a great little street lens.
 
I picked this lens up a couple weeks ago, so far I absolutely love it. I've been trying to find the perfect lens for street photography... the 15 is stupidly easy to zone focus but too wide most times and has too much distortion for shooting people close up. My 35mm Ultron is good, but harder to zone focus and a bit too tight for my taste in a lot of situations. The 25mm seems to be the perfect compromise.








Thanks for posting this! I just go back into shooting and while I bought, the 25/4 two years ago almost, I've never really used it. This weekend I went out and shot 7 rolls!

Setting the focus takes a little getting used to (I shoot on the R2A) but I tend to set the default at infinity and pull the lever back and count clicks (10 feet, 5 feet, 3 feet). Can i safely leave this at 5.6 and 2 meters and get most things relatively in focus?

Did you shoot the indoor shot at f4? The photos look great.
 
I have the Snapshot-Skopar as the 'normal' lens for my MDa, for times when the 12mm is too wide for my mood, and it's a superb walkabout lens. I also had its S-mount sibling, the SC Skopar, when I was still playing with a couple of Nikon S2s. What I hadn't realised was that it has a quick-focus feature whereby the focus mechanism disengaged if you twist the barrel quickly. Scared the bejeezus out of me the first time I caused it to happen.
 
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I really like mine, good in the tight london streets - indoors (pubs), forest -wherever! Recently got a Bessa L to weld it on with Fomapan 400@800 in heavy rotation. So much fun.

Does anyone have a single bad thing to say about the little beast?
 
@tritiated

Lovely color shots... I've only used mine for black and white so far, I'll have to run a roll of superia through it soon :)
 
Some more VC 25/4 shots. Shot on a Bessa R2A and Lucky 200 film. Straight Scans (not very good ones though).

Palm Sunday:
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Saturdays at the Park:

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Great images, I especially like that first one - I share a similar love for the 25mm snapshot skopar, since borrowing it from a friend my 40 Summicron has been used far less often. It's really easy to zone focus (much more room for error than the 40, and I tend to take a lot of quick shots so it's great for that). 25mm is a great focal length for street shooting. Very nice results in black and white. I just wish it was a stop faster. I think if I decide to buy a 25 it will be the ZM Biogon.
 
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