p.4 #1 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
MAubrey wrote:
I had the Skopar years ago and loved it. I've been wanting another for some time now that I have a modded Sony, but haven't gotten around to it yet. You're tests are pushing me back toward that!
On the Leica it's sharp from center to corners wide open. Here are some crops at f/2.8:
PS: I was not expecting this performance from a pancake lens. My copy is sharper than the CV 35/2 Ultron but I requested new copies to make sure.
p.4 #3 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
Your just trying to get me to buy Leica again. I have that Fred feeling twisting my arm.
Aug 28, 2020 at 05:35 PM
imagesfromobjects Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #4 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
How does that conversation go?
“Yeah, I want to exchange this lens - this copy seems too perfect"
Hahaha
No, but seriously - I'm happy to have you confirm this, I thought I was maybe a bit too impressed with it and someone else would find more faults. My copy is also insanely sharp from wide open, yet not ideal on Sony/Sigma.
I still use it (it's even better with a close-focus adapter) but definitely notice the field curvature and subsequent funky bokeh. My Sigma is presently at Kolari, who are awaiting a (delayed, argh) shipment of Ultra Thin sensor glass to put on it. Now I'm especially anxious to get the camera back to use the 35/2.5!
Fred Miranda wrote:
Although both lenses are well centered, I am getting new copies next week to make sure my findings are correct.
p.4 #5 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
imagesfromobjects wrote:
How does that conversation go?
“Yeah, I want to exchange this lens - this copy seems too perfect"
Hahaha
No, but seriously - I'm happy to have you confirm this, I thought I was maybe a bit too impressed with it and someone else would find more faults. My copy is also insanely sharp from wide open, yet not ideal on Sony/Sigma.
I still use it (it's even better with a close-focus adapter) but definitely notice the field curvature and subsequent funky bokeh. My Sigma is presently at Kolari, who are awaiting a (delayed, argh) shipment of Ultra Thin sensor glass to put on it. Now I'm especially anxious to get the camera back to use the 35/2.5!
I mainly want to make sure the Voigtlander 35/2 Ultron copy I received does not have any element spacing issue. It's perfectly centered but sometimes even that does not make it an optimal copy. I was very surprised that the Voigtlander 35/2.5 Color-Skopar outperforms it in terms of resolution at center at any distance. (both wide open)
I predict it will perform great on your Sigma with thin sensor. Let me know how it works as I may try that route as well.
p.4 #6 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
I am beginning to think the 35/2 is kind of an oddball.
I liked the one I had, but it was basically a wash with the 35 1.4 II I have.
Seems like the 35 2.5 is basically on par with it too. The 35 1.7 seems technically better, and you can use a filter with it to fix the fc issues on thick sensors.
I liked that it matched the look and feel of the 21 3.5, but...
Fred Miranda wrote:
I mainly want to make sure the Voigtlander 35/2 Ultron copy I received does not have any element spacing issue. It's perfectly centered but sometimes even that does not make it an optimal copy. I was very surprised that the Voigtlander 35/2.5 Color-Skopar outperforms it in terms of resolution at center at any distance. (both wide open)
I predict it will perform great on your Sigma with thin sensor. Let me know how it works as I may try that route as well.
p.4 #7 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
I've received new copies of the CV 35/2 Ultron and CV 35/2.5 Color-Skopar.
Just like with my previous copies, the 35/2.5 is noticeably sharper @f/2.5 compared to the Ultron @f/2. (at any distance)
Stopping down the 35/2 Ultron to f/2.4, it's still not as sharp as the 35/2.5 Color-Skopar wide open.
At center, I find the resolution difference considerable and I'm surprised by this since the 35/2 Ultron is a newer design with special glass. It actually replaced the Voigtlander 35/1.7 Ultron which is now discontinued.
PS: Both copies of the CV 35/2 Ultron are well-centered and perform exactly the same at center. The 35/2.5 Color-Skopar is actually sharper than the CV 35/1.7 Ultron and 35/1.2 III at similar apertures! Very underrated lens!
Here is a sample at infinity. At MFD the difference is similar (link)
35/2 Ultron @f2 (LEFT) vs 35/2.5 Color Skopar @f2.5 (RIGHT) -- both lenses wide open. This level of sharpness is outstanding for a pancake lens!
p.4 #11 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
nehemiahphoto wrote:
Good findings! Is the 35/2.5 less affected by the Sony sensor stack?
They are just as bad on the Sony A7R IV. The CV 35/2 shows higher vignetting at f/2 vs 35/2.5 at f/2.5:
Surprisingly the 35/1.2 III performs the best on the Sony sensor.
