Voightlander's 28mm f1.9

[Red Dawn]

Hi

does anyone have any experience with Voightlander's 28mm f1.9 ultron for M / screw mount rangefinders?

I'm looking for a fast 28mm lens (ok i know there isn't a lot of choice for this one) & this seems to be a good alternative any comments on build quality, handling & image quality will be appreciated.

thanks!

 

[Neo]

Hi Red Dawn,

The build is pretty good, with smooth focusing and pretty sturdy construction. But there's a very slight wobble within the lens barrel, nothing to be concerned about though.

One thing that irritated me was the ease of changing the aperture. There're distinctive clicks between each f-stop, but the ring is too easy to move accidentally, so if you're not using the M7 with aperture priority, you might be exposing wrongly without you knowing it. It happened to me a couple of times, so watch out if you're using slide films.

The focusing ring though is smooth and about just right, although I wish it's slightly more creamy and less resistance. Lens flare is well controlled with the screw-in lens hood. You can't use the lens cap without the lens hood though... the size is for the hood.

You can also consider the 35mm Nokton f/1.2 if you're feeling rich... :sweat:

 

[waileong]

It works very well, but not as solid feel as the Leica. However, you get an extra stop over the Elmarit 28/2.8, and it's a modern optic too.

I don't like the focusing lever, it looks cheap, prefer scalloped ring or even focusing tab. Removing the focusing lever makes it harder to focus. Lens hood is ugly, feels cheap too.

However, it is several times cheaper than the Elmarit 28/2.8 and a whole lot cheaper than the Cron 28.

Going to Finland soon, hope to have some nice pix from this lens to post when I get back.


Wai Leong
===

Hi

does anyone have any experience with Voightlander's 28mm f1.9 ultron for M / screw mount rangefinders?

I'm looking for a fast 28mm lens (ok i know there isn't a lot of choice for this one) & this seems to be a good alternative any comments on build quality, handling & image quality will be appreciated.

thanks!

 

[Neo]

You're getting 85% of the Leica performance (losing out at the wide open apertures slightly) at 40-50% of the price. Can't complain though... it's not Leica quality in terms of built, but when you come back with the images made possible because of the extra stop of aperture, your Leica Elmarit friends won't be sneering at your purchase anymore. In short, the creed of a street photographer is that it's better a fast lens than no images at all with a great but slower lens.

Oh yes... I shot in a temple where I had to resort to 1/15th sec at f/1.9 with that lens... imagine if I'd bought a Elmarit instead. I've nothing but the highest regards for Leica lenses, but in this case where my budget is tight, I'd prefer a fast lens for street shooting over one with better optical results but slower f-stops. Just in case anyone thought I was flaming Leica optics... ;p

 

[Red Dawn]

You can also consider the 35mm Nokton f/1.2 if you're feeling rich... :sweat:

Hi

thanks for the info on the lens. No, i'm not going to consider the Nokton f1.2 cos 1) Already have the excellent Sunmmicron 35 f2 ASPH 2) i often feel hemmed in by the 35, that's why i'm looking for a 28.

i thought briefly about trading the 35 asph for the 28 cron, but i have a feeling i might regret it. So i figured a 28 would complement the 35 nicely...

anyone knows wat's the lowest price for the ultron 28 new?

 

[jamesong]

Hi

does anyone have any experience with Voightlander's 28mm f1.9 ultron for M / screw mount rangefinders?

I'm looking for a fast 28mm lens (ok i know there isn't a lot of choice for this one) & this seems to be a good alternative any comments on build quality, handling & image quality will be appreciated.

thanks!

I have used the 28mm f1.9 Asp. Its a great little handy lens & images are quite compatible with the "red dot" 28mm lens.Good colours.
Can view the images at:
Please sign up and you can resign after looking.Go to FILES and look for 28mm.http://groups.yahoo.com/group/voigtlanderclub

Happy shooting.

James Song
_________________________
http://www.jsphilatelics.com
http://www.singapore2view.com

 

[YOL925]

... Already have the excellent Sunmmicron 35 f2 ASPH 2) i often feel hemmed in by the 35, that's why i'm looking for a 28.

i thought briefly about trading the 35 asph for the 28 cron, but i have a feeling i might regret it. So i figured a 28 would complement the 35 nicely...

I had done exactly what you thought and regretted! (traded a 35ASPH to get a 28 cron). The 28 cron is a great lens in every respect but the vignetting is quite noticeable!! (much more than the 28 Elmarit)

As for the VC28, the 1.9 ultron is just butt ugly to me (esp. with that hood on) but users' feedback at photo.net seems to suggest that that it's a fine lens optically. If speed is not so important then the tiny color-skopar (28/3.5) is a gem. Compact, well-built, cute, sharp, and cheap (I got one in mint condition at TCW for $350).

Yol

 

[Red Dawn]

I had done exactly what you thought and regretted! (traded a 35ASPH to get a 28 cron). The 28 cron is a great lens in every respect but the vignetting is quite noticeable!! (much more than the 28 Elmarit)

As for the VC28, the 1.9 ultron is just butt ugly to me (esp. with that hood on) but users' feedback at photo.net seems to suggest that that it's a fine lens optically. If speed is not so important then the tiny color-skopar (28/3.5) is a gem. Compact, well-built, cute, sharp, and cheap (I got one in mint condition at TCW for $350).

Hi i've heard of the vignetting issue before with the 28 cron, but apparenly some dun seem to have it. you have any sample pics to show the extent of this problem? maybe pics shot in daylight, wide open....

btw if u ever wanna sell ur 28 cron, let me know