small3456 wrote:
I got mine in black from Map Camera two weeks ago. It's just $450 tax free, unbeatable. They had display lenses both in black and silver so you could try them on your camera. And the staff there were very nice, the guy serving me could speak a bit English so the purchase and tax-free process was super smooth. One thing to note is that I actually visited them twice - despite their website was showing in stock, they just had to get the lens from warehouse so I had to go to the shop again two days later to pick up my lens. So if time allows I would suggest you to visit them once you land Tokyo. Good luck with your shopping and enjoy Tokyo! ...Show more →
Hey thanks and good to know! As luck would have it, my stay in Tokyo is extended by an extra day so that gives plenty of time to allow for them to ship from warehouse to store. I will definitely head down there the first day I am in Tokyo.
Gabe13 wrote:
Hey thanks and good to know! As luck would have it, my stay in Tokyo is extended by an extra day so that gives plenty of time to allow for them to ship from warehouse to store. I will definitely head down there the first day I am in Tokyo.
Currently Map Camera appears to have 18/2.8 (both Black and Silver) in stock and the prices have been reduced a little bit from the original. I think most of the time they should have some stock in the store when their website shows the items in stock but it's of course good to have some buffer. As a backup option there's always Fujiya Camera at Nakano who usually have good stock levels of CV lenses at same prices as Map and Tax Free is available there too (one stop (around 4min) by JR Chuo line from Shinjuku station).
Taxless price at Map Camera seems to be 62324 yen which would be only 411.66 USD according to Google right now (maybe actual exchange rates used in transactions are slightly different).
Juha Kannisto wrote:
Currently Map Camera appears to have 18/2.8 (both Black and Silver) in stock and the prices have been reduced a little bit from the original. I think most of the time they should have some stock in the store when their website shows the items in stock but it's of course good to have some buffer. As a backup option there's always Fujiya Camera at Nakano who usually have good stock levels of CV lenses at same prices as Map and Tax Free is available there too (one stop (around 4min) by JR Chuo line from Shinjuku station).
Taxless price at Map Camera seems to be 62324 yen which would be only 411.66 USD according to Google right now (maybe actual exchange rates used in transactions are slightly different)....Show more →
Awesome, I have marked Fujiya Camera on the map as a backup plan and yes it seems not that far away. Been keeping an eye on the price at Map Camera and it seems to be a nice good deal currently, of course with some conversion variation likely but no problem with that.
I am looking forward to the experience of obtaining this lens locally while in Japan and if all works out, I may have it at least for the last few days there.
Gabe13 wrote:
Awesome, I have marked Fujiya Camera on the map as a backup plan and yes it seems not that far away. Been keeping an eye on the price at Map Camera and it seems to be a nice good deal currently, of course with some conversion variation likely but no problem with that.
I am looking forward to the experience of obtaining this lens locally while in Japan and if all works out, I may have it at least for the last few days there.
That sounds like a good plan, in which I did myself when I was in Tokyo end of Feb last time. Traded both my XF 14mm and XF 35mm 1.4, bought both CV 18mm and 27mm from MapCamera. Transaction was flawless. My only problem at that time was finding the shop from the nearest train station.
Hi Fred, would you mind sharing the recipe? The pictures look very nice and I am currently using your Reala Ace recipe on daily basis, one of the few sim that is suitable for my wife's skin tone
Gabe13 wrote:
Awesome, I have marked Fujiya Camera on the map as a backup plan and yes it seems not that far away. Been keeping an eye on the price at Map Camera and it seems to be a nice good deal currently, of course with some conversion variation likely but no problem with that.
I am looking forward to the experience of obtaining this lens locally while in Japan and if all works out, I may have it at least for the last few days there.
Can't go wrong buying Voigtlander lens in Japan.
Have been using this lens on my x-pro3 for almost a month now. My way shooting Fuji is to only use OVF and take SOOC jpeg. One challenge am facing now is to predict the frame coverage without 18mm frameline. Always getting outputs which are wider than expected.
