voigtländer            Copyright :  Frank Mechelhoff 2005-2023 --- UPDATE SEP. 2023        

RANGEFINDER RENAISSANCE
LENSES for VOIGTLANDER BESSA
First series from 1999: Leica M39 Thread Mount (LTM)   Seite auf Deutsch


Ultra-Wide Heliar 12mm f5.6 Aspherical
Silver or black,without rangefinder coupler, world's widest right-angle wide-angle lens (introduced March 2000)
Price $595 (2005) with viewfinder and detachable lens hood.

VL12-5.6-Lenses

Vl 12mm 5.6 Diagram
Most complex design of the whole series: 10 elements/ 8 groups,
Sales period 2000-09 to 2010-01, replaced by the ultra-wide Heliar 12mm f/5.6 Aspherical II (M-Mount, 2009-04 to 2015-09) with the same optical design. Both are not recommended for cameras with a digital sensor (full format) due to vignetting and color shift.
Super-Wide Heliar 15mm f4.5 Aspherical
Silver or Black
Widest wide-angle for rangefinder cameras 1999 (apart from the slower and outrageously expensive Zeiss Hologon 15mm f8 in Leica M)
Price 345 USD (2005) with viewfinder, without bright line frame (lens hood installed).
Without rangefinder coupling,  sales period 1999-02 to 2012-12,
replaced by the super-wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 Aspherical II (M-Mount, 2010-04 to 2016-05) with the same optical design.
Both are not recommended on cameras with digital sensor (full format) due to vignetting and color shift.
 
Bessa-L-Heliar-15mm-1999.

Linsenschnitt 15/4.5

8 lenses in 6 groups -- due to the possible short overall length of the rangefinder lens, the cost of optical elements could be kept low, and thus also size, weight and price, compared to an SLR lens. These usually have 13 or more lenses at 15 mm and weigh as much as the Voigtländer with camera! It has often been referred to as a "symmetrical" lens, which is not true. It's a retrofocus construction like SLR lenses, just with a shorter back focal length.
Color-Skopar 21mm f/4
Sold from 2001.04 to 2012-10
Price (2005) 335 USD including viewfinder (with bright frame) and a small screwed-in small sun shade
It has rangefinder coupling. Replaced by the Color-Skopar (M-mount) with identical optical design.
Both can only be recommended to a limited extent on cameras with a digital sensor (full format) due to vignetting and color shifts.
 
VL21mm-mBessaT

VL21mm-mBox
21mm
Voigtländer Color-Skopar 21mm f/4 - 8 elements in 6 groups.
Design derived from the 25/4 Snapshot Skopar, less sharp in the corners than this.
 Leica 21mm Elmarit-M asph.
The reference lens, one stop faster but not nearly as compact - LEICA Elmarit-M Asph. 21mm f/2.8 - 9 elements in 6 groups



Snapshot Skopar Voigtländer Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4
Sold in LTM from 1999.02-2005-12
price (2005) 259 USD incl Viewfinder and small onscrewed sun-shade. Without rangefinder coupling! First series viewfinder without brightline, second series with brightline!

Replaced by Color-Skopar P (M-mount) with identical design (144g). Both can only be recommended to a limited extent on cameras with a digital sensor (full format) due to vignetting and color shifts.
 
Snapshot Skopar
Voigtländer Snapshot Skopar 25mm f/4 - independent and modern design with flat front element - 7 elements in 5 groups

In addition to the sensational 15mm f/4.5, Cosina/Voigtländer made a name for itself in 1999 with the 25mm f/4. The design is visibly modern and independent with a flat front lens. The 4/21mm, which was added later, is based on the same body and is similar in design to the LEICA Elmarit-M 2.8/21 and its successor with an aspherical element.
Cosina/Voigtländer deliberately did without one to one and a half f-stops of light intensity in order to keep the construction effort and costs low, but above all the size small. This means that you have to accept a certain drop in light towards the corners, which is somewhat larger than with the more voluminous wide-angle lenses from LEICA (whose Super-Elmare didn't come until more than 10 years later) or ZEISS. Even more so than the 15mm, these are truly pocket lenses, best suited to take anywhere. I found the 25mm viewfinder better than the 21mm (less distortion), I liked the 25mm too, but found the focal length too "narrow" on the 35mm and too "far away" from the 15mm, so I replaced it with the 21mm.
I also found it more convenient that the 21mm lens is rangefinder-coupled. Although this is not absolutely necessary with extreme wide-angle lenses because of their large depth of field, it is irritating dealing with one lens without coupling when some others have it.

