New manual lens from Cosina/Voigtlander, exist in Nikon AIS and Pentax KA mounts.
Cosina Japan announced recently the forthcoming release of this new lens part of the SL lenses series aimed at making available to enthusiasts quality manual lenses in various lens mount (for Nikon, Canon, Pentax).
The main characteristics of these lenses are high built quality and material used, metal hoods (provided with lens or optional), high quality glass including aspheric elements in certain cases, diaphragm with 9 blades for better out of focus background (bokeh) rendition. The most recent releases in the series (SL II) include an electronic chip which allows matrix metering and EXIF recording with more recent digital bodies.
All lenses are totally manual and are for full format cameras, but of course compatible with DX cameras - and you can actually meter with entry level bodies (D40/60). The position of the focusing (front) and aperture (back) rings is compatible with Nikon standards. Cosina finally got rid of the coupling fork - which I personally always found annoying. The lenses cannot meter with older film cameras like the Nikkormat, but probably can still be used with stop down metering.
The Skopar 20mm f3.5 has standard 52mm filter ring. A dedicated hood is also produced and available separately.
Announced Japanese price is 55.000 Yen, which correspond to 460 Eur/550$. However, street price in US should be lower possibly around 400$ or less (estimate). In
So the question is, do we need this lens? In principle you can still get a Nikon 20mm f 2.8 lens new in manual AIS or AFD version. Both lenses are optically identical and only their body construction differs, the AF being plastic to allow focusing motor operation. They have optical correction for close focusing (CRC) with minimum focus distance of 2.5 cm. Glass has normal Nikon coating. Filter is 62mm. AIS version has metal filter threat and can mount metal hood. The AFD version uses a bayonet plastic hood.
The lenses are sharp but have distortion inevitable for such a wide angle. However they retain light and compact features, weighting less than 300 gr. Both lenses can be found new for around 500$ each. The AF version is more plasticky and the AF motor is quite noisy and can be subject to focus hunting (may also depend on camera AF). Frankly for this type of lens I don't see the need for Autofocus mechanism as it has a very high Depth of Field and so it is possible to use it in hyperfocal mode most of the time. Basically, at f8 everything should be in focus from 2 meters to infinity. So the AIS version should be a better choice because it gives you a better Depth of Field scale, and no distraction from focus hunting. Also as it is built more solidly, this version may have more collectable value.
So having two lenses, the Voigtlander and the original Nikon AIS, what can be the respective advantages.
The Cosina is even more compact weighting just 200gr. It uses Nikon standard 52 mm filters. It is one stop slower which many people will consider as a negative point but which in fact allows better corrected glass in general. The fact that it also includes an aspherical element would also lead to think that on paper the Scopar should have better controlled distortion.
On DX, the lens becomes the equivalent of 30mm.
The Nikon AIS is a bit heavy, relatively speaking. You have to carry additional 62mm filters, which BTW should be the pricier slim type as the front lens is quite prominent and you risk vignetting with other filters. Hood is also wide, larger than lens barrel.
Cosina lens appears more compact as the front lens itself is of a smaller diameter which allows mounting the hood in a way that it should not exceed the lens barrel facilitating storage. These features (weight, filter, and hood) make the lens very compact and ideal for travelling. The Depth of Field scale could be more detailed but at least it exists.
For close photography, the Cosina closer focus is 0.2 m although given the CRC correction on the and wider opening on Nikon AIS, the latter would appear better suited.
So overall, this new lens is certainly welcomed and can make an interesting contribution to the serious amateur’s set of equipment. That said like often with Cosina releases of classic design lenses for SLRs (be it under Voigtlander or Zeiss brands and without touching upon the issue of Leica M compatible lenses), these lenses are well built but they don't differ significantly from Nikon's primes.
Also a criticism which is often made by reviewers is the relatively ancient conception of the lens which basically makes it a marginal improvement over classic designs. Because basically, this lens seems inspired by the classic Nikon 20mm AI which existed in f4 and then in f3.5 max aperture version.
The Nikon 3,5 version was actually a more complex design with 11 lenses in 8 groups compared to Cosina's 9 lenses/6 groups. However, Cosina comprises an aspherical element which simplifies lens design. Upgrades of the Cosina over classic 3.5 AIS are inclusion of CPU (although limited use with advanced bodies D200/300/700/3/3x where lens data can be input via menu or programmed Func button) and said Asph lens.
Question marks remain edge performance, distortion, chromatic aberration, coma, resistance to flare etc.
(images: Cosina., photosynhthesis/Roland Vink)
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