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Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

bjornthun
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Fred Miranda wrote:
Here is how it looks with the 6-bit code:

Very neatly done!

Jun 11, 2021 at 01:08 PM

Ulysseita
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Thank Fred, basically a must have on Leica M and a great add if you use as backup a Sony bigmpx..

Jun 11, 2021 at 01:36 PM

serhan_
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Yes, great achievement for the size and price. CV and Leica ver 2 might be close on M based on Jono's test shots of Summicron's:
https://www.slack.co.uk/leica-m-resolution.html

I tried the summicron ver 2 on FP and it is not sharp wide open for landscape, acceptable for closer architectural shots. It looks good at f8... Juha might post his CV samples on FP to see how it performs with that...

fwdesign wrote:
Also, this lens looks incredible. Definitely a better performer than the Leica 28 Summicron V1, Zeiss 28 2.8, and Leica 28 Elmarit. It would appear that basically every existing 28mm M-mount lens is now obsolete; I wonder if even the 28 Summicron V2 matches this level of performance.

Jun 11, 2021 at 01:44 PM

Arvaker
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Well, I had the Zeiss Biogon 28/2.8 zm, but sold it when this one was announced. Looks like I made the right choice - much better than I anticipated - and the biogon was very soft in the corners on my M9 until f5.6, but then it was pretty good across the image. Can't wait to get this little gem

Jun 11, 2021 at 01:44 PM

Steve Spencer
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

This lens looks great and I will almost certainly get one, but before we start comparing it to other lenses in terms of overall performance I want to wait until Fred finishes his tests. For me I would like to see a 28 f/2 also be able to be decent for some kinds of portraits. We don't know how this lens will fare yet for that. How is the rendering? Nice bokeh or will it be a bit busy? How about the transition zone? I am hopeful it will be a bit like my CVM 35 f/1.7 with generally nice bokeh and a decent transition zone, but that is a tough ask in such a small and inexpensive lens. IMO, one of the strengths of both the Leica M 28 f/2 I and II is that it has a very nice rendering and nice bokeh. Will this lens match that performance? Hopefully Fred will give us more information soon.

How does the lens do when shooting into the sun? We know it will have nice 10 pointed sunstars, but will it flare a lot? How about axial CA and purple fringing? How about coma? Not trying to be a wet blanket, and I do think everything Fred has posted so far looks great, (and if this is the lens' only strength I will still probably buy it) but let's see the full picture of the lens' strengths and weakness before we declare that all other lenses are obsolete.

Jun 11, 2021 at 02:04 PM

fwdesign
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

You’re right, we need to see more. The Summicron has 0 distortion and a beautiful rendering, so it’s entirely possible it’s still superior in some aspects.

Also, now that Voigtlander has knocked it out of the park with this 28mm f/2, I would love to see them make a 28mm f/1.4 Nokton.

Steve Spencer wrote:
This lens looks great and I will almost certainly get one, but before we start comparing it to other lenses in terms of overall performance I want to wait until Fred finishes his tests. For me I would like to see a 28 f/2 also be able to be decent for some kinds of portraits. We don't know how this lens will fare yet for that. How is the rendering? Nice bokeh or will it be a bit busy? How about the transition zone? I am hopeful it will be a bit like my CVM 35 f/1.7 with generally...Show more →

Jun 11, 2021 at 02:45 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Infinity Performance compared to Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM

I know this is not ideal. I will be comparing the Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron II on the Leica M10-R versus Sony FE 24/1.4 GM on the Sony A7R IV. I'm very accustomed to the 24/1.4 GM's infinity's performance and have used many times for landscapes. It is not the highest resolution 24/25mm lens for the Sony E-mount but it's flat field and does well stopped down a bit.

On the FE 24/1.4 GM's FM Review, it was noticeable how the Loxia 25/2.4 performed better on 42MP, especially off-axis. When tested on 60MP though, it struggles a bit more towards the corners with visible astigmatism compared to the new Voigtlander.

Distance: Infinity
Focus: Center - Best of three @ 12.4x magnification
WB: Daylight for both lenses
Both Lenses perfectly centered using my decentering test
Software: Lightroom with FM Default Landscape Sharpening. All other settings set to default

PS: Vignetting and distortion were NOT corrected for both lenses.

24mm - 28mm
CENTER resolution/contrast comparison between Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron II on the Leica M10-R and Sony FE 24/1.4 GM on the Sony A7R IV

Center at f/2

Center at f/2.8

Center at f/4

Center at f/5.6

Center at f/8

Jun 11, 2021 at 02:53 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

24mm - 28mm
MID-FIELD resolution/contrast comparison between Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron II on the Leica M10-R and Sony FE 24/1.4 GM on the Sony A7R IV

Mid-field at f/2

Mid-field at f/2.8: Both lenses improve but the Voigtlander more so and they are now very similar

Mid-field at f/4

Mid-field at f/5.6

Mid-field at f/8

Jun 11, 2021 at 02:56 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

24mm - 28mm
EXTREME CORNER resolution/contrast comparison between Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron II on the Leica M10-R and Sony FE 24/1.4 GM on the Sony A7R IV

Extreme corner at f/2

Extreme corner at f/2.8

Extreme corner at f/4

Extrme corner at f/5.6

Extreme corner at f/8

Jun 11, 2021 at 02:56 PM

naturephoto1
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Hi Fred,

Thanks for the performance comparison of the new Voigtlander 28mm f2 Ultron II vs the Sony 24mm f1.4 GM. The Voigtlander lens performance is remarkable in this comparison. And the size difference between the 2 lenses is almost comical. I can't wait till I get my copy.

