Voigtländer Ultron 21/1.8 21mm f/1.8 announced

[Michiel Schierbeek]

Spend a day on the Photokina yesterday.

In contradiction to those big players was the small booth of Voigtländer but to my surprise they showed the new (to me) 21mm 1.8 Ultron in M mount. Very well made lens. Could be a good alternative for a fast 21
It is rather big and it has an integrated hood. In line with their non consistant hood politics. At least you don't have to pay extra for a seperate hood.
I screwed it on my RIcoh GXR and took a few shots.
The affiche shot is not sharp and was my hectic attempt to check the distortion.

The last picture is from the even smaller SLRMagic booth. Very nice people and they let me try the SLR Magic Hyperprime 50/0.95. Almost to well aperture damping (no clicks) for videographers. Feels very solid but it is a lens you have to spend more time with to get good shots.
Also tryed the new 35/1.4 on their NEX. Could be a good alternative pricewise.

Michiel

[Michiel Schierbeek]

Originally Posted by totifoto

Very interesting. Any pixs of it on a camera?, would like to get the idea how big it is.

Sorry, but I had only one camera with me. It is just a tad bigger as the 35/1,2. Also becauase of the integrated hood. I didn't find it to big on the Ricoh but I have no idea if it will block the rangefinder a lot or not at all.

Michiel

[Happy_french_chemist]

21 is a nice focal that attracts me a lot. I have tested many 21 that disappointed me. The 21/4 was nice but I had to keep it in the bag at the day.

So when I heard about this one, I was more than happy to have a ticket to photokina. Arriving at the stand, they let me try this little beauty.

First impression is a nice feel in the hand, comparable to the Nokton 50 1.1 but less bulky. It is rangefinder-coupled (it seems obvious but worth the precision)

About the images, I didn't noticed distorsion. Nice bokeh..

I will upload pics ASAP. Unfortunately, it is only crappy pictures from the booth so it won't give it justice. I must admit that I was tempted to flee with it to test it in Cologne streets
Many thanks again to Voigtlander for making that lens ! It opens perspectives..

[Bob]

According to Shintaro's FLICKER site Tom A has a copy of the new lens to test in North America. Shintaro has posted a picture of the new 21/1.8 mounted on his Leica M 4-2. It looks BIG, but Shintaro says "not to heavy".

I'm sure once Tom returns to Vancouver, BC he will give us HIS opinion.

Stay tuned.

[Tom A]

Well I am back after a long delay in Tokyo (5 hours) and 9 hour flight. Indeed, I got a 21f1.8 - currently on my R4M. Haven't seen any results yet - just back an hour ago.
It looks bigger than it feels. Fits well in the hand. The hood adds "volume" to the look though. Light (this is a 21f1.8 after all) and very smooth with the 0.5 m close focus. I have a couple of rolls of Ektar 100 shot in Japan and some black and white to soup - probably tomorrow. Jet lag and film processing is mutually exclusive.
On the R4M it does block a bit of the finder in the lower right hand corner - but not too badly. I am using one of the VC 21/25 finder on top for "fine tuning" edges - but it works without that too.
It does complete a rather formidable VC line-up, 21f1.8, 28f2, 35f1,2, 50f1.1 and the 75 f1.8 - fall and winter is coming and light is getting scarce! According to Cosina, performance is said to be "very good" - and they have taken care to make the bokeh (the fuzzy stuff) particularly good at f1.8-f2.0.
I did shoot a lot at f1.8 (spent almost 8 hours at Narita - which gave me a chance to use it at wide-open). Also some color in Kanesawa (great garden and park - and a spectacular Modern Art Museum).

[Tom A]

Voigtlander Ultron 21mm f1.8 on a R4M. Ektar 100.
Kanazawa, Japan.

[Jockos]

Barrel distortion seems pretty well controlled for a lens like this! thanks for the sample Tom!

[crispy12]

Any pictures to show the physical size of the lens on the body? Thanks for the pics Tom!

[Tom A]

The big market in Kanazawa, Japan. This is our lunch place. Close focus (around 0.6 m) - focus on the nearest beer bottle. f1.8.

[Tom A]

Originally Posted by crispy12

Any pictures to show the physical size of the lens on the body? Thanks for the pics Tom!

