Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

lens for my old m2 leica, as long as the lens takes picture it is a good lens for news photography.

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

Not a bad lens, but for[$] and giving up auto focus, I expected more from the optics. Sharpness is not that great and degrades too much towards the edges (considerably more than on my Canon 50mm F1.8 II or the Tokina 35mm Macro - which I got to replace this one). It performed worse than those two at all f-stops (where applicable). Pretty strong Coma as well. Mechanically it is a great lens. Focus ring is a bit small and the tightness/amount of dampening, while giving a nice feel overall, makes minute focus adjustments a little difficult.

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

I was aprehensive about this lens for my canon 5D because i had never heard of it before. Working in television i'm used to certain brands but this lens is equal if not better than the canon lenses themselves and the equivilent leica lenses.
It's manual focus but it communicates with the camera, so the focus indicator will light up in your viewfinder when your subject area is in focus. Your aperture is also controlled through the camera.
The image is sharper than expected and it gives an exceptional & unique, fully circular glare when shooting into lights while wide open.
The included macro filter causes no degredation in sharpness & allows you to focus to about 10". Unfortunately when attached you can't focus to infinity & since it's a twist-on your shot is limited to it's shallow focal range.
I only wish they'd make more lenses with wider aperatures to fit Canon.
I love it!!

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

Much of the feel and image quality of a zeiss ze with out the high price tag. This is a solid metal lens that feels very high end which is surprising for a [$] lens. I wish I had purchased this years ago.

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

The Voigtlander 40mm is nothing less than phenomenal!

Corners are sharp at all apertures and the build quality of this lens is wonderful, especially considering the price.

Though a manual-focus lens, it does connect electrically to my EOS 7D's body to provide focus confirmation in the viewfinder. The rubber-coated focus ring feels just right to my fingertips and has just enough resistance to keep it supple yet stationary once you let go.

At f/2 it's reasonably fast and has been wonderful for available-light photography. Bokeh is pleasant if occasionally a trifle strident.

The compact size is a wonder! I can keep it on my camera even when stowed as it barely protrudes past the flash housing.

Optically, its a dream - contrasty but lots of color and diamond-sharp. I feel like I got an "L" lens for half price!

I had worried that on my 7D's 1.6 crop 40mm would be too tight as I've often found my 50mm lenses too constricting but, surprisingly, the field of view is very usable for me. This lens has joined my EF-S 10-22mm and a vintage 58mm prime as my "walk around kit", all fitting in a rather small camera bag. I couldn't be happier!

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

I own this lens and happily recommend it to anyone who is comfortable with manual focus.

Two thorough online reviews (one via ken rockwell and one via photozone.de ) offer in-depth testing and evaluation of the optical performance, build quality and ergonomics of this lens. Published reviews describe the Nikon version, but the Canon EF lens differs slightly. Some information and considerations for Canon DSLR users:

Manual Aperture Ring - the Canon EF version of this lens has NO manual aperture ring. All of the online reviews and even the documentation shipped with the lens show a manual aperture ring. I've uploaded an image of the cleaner, simpler lens layout for Canon EF mount.

Camera compatibility - This lens plays nicely with every mode of my Canon EOS 7D - aperture is controlled via the usual dial assignments on the camera body (when working in aperture-priority or manual mode), and the camera can set the aperture automatically (in program and shutter-priority modes). manual flash and ettl-ii flash both work as-expected. The lens settings are recorded correctly in the resulting image metadata.

Focus Confirmation - in conjunction with the manual focus ring, the autofocus points in my EOS 7D viewfinder provide focus confirmation when the shutter button is depressed half-way. imho this makes the lens much easier to use with the smaller, darker viewfinder of a crop-sensor DSLR.

Lens Size - for those seeking a flat-as-a-pancake lens profile - the length of the Canon EF version extends 27mm from the lens mount on the camera body when focused to infinity, and 33mm when fully extended. the included lens hood adds another 2.5mm to the length of the lens. The reviews and product documentation offer "24.5mm" as the lens length, which must refer to another version of the product. I'm using the lens with a Sigma DG 52mm Multi-Coated UV Filter, which adds another 4.15mm to the lens length. the included lens hood is threaded to accommodate a 39mm filter (or the included close-up lens).

photo-sharing site flickr has a "cv40" (Cosina Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2) group featuring ~6,500 images made with this lens. i found those sample images and information from current owners very helpful when researching this lens.

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

Coupled with the Canon 5DMkII, this lens yields exceptionally sharp photos and wonderful bokeh. This has replaced my Canon 35mm 1.4 L as my favorite walk around lens. Also, it's very light. It makes a big difference when travelling throughout Asia.

My first full-manual focus lens, and it's got a smooth focusing ring it's a joy to control.

Good luck finding one!

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

Tack-sharp when properly focused. Take your time, and your pictures will reward you with beautiful contrast and color rendition. 40mm is also a lovely focal length on Full-frame. Its just seems to click when shooting day-to-day. Technical aspects aside, what makes this lens truly valuable is its extremely small size. It seems to make my system half the size in comparison to even the smallest Canon AF lenses. If your shooting your kids basketball game, then its probably not the best choice. For everything else I would give it serious consideration. Highly recommended.

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

If you want a small walk-around lens with good optics, smooth manual focusing, and high-quality build, this is a very nice option. Focus confirmation works very well, though I suspect some micro focus adjustment may be in order. Included is a small close-up lens that mounts onto the included shade, but this means you have to choose between mounting a screw-on filter and mounting the shade and/or close-up lens. I suspect I will leave the shade and close-up lens at home most of the time.

Comments about Voigtlander Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL-II Manual Focus Lens:

Very sharp wide open, extremely sharp stop down
Vey nice little close-up lens(included).
Love the "Pancake" design.