Idstein Markt
28mm/3.5 Color-Skopar
silver or black (brass instead of aluminium)
Sales period 05.2002 to 04.2007- discontinued without successor.
Distance setting up to 0.7m
Price (2005) 289 USD without viewfinder (more expensive now due to rareness)

Color-Skopar 28mm f3.5

Linsenschnitt 28mm f3.5
7 elements, 5 groups -- also derived from the 25/4 design
28mm/1.9 Ultron Aspherical
silver or black, with black lens hood and detachable focusing pin
Production from 04.2001 to 06.2007; replaced by 28/2.0 Ultron Aspherical (M-Mount) with modified optical design
This was the fastest 28mm rangefinder lens at the time of presentation and is still the fastest in LTM!
Price (2005) 449 USD without viewfinder
More Voigtländer 28mm lenses on this website
28mm f1.9 black

VL 28mm f1.9 -silver

Diagramm VL 28mm f1.9
9 elements / 7 groups, complex and long construction,very good lens.

35mm f1.7 Ultron Aspherical

Second fastest 35mm wide angle in Leica screw thread (after Canon 1.5/35 1961)
Seems a bit heavy on the compact Bessa-R, but goes perfectly with the somewhat larger and more massive cameras of the 60's such as the Canon P ( more of this)


Canon_P_w_Ultron_02
Ultron 35 1.7 Black A
Version A (black) : Flat ripples (silver lenses always have these)		 Ultron 35mm f1.7 Aspherical black Type B
Version B (black) : Raised ripples (more grippy)

Sales period: 1999-09 to 2007-04 (silver and black)
Price: 399 USD (2005) without viewfinder, with small sunshade screwed in

Diagram 35mm f1.7
8 elements / 6 groups
Modern, unconventional design with concave front lens and flat rear lens surface.
Good imaging performance with large aperture, not quite as convincing in contrast and color representation with medium apertures f/5.6-8. Prone to flare with backlite. Replaced only 2015-08 to 2019-11 by 35/1.7 Ultron(-II) Vintage Line with similar improved design (1 additional element, 1 element with LowDispersion glass)

35mm/2.5 Color Skopar P-Type ("Pancake Type 1")
black only
Presented January 2000 with the Bessa R, discontinued in 2003.
Price (2003) 229 USD without viewfinder

Skopar P Type 35/2.5

Lens Diagramm 35/2.5
Biogon type, 7 elements/ 5 groups
Very good, sharp and high-contrast imaging lens
35mm/2.5 Color Skopar (Type C - "Compact")
black or silver (housing similar to the 21/4)
With 116g the lightest 35mm
price (2003) 229 USD, without viewfinder
Sales period 03-1999 to 05-2003. Replaced by the Color-Skopar II VM 35/2.5 with identical optical design, 134g
 
35mm f2.5 Lenses
50mm/1.5 Aspherical Nokton
black or silver
Introduced November 1999, build time to 03.2009, replaced by the Nokton Vintage Line 50mm f1.5 (M-mount), build time 2013-06 to 2020-02 in the same optical design
Price (2005) 345 USD 

Nokton Aspherical 50mm f/1.5 black

Lens Design 59/1.5 Nokton (I)
6 elements / 5 groups with 2 aspherical surfaces
Very good quality standard lens (better than pre-asph. Leica Summilux 1.4/50mm)
50mm/2.5 Color Skopar
black or silver (brass instead of aluminium)
Introduced with the Bessa R2 (Feb. 2002) sales until 06.2007, no successor.
Price (2005) 289 USD without viewfinder, with a small screwed-in sunshade

Color Skopar 50mm f/ 2.5
Very short, compact and very well made 50mm lens

50-2.5 Color-Skopar Design
Elaborate design (7 elements/ 5 groups), but rather modest image quality
Heliar 50mm f3.5 (collapsible)
silver (brass)
Sold as "101 Years Heliar Edition" with Camera Bessa-T ("Limited Edition"), total 2,000 pieces, November 2001, weight 150g.

