Voigtlander 21mm or 25mm for the M9?

[taemo]

I'm looking to pick-up a CV Color-Skopar 21mm or 25mm P for the M9 for those times that I want to shoot wide-angle but for the life of me, I can't find real-life samples or reviews taken with this combo.
I see on Ken Rockwell that he doesn't recommend the 21mm on the M9 and on B&H, there's a review of the 25mm stating that it has issues on the M9 as well.

Can anyone share some color pictures taken with either lens on the M9?
I'm looking to use it mainly for landscape

 

[Quan]

Thanks for bring this up, I also in the midst of deciding a wide lens 15, 18 or 21 but so liitle review or talk about this. Hope someone will share with us thought and experience with M9. Secondly, is it a must to get VF accordingly ?

Apprecite your share of thought

Merry Christmas !!

 

[35mmdelux]

I was using my 21 Color-Skopar and M9 the other day in Central America mountains. Images came out fine. I also used the 21 with my M8 under classroom & office light conditions getting outstanding results.

What is the reasons it can't be used with the M9?

 

[Doug]

Avoid a compact "pancake" style lens, with rear element close to the sensor, like a 21mm Super Angulon. The modern Zeiss C-Biogon-ZM 21mm f/4.5 is "impossible" to correct on the M9 for this reason, though it's been ok on the M8.

The problem is shown in red shading and sometimes also cyan toward the sides and corners. Most compact wides will show this to some degree, and I've seen it even with the Zeiss C-Biogon-ZM 35mm f/2.8. The matter is said to have been mitigated somewhat in the last firmware update, so it may not always be noticed in normal use, depending on the lens and subject.

Use CornerFix on your affected DNG files, or the new Flat Field plug-in for Lightroom, to help remove the problem except in the worst cases.

To prevent it in the first place, I'd suggest picking a lens with an exit pupil far from the sensor, an indicator of being more nearly telecentric. Light rays exiting perpendicular to the sensor, ideally. "Retro-focus" construction. The Zeiss Distagon-ZM 18mm f/4 might be ok, though I haven't tried it on an M9.

Just what I've gathered over the past few years, as I avoided using lenses wider than 35mm on my M9, now sold.

 

[Charles S]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlessalomons/tags/voigtlandercolorskopar21mm4/

 

[ChrisN]

Here's a sample from the older LTM mount version of the 21mm, on the M9. No complaints here!


West side by Another Chris, on Flickr

 

[Ed Bray]

There will not be a problem with mono images Chris, the problems reported are due to colour fringing on the edges of the images where the lenses have not been corrected to make all the colours of light to meet at the same point, although how much this is an issue will depend on the user.

 

[ChrisN]

Ah - sorry - I missed the reference to colour. I'll see what else I can find.

 

[taemo]

I was using my 21 Color-Skopar and M9 the other day in Central America mountains. Images came out fine. I also used the 21 with my M8 under classroom & office light conditions getting outstanding results.

What is the reasons it can't be used with the M9?

from what I've read, these lenses suffer some color shifts in the corners on the M9, it's not a problem in B&W but in color you may notice it but I don't know how extreme is it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlessalomons/tags/voigtlandercolorskopar21mm4/

great shots and colors!
is that with the LTM or the M version? what lens profile did you use on the M9?


i found a user on Flickr that uses the LTM skopar 25mm on the M9 and he suggests setting the profile to 21mm 2.8
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59382226@N08/sets/72157632205002012/with/8259814211/
I guess I'll have to give these a try in B&H tomorrow

Merry Christmas everyon!

 

[Charles S]

Am using the M version. You will need to buy a VF seperately.

I have coded it as the 21MM elmarit, and LR takes care of the rest.
Use it for both color and B&W, happy with the results.

In case you run into some critical situation, there is always cornerfix to take care of fringing etc.

at roughly $400, I thought it was good value compared to the rest of my kit (Zeiss and Leica lenses > $1000 each).

 

[Ed Bray]

I used the 21mm f4 Color Skopar for the first time a couple of weeks ago and although I shot it with film on my M4 all I can say that the version I own (M mount) is bloody sharp. There may be issues with colour fringing with the M9 but I am sure that for a lens that costs $420 new you are not going to get much better at that price point.

The image below was scanned on my Scanview Drum Scanner at a resolution of 11,000dpi:


11000dpi 35mm Tri-X by Ed Bray, on Flickr

 

[Godfrey]

With the Color Skopar 21/4 and 28/3.5, I get a bit of color shifting with the M9. The 25mm is similar. If you're shooting for B&W, you can work around it easily; if you're shooting for color, you can use CornerFix or pick a different lens.

(They're all fine on the M4-2 or CL.)

The Ultron 28/2 doesn't color shift, neither does the Zeiss 25/2.8 (the Zeiss is the better lens). I'm considering selling my Voigtländer 21/4, 28/2, and 28/3.5 then applying that money as part payment for a Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH ... which from what I've seen is the best performer of the lot. The Zeiss 25 is also a hot number.

G

 

[hepcat]

I have the Ultron 28 f/2 and the new Ultron 21 f/1.8. I've not recognized any color shift or fringing with either lens on my M9P. I haven't used the Ultron 21 extensively as I acquired it fairly recently, but so far I'm impressed with it.

 

[Richard G]

Colour!

Here is the little 25 on the M9. I have really not noticed any colour fringing, but it is there with this and the Zeiss too I think, if I look for it, in some shots, not many. I see it more with the 21 Zeiss f4.5.

My big problem with the 25 Colour Skopar is the flare. Still, it is often in the bag as it is so small and light.

 

[Scheelings]

When I get the M9, I'll be purchasing the Zeiss 25mm - everyone says it's great - you don't REALLY need a finder - and at least for my purposes - it will be wide enough.

 

[gshybrid]

I shoot a cv21 on my M9 quite a bit. I code it as an elmarit 21 and I don't really have any problems with the corners....

 

[Richard G]

When I get the M9, I'll be purchasing the Zeiss 25mm - everyone says it's great - you don't REALLY need a finder - and at least for my purposes - it will be wide enough.

I have the Zeiss too. It is great. But it is quie a big lens and with the hood it's a much bigger rig than pasting on the little VC even with its tiny hood.

 

[35mmdelux]

I shoot a cv21 on my M9 quite a bit. I code it as an elmarit 21 and I don't really have any problems with the corners....

If you code the 21 color-skopar as elmarit 21 how does that work? The 21 skopar is f/4.0 and the elmarit f/2.8. Won't the M9 misread the f-stops causing it to throw off the shutter speed?

 

[Scrambler]

If you code the 21 color-skopar as elmarit 21 how does that work? The 21 skopar is f/4.0 and the elmarit f/2.8. Won't the M9 misread the f-stops causing it to throw off the shutter speed?

The M9 doesn't know what aperture you have set. It meters purely based on what light is getting in. Similarly it makes no difference whether you do or don't have filters fitted. The coding simply allows correction of vignetting, color shifts and distortion in the jpg output. If using a RAW developer you set the lens at the developer end (computer) not the camera.

I can't speak for the 25mm, or the M9, but the 21mm f4 is a retrofocus design despite the apparent short lens-focal plane distance. It works well on my NEX APS-c sensor and I've not heard any complaints on M9's or even on the new Sony A7/r.

 

[Richard G]

I code the ZM 18 f4 as a 21 2.8 Pre-aspheric and get less fringing than with the 21 Zeiss.