Hello All,

I am looking to buy a new 21mm Voigtlander lens for mu M6. Has anyone tried this lens? Can you share your experience. How does it compare with the Leitz 21mmASPH??? Thanks

Milos

-- Milos (imagecom@eunet.yu), April 30, 2001

Answers

I haven't seen the 21 or 28 f1.9 for sale here in the US yet. It may be a few months before anyone gets a chance to check them out. I am sure it will be an excellent lens for the money and will be a cut below the very expensive Leica 21, which (along with the Zeiss G 21mm) is probably the best 21mm lens in the world.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), April 30, 2001.

I am also very interested in seeing the performance of this lens. I have a 21 Emarit-ASPH and don't often carry it because it takes up a lot of room and ties up a chunk of cash for something I only find occasional call for. I use a 21/3.4 S/A on an M4 alongside my Hasselblad system (for the same reason, the 40FLE and SWC are too large and expensive for occasional use)but the lack of meter coupling makes the S/A a nuisance with the M6 and Hexar. Ultrawides are an un- aquired taste with me, I'm also eargerly awaiting a look-see at the yet-unreleased 21-35 zoom for the R series. I'd dearly love to part company with my 21/4 S/A-R in preference of something more generally useful to me.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 30, 2001.

Tom Abrahamsson of rapid-winder fame reviews the 21mm voight near the bottom of this page:http://www.cameraquest.com/VCBessaT.ht

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), May 01, 2001.

that url should have ended "htm" greenspun's mac cutoff bug again.....

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), May 01, 2001.

i want the magazines of surveing. can you send me?

-- hosein yavari (hamiddadashi@yahoo.com), May 01, 2001.

Hosein: no magazine is involved. Abrahamsson's review of the Voigtlander 21 - two reviews actually, a "first impression" and then a reappraisal after a month of use- are part of a larger piece he wrote on the Bessa T, posted in the Voigtlander section of Cameraquest.com at the address given above.......

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), May 01, 2001.

Just read his review and it sounds like both the 28 f1.9 and 21 f4.0 are both superb and will be "best buys" for a fast 28 and a compact 21 for a Leica. I'm looking forward to hearing some first hand comments from some folks who post here that end up with one.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), May 01, 2001.

For Hosein: click here for Abrahamsson's review of the Voigtlander 21mm lens.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), May 03, 2001.

This a priori. A secular leap of faith. I live in Japan and will have my hot little hands on the Voigtlander 21mm probably before most people. I presume it will be a great lens for two reasons. 1. Voigtlander lens are very good. 2. The lightness = portability of the lens means one will be shooting more with it than with a heavier lens. Ergo : One has a better chance of shooting a meaningful 21mm shot with it than one would with a heavier lens that one does not want to carry around so much--even if the heavier lens (most likely a Leitz) is rated better in lens tests.

At present I use a Ricoh 21mm 3.5 lens with my Leica M-6 and various screw mount cameras. It is a good performer but a bit on the heavy side and, hence, way too often gets left at home. As Tom Abrahamsson says in his review, there is no problem about taking the Voigtlander 21mm lens with you because it takes up so little space in your bag. The lens is built on the same body as the 25 and 35 mm lens. I have both. The 25mm is a fantastic performer. The 35mm is pretty good, but lacks the magic of my Summilux 35 1.4--not taking speed into consideration. You may indeed find the Voitlander 21mm is not up to your Leica 21mm. (I don't care what anyone says to the contrary; there is something extra in Leica lens that cannot be defined by lines per mm.) But you may find that you prefer to carry it around anyway because of its handling. These days the old Summilux stays home a lot and the tiny Voillander 35mm is constantly with me--and 35mm is pretty much my standard lens. Whatever I may miss in that mysterious Leica something I gain in easier handling on the M-6 which results in pictures that I otherwise might have been missed. (It also stops down to f 22 as opposed to 16 on the Summilux--an added plus.) I'd say the reasons I use these two tiny Voitlanders will be a good reason for you to get the Voigtlander 21mm. Also another bonus. It is screw mount. This means (unlike an M mount Leica 21mm) you can switch between M mount cameras (with adaptor) and screw mount cameras like old Leicas, Canons, the new Voitlander Bessa L and R. (I love the former ; am waiting for an improved version of the latter.) There is another advantage--price. Lose your Leica lens and it is a major financial tragedy. Lose the Voitlander and it is a moderately expensive misfortune.

Another thing. Don't expect old Leica lens to perform as well as when they were new (I am talking especially about 50's and 60's vintage lens). See Cameraquest for more about that. I think it is reasonable to expect the New Voitlander 21mm to out-perform old possibly clouded and scratched Leiz lenses. I am pretty sure it will go even or better against old 21mm lens in tip top condition because of the advances in lens design and manufacture.

Finally. The most important thing to watch for in the new Voitlander 21mm is not resolution but either barrel or pin cushion distortion. My hypothesis is that with a lens that compact, linear distortion will be greater than in bigger lenses like the current Leica 21mm 2.8. How much greater? I won't predict. Maybe little to practically none! The Voigtlander will be the product of the latest computerized technology. This is nothing to sneeze at.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4u.or.jp), May 03, 2001.