Voigtlander Snap Shot Skopar L 25mm F4
A review and Photo example of the Voigtlander Snap-Shot-Skopar 25mm with the EPSON R-D1.
Table of contents
Gallery
The sample photos were taken with an EPSON R-D1
Review
1．Overview
The Snap Shot Skopar 25mm F4 is an L39 screw-mount wide-angle lens released by Cosina under the Voigtlander brand in 1999.
The lens consists of 7 elements in 5 groups, has a minimum shooting distance of 0.5m, and is not linked to the Leica L-mount rangefinder.
The filter diameter is 39mm, it weighs 90g, and the total length of the lens is approximately 30mm from the mount surface to the tip of the lens.
2．Usability
The Snap Shot Skopar 25mm F4 is the only Voigtlander L39 screw mount lens that does not have a rangefinder linkage mechanism, and is unique in that all lenses in the series, including the wider Color Skopar 21mm, are rangefinder linked.
Because it is an L39 screw mount lens, an L-M mount adapter is required to use it with an M mount. To use the 6-bit lens recognition function of the LEICA M8, it was necessary to select a mount adapter with the corresponding claws. I remember that a 28-90 L-M adapter was required to generate the recognition code for 24mm, which is close to 25mm, but that’s an old memory so I might be wrong.
Since the M9 and later, it has become possible to manually enter the lens focal length, so there is no such trouble except for the LEICA M8.
However, since the focal length is 25mm, it was not that much of a practical inconvenience with film cameras even if it was just eyeballing. At that time, it became possible to enlarge the results of shooting digitally on a monitor, and it was sometimes possible to see that the focus was slightly off. This was certainly due to a problem with the photographer’s ability to visually grasp the subject.
Because of the specification of not having a rangefinder linkage, this lens was cheap both in terms of list price and used price. When viewed through the viewfinder of a rangefinder camera, the central double image focusing part does not move even when the focus lever is operated, which can be confusing. The drawback of not having a rangefinder linkage mechanism is not an issue at all with mirrorless cameras, so some users may be using them without noticing.
The EPSON R-D1, which was used as the base for this lens, has a focal length of 37.5mm, which is 1.5 times the focal length of a 35mm lens, because the sensor size crops the periphery, resulting in a shooting range close to that of a 35mm lens.
When I looked through the viewfinder of the R-D1, the entire viewfinder frame roughly matched the shooting range of the lens, so I used it without using an external viewfinder.
I have seen reports that there are problems with peripheral images on full-frame cameras, but with the 1.5x R-D1, this was hardly an issue. My lens feast begins when I purchase the Epson R-D1, and since I have the impression that LEICA is expensive, both in lenses and cameras (this is only an impression, and in reality the prices vary widely), I began my interchangeable lens feast with this Voigtlander.
In April 2007, this lens was equipped with a rangefinder linkage mechanism and made into an M mount, and was renewed as the Color Skopar 25mm F4P. If you are going to use it with a rangefinder camera, this is the better choice.
3．Summary
In conclusion, to sum up the Snap Shot Scopar 25mm F4, it is a small and compact wide-angle lens.
It doesn’t work with the rangefinder of a rangefinder camera, but with a film camera you can get a sufficient depth of field even by eyeballing it.
With digital cameras, when viewing images at life size with a rangefinder camera, the focus position can be an issue, but when used with a mirrorless camera, you can adjust the focus with the EVF, so this is not a problem.
Specification
| Items | Snap-Shot-Skopar-L |
| Focal length(mm) | 25 |
| Max aperture | 4 |
| Min aperture | 22 |
| Leaf blade | 10 |
| Lens Construction | 5群7枚 |
| Min distance(m) | 0.7(Distance meter not interlocked) |
| Lens length(mm) | 29.5(L39) |
| Max diameter(mm) | 49.5 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 39mm |
| Weight(g) | 90 |
| Release date | 1999/2 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | 45,000(Silver) / 45,000(Black) |
Reference links
Update history
- 2025.6.12
- 2024.04.22
- 2023.09.19
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