VOIGTLANDER 21/1.8 Ultron Aspherical

NEW Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 21/1.8 ULTRON M Mount

  ORDER HERE

the 21/1.8 Mounted on the Leica M240 with Voigtlander 21/25 metal brightline finder, 21/4P and 21/1.8 side by side

THE 21/1.8'S ARE IN STOCK!

• Very Sharp Super Fast F/1.8 to F/22 getting great reviews

• Comparable in size to the Voigtlander 35/1.2

• About 1/5 the  price of the 21/1.4 Leica Summilux

• 13 elements in 11 groups

• 1 Aspherical element

• Close focus .5 meter

• Rangefinder focusing to .7 meter

• Weight 412 grams

• 58mm Filter size

• 10 Aperture Blades

• Size: 78.4mm long, 69mm diameter

• Fixed lens Hood

• For digital Leicas, code it like the 21/1.4 Summilux

 

Tom Abrahamsson of Rapidwinder.com take on the New Voigtlander 21/1.8 Ultron he helped design!

 

The Ultron 21mm f1.8 on my Bessa R4M. I use the top-mounted finder for convenience - but even with the slight "blocking" of the lower 1/5th of the 21 finder in the R4 - works well without it.

 

The 21/1.8 M mount Ultron has been in the works for about 15 months.   It completes a rather formidable VC fast M mount line-up, 21f1.8, 28f2, 35f1,2, 50f1.1 and the 75 f1.8 - fall and winter is coming and light is getting scarce!  It is a M-mount lens - thus full frame. Size is the similar to the 35mm f1.2 - not small by any means, but then it is a f1.8 (smaller than the Summilux 21f1.4 - and 1/5 of the price). It looks bigger than it feels. Fits well in the hand. The hood adds "volume" to the look though. Light (this is a 21f1.8 after all) and very smooth with the 0.5 m close focus.   However, it is surprisingly comfortable to handhold as the barrel is straight - not tapered  Front element is slightly larger than the 35f1.2 - (58 mm versus 52 mm)

 

The aperture ring is up front and it has taken me a couple of rolls to get used to its location. With the R4M it does block the lower right hand corner a bit - but you get used to it and a quick "sweep" right gets the coverage - or simply use a 21 finder on top.  

 

Distorsion is very well controlled as is edge fall off.  According to Cosina, performance is said to be "very good" - and they have taken care to make the bokeh (the fuzzy stuff) particularly good at f1.8-f2.0.   I did shoot a lot at f1.8 (spent almost 8 hours at Narita - which gave me a chance to use it at wide-open). Also some color in Kanesawa (great garden and park - and a spectacular Modern Art Museum). 

 

Bests to Everybody,

Tom Abrahamsson

 

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Portland, Maine. Nicely restored MGB. I shot it at f1.8 (1/2000s) just to see how well the lens handled the shallow depth of field. Focus is on the MGB emblem.

Ektar 100 @ 100.

 

   

 

Castle Garden

 

 

 

 

 

The Ultron 21 f1.8 at f1.8 and closest focusing distance (0.5 m). The rangefinder cuts out at 0.7 - but my strap has a piece of tape at 0.5 m as a guide.
Narita Airport in Japan - the Terminal 1, decorated with Hokusai prints and banners.
Arista 400 Premium in Rodinal 1:60 for 11 min.

 

The big market in Kanazawa, Japan. This is our lunch place. Close focus (around 0.6 m) - focus on the nearest beer bottle. f1.8.

 

 

Travel photos and text Copyright © 2012 Tom Abrahamsson  All rights reserved.   

Revised: October 30, 2023 .  Copyright © 2012 Stephen Gandy. All rights reserved.    This means you may NOT copy and re-use the text or the pictures in ANY other internet or printed publication of ANY kind.  Information in this document is subject to change without notice.  Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.