Bessa-T, 101 years Heliar

Second release in a small series (600 with a nickel case (2009-11).
(I) Price (2005) 950 USD with camera and bright frame viewfinder 50mm (metal)
(II) Price (2010) 699 USD (Nickel)

Heliar (Nickel)
Nickel version on (Nickel) Leica III, 1934, retracted

VL Heliar 50/3.5 design

Classic Heliar fesign - 5 glements/ 3 groups

Heliar 50mm f2 (half-collapsible)
silber (Nickel)
Limited, 600 pieces, Nov. 2009, weight 191g. Price 749 USD (2010).

Heliar 50f2 limited edition
Bild: www.cameraquest.com

VL 50mm f2 Heliar design

Color-Heliar 2.5/75mm

A very good short telephoto lens, an ideal combination for the 35mm Ultron if you can or want to take only two lenses with you - especially since the two lenses are very similar in terms of appearance and handling. Short focus path, very "fast" setting. Still compact size as a travel lens. Very sharp even at large apertures, best performance at f/4. A nice lens - if not a classic Heliar but a "completely normal" 6-lens Planar as mostly used today as a short telephoto lens. With medium apertures, the imaging performance is very good, but does not surpass that of the best classic telephotos from Canon and Nikon from the 1960s (mehr davon)

Color Heliar 75mm

vl75

Diagram 75mm2.5

Sales period: 1999-09 to 2008-03 (silver and black)
Price: $299 (2005) with small sun shade screwed in
90mm/3.5 Apo-Lanthar
black or silver
Launched Sept. 2000 (Photokina),
Sales period 02-2001 to 09-2011
Price (2005) 319 USD with screwed-in, long sun shade
 
VL 75 u. 90 mm
Voigtländer 75/2.5 and 90/3.5 LTM, each with sun shade and cap. Push-on-caps with felt inlet were standard with all LTM lenses!
Lens Design 90mm f3.5 Apo-Lanthar
6 elements/ 5 groups
Elaborate design for the light intensity (the comparable Leica Elmarit-M or older Tele-Elmarits 90/2.8 have only four elements)
The performance is not significantly better, and unfortunately it tends over time (only 20 years! ) to irreparable defects in the coating of the rear lenses, which manifests itself as severe opacity/fungus.		 Lens Design 90mm f3.5 Apo-Lanthar
Since 2020, the "successor" in the compact class has been the 90/2.8 Apo-Skopar in M-Mount, with a much more complex design, but unfortunately not available in LTM.

End of the lens series with Leica screw mount

The Nokton 35/1.2 was presented as the first Voigtlander lens with M-mount (Photokina) in September 2002 - just when patent protection for the Leica M lens bayonet had expired. The LTM series then were gradually replaced by M-mount series. These now all have rangefinder coupling and are supplied without a viewfinder.


40mm F/2.8 HELIAR  (Update 2023!)
Available in black or silver; M39 or VM/Leica M
In February 2022 Cosina announced a new LTM mount Voigtländer lens - for the first time since 2009. It was the very compact 40/2.8 Heliar with one aspherical element. Since Sept. 2014 this design was produced for SONY E-Mount (with a strange focussing adapter called VM-E). Now available in LTM/M39 or VM/Leica M.
At focussing the whole lens is turning (except the lens mount and distance scale), as it is with the Classic-Heliar 50/3.5 or older Leitz Elmars. Voigtländer calls this a "rotating helicoid", although all helicoids turn when focussed. Some people call this "single helicoid" in contrast to a "double helicoid" where just the focussing ring moves.

VL40mm F2.8 Diagramm Lens with Shade and Cap

Introduced Feb. 2022
Production since Summer 2022
Price (2023) 549 EUR with sun shade and caps.

Voigtländer 40mm F2.8 with "M" finder on Bessa-T
(HELIAR 40mm F2.8 with Bessa-T and the "M" 40mm metal viewfinder, which was available for the Voigtländer Nokton 40/1.2, unfortunately just for a short period.
Größenvergleich 50mm und 40mm Heliar (LTM) Rear view 40mm F2.8
Size comparison with 50mm F3.5 HELIAR. The 40mm F2.8 is much more compact - it's not a collapsible lens even if it may looks so - and has no open helicoil at the rear end. These are, through lost grease, a major reason for sensor pollution, when rangefinder lenses are used on digital cameras...!



