Voigtlander Color Skopar 21/4

The Voigtlander Color Skopar 21mm f/4 is an excellent quality super wide angle lens at an affordable price. While older lenses with focal lengths 35mm and longer can be of excellent quality, older super wide angle lenses aren't as good in quality and have high prices due to collector value. This leaves us with three brands: Leica, Carl Zeiss, and Voigtlander.

The least expensive super wide Leica lens (new) is the the 24/3.8 Elmar which retails for $2395. The Voigtlander retails for about $400. Zeiss finds middle ground for about $1,000.

The first decision I really had to make was, which focal length? Voigtlander, Zeiss and Leica also makes a 12mm, 15mm, and 25mm lenses. After doing some research, most users reported that the 15mm lens is more of a specialty lens. After buying and using the 21mm, I can't say I ever thought, "Oh, I wish my lens was wider." In Europe, it stayed on my camera almost all the time. Once in a while, I wondered if it was too wide as a general walkaround lens. Overall, it's a good comprimise.

While the maximum aperture is only f/4, the lens is quite small. It's hard not to bring the lens along.

Overall, it's a high quality lens and offers great value for the price. There is minimal vignetting at the corners and there is no noticeable distortion - straight lines appear to be straight. There is always some optical distortion with wide angle lenses.