Compact standard lens Color Skopar 50
Review and photo examples of the Voigtlander Color Skopar 50mm F2.5.
Table of contents
Gallery
- The photo examples were taken with LEICA M8.
Review
1．Overview
The Color Skopar 50mm F2.5 is a standard lens with an L39 screw mount released by Cosina Voigtlander in 2002.
The main specifications are as follows, and detailed specifications are listed in the table.
- Lens construction: 7 elements in 6 groups
- Aperture blades: 10
- Minimum shooting distance: 0.75m
- Linked to the rangefinder of Leica M cameras up to the minimum shooting distance
- Filter diameter: 39mm
- Lens length: Approximately 50mm from the mount surface to the tip of the hood
2．Usability
The Color Skopar 50mm F2.5 produces a clear and crisp image even at full aperture, with beautiful bokeh in both front and back. The image becomes more detailed when the aperture is narrowed. Compared to the peculiar image of many old standard lenses, it produces a clear image.
I used it with the LEICA M8, which has a smaller sensor than the 35mm full frame, so I cannot evaluate the peripheral area.
Like other Color Skopar lenses, it is a compact lens, more than one size smaller than the previously released NOKTON 50mm F1.5, making it very portable.
The lens barrel contains 7 lenses in 6 groups, and combined with the brass barrel, it is heavy at 208g despite being a small lens.
The key to operating a manual focus camera is how easy it is to focus, and the barrel has a large finger rest for focusing, making it very easy to move the focus ring.
The finger grip for focusing on other L39-mount Color Skopar 21mm, 25mm, 28mm, and 35mm lenses is pin-shaped and can be difficult to use, so I would like it to be changed to the same finger grip as the 50mm.
A dedicated cylindrical lens hood is included, but the hood mounting thread of this lens, like the ULTRON 35mm L39 F1.7, is compatible with Leica’s IROOA mounting hook, so it is possible to attach a variety of hoods, including the original IROOA.
However, because the lens barrel has a large finger grip for focusing, the hood cannot be attached backwards when stored.
3．Summary
In conclusion, the Color Skopar 50mm F2.5 has a luxurious lens configuration for a compact standard lens. The image quality is normal for a 50mm lens.
The Color Skopar 50mm F2.5 has mediocre specifications, and is rarely seen on the second-hand market due to the small number of lenses produced, and in the 2020s it is sometimes sold at a premium price.
The focal length of 50mm allows anyone to make a decent lens, so unless you are very interested, it is not a lens worth buying at a premium price. It was buried under many 50mm lenses at home and I got rid of it without using it much. I forgot to include the box when I sold it, so only the box remains at my house.
Specification and Competitor
The COLOR-SKOPAR VM 50mm F2.2 was released in July 2024. Looking at the lens configuration, we can see that it is based on the COLOR-SKOPAR L39 50mm F2.5.
Looking at the specifications of the new lens, it has achieved a significant weight reduction of 35%.
To achieve this, the lens configuration diagram shows that the lens diameter width has been reduced to reduce weight in order to miniaturize the lens, which is effective for weight. In addition, it is speculated that lightweight aluminum-based metals are used for the lens barrel material.
In addition, the S SKOPAR 50mm F2.5 was released for the Nikon S mount. This is just a change in the mount, and the lens configuration and other functions are the same as the Color Skopar L39 50mm F2.5.
It is also speculated that the image circle has been optimized for 35mm full size due to the reduction in lens diameter. It is possible that the image circle is insufficient for large-format sensors such as medium-format digital sensors.
- The lens construction diagram is taken from a PDF distributed by Cosina or from the Cosina website, and the size has been adjusted by us, so the scale may not be exact.
| Item | COLOR SKOPAR | COLOR SKOPAR |
| focal length(mm) | 50 | 50 |
| Maximum aperture | 2.5 | 2.2 |
| Minimum aperture | 22 | 22 |
| Leaf blade | 10 | 10 |
| Lens configuration | 7 elements in 6 groups | 7 elements in 6 groups |
| Minimum distance(m) | 0.75 | 0.7 |
| Lens length(mm) | 33.6 (food included) | 30 (food not included) |
| Lens max diameter(mm) | 49.6 | 51.4 |
| Filter type | 39 | 39 |
| Weight(g) | Special cylindrical type LH-2 | Special cylindrical type |
| Hood | 208 | 135 |
| Lens mount | L39 | VM |
| Release date | 2002.4 | 2024.7 |
| Price | Silver ¥45,000 Black ¥48,000 | Silver ¥75,000 Black ¥75,000 |
Reference links
- COLOR SKOPAR 50mm F2.5(This information has been deleted from the official Cosina website, so we have posted a link to the Web Archive.)
- COLOR-SKOPAR 50mm F2.2・Cosina official website
Update history
- 2025.3.24
- 2024.04.22
- 2023.11.22
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