To speak to what most call "character" from the 28 Summaron, it's not bokeh of course, it's a mix of modern with vintage:
– Unique vignetting wide open at f/5.6
– "Pillar"-shaped flare when shooting straight into the sun
– Soft corners
– Modern color saturation
– High contrast
– High central sharpness
To my eye, the Voigtlander 40 "character" is very close to that of the Summaron when both are wide open – similar vignetting, soft corners, modern high-contrast/color/sharpness. And from the samples here, It looks like the 28 Color Skopar has the same character as well. Neither of the Voigtlanders have the same flare character as the Summaron, though.
tri_fin wrote:
I had the new version Summaron 28/5.6 for sometime and now have the skopar 28/2.8. I never compared the lenses but I would say that the Summaron is less of a character lens than some people claim. I am not alone in this conclusion. The Summaron is actually quite well behaved. The older version maybe more character but I think that it is mainly down to age of the lens. I am not trying to say the Summaron is bad, actually I am saying it is better than stated. I would also say that generally character is harder with wider lenses. The ‘character’ needs to be stronger to show and then seems to shows bad lens - imagine the noctilux as a 28…Of course this all down to the users tastes and requirements.
The skopar is not a character lens but it is very nice with its own signature. ...Show more →
Thanks! Which one you prefer?
I already have a summicron 28mm, so I am not looking for a 28mm replacement, just a small compact fun lens for street to complement my cron
I didn’t really notice the focus throw - I tend to set my 28mm to f8 and use it like a p&s.
I will say the Summaron is a beautiful, wonderful thing! It is solid and made so well. I did miss it but like I said the hood ruined it for me. Also 5,6 is a bit limiting even though I shoot at f8, occasionally I want to isolate a subject and 5,6 isn’t great. It is also a bit prone to flare hence the hood requirement. Buying gear is hard. You think you know what you want but actually the only way to know is to try it. Even that isn’t perfect as we change with time and as we learn more.
Budget and brain tells me to get the skopar, but leica bug is bery strong hahaa.
When it comes to the 28mm f/2.8 Elmarit lens, it seems like the focus throw is shorter, but I can't recall the exact angle. Maybe someone who has the Elmarit lens can verify this for us.
Just to clarify, the type 2 lens doesn’t have any sort of hard stop or indication at 0.7m focus is that correct? So if using on a rangefinder the type 1 is the better choice as you don’t need to worry going past 0.7m accidentally?
Also, does anyone have a link to a 6 bit coding template? Can’t seem to find one online, just links to digital versions
xpfloyd wrote:
Just to clarify, the type 2 lens doesn’t have any sort of hard stop or indication at 0.7m focus is that correct? So if using on a rangefinder the type 1 is the better choice as you don’t need to worry going past 0.7m accidentally?
Also, does anyone have a link to a 6 bit coding template? Can’t seem to find one online, just links to digital versions
Similar to other Cosina lenses, there is no tactical feel when focusing closer than 0.7m. That's why I prefer the Type I version for rangefinder focusing.
If you want a 6-bit code template, you might need to create one yourself because as far as I know, there isn't one available for purchase.
The black is glossy black (painted black on brass). I think it looks great on the Leica Black Paint finish. For the silver M11, I would go with the chrome lens.
I took my Color-Skopar 28/2.8 Black Type II on a lunch break walk at Ebisu last Thursday, trying it out on my Sony A7CII for the first time. I shot everything at f8 (long distance shots) or at f2.8 (a smaller number of close-ups) this time. My copy of the lens is spot-on at hard infinity on my Rayqual adapter so I like to take long distance view snaps with it just relying on hard infinity. Even if the target distance is just some tens of meters it seems to work optimally.
My 28/2 II was not spot on at hard inifinity and neither were my 28/1.9 nor 28/2 v1 nor my two copies of 28/3.5 LTM, so I'm really happy that my copy of the newer 28/2.8 is perfect in this regard.
I applied one of my favorite presets in C1 Pro on the samples this time. Since C1 Pro still doesn't support A7CII I changed the camera model to A7IV by exiftool batch processing on the Raw files to be able to edit them and then I changed it back to A7CII on the original RAW files and produced JPEGs afterwards. Not sure if there are any color-science differences between A7IV and A7CII but the results looked as expected to me.
These images looking good! Did I see somewhere you have 28mm f3.5 by Voigtlander. I have a copy too but struggle to use it on my Sony A7 with a consistent and decent images. Would you say this new 28mm is a lot better than its slower sibling and can be used at any aperture? Cheers.
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I took my Color-Skopar 28/2.8 Black Type II on a lunch break walk at Ebisu last Thursday, trying it out on my Sony A7CII for the first time. I shot everything at f8 (long distance shots) or at f2.8 (a smaller number of close-ups) this time. My copy of the lens is spot-on at hard infinity on my Rayqual adapter so I like to take long distance view snaps with it just relying on hard infinity. Even if the target distance is just some tens of meters it seems to work optimally.
My 28/2 II was not spot on at hard inifinity and neither were my 28/1.9 nor 28/2 v1 nor my two copies of 28/3.5 LTM, so I'm really happy that my copy of the newer 28/2.8 is perfect in this regard.
I applied one of my favorite presets in C1 Pro on the samples this time. Since C1 Pro still doesn't support A7CII I changed the camera model to A7IV by exiftool batch processing on the Raw files to be able to edit them and then I changed it back to A7CII on the original RAW files and produced JPEGs afterwards. Not sure if there are any color-science differences between A7IV and A7CII but the results looked as expected to me....Show more →
I always enjoy your reportage-style photos, Juha. They truly takes me back to Tokyo whenever I check your galleries.
