Voigtlander 28mm f/2.8 Color Skopar SL II SLR Lens Review

Handling and features



This manual focus wide angle lens is available to fit Nikon and Canon SLR cameras but we will be looking specifically at the Nikon version here. Both versions of this lens are manual focus, but sport electronic contacts to fully support all metering modes and aperture control from each brand of camera. The lens costs around £480, which is around twice what Nikon's own 28mm f/2.8D lens costs and a little more than Canon's 28mm f/2.8 EF lens with image stabilisation, so it will be very interesting to see how this lens performs.



Voigtlander 28mm f/2.8 Color Skopar SL II SLR Lens Handling and features
It can be said that things aren't made as well as they used to be, but certainly not in the case of this Voigtlander optic. This lens feels very solidly built, thanks to the all-metal construction. Size-wise, this lens is very compact, looking more like a standard pancake lens than a wide angle optic, and although it is very well built, it only weighs 180g, which should make this lens ideal for travel. It makes a great, compact companion for the Nikon D600 body used for testing.

The focusing ring is silky smooth to operate and has just the right amount of resistance, which makes it a pleasure to apply fine adjustments. Closest focus for this lens is 22cm, which is fairly typical for a lens of this type. The lens doesn't focus internally, extending by around 5mm at its closest focus. Electronic contacts to support metering and aperture control functions of the camera are provided. Nikon users will have to ensure that the lens is set to f/22, which is marked orange on the aperture ring for the lens to work properly on modern cameras. Unfortunately, there is no system provided for locking the aperture at this setting.

The lens accepts 52mm filters, and the filter ring does not rotate during focusing, which is great for use with graduated and polarising filters. No lens hood is supplied as standard with this lens.

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