New Year’s Eve Skies

Voigtländer Color-Skopar 20mm f/3.5 SL II; 1/400 s -1 @ f/8.0, ISO 200

Just out for a stroll on New Year’s Eve 2011 with my trusty D90 and Voigtländer Color Skopar. The way the branches were silhouetted against the afternoon sky caught my eye, so I thought I’d take a series of exposures.

This is a great lens to use for this type of work, because it’s so sharp from center to edge. Even the finest branches in the corners are free from ca’s. This was one of my favorite exposures for its composition and movement.

Shooting wide is always challenging for me as I tend to pixel-peep and come up disappointed. Small, far away details are overcome by the limits of resolution, leading to the initial conclusion that the lens is not sharp. However, this is an optical illusion inherent in shooting with wide angle lenses. Branches in winter are a great test of a lens’s resolution.

Review: Voigtländer Color-Skopar 20mm f/3.5 SL II

I can never seem to stop looking for F-Mount pancake lenses, which are somewhat limited if you’re considering a Nikkor. There’s the 45mm f/2.8 P , the 45mm f/2.8 GN, the second-generation 50mm f/1.8, and the 50mm f/1.8 Series E, the craving for all of which has been satisfied by the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0. It’s an outstanding lens.

But in a wider lens, the offerings are indeed few and far between. Although fairly compact, the Nikkor offerings simply don’t qualify as pancakes. So again I turn to Voigtländer, and again I am rewarded with a fine piece of glass.

The Color-Skopar is nearly identical to the Ultron, being only a few millimeters longer. In fact, from a distance it’s difficult to tell them apart. It has a very different image quality from the NIKKOR AF 20mm f/2.8D. For one, its considerably sharper in the corners at least in the DX format.

But for me the real joy is in its use. It simply feels great, and it transforms your DSLR picture taking into somewhat of a street-rangefinder experience. It’s light and compact, and allows you to preset the focus with its amazing depth of field.

Because it has an aperture ring, it’s also ideal for macro work when reversed. Simply attach a Nikon BR-2A Macro Reverse Ring to the 52mm filter threads, and a Nikon BR-6 Auto Diaphragm Adapter to the rear mount. You’ll have the ability to compose and meter at full aperture, and stop down to the taking aperture using the aperture lever provided. You can even do this remotely with a standard cable release.

Build Quality ★★★★★

This lens has a classic, pre-auto focus era build; all-metal construction, engraved paint-filled markings, rubberized focus ring grip, metal filter threads. At 6.9 oz (198g) it runs head to head with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8. The optical formula consists of nine elements in six groups, including one aspherical element. It’s aperture uses nine circular blades, which help to improve the bokeh, always an issue with wider lenses.

Compatibility ★★★★★

Although this lens has enough coverage for a full-frame sensor, its high degree of vignetting (-2.9EV at the borders) make it a more optimal lens for the APS-C “DX” format. The CPU chip means that it will meter on all post-1977 AI bodies, not just those that allow you to enter lens information manually. Its aperture ring assures compatibility with cameras that do not employ electronic aperture control. There are no dimples to attach a metering prong for non-AI conversion.

Focusing ★★★★★

Heavenly; smooth as silk and perfectly damped, with no play whatsoever. It’s enough to make traditionalists want to return to manual focus.

Optical Quality ★★★★

On a DX (APS-C) equipped DSLR, the image quality is very good, but truly excellent at f/8, where the optimum border and corner resolution converge with a center resolution ever-so-slightly softer than its f/5.6 peak. It exhibits excellent saturation and contrast characteristics, with a consistent if not razor-like sharpness from center to edge. On an FX equipped DSLR, the substantial vignetting might be an issue, and to a lesser degree its aberrations. However, its high degree of contrast tend to offset the additional chromatic aberration and coma outside the APS-C crop.

Value ★★★

This lens tends to be a bit pricey, but its value lies in its unique combination of small size and good image quality

Versatility ★★★★★

With an equivalent focal length of 30mm in APS-C, this lens turns your DSLR into a viable street camera, albeit not a very fast one. It allows you to get in close to your subject, which gives your images a pronounced sense of depth. In its native full-frame length of 20mm, it can capture breathtaking landscapes.

Diaphragm

9 curved blades

Filters

Accepts 52mm filters (if used on an APS-C camera, the 40mm Ultron’s domed hood can be used without vignetting, even with a filter attached).

Hood

An optional metal hood is available.

Included Accessories

Includes a 52mm pinch-style lens cap and rear cap.

Specifications

You can view Voigtländer’s Specifications for this lens by visiting their website.

Sample Images:

First Impressions: Voigtländer Color Skopar 20mm f/3.5 SL II

I had been fighting this for a long time. I’m a big fan of the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f2.0 SL II, but often need a lens that’s wider. I carefully weighed the differences between the Nikkor 20mm and this lens, and settled on the Nikkor due to it’s additional speed and auto focus capability. The Nikon was also a tad sharper. But I’ve been seeing a lot of great sample images from the Color Skopar, and started to give it some thought.

The sample images show that wide open, the Voigtländer is sharper in the corners than the Nikon, although not quite as sharp in the center. This makes for a lens with better edge-to-edge consistency overall, great for panoramas. The vignetting however is another story. It’s quite high on a full-frame sensor, with a drop-off of about 2 EV. But this is much less pronounced on an APS-C sensor.

But the bottom line is that this lens takes a nice picture, is incredibly compact, and meters on the D90. True, it’s not significantly faster than my Zoom Nikkor 16-85mm (the variable aperture makes it f/3.8 at 20mm) but it’s significantly smaller in size and has that silky manual-focus goodness that make it less redundant than I thought at first. The closest size comparison with a Nikkor lens would be a second-hand Nikkor 20mm f/4 AI-S. But that lens won’t meter on the D90, and frankly doesn’t come close to the Voigtländer in image quality.

So, I broke down and ordered one in lieu of a new Voigtländer Bessa R. Like the AF Nikkor, it makes the D90 30mm, a tad wider than 35mm, the classic focal length of street/reportage. However, it also has a lot in common with the M-Mount Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/4.0, another “pancake” lens with similar edge-to-edge sharpness that’s not quite as fast as this one.

There are so few truly compact prime lens options out there for Nikon DLSRs that the Color Skopar seems too good to pass up, even though it isn’t exactly a speed demon.

It’s only 7 oz. (198g) but because of its small size, it feels a lot heavier. It’s just a tad longer in physical length than the Ultron 40mm. It shares it’s 52mm filter threads with that lens as well, and when used on an APS-C DSLR, can use the Ultron’s compact domed hood, even with a filter without vignetting.

At first, I thought the lens wasn’t focusing at infinity, because the focus confirmation indicator would not light when focusing on a distant object. But sure enough, a few test shots reveal the true nature of this lens. The center was ever-so-slightly softer than the tack-sharp Nikon 20mm f2.8D. But the border revealed significantly more detail than the Nikon. When I changed the focus point from dead center to slightly off-center, the focus indicator does indeed work. And the color is just spectacular, the borders being much more open than the Nikon. Which is not to say that the Nikon is inherently bad; but this lens was definitely worth my consideration.

I’m looking forward to putting it through its paces.