Cosina Voigtlander lenses. Opinions please.

[johnboy]

Ive been thinking about getting a couple of these Cosina Voigtlanders for a while now, I quite fancy the 12mm F5,6 Ultra Wide Heliar (ive wanted a ultra wide angle for a while now, and this might suit me more than a Sigma 10-20 or Tamron 10-24 on my DSLR) and either the 21 mm or 25mm F4,0 Color Skopar pancake.

Looking around on the web it looks like my Nex 5n wont give too many issues with colour casts and Im pretty confident that I'll be happy with the lenses performance and sharpness, however Id like to get an idea of how they actually feel and handle when used for everyday shooting. Have any of you compared the 21 & 25? Is there much difference between these two or is it simply choosing the preferred focal length? Any issues? any limitations? Any alternatives?
(By the way, Im not too concerned about the relatively slow max apertures, they are wide angle lenses after-all!)

Cheers John

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

FYI: C/V make lenses for lots of mounts - you seem to be interested primarily in M mount lenses.

[johnboy]

Yes, I should have mentioned that, its the m mount lenses Im interested in.

[Attila]

Friend of mine have it 12mm voigtlander with M mount and use it on nex-5, he is very satisfied.

[scsambrook]

Hi, John

The 21 and 25mm are the same optics in both L39 and M versions. The M mounted 25 is rangefinder coupled unlike the L39 version but that won't be relevant on the NEX camera.

I have a 21mm and had the 25mm which I sold when I got the 21 - I use on an M8 and the wider one was more useful to me. The quality on film and on the M8 is - to my eyes - extremely good in both cases. I fancy the 21 is a bit sharper, but that's a pixel-peeping hair-splitting exercise. For actually making pictures as opposed to comparative testing, the quality is really the same. From what I read, the Leica 21 and 24 are better, but at a massive proce differential and not by a degree that transforms the aesthetic quality of a picture to any extent. The CV lense are about as small and light as you can get, which is important to me.

I haven't used either the 12 or 15mm lenses so can't comment.

The only other "compact" current lenses would be the Zeiss ones. Again, I haven't used these.

If you want "tiny" on your NEX, the alternatives that come most readily to mind are the 21mm Olympus and 20mm Pentax SMC-M lenses. I had the Pentax one which produced absolutely first class Kodachromes. Comparing them with those from the 21mm f3.4 Super Angulon lens I had at the same time, there wasn't a lot of difference. In fact, there wasn't much difference at all.

I'd have no hesitation in recommending either the 21mm or 25mm CV lenses - unless you want something which focuses a lot closer, they're probably impossible to beat in the value for money stakes. The M mount versions are only $419 new from Cameraquest - about £270 - which is cheaper than you often see the 21mm going for on eBay UK.

[johnboy]

Thanks for the info Stephen, I think the 25mm might suit me more as Im looking for a 35mm equivalent focal length. Its good to read your positive opinions and thanks also the tip about cameraquest, I not seen them before but the price is very attractive. Have you ordered from them? Did you have to pay any custom duty?

Im currently torn between getting a new voigtlander, or going for a second hand Minolta 24mm 2.8. I think ultimately its going to be down to whether the extra stop or so of speed is worth the extra bulk.

Anyone used the 12mm?

[scsambrook]

Hi johnboy !

I got the 21mm from Cameraquest - my son who lives in the USA actually made the purchase for me. He sent it by airmail, properly described and valued, and I wasn't asked to pay duty or VAT. The duty is actually not much, but the VAT would have added 20% plus what Royal Mail charge for taking your money. Robert White charges £354, so if you were hit for charges the saving would be a small one. Import duty and VAT seem to be a bit of a lottery - the lens came through without any, but a gift for my wife from another friend in the USA was hit for both.

If the NEX is good at high ISO settings then - personally - I'd go for the CV because it's good AND it's really small and light. Although maybe a Minolta 24 would be a lot cheaper . . . the usual dilemma.

[uhoh7]

[johnboy]

Excellent info, thanks for that guys.

Looks like the 12mm isnt as popular!