Will put some up later. They are in bl/w and I have not yet processed those films. It is not a small lens - it is after all a 21 f1.8!!! However, it is surprisingly comfortable to handhold as the barrel is straight - not tapered. The aperure ring is up front and it has taken me a couple of rolls to get used to its location. With the R4M it does block the lower right hand corner a bit - but you get used to it and a quick "sweep" right gets the coverage - or simply use a 21 finder on top.

[Tom A]

Originally Posted by Jockos

Barrel distortion seems pretty well controlled for a lens like this! thanks for the sample Tom!

Distorsion is very well controlled as is edge fall off.

[flyalf]

Thanks for sharing!

I would love to try this as an alternative to the Leica 21/1,4 for Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). Any ideas ho the lens cope with strong illumination (flare etc) for night photos at largest aperture?

Sample photo (as can be seen my f/4 is not sufficient for short exposure, so the Aurora is a bit to blurry)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7095261...9979/lightbox/

[Tom A]

Alf, even with the slight blur - it looks good. You would gain 2 stops with the Ultron and that probably would sharpen up the Aurora a bit - though I like the smooth blur in your shot. The Aurora tends to "flutter" across the sky anyway.

[Fotohuis]

Looks good, if not excellent. I came not further then the prototype on the Photokina in Cologne / Köln last week.

So far not decided for a 21mm lens. So the choice is rather big now.

Here are the specs:
http://www.voigtlaender.de/cms/voigt...21mm_f1_8.html


Greetz,

Robert

[Tom A]

The Ultro 21mm f1.8 on my Bessa R4M. I use the top-mounted finder for convinience - but even with the slight "blocking" of the lower 1/5th of the 21 finder in the R4 - works well without it.

[Tom A]

The Ultron 21 f1.8 at f1.8 and closest focussing distance (0.5 m). The rangefinder cuts out at 0.7 - but my strap has a piece of tape at 0.5 m as a guide.
Narita Airport in Japan - the Terminal 1, decorated with Hokusai prints and banners.
Arista 400 Premium in Rodinal 1:60 for 11 min.

[kemal_mumcu]

I like the way the lens looks, draws and costs! Seems like a nice alternative to the lux21.

[rizraz]

Tom A,

Thanks for sharing.

Looks good...... got to save for another 21 into my collection.

[umcelinho]

Thanks for sharing all these photos, Tom!

Really promising, i'm excited about it! it looks as long as a 21/2.8 Biogon mounted on the R4M, the hood really makes it look bigger than it really is.

So far I like what I see and can't wait for them to hit he market...

[Phil_F_NM]

I'm gonna have to figure out a way to hack one of these onto a Nikon RF.

Phil Forrest

[kosta_g]

i'm really looking forward to this lens. I've long wanted a faster 21mm lens. though i love the 4.5 for it's straightness, excellent resolution and size. is the perfect partner to the c-sonnar imo.

[Tom A]

I did shoot some more Ektar 100 this week. We were in Maine and Vermont (Portland Maine for the Leica Historical Society meeting). Will try to get them done in the next day or so - and post.

[magicianhisoka]

Originally Posted by Tom A

I did shoot some more Ektar 100 this week. We were in Maine and Vermont (Portland Maine for the Leica Historical Society meeting). Will try to get them done in the next day or so - and post.

Looking forward to samples! Though my wallet isn't

[kemal_mumcu]

Originally Posted by Tom A

I did shoot some more Ektar 100 this week. We were in Maine and Vermont (Portland Maine for the Leica Historical Society meeting). Will try to get them done in the next day or so - and post.

Shooting colour now??? Nice. Is this a whim or permanent change? Nice shots from Japan by the way.

[Tom A]

Originally Posted by kemal_mumcu

Shooting colour now??? Nice. Is this a whim or permanent change? Nice shots from Japan by the way.

It is temporary - bought some Ektar 100 in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago. This year might be a heavy color shooting year - at least 6-7 rolls! I also wanted to see how well the 21f1.8 handled it - and it does it very well. Still amazed at the lack of vignetting - and the quality of the f1.8-f2.0 images. It is not as mall lens - but I find it very comfortable to handle on the R4M or any M camera. Yes, you can see parts of the barrel in the viewfinder of the R4M or MP/M6 0,58 - but it is after all a f1.8 wide-angle and you cant really make one that is compact without compromising image quality!