My last CV lens? Color Skopar 28mm 3.5 LTM

[roundg]

Today I bought a very good condition skopar 28mm 3.5 from a very nice gentleman in local.

I always want a 28mm lens as it's the perfect wide for me. 21 or even 25 are beyond my control. I prefer the LTM lens as it can be used on both of my M or IIIf bodies. I used to own maybe the whole line of CV lens, 21,25,35,50,75,90....But I never succeeded in trusting anyone of them. I have no complaint about their IQ, but just can't build the chemics with them.

First impression of the lens: very well built, even better than the cv50/2.5 I once own. I know both of them are made of brass, but the 28 just feel more decent.

I am going to do some testing shoot. I hope it's as good as its reputation here.

Will it be the last and only CV lens I keep? probably and hopefully.

 

[kbg32]

It is a great little lens.

 

[maddoc]

I have it in S-mount, great lens ! 🙂

 

[Platinum RF]

unlike you, I do not sell lens, I keep all of them. 28mm 3.5 is one the well made lens from VC, other are really not up to major league level, such as 15mm really lousy quality, webble problem, but, they are cheap.

 

[fbf]

probably one of the best cv lenses out here

btw. 15mm M mount is much better built than the ltm one. Great lens as well

 

[Robert Lai]

I'm interested in this lens too. Something that I haven't read about is whether or not this lens has significant distortion. New, it is quite a costly lens for a modest speed 28mm lens, so there must be some compelling reason to get it.


I've picked up a few CV lenses for my LTM cameras: 15,21,35 (2.5),90. In general, I find them well built. I love how tiny they are. I didn't find any looseness in the 15mm LTM lens, or the 90 (Erwin Puts complained about the mechanics of the 90, though he thought the optics were first rate). Optically, I can say that they are "boring" - in a good way. They have high contrast, high resolution, minimal to no distortion, and good flare resistance.

There 's another thread on RFF about the Nokton 50 1.1, where the poster (Lynn Miller) said that he was initially put off by the seeming ordinariness of the lens, only to realize a year later that the very neutrality of the lens was its strength. My lenses don't make any wild statements with bokeh or other features (e.g. distortion) to shout "look at me!" They just image what's in front of them in a very neutral, almost clinical way. I admit that I was a little disappointed when I first saw the pictures, but now I've come to agree that if the pictures don't work out, it's because I didn't do a good job.

These are just my thoughts regarding the CV lenses. You had quite a collection at one time. Would you care to share why you got rid of them?

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Congratulations, roundg!

I looked for mine for a whole year: it's a great sharp small lens, wonderful for prefocusing stopped down, and for shooting in the most unobtrusive way... It's a bit contrasty especially for wild pushing, but of course totally controllable with development... Lovely lens!

Cheers,

Juan

 

[splitimageview]

Agreed, took a while to find mine as well...it's subjective, but build-quality is noticeably a step or two higher than other Voigt lenses.

 

[jsrockit]

Just picked up a black one myself. I had a silver one and sold it thinking the Ultron and the Zeiss 28mm would be better... but I was wrong. I'd only get rid of it for a ASPH Elmarit at this point.

 

[coelacanth]

I love my black 28/2.5, and I'm not even a wide angle guy. It's a little, very well built lens that I can bring anywhere, shoot anything without scaring the subject even shot very close.

I stupidly sold once and ended up buying again. Apparently that's the way I find out if I really like a lens.

All shot with M2, Legacy Pro 400 (Neopan 400) @ 1600.

 

[JeffNYC]

Just picked up a black one myself. I had a silver one and sold it thinking the Ultron and the Zeiss 28mm would be better... but I was wrong. I'd only get rid of it for a ASPH Elmarit at this point.

John,
I totally agree. Especially if you go full frame.

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

I have a silver version and the build quality is very impressive. But I do not get along very well with my 28/3.5 as my sample seems to be very contrasty with a tendency to really blow highlights quickly. I recently sold my 28/3.5, but at the last minute the deal fell through. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. I need to spend some time with the 28/3.5 soon as it appears to be a very capable little lens.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Leica MP, Color Skopar 28mm f/3.5, Tmax400 printed on Ilford MGIV fb.

Erik.

 

[Bingley]

I've had the chrome version of this lens for over three years. I'm completely satisfied, but then I'm more of a 50/28 guy anyway. The 28 Skopar performs beautifully in b&w as well as color. Yes, it's contrasty, but not overly so. I think the rendition is very similar to the Skopar 50/2.5 in that respect. As others have noted, the lens is solidly constructed; mine has been knocked around on hikes and backpack trips and is still going strong. And it's great to use on a Barnack as well as on an M!

 

[Bingley]

I forgot to mention that it's pretty flare-resistant, too:

 

[Erik van Straten]

That's an impressive picture, Steve. I like the lens too. In fact, it is my only 28.

Erik.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Yes, and what a great moment of light...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[Vincent.G]

I was considering getting the 28/f3.5 but its focal length seems close to the 35 that I have. Are there strong reasons to go for it despite owning a 35?

 

[ferider]

In theory no, Vincent.

But it's a very nice complement to the Nokton and tiny in your bag.

I often have a faster 35 with yellow filter and the Color Skopar with red filter in my bag.

I find it a very interesting lens, in that it is not too sharp if you pixel peep, but has really great micro-contrast, so the pictures "appear" sharp. Also very nicely rectilinear.

 

[jl-lb.ms]