ULTRON 28 with Large aperture and A spherical lens

A review of the Voigtlander Ultron 28mm f/1.9 used with a Leica M digital camera.

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Photo example

Taken with Rollei 35RF and KODAK Kodachrme64 (PKR) and scanned with DiMAGE Scan Multi PRO

Photo with LEICA M9

1．Overview

The Voigtlander ULTRON 28mm F1.9 (original 28mm Ultron) is a wide-angle lens with a focal length of 28mm that uses the L39 screw mount (hereinafter referred to as L39) released by Cosina under the Voigtlander brand in 2001.

The main specifications are as follows, and detailed specifications are listed in the table.

Aperture F value 1.9
Lens construction 7 groups, 9 elements
1 aspherical lens
Aperture blades 10
Minimum focusing distance 0.7m
Leica M rangefinder camera rangefinder linkage 0.7m
Hood Dedicated horizontal screw-on hood
Lens color variations Silver and black

2．Usage

The ULTRON 28mm F1.9 uses an L39 mount and is linked to the rangefinder.
The minimum shooting distance is 0.7m, which is the standard value for Leica M mount. When using it with a Leica M mount camera, an L / M conversion ring is required.

As I was using a new lens, the focus ring rotates smoothly and the aperture ring stops at the set value without any play.

New lenses come with a pin-shaped finger hook to assist in the rotation of the focus ring, and it can be attached to the focus ring, but if you are selling only the lens second-hand, you will rarely see this pin-shaped finger hook. The focus ring of the ULTRON has a generous width in the rotation ring, so it is not a problem if this pin is not present.

From my experience using it with the EPSON R-D1, LEICA M6, LEICA M8, and LEICA M9, the double image overlap type finder provides sufficient focus accuracy even at the widest aperture.

The shooting results are rich in peripheral light and there is no feeling of peripheral light falloff, and when the aperture is narrowed a little, there is sufficient resolution even at the periphery.

Since it uses an L39 mount, it can be used with old Barnack Leicas and Japanese Leica copy cameras. Since the lens barrel is large, when it is attached to a Barnack Leica, the lens barrel covers the rangefinder window and the appearance of the camera is exaggerated.

I have read articles that say that the handling of aspherical lenses in the first Ultron is not sophisticated and the bokeh is hard, but in my own experience I have never seen images with significant distortion that was noticeable. This information is not clear because I cannot cite a source.

Finally, I think that this lens has a good lens barrel construction even among the early Voigtlander lenses.
The lens is especially complete when attached with the standard crepe-finished hood, and this appearance is one of the top five lens appearances in the Cosina Voigtlander lens lineup.

3．Add info.

There are three generations of large-diameter 28mm lenses from Cosina Voigtlander. The second generation is the VM-mount ULTRON 28mm F2 (released on August 5, 2008) which does not use aspherical lenses, and the third generation is the ULTRON Vintage Line 28mm F2 Aspherical (released on June 10, 2021) which again uses aspherical lenses.

The third-generation ULTRON Vintage Line 28mm F2 Aspherical, with the catchphrase “Snapshooter’s Ally,” is a significantly smaller and lighter lens based on the first-generation aspherical ULTRON, as can be seen from the lens configuration diagram below.

The Typ-I in particular weighs 190g, and with a lens length of 36mm, it stands out for its compactness.

This lens size would look good on a Barnack Leica, but the mount is a VM mount compatible with the M mount.

The larger 28mm lens, the NOKTON Vintage Line 28mm F1.5 Aspherical, was released on January 19, 2024.

Specifications and comparison of series lenses

Item	ULTRON 1st	ULTRON 2nd	ULTRON Vintage line
focal length(mm)	28	28	28
Maximum aperture	1.9	2	2
Minimum aperture	22	22	22
Leaf blade	10	10	10
Lens configuration	9 elements in 7 groups	10 elements in 8 groups	10 elements in 7 groups
A spherical lens	adopt	Not adopt	adopt
Minimum distance(m)	0.7	0.7	0.7
Lens length(mm)	63.1 (including hood/L39)	51.2 (without hood/M mount)	36
Lens max diameter(mm)	55.8	55	51.4
Filter type	46	46	39
Hood	Special flower shape	Special cylindrical type	LH-4N (sold separately) LH-12 (sold separately)
Weight(g)	265	244	190g（Type I） 230g（Type II）
Lens mount	L39	VM	VM
Release date	2001.4	2008.8.5	2021.6
Price	75,000 (silver) 78,000 (black)	75,000 (black)	100,000 (All three types)