October 10, 2022

From Gerald R. Lucas

Introducing the Color-Skopar 3.5/21

Another lovely lens from Voigtländer was delivered today: the Color-Skopar 3.5/21. While it looks the same as the Ultron 2/28, it’s slightly smaller, but has the same excellent build quality. I immediately put it next to the Ultron for a comparison. It’s perfect for the Leica M8.

I immediately took a few sample photos. I think the color is excellent, maybe better than the Ultron 2/28. The lens is tack-sharp (maybe a bit less than the Ultron 28) and focus is easy to nail even at f/3.5. I don’t even notice any adverse vignetting, something I’m sure would be evident on a full-frame camera.

The M8 does not bring up the appropriate frame lines, unfortunately, but I can manually select them to compose trickier shots. As the lens is a 28mm equivalent on the M8, it is wide, but not overly so. I would like a stop or two more light, but I am willing to sacrifice speed for the perfect size. This lens is way smaller than the Ultron 1.8/21 which just looks and feels absurd on the M8—though it is a great fit for the SL.

I am pleased with this purchase, and maybe the best part is I got an open-box from Amazon which almost cut the new price in half. The lens is perfect, and it came in the original box. Now, if I could just find the same deal on a Nokton 40, I would be set.

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