What's it about the Color Skopar 28mm 3,5 LTM?

I have settled for the Kobalux 28/3.5. Yes, the market prices change with time. Several CV lenses have proven their "excellence" over time, and now, asking prices reflect the current market.
 
jonmanjiro said:
Hi Erik, passé as in pre-digital lenses no longer have color shift problems on digital Leicas? Leica has certainly made improvements with each subsequent model, but I don't think they've quite reached that stage yet.
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Hi Jon, that is a bad thing for all those people that buy these expensive digital Leicas because they have to buy expensive new lenses too.

Erik.
 
David Murphy said:
It's a nice lens, but too expensive for what it is IMO. It was an economy lens of sorts when it came out years ago -- before Voigtlander moved to the high-end market. Lamentably, there are no inexpensive 28mm lenses in either Leica M or LTM. What is available is either expensive or very expensive, at least by the budget standards of working people. Too bad!
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The alternative I used until recently was a Ricoh GR in the pocket and a 50 on my M body. The GR is cheaper than any 28 M-mount lens and arguably better than most.
 
If I was into 28mm lenses, this would be the one. There's a real sparkle to the images. But I find anything wider than 35mm does weird things to humans near the edge of the frame (and I often forget that when shooting), and if I want to shoot wide-open spaces or architecture, 28 is not wide enough. So I jump from 35 CS to 21 CS. I very much admire Mr. K and Cosina for making a range of modern LTM lenses - and the Head Bartender for doing maybe more than anybody to make us aware and bringing them to the US.
 
MaxElmar said:
So I jump from 35 CS to 21 CS. I very much admire Mr. K and Cosina for making a range of modern LTM lenses - and the Head Bartender for doing maybe more than anybody to make us aware and bringing them to the US.
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Well, I considered a 25mm Snapshot-Skopar as a possible alternative, when I saw the prices for this (the 28mm) lens. The 25mm is available for half that much... But somehow I like to have a 28mm - a small one.

A MS Optical Apoqualia 28mm/2.0 might also be interesting, but I don't think, I would like the image quality for my kind of pictures.

The reason, I was looking for this lens, was the obvious misconception, that it would be affordable for what it is. I guess, I was wrong, it seems to be more a collectors lens than a users lens...

If somewhen in the future I find one for a reasonable price, I buy it. But if I really need a 28mm earlier, I will probably go with a used Leica Elmarit ASPH., which is "only" about double the price than the Skopar. Sounds illogical? - Maybe, but I had the Elmarit for about two years and as seldom as I used it, it was the best 28mm I ever used, and when I used it, I loved it. It just wasn't as small as the Skopar.
 
james.liam said:
The alternative I used until recently was a Ricoh GR in the pocket and a 50 on my M body. The GR is cheaper than any 28 M-mount lens and arguably better than most.
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That doesn't make sense to me. I'm searching for a lens, not for a camera...

As interesting as the GR is (I was thinking about buying one, but then stayed with a small Olympus E-PL6 and a 14mm/f2,5 Panasonic lens as pocket camera - great combination), I can't mount it's lens rangefinder coupled to my Leica, which is, what I want...
 
krötenblender said:
That doesn't make sense to me. I'm searching for a lens, not for a camera...

As interesting as the GR is (I was thinking about buying one, but then stayed with a small Olympus E-PL6 and a 14mm/f2,5 Panasonic lens as pocket camera - great combination), I can't mount it's lens rangefinder coupled to my Leica, which is, what I want...
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Just saying if all the compact 28's are out of the price range. I thought it ridiculous too, to carry another camera too but it's so small it easily fit into a pocket. Never bothered by it on trips.
 
Hi togehter. I just received this lens which I found on a GB camera online store. Unfortunately it shows massive glue separation (or something similar, Schneideritis?) on the edge of the glass where it hits the barrel, so it won't affect IQ. The seller didn't note that, it was offered as "excellent", haha. Glass is otherwise clear and clean.

I know it will affect resell value so I would like your opinion:
a) on the current value of this lens in europe in top condition and the condition shown
b) if the shown problem is normal for older CV lenses

Thanks in advance! :)

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Erik van Straten said:
My Color-Skopar 28mm f/3.5, serial number 9240495, does NOT have this horrible glue-separation.

Erik.
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I really can't imagine that you would mount a lens in this condition on your Leica, but thanks for your feedback. ;)

BTW I wasn't able to find any other cv 28 3.5 with this problem on the web…
 
…but I´ve seen this quite often on other lenses from several manufacturers. I simply don't want to loose much money if I decide to sell the lens in the future. It's quite rare in EU (or it's a keeper for most people). That's why prices seem very high at the moment, between 500€ and 1000€. I paid 330€ and it seems like an okay deal, despite the separation. What do you think?

The fact that the shop lists in as "excellent" with one picture from the side doesn't really speak for the shop…
 
Wow! I've seen/handled dozens of LTM Voigtlander lenses including multiple copies of the 28/3.5 and have never seen anything like that. I think at that level you would see an impact on IQ in some circumstances, when shooting into the sun for example. The lens must have been stored badly - high heat perhaps? If it was me, I'd return it and find a better copy.
 
Definitely return it - they shouldn't look like that. I agree with Jon that it will most certainly affect IQ under certain light conditions.
 
Thats a really sad condition for such a nice lens (still searching for one...). If the seller said, its in great condition, it was definitely not the truth. I would also advice to return it.
 
That's a ruined lens, and needs an expensive repair. Send it back for a refund.

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I have found that the Color Skopar 28mm f/3.5 performs beautifully on the Leica CL when I use the modern Summaron-M 28mm f/5.6 lens profile with it. It makes sense since that lens has a rather similar optical design. I'm going to set that lens profile on an LTM to M-mount adapter for the CL and also test it on the M-D that way, to see if that cleans up some of the color shifting.

Last July, I took the lens fitted to my M-D (sans coding) on a walk in San Francisco and posted five exposures in color and in black & white as albums:

Color ... https://flic.kr/s/aHskBn8Z4R
B&W ... https://flic.kr/s/aHsmogkwTo

Even with the funky color shifting in some circumstances, I like this lens a lot. I use it mostly with the M4-2 and B&W film, however.

G
 
Thanks for your feedback everyone!

To my surprise, someone here in Germany has just offered his Skopar in mint condition for about 500 €. I had to hit that, the bubble lens goes back to London.
 
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