I swapped my 28/2 Ultron for the 28/2.8 Color-Skopar (Type I) because it's super compact. I like the way the Color-Skopar renders images better, and the resolution and contrast are nearly identical in both lenses.
These images looking good! Did I see somewhere you have 28mm f3.5 by Voigtlander. I have a copy too but struggle to use it on my Sony A7 with a consistent and decent images. Would you say this new 28mm is a lot better than its slower sibling and can be used at any aperture? Cheers.
Tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks very much! Yes, I have 2 copies of Voigtländer 28/3.5 LTM lens (one in Black, one in Silver) and those are a bit challenging to use on Sony sensor since they are film-era lenses and not optimized for digital. There's more field curvature with those lenses on Sony sensor and it's basically impossible to get corner-to-corner sharp shots even stopped down to f8 or so. I think there's always some noticeable degradation towards the edges and corners even when trying to balance the in-focus area by focusing in mid-frame. I do like how those lenses draw when used wide open for closer range shots though. I had another version of this lens (in Nikon S-mount but should have same optics) back when I was using the original A7R and that one was having quite bad color shading on A7R as well.
The new 28/2.8 VM is definitely more suitable for corner-to-corner sharp infinity shots and I also like it that it can focus down to 0.5m (Type II). For infinity shots it's still best to stop down to f8 or so. Even f5.6 is pretty good but I think extreme edges and corners improve a bit further by f8. I think it works fine at wider apertures for close to mid-range shots as well on Sony too. I have owned a lot of 28mm rangefinder lenses that I've used on my Sony, also including Minolta M-Rokkor and 2 copies of Avenon 28/3.5 LTM, and the new Color-Skopar 28/2.8 is my favorite among all of them on Sony.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I always enjoy your reportage-style photos, Juha. They truly takes me back to Tokyo whenever I check your galleries.
I swapped my 28/2 Ultron for the 28/2.8 Color-Skopar (Type I) because it's super compact. I like the way the Color-Skopar renders images better, and the resolution and contrast are nearly identical in both lenses.
Thanks very much, Fred! I also traded my 28/2 v2 Ultron away after getting the 28/2.8 because of hard-infinity calibration which is spot-on on my 28/2.8 but was off on my 28/2 (always had to focus at around 5m mark for best corner-to-corner results), and because I enjoyed using the 28/2.8 more in general. It also helps that it's so compact and comes with a very small hood as well. Now I think I'm settled with this as far as adapted rangefinder lenses go, but I'm still hoping for native 28mm (or equivalent) options from CV for E-mount and X-mount.
Looking for a 28mm to put on a black chrome M-A.
Trying to decide between Color-Skopar type 1, type 2 or an Ultron (f/2).
I've only briefly tried the Ultron (type 1) on M10-R and the rendering was lovely.
Type 1 pros: 0.7m MFD for film, smallest of 3, looks stunning in black (subjective).
Type 1 cons: rotating aperture ring (adjusting with 1 hand?), less common filters (step up ring 34-39 could be fitted, might interfere with changing the aperture?), infinity lock (can it be unscrewed?).
Type 2 pros: lightest of the 3, non-rotating aperture ring, 39mm filters.
Type 2 cons: not as small as type 1, 0.5m MFD for film.
Ultron pros: probably the sharpest, 39mm filters, extra stop.
Ultron cons: larger, heavier, 50% more expensive with the hood, 0.5m MFD.
Can anyone comment on ergonomics of muscle-memory prefocusing and fast street shooting with the longer focus throw of type 1?
How is the focusing resistance on the Skopars?
My 35mm Ultron is still a bit stiff and sticky even after trying to break it in for about a month.
28mm Ultron type 1 was perfectly light and smooth.
Did anyone compare the 28mm Skopar vs 28mm Ultron on film yet?
Looking for a 28mm to put on a black chrome M-A.
Trying to decide between Color-Skopar type 1, type 2 or an Ultron (f/2).
I've only briefly tried the Ultron (type 1) on M10-R and the rendering was lovely.
Type 1 pros: 0.7m MFD for film, smallest of 3, looks stunning in black (subjective).
Type 1 cons: rotating aperture ring (adjusting with 1 hand?), less common filters (step up ring 34-39 could be fitted, might interfere with changing the aperture?), infinity lock (can it be unscrewed?).
Type 2 pros: lightest of the 3, non-rotating aperture ring, 39mm filters.
Type 2 cons: not as small as type 1, 0.5m MFD for film.
Ultron pros: probably the sharpest, 39mm filters, extra stop.
Ultron cons: larger, heavier, 50% more expensive with the hood, 0.5m MFD.
Can anyone comment on ergonomics of muscle-memory prefocusing and fast street shooting with the longer focus throw of type 1?
How is the focusing resistance on the Skopars?
My 35mm Ultron is still a bit stiff and sticky even after trying to break it in for about a month.
28mm Ultron type 1 was perfectly light and smooth.
Did anyone compare the 28mm Skopar vs 28mm Ultron on film yet?...Show more →
I'm shallow I guess because I don't like how the shiny black paint Voigtlanders look with the black chrome cameras. The 28 Color-Skopar Type II in matte(-ish) black is the only one I would consider with a black chrome M-A, either that or any of them in silver.
For the life of me, I can't find a 34-39mm step up ring. Been looking for one for my vintage Canon ltm lenses as well.
Why doesn't someone make this? There's plenty of 34-37, but that's just as useful as nothing at all.
I kind of wish CV hadn't been so slavish to the vintage style on the Type 1 in terms of filters.