Rich

Jun 11, 2021 at 04:02 PM

Matt Kerby
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Did you select the Elmarit in post or change the coding? Wow, this 28 is exceptional.

Jun 11, 2021 at 04:04 PM

Ulysseita
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

seriously, shocking.

f2 between one of the best Sony GM 1 stop closed vs TA of a smaller lens on Leica.

Microlenses and short stack are MAGIC even compared with OEM lenses for other different systems.

Jun 11, 2021 at 04:04 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Induced Field Curvature and Astigmatism on Sony bodies

As we have seen previously, the Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II performs optimally on a Leica sensor. But, at what aperture and focusing technique it is optimal on the Sony? I've just tried this today and here are my findings.

If one focuses at mid-field or corner area, it's possible to get a high resolution result at f/8 and f/9.5 (optimal). It will never match the performance on the Leica when using wider apertures, but stopped down to f/8-9.5, the results are quite great.

Here are some crops:

Showing the center area at f/2: LEFT: (focused at center) | RIGHT (focused at corner) - Noticeable induced field curvature and astigmatism

Showing the extreme corner area at f/2: LEFT: (focused at center) | RIGHT (focused at corner)

Focused on corner at f/2 and stopped down to f/8 (left) vs f/9.5 (right)

Finally, crops showing the extreme corner at f/9.5 (LEFT) next to the same image showing the center at f/9.5 (RIGHT). It still makes for a compact and high resolution lens on the A7R IV when stopping it down to f/8 or smaller.

Jun 11, 2021 at 04:40 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Quick portrait from my daughters under harsh lighting.
(DNG file converted to b&w using Cobalt's M9 b&w standard profile)

1:1 crop showing focused area

Jun 11, 2021 at 05:00 PM

junglialoh
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Excellent analysis and comparison. Thanks to sharing very useful information for many including me.
The sharpness is very similar to Leica Elmarit-R 28mm V2 at center, and more soft and astigmatism, and visible chromatic aberration at corner. But it is still worthy to get it for most general landscape purpose with its own character. the more taking photo, I realize that sharpness alone is not the important factor, but it also need character. In this point, CV28/2 V2 achieved its original aim successfully. Most part of image still very powerful and useful. In Panasonic S1R, its sharpness is enhanced and better than A7R2. Fortunately, it can be used for both M system and E system simultaneously.

Edited on Jun 11, 2021 at 08:47 PM · View previous versions

Jun 11, 2021 at 07:59 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Chromatic aberration control: Axial CA and Lateral CA

So far when analyzing test and real world images, I have not found much axial CA in my images. However, when shooting in very high contrast lighting, axial CA is noticeable when shooting wide open. The control for this aberration is not bad or great. It's just average and nothing to worry about unless better corrected optics with an APO lens.

Here are some real world sample crops showing purple fringing + axial CA and lateral CA. These crops are also good way to evaluate renderingl:

Full resized image (mid-distance).

At f/2: Here we see purple fringing on-axis and off-axis. This is the most egregious fringing I've seen so far. This lens is tack sharp at this distance.

At f/2.8: Axial CA much reduced but not entirely.

At f/4: Much cleaner now.

Same image at f/2 showing axial CA behind the focal plane (green fringing).

Pretty much gone at f/2.8.

Full image resized (mid-distance)

At f/2: Not much fringing here.

Super high contrast is when purple fringing is more evident on axis.

Not much fringing here.

Jun 11, 2021 at 08:07 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Lateral CA is well controlled and there is no automated profile in Lightroom for Leica cameras which I prefer.

Although well corrected, there is still traces of lateral CA in areas of high contrast towards the corners. It's completely removed when using Lightroom's CA removal.

100% crop showing lateral CA. BTW: This is wide open showing the extreme corner. The Voigtlander 28/2 is capable of exceptional resolution from f/2.

Same image with lateral CA corrected in Lightroom

Hard to see? Here is the same crop now at 200% magnification

Now corrected

Jun 11, 2021 at 08:19 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

junglialoh wrote:
Excellent analysis and comparison. Thanks to sharing very useful information for many including me.
The sharpness is very similar to Leica Elmarit-R 28mm V2 at center, and more soft and astigmatism, and visible chromatic aberration at corner. But it is still worthy to get it for most general landscape purpose with its own character. the more taking photo, I realize that sharpness alone is not the important factor, but it also need character. In this point, CV28/2 V2 achieved its original aim successfully. Most part of image still very powerful and useful. In Panasonic S1R, its sharpness is enhanced and...Show more →

Sharpness at infinity and close distance is definitely a strength for the Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron II. I have to tested it at MFD yet though.

Here is a sample where we can see a bit of the transition zone:

Jun 11, 2021 at 09:40 PM

naturephoto1
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

Fred Miranda wrote:
Sharpness at infinity and close distance is definitely a strength for the Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron II. I have to tested it at MFD yet though.

Here is a sample where we can see a bit of the transition zone:

Hi Fred,

Is this with the Voigtlander 28mm Ultron II or the Leica M 28mm Summicron Asph?

Rich

Jun 11, 2021 at 09:45 PM

jeffersoncasey
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II Review

It's just the in camera coding that label as such in EXIF. Refer to bottom of the previous page.
naturephoto1 wrote:
Hi Fred,

Is this with the Voigtlander 28mm Ultron II or the Leica M 28mm Summicron Asph?

Rich

Jun 11, 2021 at 10:05 PM

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