Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm F2.8 Aspherical review – the Assignment Lens

Introduction

Announced by Cosina on July 14, 2023, the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM is a high-performance wide-angle lens designed to balance performance and compactness. Utilizing a modern aspherical optical design, the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM is advertised to maintain similar optical performance as their popular Ultron 28mm ƒ2 Aspherical (Vintage line) lens.

The Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM is available in M-mount and L39 mount. In fact, three versions are available with mostly the same optical formula but with some fundamental differences (read about them in the Technicalities section), and today we will take a closer look at the Type 2 version in Silver chrome.

*for the sake of brevity, I will, from this point onwards, refer to the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM as the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8.

*The Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM is a loan for review from Riceball Photography, the authorized distributor for Voigtlander in Singapore.

tl:dr

The Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM for Leica M/L39 will not win any prizes for being the fastest or sharpest, which is ideally how it is meant to be as it has a specific design intent.

The obsession with an ever larger aperture is not a race appreciated by everyone, and in this sense, like the Leica 28mm Elmarit, which is prized for being the smallest M-lens within Leica’s current catalog, the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical shines for the excellent balance between compactness and optical excellence, making it ideal for street-photography, reportage, and travel photography.

A modern optical design allows this lens to be practically distortion-free, all the way to the corners level of sharp, and basically free from flaring. And at its retail price, I believe this will be a popular lens for many.

The biggest surprise to me is that Cosina announced three different versions of this lens, in two colorways each – making it a total of 6 possible choices of the same lens if you want to catch them all since there are differences between them.

Technicalities

• Focal length at 28mm
• Aperture range from ƒ2.8 to ƒ22
• 8 elements in 5 groups with 10 aperture blades
• Minimum focusing distance of 0.7m (Type I and L39), 0.5m (Type II)
• Angle of view of 74.6 degrees.
• Filter size ⌀39mm, with an included dedicated hood
• Diameter of ⌀51.0mm x 23.5mm length (Type II). ⌀47 x 22.5mm for the L39 model, ⌀52.0mm x 23.5mm (Type I)
• Full manual focus
• Weight at 143 grams (Type I), 122 grams (L39), and 106 grams (Type II)

Note despite the same optical design, there are differences in size, weight and also minimum focus distance across the versions.

Here are sample photos from Cosina of all three versions in two different colors. Type I and L39 basically go for the vintage look and are very similar except for the mount, while Type II is Cosina’s interpretation of a more modern design.

Performance and handling

Firstly,

Yes, the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 is indeed even smaller than Leica’s 28mm Elmarit, their smallest M-lens currently in production.

Note that the picture of the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 above has the hood attached, you can actually remove it and make this lens even more compact and I rest my case.

Because I know some will want to know, yes, the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 is indeed smaller than Leica’s 28mm f2.8 Elmarit (52mm x 30.7mm), no matter which version of the Voigtlander you choose. This Type II is also lesser than half the weight of the popular Voigtlander Ultron 28mm f2 Type II.

If size matters most, the L39 version is the shortest, while Type II is the lightest. However, to most users, I don’t think anyone will decide to use or not use a lens due to a 1mm or 2mm difference in length, and I leave this to those afflicted with technical specifications obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Similar to their recent releases such as the Voigtlander 50mm ƒ1, Voigtlander Nokton 55mm ƒ1.2, or even the Voigtlander 35mm ƒ1.5 Aspherical (my reviews are linked on the name) – the build is excellent and most of all, a focus ring with an excellent amount of smoothness and resistance, something Voigtlander has been most proud of to emphasize in recent releases.

The Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 has a quality build similar to the Voigtlander 35mm ƒ1.5 Aspherical but in a much more compact size.

Handling the Voigtlander Color-Sokpar 28mm ƒ2.8 will be straightforward for anyone acquainted with Leica M lenses. The lens has been designed for the street photographer or those who indulge in reportage photography. These photographers will likely use aperture values around ƒ8 instead of shooting wide-open at ƒ2.8.

The Voigtlander Color-Sokpar 28mm ƒ2.8’s output is sharp corner to corner, even at its largest aperture, and renders excellent contrast and punchy color.

The Voigtlander Color-Sokpar 28mm ƒ2.8 works well even for portraits, however of course, for those who will spend hours studying the quality of ‘bokeh,’ this lens is not one I feel this group of photographers will be keen on, Cosina is not likely trying to attract this group of photographers with this release.

One of the key attractions of the Voigtlander Color-Sokpar 28mm ƒ2.8 will obviously be its tiny size and its optical excellence, allowing one to be inconspicuous and fulfilling what street photographers or reportage photographers wish for, moving in and out of scenes with shots taken without drawing much attention to oneself.

In fact, I would sometimes simply set the lens to zone focus at ƒ8 from 0.2m to infinity and allow myself to focus on the framing and capturing the moment, especially when I wish to shoot from the hip while blending into the crowd.

I like that the images have a good depth, and distortion is basically non-existent. Flare is a non-issue unless you try hard enough. In fact, I could not get this lens to flare in my short two days of handling it. There is some vignetting when photographing wide-open.

Conclusions

Whenever I conclude a review, I will always go back to the design intent of the piece of photography equipment, and in this case, I will say that the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 does what it was designed for very well, ticking off the boxes with excellent image sharpness across the frame with almost non-existent distortion all in a well-built body and most important of all, a size that is compact enough to be called genuinely inconspicuous.

For those who will adapt the lens to a non-Leica-M body, I will suggest the Type II simply because it is the only model here that focuses closer to 0.5m, a real advantage. Type II is the lightest at an incredible 106 grams, but my frank opinion is that I would prefer a bit of heft in my optics, and the Type I and L39 versions will nicely fill in the gap for those whose knees go weak at any design that hints vintage.

I will choose the Voigtlander Color-Sokpar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM Type II because it will fit nicely into my definition of an assignment lens. What about you?

Thank you for reading.

Disclaimers.

1. All product photos and samples here were photographed by me. I believe any reviewer with pride should produce their own product photos.

2. All images were shot with the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM on the Leica M10-R and edited to my preferences in Lightroom Classic CC.

3. This review is not sponsored, and the lens was returned at the end of the review.

4. I do not do affiliate purchase links to keep myself neutral. I write as a passion and a hobby, and I appreciate that photography brands are kind enough to respect and work with me.

5. The best way to support me is to share the review, or you can always support me by buying me a cup of coffee which contributes to my WordPress fees for running the site using the Paypal button at the bottom of the page.

*The Voigtlander Color-Skopar 28mm ƒ2.8 Aspherical VM is a loan for review from Riceball Photography, the authorized distributor for Voigtlander in Singapore.