[Manual Focus] Very small, extremely sharp. It's a little hard to focus (I'm using it on a Sony A6000), but that is typical for being such a wide-angle lens. I used to have a 21 super angulon when I had a Leica, and this lens is comparable.

[10] Many people look at Voigtländers as an inexpensive alternative to Leica M lenses. You can do that. I wouldn't because these are great lenses in their own right. I won't dispute the quality of Leica lenses, but when you decide character is just as important as optics, this lens and other Voigtländer lenses will not disappoint. Top notch craftsmanship and the helicoid action is something that must be experienced to believe. This, along with the rest of the Voigtländer Vintage Series, namely the Ultra 35mm f/2, the Helier 50mm f/3.5, and the Nokton 75mm f/1.5 ASPH are must haves. Not only do they take beautiful pictures but they look gorgeous too! I use them on my Leica M2 and that double vintage look is smoking hot! With an adapter (I use the Voigtländer VM-E close focus adapter which I also highly recommend) I get great use with these lenses on my Sony A9 as well (see attached). The use of a film emulator like the Mastin Labs Ektar 100 draws out the vintage character of the lens even more. I really enjoy using it and if you like the vintage look without having to comb through fungus ridden used lenses on eBay, I think you will too. Worth every penny and you won't need a lot of pennies either (relatively speaking).

[39 mm (Front)] This is a great wide lens for the Leica M mount. Since I mostly use this lens outdoors for landscapes during the day, I did not need a fast lens. The 3.5 aperture is plenty for that. The color rendition is great on my M11, but I'm truly impressed with the lens using my M10 Monochrom. Definitely a keeper!

[Manual Focus] After comparing this little lens with my Loxia 21, I sold the Loxia and couldn’t be happier. First, the image quality is fantastic. Is it as good as the Loxia? Short answer is no, but only if you are the type who zooms in to 300% to pixel peep. The Loxia is slightly sharper in the midfield and corners, but only slightly so. I would never notice the difference in print or on screen. That’s how good this Voigtländer is.

Second, size and haptics. It’s small! And light. The perfect travel companion when you want to limit yourself to one or two lenses. Pair it with a small 35mm or 50mm and you are good for travel or landscape. Focus ring is smooth and aperture ring is up front making it easy to change while looking through the viewfinder.

I’ve even used this little lens for portraits. Full frame and crop mode on an A7R3 (giving you a 32mm 18mp image). To my surprise the images are lovely! This lens renders in a way that makes people look good. VERY sharp at f3.5 in the middle. It’s got a look that is similar to the Loxia.

To conclude, this lens gives you a lot for the money. Very small and portable, excellent image quality, easy to use.

[Manual Focus] This new Voigtlander 21mm f/3.5 lens is a jewel. Feel and appearance are of Leica quality. Ergonomics in use of focus and aperture control is superb. Rangefinder coupling accuracy with several different Leica bodies is perfect. Optical performance in my usage is the equal of any Leica lens I currently own, with an image signature that is simply beautiful. l love this lens.

[91°] Just tried this tiny great lens and loved it. Will use on my Leica M8 while I decide what to do with my M9 sensor corrosion. This camera once was sent to Wetzlar and must be sent again. But about the Voiglander I think it is as good as the 35 f2 and 50 f 1.4, both asph Leica that I have been using for some 10 years. Great colors, great resolution, very light weight.

[Manual Focus] This is a compact and solidly built lens, which shows little distortion at the edges and is very sharp at all apertures (not surprising, as the maximum aperture is only f/3.5). I use it on Sony Alpha bodies: being so compact, it is especially good with my a7C. A great landscape lens, it is also a good street lens in good light. I am using it more and more, as I find I often prefer the 21mm focal length to 24mm or 28mm. I am a Fan of Voigtlnder lenses because of their quality and design and also because they communicate EXIF data to the camera. I focus using hyperfocal distance for street photography and for landscapes, using Peak settings of Medium and Yellow for more precise focusing (High makes Everything Yellow, and Low is too hard to see).

[f/22] Slightly surprised how small and compact this little gem of a lens is. After shooting with SLR lenses for a number of years, this came as a pleasant change. Despite its compactness, the optical quality is quite amazing even wide open. Build quality is as expected from Voigtlander, top notch. Very tactile feel with the clicky aperture ring and smooth focusing. Really enjoy the focusing knob over the traditional tab, makes focusing easier and more enjoyable. This is lens is perfect for well composed landscape or even travel photography or if you enjoy wide angle of view. Also, great adapted to crop sensor cameras like the Fujifilm for a small and lightweight setup via adapter. Being a color-skopar design you’ll get beautiful color rendition, as well and great B&W tonality as expected from the oldest lens manufacturer in the world.

[f/22] This lens is the sharpest lens I own and by a very wide margin has the best colors. The build quality blows my mind too. I later bought the larger and more expensive Voigt 21mm f1.4 because after having used the 21mm f3.5 I was so stunned at the sharpness, sunstars and colors that I thought the 21mm must be beyond belief. I could then sell the smaller lens. But except for speed and the marginal background blur benefit I could not tell the difference. Given how small and light the f3.5 was and that in almost all cases with a super wide I'd need at least f3.5 for my images anyway I decided to keep it. And I find myself using it more because it is a traveler's joy. It's easy to focus with Sony A bodies and furthermore so wide that you can almost leave it at f7.1 as a point & shoot; it is very forgiving of imperfect focus. I may keep the f1.4 too for nightscapes.

[Leica M] This lens is a lot of fun to use. It's small and barely noticeable on the camera body.

This lens is just a great walk-around lens. You can easily set the focus distance in-camera and walk around taking photos that are sharp.

The Infinity focus setting is a hard-stop and truly focuses to infinity.

Colors are contrasty and there is vignetting wide open. None of my software has a lens profile that I can automatically apply, but it's easy enough to up apply some pre-sharpening and remove the vignette manually. That's all I've really felt the need to do.

When stopped down to 5.6 it doesn't need correcting at all. It's tack-sharp and very slight vignette, if any. I feel like the lens does a rather good job all-around. It looks sharp and it's a joy to use. I'm still learning how to use it to its fullest potential, but I imagine it will last me for many years of casual photography.

If I had one complaint, I feel like it could do a better job controlling highlights in harsher light. There are instances where I have a tough time recovering the highlights in post. I will have to try out a ND filter and see how that works.


One interesting note is that the lens-hood screws into the filter instead of the lens itself (if you choose to use a filter).


Happy with this purchase!