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| Voigtländer Color Skopar 20mm f/3.5 SL II |
There’s just something about “pancake lenses” that many find appealing, and each company has traditionally offered one or two. But Nikon’s offering (the NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8 P) is a lens for collectors and not for shooters. It just falls short in performance at the borders and edges. The logical option to this lens is the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL II. It’s fast, sharp and even a bit wider; perfect for full-frame, but still very usable on DX.
That said, Voigtländer (one of two brands by Cosina, the other being…Zeiss!) continues their expertise in pancake lenses with this lens, the Color Skopar 20mm f/3.5 SL II. A bit longer and slower than the Ultron, it fills the gap where a manual-focus DX street lens should be, and though not as fast as Nikon’s considerably larger AF NIKKOR 20mm f/2.8, it’s considerably sharper at the borders making it ideal for single-shot panoramas.
The sample pictured is the previous version with a rubber focus ring grip. The latest iteration has a fluted all-metal focus ring, very traditional in appearance. If you’re an SLR shooter, but like the idea of a rangefinder, this gets you a little closer to that experience. Beautifully crafted of black-anodized aluminum, it’s light and has a compactness factor of 19, compared with 15 for the Ultron and 7 for the 45mm NIKKOR P.
What’s Missing Infrared focus index.
What’s Included Front and rear lens caps.
Aperture Ring Yes. Smooth with positive full-stop clicks, except for f/4; hard stop at f/3.5 instead.
Auto Focus No.
Bokeh Not yet evaluated.
Sample Images (FX)
Sample Images (DX)
What’s Included Front and rear lens caps.
Auto Focus No.
Bokeh Not yet evaluated.
Close Focus 8 inches (0.2m).
Color Rendition Excellent.
Compactness 19 on a scale of 1-500, factoring in diameter, length and weight.
Compatibility Nikon F-Mount with CPU. Works flawlessly on any Nikon body since 1977, and meters on cameras without an aperture sensing tab. Does not seem as sharp on other cameras such as Canon using adapters, even if non-optical.
Construction 9 multi-coated elements in 6 groups with one aspherical element. Metal mount, body, aperture ring, focus ring, inner barrel and filter threads.
Country of Origin Japan.
Coverage 135 film, FX and DX.
Diaphragm 9 curved blades.
Distortion Moderate, about 1.9% of complex distortion.
DX Performance On an APS-C body, this lens would be 30mm at f/3.5 with a 71° field of view; good for street photograph in good light.
EXIF Encoding Yes.
Extension Tubes Works fine with both manual and auto extension tubes, but there are better options.
Falloff Gone by f/8, which is where this lens shines.
Filter Thread Metal, 52mm. Does not rotate.
Ghosts and Flare Minimal.
Hood Optional LH-20 metal hood. Does not work with the domed metal hood that comes with the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL II
Included Standard side-pinch front lens cap, rear cap.
Lateral Color Fringes Not yet evaluated.
Macro Not the best choice for macro, but unmount it from the camera body, preset the aperture, flip it around and hold the filter threads squarely against the mount, and you can get some incredible macro shots bordering on photomicrography.
Manual Focus Focus ring is silky smooth and well-damped with a hard stop at infinity. Has a very usable depth-of-field scale, but no infrared index.
Maximum Reproduction Ratio Not yet evaluated.
Optional Accessories LH-20 metal hood.
RoHS Compliance Not specified on lens. When the chip dies, this will still function perfectly as a manual focus lens.
Sharpness Super sharp at all apertures. Some coma and falloff at f/1.8, gone by f/2.8. Better performance wide open that the f/1.4.
Size 2.5"dia. x 1.1" (63.7mm x 28.6mm)
Spherochromatism Not yet evaluated.
Sunstars At smaller apertures, makes soft 18 point sunstars..
Teleconverters Not yet evaluated.
Variable Aperture Range None; constant aperture.
Versatility A great lens for panoramic images on FX; Works well for street photography on DX.
Vibration Reduction (VR) None. Use speeds as low as 1/30 s, or use “burst” mode to take several exposures and choose the sharpest.
The Bottom Line So thrilled was I with my Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0, That I decided to get this as a companion, especially since at the time I was craving a good 30mm street lens for my Nikon D90. On a the D610 however, it finds new life as sharp, compact ultrawide, which has very distinct advantages.
It’s a little trickier to work with than the Ultron, but the rewards are worth the effort once you get the hang of it. Focusing at infinity is challenging, because at infinity, the borders are actually sharper than the center! you just have to set the lens at the hard stop, and have faith. As with any ultra-wide lens, the depth of field is amazing, and even at f/5.6, it ranges from 10' to infinity at that hard stop. So, No worries. Set the focus at 8' to f/8 on the hyperfocal scale, and enjoy sharp focus from about three feet to infinity. Pretty much makes AF and VR unnecessary.
If you’re planning on using any sort of lens shade (always a challenge with any ultra-wide) it seems that foregoing a filter is the way to go. The 52mm Vello Snap-On Tulip Lens Shade sans filter is probably the most compact option, and the vignetting is practically invisible. But the minute you extend outward with more than one filter, it’s all over. The other path I’d recommend is a 52-77mm step-up ring with the 72mm Vello Snap-On Tulip Lens Shade, which will work well with other setups. But this is really clumsy, and best for critical tripod work. Voigtländer makes a dedicated aluminum shade for this lens (LH-20), but at $45.00, there are much better options, including none since it has very good flare resistance.
