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Anyone info about the Voightländer 20mm f3.5 ???
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:14 am    Post subject: Anyone info about the Voightländer 20mm f3.5 ??? Reply with quote
Is there anyone who has any experience with Voightländer 20mm f3.5?

Next month I'm going on a trip to Istanbul and I want a lightweight 20mm to use on my D700 mainly for shots inside the churches and mosques.So the lens must not have too much distortion or a type of distortion that can be dealt with easily afterwards on the PC.

First I started looking at all the Nikkors 20mm but the 20 F2.8 AIS seems to stay very soft in the corners (or am I mistaken?).So I ran into the Voightländer 20mm f3.5 which seems very interesting but I can't find much about it (other than there were some metering problems (overexposure) with the first batch).

Is there anyone who has used this lens or who can point me to some information about it how it behaves on fullframe? Or is there anyone who uses a Nikkor 20mm for this type of photography on a D700/D3 and who is satisfied of the results? Thanks!


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Welcome! Very soft corner ? Perhaps copy variant problem ...


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
Welcome! Very soft corner ? Perhaps copy variant problem ...

No, its a reported issue with the Nikkor 20/2.8 on FX.


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:41 am    Post subject: Re: Anyone info about the Voightländer 20mm f3.5 ??? Reply with quote
roadrunner wrote:
Is there anyone who has any experience with Voightländer 20mm f3.5?

Next month I'm going on a trip to Istanbul and I want a lightweight 20mm to use on my D700 mainly for shots inside the churches and mosques.So the lens must not have too much distortion or a type of distortion that can be dealt with easily afterwards on the PC.

First I started looking at all the Nikkors 20mm but the 20 F2.8 AIS seems to stay very soft in the corners (or am I mistaken?).So I ran into the Voightländer 20mm f3.5 which seems very interesting but I can't find much about it (other than there were some metering problems (overexposure) with the first batch).

Is there anyone who has used this lens or who can point me to some information about it how it behaves on fullframe? Or is there anyone who uses a Nikkor 20mm for this type of photography on a D700/D3 and who is satisfied of the results? Thanks!


When the first rumours of this lens surfaced, I was involved in discussion threads about it. Once it was announced, I started a flickr group about this lens; it now has over 70 members and the pool has photos taken with this lens on a wide range of cameras, DX and FX and film, including D700 and D3.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/cv20/

Please feel free to have a look in the pool and to ask questions on the discussion threads there; plenty of owners to help you out.

Yes, there were early reports of a 2/3 stop over exposure (as happened with the first batch of 58/1.4); people who sent theirs back for adjustment report getting the same lens back and the problem being sorted.

There were also sporadic reports of decentering issues with asymmetric softness at the edges on FX (no issues that would affect corners on DX). These do not seem to be widespread.

People who have compared both say that the ZF 21mm has better edge sharpness (which I would hope would be the case, given that lens is more than three times the cost of the Skopar 20/3.5). The ZF is also substantially larger.

Both the CV 20/3.5 and the ZF 21/2.8 suffer from "moustache" distortion on FX, which is not easy to fully correct in software. On DX, both display a more easily treatable simple barrel.

Lloyd Chambers has reviewed it (paid review site).

There is a photozone.de review in the works, they have had a sample since April, but the Nikon reviews were disrupted by the move to FX (D3x) reviews on that site. The first couple of Nikon FX reviews are now posted there so the backlog is starting to clear.

The British Journal of Photography has reviewed it.

Here is another review, further down in the comments are corner and edge comparisons with the ZF 18/3.5 (note that the ZF18 has substantial vignetting issues, though).


I have not yet purchased this lens, because I wanted to wait until the reported over exposure issues were all cleared. And then I need to be able to afford it Smile but I do plan to get this lens.

Unfortunately, if you want better performance than either the CV20 or the ZF 21, especially at wider apertures, the only option is a large, heavy and expensive zoom, the Nikkor AF-S 14-24/2.8. Odd but, in this case, true.

