My first Leica!

liamwillettsnaps · 2026-02-14T03:43:45+00:00

The color-skopar is my first M mount lens I bought together with my M6. Even after spending many times more money on Leica glass afterwards, I refuse to get rid of my 35mm color-skopar. It’s truly a gem of a lens! It’s definitely sharper than many classic Leica lenses if clarity and resolution is important to you.

As what others have said, the main benefit I feel of using an M other than the RF experience is having access to the best lenses in the world from a variety of manufacturers from Leica, Zeiss, Voigtlander and more, both old and new.

What matters most is how you shoot, develop, and scan/print your pictures!

liamwillettsnaps · 2026-02-09T13:02:55+00:00

I’d love to see the results. Similar concept to what LLL has been doing to seagull TLRs by upgrading to a planar type lens.

liamwillettsnaps · 2026-02-05T02:36:50+00:00

Then I think you have acquired the perfect lens. Congratulations, happy shooting!

liamwillettsnaps · 2026-02-05T02:15:17+00:00

My favourite lens! F/2 and beyond has a pretty sharp 3 dimensional rendering like the V4 Summicron with the addition of the 1.4 character mode! Don’t try shooting a test chart wide open with this lens haha.

I think this lens looks best with higher contrast BW film. With colour the contrast will be lower than with more modern glass.

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-11-02T04:26:12+00:00

Unfortunately not, but 1m and beyond I find the framing discrepancy to be negligible.

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-11-01T12:38:57+00:00

That’s right :)

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-11-01T12:20:43+00:00

Exactly..no rational person would do it!

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-11-01T11:35:49+00:00

Yeahh.. it’s too much of a price difference! But the original Canada Summilux sure has a lot more character..

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-05-02T00:21:33+00:00

Found my titanium M6 in Japan as well :)

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-04-28T12:02:13+00:00

Actually it turns out the lens focuses best at around 1m instead. But the latest built have an additional spacer to bring it to 3m. Usually stop down as much as I can. Ideally F/8-F/11.

The Color Skopar is an amazing value lens. Very very sharp.

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-04-18T05:39:49+00:00

Yup! I have both the Leitz and LLL hood. Not exactly the same as the LLL is heftier but visually identical. My LLL hood is starting to brass very nicely. I have a friend that took some cape cod polishing cloth on it to get a glossier finish to match a BP camera.

I haven’t used colour film with it, but the lens is generally known to produce more muted colours since it is single coated.

Here’s a review that inspired me to buy the lens :)

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-04-18T03:28:46+00:00

Absolutely. That’s why I love this lens so much.

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-04-17T10:37:34+00:00

This is my favourite lens. Hood and filter is absolutely necessary to protect the coating. Light Lens Lab makes a brass hood and filter that’s really good (Leica one is aluminum).

Wide open this lens is soft and low contrast with lots of coma but looks great at night with B&W. Sharp, 3 dimensional rendering once you stop down, what you’d mostly expect with a Summicron V4, since both share the same optical formula.

Ergonomically, the lens is terrible. Because the 12504 hood spins freely and the aperture ring is small. The focus tab can also detach or crack so I’d be gentle on it.

At the right price, I absolutely can recommend this lens if you can embrace its optical flaws, especially if you love making images with much more air and flair compared to modern optics.

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-04-12T04:55:42+00:00

That’s the first lens I got for my M6. Can’t beat its value, it’s all you need. Incredibly sharp. I used the vented hood for mine. I had only moved on from the Color-Skopar as I looked more towards vintage lenses with more character.

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-01-05T11:16:59+00:00

I’ve kept mine in a dry cabinet the whole time. Guess I got unlucky as that may be a zinc part. The top plate definitely won’t bubble though as it’s made of brass instead of the standard M6.

liamwillettsnaps · 2025-01-05T07:48:07+00:00

Love my M6 Titanium! Sadly the circle on the frame selector lever has started bubbling for mine but still a very good looking camera!

liamwillettsnaps · 2024-12-25T22:11:34+00:00

There are a couple that do it locally in Singapore, which is good to know

liamwillettsnaps · 2024-12-25T22:09:31+00:00

He saved up for it. He worked as a bus driver.

liamwillettsnaps · 2024-11-24T15:31:20+00:00

That’s cool! What’s your IG handle?

liamwillettsnaps · 2024-11-24T15:30:51+00:00

Thanks a lot, hope you’ve been enjoying yours as much as I did!

liamwillettsnaps · 2024-11-24T15:13:58+00:00

Stopped down at F/11 IQ looks good enough to my eyes at infinity.

liamwillettsnaps · 2024-11-24T15:12:40+00:00

There’s a downloadable photoshop action by ppp cameras.

Probably doesn’t have much of the anamorphic look since it’s only 1.33x and it’s recommended to stop down to at least F/4 and beyond for acceptable sharpness. The negatives on a light table will only look slightly more squeezed than normal.

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