Ricoh GXR: M-Mount Unit with Voigtländer 25 mm (M39)

Archive

Note: At the end of 2016, I decided to sell or give away my Voigtländer Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4.0 Pancake lens in favor of the Leica Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH. lens in order to have less trouble and work with color shading when the lens is used at the Leica M (Typ 240). I gave it away in mid-January 2017 and am therefore no longer able to update this page or to answer questions about this lens.

After Ricoh's official announcement of the M-mount expansion unit, I decided to buy one, although I had not intended to do so originally. Here are my first personal experiences with the lenses that I bought (or tried to buy). This page is devoted to the Voigtländer Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4 Pancake lens that I bought used. This is not an M-mount lens, but a M39 one - it has to be used with an LTM adapter at the M-mount expansion unit.

Introduction

Why I Bought this Lens...

After I had purchased the Zeiss Biogons 21mm and 35 mm, I found that there was still a gap that should be closed. The 21 mm lens comes close to a classic 28 mm lens, while the 35 mm corresponds to a normal lens between 50 mm and 55 mm. Thus, I was looking for something in the range of a classic moderate wide angle lens of 35 mm. Since the 25 mm Zeiss lenses were beyond what I wanted to pay, and even the Voigtländer 25 mm pancake lens appeared to much, I looked for a cheaper option and found it in the Minolta M-Rokkor 28mm f/2.8. But with its 42 mm equivalent focal length, it is actually a "short" normal lens.

I therefore pursued this issue further and hit, more or less by accident, on the Voigtländer Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4 Pancake lens, which received quite favorable reviews. Probably, I did not consider it in the past because it is a screw mount (M39) lens. But since I had bought already a screw mount lens (a Voigtländer Color Heliar 75mm f/2.5 lens), which worked well with an LTM adapter, just before, I no longer had any reservations as to buying a screw mount lens. So I purchased a used one via eBay in mid-June 2014.

Actually, this lens is a little bit "longer" than a true 35 mm lens: On the M-mount expansion unit, it has an equivalent focal length of 37.5 mm. Thus, it is a "mild" wide angle lens - between a 35 mm and a 40 mm lens.

The Lens

Below are photos taken by the previous owner who sold the lens (including a Voigtländer LTM adapter) in a very good condition:

Photos: Voigtländer Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4 Pancake (37.5 mm equiv.) (Photos taken by the previous owner)

And here are some quick-and-dirty photos of my own:


		With LTM adapter

With LTM adapter	Screw mount (M39) visible	With LTM adapter

Lens hood separate	Lens hood separate	Screw mount visible, lens hood separate

Photos: Voigtländer Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4 Pancake lens (37.5 mm equiv.)

On the M-mount expansion unit, this lens has an equivalent focal length of 37.5 mm, so it is a mild "wide angle" lens - between a 35 mm and a 40 mm lens.

Body with Lens Attached

Photos: Body with A12 M-mount expansion unit attached and Voigtländer SNAPSHOT Skopar 25mm f/4 Pancake lens

Some Technical Data

Focal length	25 mm (37.5 mm equiv.)
Angle of view (35mm film)	82° diagonal
Maximum aperture	4
f-stop range	4-22
Number of iris blades	10
Number of lenses/groups	5/7
Shortest distance	0.7 m
Weight	90 g
Length	29.5 mm
Maximum diameter	49.5 mm
Filter thread	unknown
Lens hood	separate, screw-mount
Mount	M39

Depth of field table for the Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4 (valid for 35 mm film or a full-format sensor):

	F/4.0	F/5.6	F/8.0	F/11	F/16	F/22
0.7m	0.62-0.80	0.60-0.85	0.57-0.,93	0.52-1.07	0.48-1.39	0.42-2.40
1.0m	0.,85-1.23	0.80-1.35	0.74-1.58	0.67-2.08	0.,59-3.88	0.50-∞
1.5m	1.17-2.11	1.08-2.50	0.97-3.48	0.84-7.84	0.72-∞	0.59-∞
3.0m	1.89-7.46	1.66-17.54	1.40-∞	1.15-∞	0.92-∞	0.72-∞
∞	4.93-∞	3.58-∞	2.54-∞	1.81-∞	1.29-∞	0.93-∞

Sample Images

Here are first samples taken with the Voigtländer Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4 Pancake lens (click the images to view the unprocessed original files in a new window). Some shots were taken at the same place but at different times and with different lighting.

Conclusions

Disclaimer: I am not a lens expert who sees marked differences between various Leica and/or other lenses. I can check for soft corners, find differences in color rendition, and, in rare cases, may discover a "3D look", but that's all. Please regard therefore my conclusions as the verdict of a "layman".

I have too little experience with the Voigtländer Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4 Pancake lens to draw any definite conclusions on this lens. However, the silver lens looks nice on the black Ricoh GXR body, which I did not expect. It is also a very handy lens - and it seems indeed to be an all-purpose lens on the Ricoh GXR, where it comes close to a classic 35 mm lens (actually, its equivalent focal length lies between 35 and 40 mm).

Note: At the end of 2016, I decided to exchange this lens against the Leica Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH. lens to have less trouble and work with color shading (since I am a JPG shooter...) when the lens is used at the Leica M (Typ 240). I tried to sell it but then decided to give it away to a friend in mid-January 2017. I am therefore no longer able to update this page or to answer questions about this lens.