Voigtlander Color-Skopar 18mm f/2.8 for X Mount is Less Than an Inch Long
Cosina has announced a tiny new lens for Fujifilm X-Mount cameras. The Voigtlander Color-Skopar 18mm f/2.8 Aspherical is a pancake-style prime lens designed exclusively for Fujifilm X Series cameras.
The lens is extremely compact, measuring 23.5 millimeters (0.93 inches) from the mount. Cosina’s desire to keep the lens small and lightweight explains the f/2.8 maximum aperture rather than something faster like f/1.8 or f/2. As for its weight, the lens weighs a mere 115 grams (4.1 ounces), which makes it one of the lightest lenses for X-Mount.
Another pancake-style 18mm lens is Fujifilm’s own XF 18mm f/2 prime, which, despite offering a faster maximum aperture than Cosina’s new lens, is almost the same weight — 116 grams (4.1 ounces). However, Fuji’s lens is slightly longer at 40.6 millimeters (1.6 inches).
Equivalent to a 28mm lens in 35mm equivalent terms, the lens is designed for landscape, architecture, environmental portraits, travel, and general use. However, the lens is not well-suited to action because, while it has electronic communications with the camera body, it does not include autofocus capabilities.
The manual focus lens incorporates an all-metal helicoid unit that promises precise and smooth manual focus operation. The lens can focus as close as 0.17 meters (6.7 inches), resulting in a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:6.6.
The Cosina Color-Skopar 18mm f/2.8 Aspherical lens includes seven elements arrayed across five groups. Among these seven elements are a single aspherical element and a piece of “extraordinary partial dispersion” glass. The lens has a 10-bladed aperture diaphragm and a dedicated aperture control ring.
Cosina says the lens has been designed exclusively with Fujifilm X System cameras in mind. “Designed exclusively for the Fujifilm X mount. Optics are optimized for the image sensor of the Fujifilm X system cameras. This prevents distortion, light reduction, and color casts on the periphery of the image without relying on the camera’s optical correction function,” the company promises.
Cosina has yet to reveal the precise release date or pricing for its new X-Mount lens, but the company says it will be available sometime next month and it will come in black and silver finishes.
For what it’s worth, major Japanese retailer, Map Camera, has the lens available for pre-order for just under 71,000 yen, which works out to about $480 at current exchange rates. It is reasonable to expect the final price in the United States to be somewhere in this range.
Image credits: Cosina