I hope that helps you, sorry I can't add any direct personal experience with this lens (yet).

Last edited by ChrisLilley on Tue Aug 11, 2009 2:16 pm; edited 2 times in total


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for the info. Chris.


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 12:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Many thanks for your answer,Chris! This is very useful information!It's very friendly to give such an extensive reply Wink


I do agree with your advice concerning the 14-24/2.8.It's a very,very good piece of glass.I own one and often use it for interior shots on the D700.

The problem is that I was operated at both knees this year and still have to be very careful with carrying too much weight around.Already the trip to Istanbul itself will be tiring for me.It's an exchange programme for students of our school and I have "the honour" to keep an eye on them Laughing

I will certainly take my Nikon 28-105 with me and the 50/1.4 but I want a lightweight prime as well in the 20mm range.I know the 24mm Nikkors are better but 24mm is too close to my 28-105mm.

I someone has another alternative for a nice lightweight prime (or zoom starting from 18 or 20mm) which will function on a D700,please don't hesitate to let me know!

@ sichko: I see in your signature that you have an Arsat 20mm which can be used on a Nikon body. Is this lens a possible alternative with uniform sharpness across the frame at for example F5.6 and not too much distortion?


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
Welcome! Very soft corner ? Perhaps copy variant problem ...


Thanks Attila.

I don't think it's a copy variant problem.Especially on fullframe the 20mm are very soft in the corners and you have to stop them down to at least F8 to get some corner sharpness.


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
roadrunner wrote:


@ sichko: I see in your signature that you have an Arsat 20mm which can be used on a Nikon body. Is this lens a possible alternative with uniform sharpness across the frame at for example F5.6 and not too much distortion?


I haven't used it on FF - only on a crop camera. For landscapes it seems sharp enough (at f/8-f/11) across the whole (crop) frame. It has CRC and is very good for close-ups but sharpness seems to drop away towards the edges of the frame.

I have seen samples of its use on FF where it showed quite marked complex (moustache) disortion. I can't remember where these were - but I think that there's a Flickr Group. On a crop camera one only sees the central portion of the disortion - as a quite pronounced (but correctable) barrel disortion.

Samples of the lens with a sticky aperture have been reported but mine is OK.

The lens has an Ais mount. Mine's a tight fit on a D40x and on a D60 but it does lock.


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
sichko wrote:

I have seen samples of its use on FF where it showed quite marked complex (moustache) disortion. I can't remember where these were - but I think that there's a Flickr Group.


This moustache distortion is bad news. I'll have a look on Flickr.Thanks!


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I got this answer at another forum: I had a Nikon 20/2.8 AiS for several years, carrying me from film up to the Nikon D3. While the 20/2.8 AiS was quite good on film, on the D3 it definitely had the problem of general softness wide open, with the outer 3rd of the image being pretty soft until f/8. f/11 was also good. My Nikon 17-35/14-24 are clearly better across the frame at f/2.8, 4, 5.6. I've since acquired the Zeiss ZF 21/2.8 which is excellent at wide open. Sorry, no experience with the Voigtlander, but most reports I've read echo the earlier comment that it isn't the amazing miracle lens that everyone hoped it would be

There goes the Voightlander...


PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nikkor 20mm f4 ? Nikkor UD 20mm f3.5 ? How about these ?


PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
Nikkor 20mm f4 ? Nikkor UD 20mm f3.5 ? How about these ?


If the edge sharpness of the CV20 or the Nikkor 20/2.8 are insufficient, then the Nikkor 20/4 or Nikkor-UD 20/3.5 would certainly not suffice.


PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I saw some comparative pictures of the Nikon 18-35 and the voigt 20/3.5 and the 20/3.5 is not only sharper (also in the corners) but it also has less distortion. This and the nice shots one can see on flickr taken with the 20/3.5 convinced me.I just ordered one. Smile
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