It's over 10 years ago since I left Japan from my 2 year
work stint there, but one skill I have kept is the ability to still read
Katakana, the Japanese letters reserved for 'foreign' words. Fortunately most camera specs are written in
Katakana so I can figure out most of what is going on from, and that was the case when this lens was first announced.
Just recently I was reading Voigtlander's Japanese Web Press
Release on their new Color Skopar 28mm f2.8 for Nikon and Canon, priced at
56,000 yen, or about $US650. For the
life of me I cannot work out who would buy this lens. Both Nikon and Canon sell their relatively
good AF versions for under $300, and the excellent new Nikkor 28mm f1.8 is
still cheaper.
Sure its small, but so is a used Nikon 28mm f2.8 Ai-s lens
that sells for around $100 for a decent example, and used off brand Nikon mount
MF 28's can be found for as little as $20; though the Voigtlander does have an
electronic coupling.
To be worth this sort of coin it will need to have
absolutely outstanding optical characteristics, and it's 20mm f3.5 sister
hasn't really offered any thing new in this area.
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| Nikon FE2 with Nikkor 24mm f2, TMAX 3200 |
True. The V28/2.8 needs to be excellent from wide open on, with good corrections for distortion. A very good Leica-R 28mm f2.8 can be had for less than half that price used. For Canon users, the 28mm f1.8 USM is a great lens, for about the same price.
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