So, this lens make much more sense on a full-frame DSLR, and yields some pretty nice single-shot panoramas. Cropping off the corners improves the performance a bit, while sharpness is consistent edge to edge. It’s my go-to lens for this kind of work.
Color Rendition Excellent.
Compactness 19 on a scale of 1-500, factoring in diameter, length and weight.
Compatibility Nikon F-Mount with CPU. Works flawlessly on any Nikon body since 1977, and meters on cameras without an aperture sensing tab. Does not seem as sharp on other cameras such as Canon using adapters, even if non-optical.
Construction 9 multi-coated elements in 6 groups with one aspherical element. Metal mount, body, aperture ring, focus ring, inner barrel and filter threads.
Country of Origin Japan.
Coverage 135 film, FX and DX.
Diaphragm 9 curved blades.
Distortion Moderate, about 1.9% of complex distortion.
DX Performance On an APS-C body, this lens would be 30mm at f/3.5 with a 71° field of view; good for street photograph in good light.
EXIF Encoding Yes.
Extension Tubes Works fine with both manual and auto extension tubes, but there are better options.
Falloff Gone by f/8, which is where this lens shines.
Filter Thread Metal, 52mm. Does not rotate.
Ghosts and Flare Minimal.
Hood Optional LH-20 metal hood. Does not work with the domed metal hood that comes with the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL II
Included Standard side-pinch front lens cap, rear cap.
Lateral Color Fringes Not yet evaluated.
Macro Not the best choice for macro, but unmount it from the camera body, preset the aperture, flip it around and hold the filter threads squarely against the mount, and you can get some incredible macro shots bordering on photomicrography.
Manual Focus Focus ring is silky smooth and well-damped with a hard stop at infinity. Has a very usable depth-of-field scale, but no infrared index.
Maximum Reproduction Ratio Not yet evaluated.
Optional Accessories LH-20 metal hood.
RoHS Compliance Not specified on lens. When the chip dies, this will still function perfectly as a manual focus lens.
Sharpness Super sharp at all apertures. Some coma and falloff at f/1.8, gone by f/2.8. Better performance wide open that the f/1.4.
Size 2.5"dia. x 1.1" (63.7mm x 28.6mm)
Spherochromatism Not yet evaluated.
Sunstars At smaller apertures, makes soft 18 point sunstars..
Teleconverters Not yet evaluated.
Variable Aperture Range None; constant aperture.
Versatility A great lens for panoramic images on FX; Works well for street photography on DX.
Vibration Reduction (VR) None. Use speeds as low as 1/30 s, or use “burst” mode to take several exposures and choose the sharpest.
Vignetting Shoot wide open to f/5.6 for a vignetting effect, which is gone by f/8.
Weight Approximately 7.0 oz (199.5g).
Weight Approximately 7.0 oz (199.5g).
Build Quality ★★★★★
Optical Quality ★★★★★
Value ★★★★The Bottom Line So thrilled was I with my Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0, That I decided to get this as a companion, especially since at the time I was craving a good 30mm street lens for my Nikon D90. On a the D610 however, it finds new life as sharp, compact ultrawide, which has very distinct advantages.
It’s a little trickier to work with than the Ultron, but the rewards are worth the effort once you get the hang of it. Focusing at infinity is challenging, because at infinity, the borders are actually sharper than the center! you just have to set the lens at the hard stop, and have faith. As with any ultra-wide lens, the depth of field is amazing, and even at f/5.6, it ranges from 10' to infinity at that hard stop. So, No worries. Set the focus at 8' to f/8 on the hyperfocal scale, and enjoy sharp focus from about three feet to infinity. Pretty much makes AF and VR unnecessary.
If you’re planning on using any sort of lens shade (always a challenge with any ultra-wide) it seems that foregoing a filter is the way to go. The 52mm Vello Snap-On Tulip Lens Shade sans filter is probably the most compact option, and the vignetting is practically invisible. But the minute you extend outward with more than one filter, it’s all over. The other path I’d recommend is a 52-77mm step-up ring with the 72mm Vello Snap-On Tulip Lens Shade, which will work well with other setups. But this is really clumsy, and best for critical tripod work. Voigtländer makes a dedicated aluminum shade for this lens (LH-20), but at $45.00, there are much better options, including none since it has very good flare resistance.
So, this lens make much more sense on a full-frame DSLR, and yields some pretty nice single-shot panoramas. Cropping off the corners improves the performance a bit, while sharpness is consistent edge to edge. It’s my go-to lens for this kind of work.
Sample Images (FX)
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| NYC from Hoboken, AM. Shot into the sun with virtually no ghosts and flare. |
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| Jersey City, PM. Vertical composition, corrected for perspective distortion. |
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| NYC from Jersey City, PM. Single-shot panorama. |
Sample Images (DX)
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| Monhegan Island |
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| Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay |
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| Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay |
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| Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay |
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| Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay |
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| Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay |
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| Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay |
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| Monhegan Island, Maine |
