Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

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Archive 2009 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

James Wei
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p.1 #1 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

This lens has been in my posession for a while. A lens that is kept in absolutely pristine condition.

After some intermittent use, I found this lens a very special one.

You might say that the maximum aperture of this lens is only f4.

However, this lens is so much smaller than any lenses I own with similar focal length. The lens is totally made of metal with low weight. Beautiful lens for a lens collector.

F4 allows me to manual focus a lot easier for distant subjects. The images are crispy and sharp from corner to corner. The bokeh is also pleasant typically from Apo version of Voigtlander lenses.

[COLOR="Blue"][B]VL 180mm f4 Gallery[/B][/COLOR]

I am so happy that this lens is now in my posession.

Apr 12, 2009 at 06:14 AM

thrice
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p.1 #2 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

It's a badass little lens indeed... here's a slightly abstract shot from it. I almost always shoot it wide open.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

It is a lens with no weaknesses!

Apr 12, 2009 at 07:57 AM

wayne seltzer
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p.1 #3 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

thrice wrote:
It's a badass little lens indeed... here's a slightly abstract shot from it. I almost always shoot it wide open.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

It is a lens with no weaknesses!

1. No f2.8, it's a stop slower than Leica 180 2.8 APO.
2. Doesn't work with extenders right?

Still a real great lens, especially for the money if you can find one.

Apr 12, 2009 at 08:48 AM

wiseguy010
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p.1 #4 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

Lloyd Chambers tested the Voigtlander against the Leica 180 2.8 APO. The Voigtlander was only by a small margin less than the Leica but far better than anything else (including the Nikon 180/2.8 and Nikon 70-200). It is a heck of a lens for the money (and I am glad I have one

Apr 12, 2009 at 03:30 PM

thrice
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p.1 #5 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

And it weighs about the same as a fast 50. Don't even notice it in the bag.

Apr 13, 2009 at 02:42 AM

Justin D
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p.1 #6 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

It does have one weakness. It's very hard to eye focus for a long lens.

Apr 13, 2009 at 02:45 AM

thrice
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p.1 #7 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

Justin D wrote:
It does have one weakness. It's very hard to eye focus for a long lens.

Really? I've never had any problems! which body/screen?

Apr 13, 2009 at 05:19 AM

Justin D
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p.1 #8 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

5DII w/ brightened EG-S which is fine with, for instance, an 85 2.8 and a 135 2.8. It is as hard to focus by eye as a wide f2, in my experience.

Apr 13, 2009 at 05:25 AM

thrice
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p.1 #9 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

how odd... it's a very high contrast and well corrected lens with a very sharp plane of focus and very diffuse out of focus areas, stands to reason that it would be easy to focus. You sure your viewfinder is properly calibrated and shimmed?

Apr 13, 2009 at 06:11 AM

IDURITA
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p.1 #10 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

How to adapt this lens to a Canon EOS 5D ? Is their also an AF confirm adapter available ?
Obviously this lens can be purchased new ?

Apr 13, 2009 at 06:41 AM

jcolwell
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p.1 #11 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

I generally have few problems focusing my 180 on a 5D with original screen.

Apr 13, 2009 at 10:55 AM

jcolwell
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p.1 #12 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

IDURITA wrote:
How to adapt this lens to a Canon EOS 5D ? Is their also an AF confirm adapter available ?
Obviously this lens can be purchased new ?

I have a Nikon-F mount version that I use with a Nikon to EOS focus-confirmation adapter, although I more often use the finder image to focus than the focus-confirmation light.

I bought my 180 new from Stephen Gandy's CameraQuest, but they haven't had any for about a year. I don't know where you could find a new one now; maybe eBay.

P.S. it's "focus confirmation", not "AF confirmation".

Apr 13, 2009 at 11:01 AM

Conner999
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p.1 #13 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

The Eg-S like the 1 series Ec-S and 5D's Ee-S while having very fine micro-prism structures are darker (~2 stops IIRC, maybe less) than stock screens; and at F4-5.6 this may be causing an issue for some. I use the Ec-CIV in my 1Ds2 and it works very well at slow apertures for lenses like my 180/4 APO.

Apr 13, 2009 at 11:21 AM

Justin D
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p.1 #14 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

You sure your viewfinder is properly calibrated and shimmed?Pretty certain. I haven't worked out an easy test for this (if you know of one, give me a heads up), but I have little trouble focusing other lenses, such as the Rokkor 58 1.2, which I had trouble focusing on my old 5D.

It's not that it's impossible to focus by eye. It's just not as easy as other, faster long lenses. It's more like a wide fast lens. There are reports around of other people finding it difficult, and I was aware of it before I got the lens, but its size/IQ make it worth the trouble. It's still worth mentioning, IMO, that it will be more difficult to focus than you might expect of a long lens.

Apr 13, 2009 at 10:28 PM

Justin D
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p.1 #15 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

The Eg-S like the 1 series Ec-S and 5D's Ee-S while having very fine micro-prism structures are darker
Yeah, it's a brightscreen treated EG-S, so it's about the same as a stock screen, give or take.

Apr 13, 2009 at 10:29 PM

Conner999
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p.1 #16 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

Gotcha.

Apr 13, 2009 at 10:56 PM

wayne seltzer
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p.1 #17 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

Two questions:

1) Am I right in assuming this lens does not work with an extender?
2) How come Voigtlander doesn't still make this lens which should be pretty popular since it has to compete only against the 200 f2.8L (which it beats in resolution and is also APO) and is cheaper than the very expensive Leica 180 APO 2.8? Wasn't this lens selling new for ~$600?

Apr 14, 2009 at 01:08 AM

jcolwell
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p.1 #18 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

It'll work with an extender that doesn't have a protruding element, like the Kenko Teleplus Pro 300 and Tamron SP series, but it gets pretty slow. OTOH, I had great results with a Tamron SP 300/5.6 on Pentax film bodies, so the 180/4 + 1.4x TC would probably be quite good in bright light.

Cosina is pretty busy producing Carl Zeiss lenses right now. I don't think that high popularity on this forum translates into many sales, on a global scale. Any spare capacity at Cosina is probably being used up making the new Voigtlander (Bessa III) folding 67 film camera (too bad it's not digital

Apr 14, 2009 at 11:13 AM

Csquare4
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p.1 #19 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

jcolwell wrote:
Any spare capacity at Cosina is probably being used up making the new Voigtlander (Bessa III) folding 67 film camera (too bad it's not digital

).

Well, the SL-II series are still in production. The 20 f/3.5 seems to be hitting my sweet spot right now.

Apr 14, 2009 at 02:13 PM

jcolwell
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p.1 #20 · Voigtlander 180mm f4 APo Lanthar SL II

Csquare4 wrote:
jcolwell wrote:
Any spare capacity at Cosina is probably being used up making the new Voigtlander (Bessa III) folding 67 film camera (too bad it's not digital

).

Well, the SL-II series are still in production. The 20 f/3.5 seems to be hitting my sweet spot right now.

Good point.

Apr 14, 2009 at 03:16 PM

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