28mm F/2.8 COLOR-SKOPAR   (Update Sep. 2023)
black or silver, M39 or VM/Leica M
In Juli 2023 a new 28/2.8 Color-Skopar weas announced, to be sold in 6 variants: As a "Retro-Lens" with rotating helicoid (looking like the 40/2.8 Heliar) with  Leica-M ("Type I") or LTM/ M39 (Type L") -mount, in brass, silver or black, 122 g weight and close focus distance 0.7 m. Filter siz is 34mm
Type II is a modern body with double helicoid in Alu (and solely Leica-M), a more common 39mm filter size, less weight with 106 g and a closer 0.5 m. All of the come with a small sun shade and a moon-sytle metal cap (for the shade mounted). 

28mm Color Skopar f2.8 different versions
Introduced July 2023
Production since Summer 2023
Price (2023) 649 EUR with sun shade and caps.
Voigtländer 28mm Color-Skopar f/2.8 Varianten

The optical design was derived from 2021' Ultron 2.0/28mm and contains 8 elements in 5 groups, including two ED elements and two aspherical surfaces. The Ultron isn't that much larger and heavier (190g in alloy, 39mm filter as well) than the one stop slower Color-Skopar, but 200,- Euro more expensive (and, of course, not available in LTM). Due to first reviews it isn't sharper than the Ultron!

Objektivdiagramm 28mm f/2.8

Table : All Voigtländer (Cosina) lenses with Leica screw thread (LTM/ M39)

Name mm f/ elements groups filter size (mm) size (mm) minimum distance (m) build Gewicht (g) start date end date
Ultra-Wide-Heliar Aspherical 12 5.6 10 8 with adapter
 φ50.5 × 38.2mm 0,3 *)
 aluminum 162 2000-09 2010-01
Super-Wide-Heliar Aspherical 15 4.5 8 6 no φ49.6 × 30.7mm 0,3 *)
 aluminum 105 1999-02 2012-12
Color-Skopar 21 4 8 6 39 φ49.6 × 29.1mm 0,5 aluminum 109 2001-04 2012-10
Snapshot-Skopar 25 4 7 5 39 φ49.5 × 29.5mm 0,7 *)
 aluminum 90 1999-02 2005-12
Ultron Aspherical 28 1.9 9 7 46 φ55.8 × 63.1mm 0,7 aluminum 265 2001-04 2007-06
Color-Skopar 28 3.5 7 5 39 φ49.6 × 25.8mm 0,7 brass 163 2002-05 2007-04
Color-Skopar 28 2.8 8 5 39 φ47 × 22.5mm 0,7 brass 122 2023-08 ***
Ultron Aspherical 35 1.7 8 6 39 φ55 × 47.7mm 0,9 aluminum 203 1999-08 2007-04
Color-Skopar (C-Type) 35 2.5 7 5 39 φ49.5 × 31mm 0,7 aluminum 116 1999-03 2003-05
Color-Skopar (P-Type) 35 2.5 7 5 43 φ55 × 25mm 0,9 aluminum 134 1999-03 2003
Heliar 40 2.8
 		5 3 34 φ52 × 21.2mm 0,7 aluminium
 		131 2022-03
 		***
Nokton Aspherical 50 1.5 6 5 52 φ60 × 54.5mm 0,7 aluminum 243 1999-10 2009-03
Color-Skopar 50 2.5 7 6 39 φ49.6 × 33.6mm 0,75 brass 208 2002-04 2007-06
Heliar 101th model 50 3.5 5 3 27 φ47 × 23.2mm (eingefahren) 1,0 brass 150 2001-11 (2000 Stck.)
Heliar (Limited) 50 3.5 5 3 27 φ47 × 42.2mm (ausgefahren) 1,0 brass 147 2009-11 (600 Stck.)
Heliar (Limited) 50 2 5 3 39 φ47 × 37.5mm (eingefahren) 1,0 brass 147 2009-11 (600 Stck.)
Color-Heliar 75 2.5 6 5 43 φ55.5 × 64.5mm 1,0 aluminum 230 1999-09 2010-09
Apo-Lanthar 90 3.5 6 5 39 φ51 × 90mm 1,0 aluminum 260 2001-02 2011-09

*) without coupling to the rangefinder
Total: 4 ultra wide angle, 6 wide angle, 3 standard lenses (+ 2 "Limited Edition"), 2 short telephoto lenses


Leica III /1933 w. Voigtlander Heliar 40/2.8 and "M" 40mm finder

More Voigtländer 28mm lenses on this website
Kobalux/ Avenon Lenses for Leica/Bessa
continue with Voigtländer BESSA Cameras (1999-2015)
Continue with Voigtländer (Braunschweig) made Cameras and Lenses
my pictures with these cameras
Back to the main page