Comparing the depth of field scales shown on screen for the 18mm vs the 23mm, the 23mm shows a far wider depth of field range than the 18mm, which is not what physics would suggest should be the case. I’m comparing with both at f2.8 and focusing at 2m, with the distance scale set to film basis in both. Has anyone else experienced the same?
matt_h2o wrote:
Comparing the depth of field scales shown on screen for the 18mm vs the 23mm, the 23mm shows a far wider depth of field range than the 18mm, which is not what physics would suggest should be the case. I’m comparing with both at f2.8 and focusing at 2m, with the distance scale set to film basis in both. Has anyone else experienced the same?
One potential reason could be that the 18mm lens focuses closer, while both lenses have the same throw rotation angle. As a result, the distance is more compressed on the 18mm focus ring.
creezalird wrote:
Hi Fred, would you mind sharing the recipe? The pictures look very nice and I am currently using your Reala Ace recipe on daily basis, one of the few sim that is suitable for my wife's skin tone
I'll gladly share that recipe, but I prefer to make some final adjustments after I've developed two rolls of Portra 400 film under different lighting conditions. This way, I can ensure that the simulation closely matches the characteristics of the actual film.
Here are a few more samples shot with the CV 18/2.8 using the current simulation:
X-Pro3VOIGTLANDER COLOR-SKOPAR 18mm F2.8 lens18mmf/3.61/2400s320 ISO-0.3 EV
X-Pro3VOIGTLANDER COLOR-SKOPAR 18mm F2.8 lens18mmf/2.81/5000s320 ISO-0.3 EV
X-Pro3VOIGTLANDER COLOR-SKOPAR 18mm F2.8 lens18mmf/2.81/1400s320 ISO-0.3 EV
X-Pro3VOIGTLANDER COLOR-SKOPAR 18mm F2.8 lens18mmf/2.81/2700s320 ISO-0.3 EV
matt_h2o wrote:
Comparing the depth of field scales shown on screen for the 18mm vs the 23mm, the 23mm shows a far wider depth of field range than the 18mm, which is not what physics would suggest should be the case. I’m comparing with both at f2.8 and focusing at 2m, with the distance scale set to film basis in both. Has anyone else experienced the same?
I now tried the same on my copy of CV 18/2.8 and CV 23/1.2, by focusing both at 2m distance at f2.8 based on the digital focus distance information shown on camera (X-S10 in my case). I found that my 18/2.8 shows DoF area with blue line from roughly 1.5m to 3.0m in this case, whereas my 23/1.2 showed DoF area as 1.0m+ to 10m. I had to open up the aperture to f1.2 on my 23/1.2 to get it to show similar DoF area (1.5m to 3.0m) as my 18/2.8 shows at f2.8 when both are focused at 2m distance.
The 23/1.2 seems to be showing too much on the DoF scale in this case and 18/2.8 seems more realistic...
I don't rely on these DoF scales while shooting so I haven't paid much attention to the accuracy of the DoF scales but there seems to be some variation here for sure. Perhaps Cosina have changed something regarding the interpretation or accuracy of "Film standard" digital focus scale information in newer lenses after some complaints from the earlier lenses from users who rely on these DoF scales (?).
I think there were a number of user complaints about the DoF scales on the 35/1.2 and 23/1.2 CV lenses for X-mount but I haven't seen similar complaints for their newer lenses... For example: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4647072
Thanks Juha, useful to know it’s not just me. That link is helpful - will see if switching to pixel basis gives me a more realistic range. Although it’s a shame that setting can’t be linked to the attached lens, as film basis seems to work well for the new pancake lenses.
matt_h2o wrote:
@Fred Miranda@@ - it’s not the scale on the lens itself, but the scale shown on the focal distance display on the screen or in the EVF.
I see! I have not really looked into it but will test it out.
Just received this little jewel from Stephen at CameraQuest. Fun lens. First mundane test out of the box with a couple simulations applied in post via DXO Photolab (Generic Kodak Kodachrome 64) and Photoshop (Fuji Classic Neg).
X-T5VOIGTLANDER COLOR-SKOPAR 18mm F2.8 lens18mmf/4.01/60s125 ISO0.0 EV
Been keeping an eye on the price at Map Camera and it seems to be a nice good deal currently, of course with some conversion variation likely but no problem with that. 
