Voigtlander 50/2.5 Color Skopar

Erik van Straten

Erik van Straten

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Voigtländer Color Skopar 50mm f/2.5, Leica M3, Tmax400.

Erik.

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Eric, I always felt that the 50f2.5 got a "bum rap" for some reason. I have several of them and use them frequently. It is a very good lens, particularly in close. In many way I prefer it to the Summicron v iV and definitely to the version with the for-ever collapsing lens hood.
Extremely well- built and though slightly disconcerting at first - the fact that it feels like a 35f2 Summicron V1 is not all bad either.
Nice prints by the way. I need to take refuge in the darkroom soon. Stuff that needs to be done"properly" in the wet is piling up.
 
I like this little lens a lot. For some reason I don't have many shots on flickr with it, though. I seem to like all the voigtlander lenses with bad reps. The Nokton 1.4 being another that I quite like. Maybe it's just I'm broke and can't afford the leica glass ;)

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I just got one. First two rolls are off to Dwayne's. I will post results if they are worthy.
 
Voigtlander 50/2.5 Color Skopar

I'm looking for a 50mm lens for Leica M (LTM ok) which will be lighter than my Canon 50/1.2. I am also a big fan of focusing tabs. I'd like a tabbed Summicron but would prefer to spend less, so I'm considering the 50/2.5 Color Skopar.

I rarely use lenses wide open, finding I need to stop down at least on or two stops, which would take this lens to f/4 or 5/6. What is this lens performance like in the wider range? Can anyone share their experience and some sample images? I'd be using it on a Leica M4 and almost exclusively with B&W.

Any other suggestions would be welcome too. Thanks.
 
Mine came the same day as my M4 ;).

It is a very well matched kit. It handles very well on the M4. Brand new the focus ring was a little stiffer than I am used to, but by no means is this a fault. I am sure it will loosen up.

I shot mostly at 5.6, my 2 rolls are out being processed (color stuff).

I will post some stuff, there is another recent thread regarding this lens with some photos too.
 
Here are a couple of mine and here are a bunch of other people's.

I'm very happy with the resolution, tonality and handling and especially the price. Mine is used on an M4-P and a CLE. The focus was stiff right out of the box but smoothed out very quickly. I'd be happy to have the same chunky tab on some other lenses.
 
Going by the evidence here and elsewhere, the CV 50/2.5 is a good lens. Another excellent lens, and one with a focussing tab, is the Serenar/Canon 50/1.8.
 
Thanks folks - I missed that other thread. It looks pretty similar in character to the 35 color skopar I had (and parted with after acquiring a Summicron 35).
 
payasam said:
Going by the evidence here and elsewhere, the CV 50/2.5 is a good lens. Another excellent lens, and one with a focussing tab, is the Serenar/Canon 50/1.8.
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Yes! Rover will recall that I had a very good sample of that lens, in chrome at one stage. If I knew then what I know now I would have kept it. :)
 
I've got both the 35 and 50 Color Skopars, and they do seem to be very similar in character to me.

I can't offer any samples, sorry, because I'm away from my scans at the moment, but I've been very happy with the sharpness and contrast of both lenses. I do tend to use the 50 mostly between f/4 and f/8, and I have a feeling that it performs best at f/5.6 (but it's only a feeling - I haven't done any strict comparisons).

I did a comparison of my 50s a while ago, and decided that overall, the Skopar was my favourite (and I ended up selling my last model Elmar 50/2.8, mainly because it was just too contrasty for me - I shoot a lot in high contrast lighting).

One other nice thing about the 50 is its build quality - it's one of the few of the screw-thread CV lenses with a barrel made of brass rather than light alloy, so it feels nice and chunky in the hand.
 
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It's an excellent lens and capable of first class results. It's also very compact and IMHO is better built than the 35mm Color-Skopar. I also prefer it to the Canon f1.8 because I don't like the locking tab on the Canon, the focus throw is too long and the results (in my experience) are not quite as sharp. A very under-rated lens and wonderful value.
 
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