Anyone have any experience with Kobalux(Made in Japan)21mm f2.8 lens? If you have any info about lens review or user comment, please let me know. The price of this lens is just $399, but I am not sure the quality. Also, when use this lens to M6, needed adapter. Is there any problem in focusing & metering? Also, compare with Voigtilander 21/4, which one is recommended? Thanks. www.i.am/naki

-- NAKI (sn4396@pacbell.net), August 18, 2001

Answers

I posted a review on the Kobalux (3rd version)at the link below. There are a couple of photos.

http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=005yHT

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), August 19, 2001.

POP Photo did a review and test of this lens (and the 28mm) a few years back. I don't know if it's in their web archive or not. My own personal leaning today would be toward the Cosina/Voigtlander 21/4 based on performance of their other lenses, a few preliminary reviews of the 21, and the fact that the Kobalux finder is a monstrous affair with a great deal of flare, whereas Cosina finders are really a delight.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), August 19, 2001.

Funny Jay that you should mention the Popular Photography review, I remember that from the early to mid '90's. But today, I was going through some older issues and in the September 2000 issue, there is a review of the current (version 3) model of this lens.

Overall, it got the typical Pop Photo write-up... i.e., it is very good, (have they ever trashed a lens?). According to the color coded graph, you can get "A" quality 20 x 24 inch prints by f/5.6. The very worst rating was wide open, a "C" quality 20 x 24 inch print.

Distortion was rated low, 0.45% pincushion, (odd, most wides have barrel distortion), and the mention of "virtually no field curvature" appears in the narrative.

Any good library should have at least a year's worth of old magazines, and we are coming up to September soon, so it should be easy for anyone to look at the full review if interested.

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), August 19, 2001.

Al: that link led to a message that your posting "had probably been deleted by the forum maintainer" bummer,I really would like to read it -are you allowed to post it here?..............

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), August 19, 2001.

David, I just checked and it worked for me, (ya gotta love computers!). Below is the link for the Kobalux lens. I just checked this and it works also.

http://www.kobalux.com/k21-3.html

-- Al Smith (smith58@msn.com), August 19, 2001.

Al:

Please copy the following and store it on your desktop somewhere. Then simply insert the address of the links you are always giving us btween the "", and insert ther whole enchelada into your post. Then we'll be able to simply click, instead of cut and paste!

Click here

Thanks!

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), August 20, 2001.

That didn't work the way I wanted it to! try this:

a href="insert web address here">Click here with a < at the beginning and an > at the end with no spaces.

Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), August 20, 2001.

One more time - sorry...

<a href="insert web address here">click here;/a>

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), August 20, 2001.