Vignetting not corrected: Same infinity scene as above showing the extreme corners on the A7R IV. Lots of induced field curvature for both lenses. The Ultron shows slightly higher vignetting.
p.4 #13 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
You know, I was checking out the 35/2.5 and finally made up my mind; it's coming later today. I based my decision on reviews I'd found online.
I only now found your - Fred's - review; had not seen it prior to buying.
You can't know how pleasing it is to see one's decision supported by such good testing as this! Confirms my decision and makes me anxious to get it on my camera to shoot.
Thanks Fred for this informative - as usual - thread and site!
p.4 #14 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
tunisia wrote:
You know, I was checking out the 35/2.5 and finally made up my mind; it's coming later today. I based my decision on reviews I'd found online.
I only now found your - Fred's - review; had not seen it prior to buying.
You can't know how pleasing it is to see one's decision supported by such good testing as this! Confirms my decision and makes me anxious to get it on my camera to shoot.
Thanks Fred for this informative - as usual - thread and site!
regards,
Joe D
It's a gem. I purchased one and love it on Leica M10.
Perfect walk-around lens.
p.4 #16 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
MAubrey wrote:
I caved over the weekend. My new copy is in the mail today. If anyone is interested in how it performs on a modded 42MP sensor, I'm happy to provide.
p.4 #17 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
How would this lens compare to the Zeiss C Biogon 35/2.8? Granted, the Zeiss is more than 2x the cost, but if I’m shooting at f4 to f8, would the differences between the two be significant? Sharpness, distortion and field curvature are what I would categorize as priority qualifications when looking at these lenses. Which would you recommend?
I’m really digging the size of this Voigtlander over the Zeiss. It’s so small! Trying to pick out a compact 35mm lens for my M10M and MA cameras (98% black and white and 2% color film) that’s small, stealthy and hits way above its price point.
p.4 #18 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
Nearly 10 years ago I paired the C Biogon with an M6TTL for film (75/25 B&W/C41 at the time) although I was always very impressed with reviews/images from he CV35/2.5. That setup was sold and some years later I picked up another M6TTL but with the VM 35/1.7 based on Tom A's work with early sample that were coming out (some time before the 35/1.2). The additional shooting window for available light with Tri-X pushed in Diafine was much needed; although I have great and meaningful shots from that combo, I always miss the size of the C Biogon or a Color Skopar. I don't think you can go wrong with either of those as small walk around lenses on a digital M or for daylight/stabilized shooting on a film M.
Thank you to all those who contributed to a very friendly and valuable thread. I am going to bookmark this one for the future when M10's continue to depreciate.
Going off on another tangent, there are rumblings that Leica may release the 35/2.8 Summaron again which would be interesting for comparison, albeit probably at 5x the price of the CV 35/2.5 and 2-3x the price of the C-Biogon. I wish I had bought a clean copy of the original Summaron before the prices went through the roof.
Sep 23, 2020 at 01:23 AM
imagesfromobjects Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.4 #19 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
Had both, used both on Leica M6 and Sony a7S. For your purposes (and mine) I'd recommend the Skopar. The Zeiss has the microcontrast advantage, but it wasn't enough to justify the price and size difference. Any other IQ difference between them is negligible. The Skopar is frigging TINY and I like having lenses I can beat up a bit.
You really can't go wrong with either, they're both outstanding lenses with great handling, but the Skopar is noticeably smaller, half the price and wins on (subjective) rendering in my book
Alpha_Geist wrote:
How would this lens compare to the Zeiss C Biogon 35/2.8? Granted, the Zeiss is more than 2x the cost, but if I’m shooting at f4 to f8, would the differences between the two be significant? Sharpness, distortion and field curvature are what I would categorize as priority qualifications when looking at these lenses. Which would you recommend?
I’m really digging the size of this Voigtlander over the Zeiss. It’s so small! Trying to pick out a compact 35mm lens for my M10M and MA cameras (98% black and white and 2% color film) that’s small, stealthy and hits way above its price point. ...Show more →
p.4 #20 · Any love for the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm F2.5 PII pancake?
Alpha_Geist wrote:
How would this lens compare to the Zeiss C Biogon 35/2.8? Granted, the Zeiss is more than 2x the cost, but if I’m shooting at f4 to f8, would the differences between the two be significant? Sharpness, distortion and field curvature are what I would categorize as priority qualifications when looking at these lenses. Which would you recommend?
I’m really digging the size of this Voigtlander over the Zeiss. It’s so small! Trying to pick out a compact 35mm lens for my M10M and MA cameras (98% black and white and 2% color film) that’s small, stealthy and hits way above its price point. ...Show more →
Just looking at their optical designs, they are incredibly similar. Even the aspherical element is in the same place (third from the back).
