p.1 #1 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
Just a heads-up for anyone interested.
Received a mailshot from Robert White, they are selling off their stock of the discontinued Voigtlander 90mm Apo Lanthar (EF mount) for £235.20
p.1 #4 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
I am trying to sell mine (SL I version), but it is impossible to get a decent price. Obviously this is also the case at Robert White for a new sample. And also the reason why it is discontinued this fast.
How fantastic this lens is, there is hardly demand for it.
p.1 #6 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
wiseguy010 wrote:
I am trying to sell mine (SL I version), but it is impossible to get a decent price. Obviously this is also the case at Robert White for a new sample. And also the reason why it is discontinued this fast.
How fantastic this lens is, there is hardly demand for it.
MF SLR lenses, especially slow ones (remember, the 90 is ƒ/3.5) when videographers need speed, are a hard sell in a limited market during a bad global economy. It was a noble effort by Cosina to revive this one AND include close-focus diopters. I'd have to say that of all the SLII lenses presently out there, this is probably the highest performer of the lot. Frankly, I don't expect the 28 to last long, the 20 is quite a dog (and should have been revised or never released as-is) while the 75, announced almost 18 months ago is still nowhere to be seen.
The CV 125 was a virtual 'give-away' at the end of its production days, selling for something like US500-750 when it listed at $999.
p.1 #10 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
Lars Johnsson wrote:
You will love that small lens & great IQ.
Not necessarily. I didn't. While being very good for closeups, I found it quite dull and flat rendering at longer distances. The vignetting is also terrible at f/3.5 (just as with the 40/2 wide open).
Non the less, the price is really good. But don't expect Zeiss IQ.
May 20, 2013 at 09:31 AM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #11 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
Makten wrote:
Not necessarily. I didn't. While being very good for closeups, I found it quite dull and flat rendering at longer distances. The vignetting is also terrible at f/3.5 (just as with the 40/2 wide open).
Non the less, the price is really good. But don't expect Zeiss IQ.
And don't expect Zeiss price , Zeiss weight, Zeiss size, Zeiss 100 violet fringing (LOCA) either The vignetting is also similar on a few of my Zeiss ZE lenses........
p.1 #12 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
I think you can expect Zeiss IQ, but it draws differently. Lloyd Chambers tested it on the D800(E). It was excellent.
May 20, 2013 at 12:36 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #13 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
Lloyds conclusion:
Conclusions
The 90mm f/3.5 APO-Lanthar is a lovely little lens with top image quality. Anyone looking for outstanding optical quality in a compact package should be looking hard at the 90/3.5.
The Voigtlander 90mm f/3.5 APO-Lanthar appears to be a beautifully flat-field lens (no field curvature). Image sharpness is outstanding to the corners, even wide open.
p.1 #14 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
You are both right, and I was just trying to put this lens in perspective of the generally high standards and demands of the members of this forum. I would certainly not be (and wasn't) thrilled with the IQ if was accustomed with Leica and Zeiss glass, that's for sure. I'd rate the 90/3.5 about the same as a good, modern Nikkor. Which are very good, but slightly boring.
Don't buy this lens just because it's cheap, if the specs don't fit what you are really looking for. In this case, a very small lens mostly for closeups or stopped down a bit for more general use.
p.1 #15 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
Look, it isn't a 'dreamy portrait lens' like the Z* 85 or Nikkor 85/1.4 AIS or even Leica R 80 wide-open. It's a true short tele and the near-APO nature of the glass leaves it free of the CA plaguing the others. Colors are rendered with a particular purity. Might be boring to some, I guess. It isn't expensive and so my guess is that there's a bit of sample variation (have no evidence for this, just speculation). Maybe your sample wasn't up to snuff. I've shot with an SLI version and when I need a sharp, CA-free short tele, that ends up as my choice. I remember a review by Erwin Puts on the M-version (identical optical formula to the SL) and he adjudged it the equal of the Leica M 90 Elmarit.
p.1 #16 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
j.liam wrote:
Look, it isn't a 'dreamy portrait lens' like the Z* 85 or Nikkor 85/1.4 AIS or even Leica R 80 wide-open. It's a true short tele and the near-APO nature of the glass leaves it free of the CA plaguing the others. Colors are rendered with a particular purity. Might be boring to some, I guess. It isn't expensive and so my guess is that there's a bit of sample variation (have no evidence for this, just speculation). Maybe your sample wasn't up to snuff. I've shot with an SLI version and when I need a sharp, CA-free short tele, that ends up as my choice. I remember a review by Erwin Puts on the M-version (identical optical formula to the SL) and he adjudged it the equal of the Leica M 90 Elmarit....Show more →
Well, the "dreamy portait lenses" are usually extremely sharp and free from aberrations at f/3.5, but of course much larger and in many cases more expensive. I personally prefer the humble Nikkor 85/1.8 pre-AI which is much cheaper and only 100 grams heavier. Works very good with an apochromatic closeup lens too.
p.1 #17 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
The 'much heavier' part was what I was going back to add. Thank you. That Nikkor is indeed a nice lens with extra speed. But the CV is chipped, which adds a bit of convenience.
p.1 #18 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
You can buy excellent condition Contax 85/2.8 or 100/3.5 lenses for $350-450. Slow high quality lenses provide consistently excellent performance in a small package, perhaps an outdated concept these days. The need for speed dominates the imagination.
'Well, the "dreamy portait lenses" are usually extremely sharp and free from aberrations at f/3.5'
Not in my research into the subject - the effort required to get the things (short teles) to work at f1.4 (SA is a massive issue for correction, for example, about an order of magnitude harder than with an f2.8 lens) means they are pretty ordinary at mid apertures - esp in corners. In the case of Leica R, the 80/1.4 never gets within a bull's roar of the 90AA or 100/2.8 at best apertures. Probably also the less exalted 90mm lenses.
p.1 #20 · Heads Up: CV 90mm apo £235.20 at Robertwhite
j.liam wrote:
Look, it isn't a 'dreamy portrait lens' like the Z* 85 or Nikkor 85/1.4 AIS or even Leica R 80 wide-open. It's a true short tele and the near-APO nature of the glass leaves it free of the CA plaguing the others.
I think that what Makten meant was that the CV90/3.5 doesn't have the character/pop of a Zeiss lens. Similarly, Snowboarder, who has the both the CV125/2.5 and ZF100/2 said that although the CV125 is a better lens technically, it can't do what the ZF100/2 can do at longer distances (showing a sample shot of a train taken with the 100/2, if you remember that).
