httivals wrote:
Are people sure that the CA pointed out with tree branches is caused by the lens, as opposed to the sensor, electronics, and/or a limitation of the Bayer filter/algorithm or a combination of the sensor and these other possible factors?
As far as I know CA is always caused by the lens, and the color shifts shown in the samples are definitely longitudinal CA.
I think color moire on the other hand is something that is caused by the filtering / processing.
I have held the 65APO before, it's a bit too heavy imo but the biggest issue is the focus throw is quite long.
The 50APO is a lot more "normal" to use which is ideal given how flexible this focal length is.
The more I use this lens, the more it reminds me of the 55/1.8 in terms of the image rendering.
I wonder if any user here feel the same?
I might do a comparison between my mikaton 50 .95 V2 and the 50APO as well, just for the sake of the 50mm battle
Another remark:
The aperture ring isn't as clicky compared to all my M mount voigtlander lens, sometimes it would be at F2.2 without my noticing.
Kildras wrote:
I have held the 65APO before, it's a bit too heavy imo but the biggest issue is the focus throw is quite long.
The 50APO is a lot more "normal" to use which is ideal given how flexible this focal length is.
The more I use this lens, the more it reminds me of the 55/1.8 in terms of the image rendering.
I wonder if any user here feel the same?
I might do a comparison between my mikaton 50 .95 V2 and the 50APO as well, just for the sake of the 50mm battle
Another remark:
The aperture ring isn't as clicky compared to all my M mount voigtlander lens, sometimes it would be at F2.2 without my noticing....Show more →
How about a Sony 55/1.8 comparison? I have a remarkable copy of the Sony 55. That (and an excellent Voigtlander 40/1.2 for manual focus) keeps me from biting on the 50APO. I am familiar with the CA from the Sony, but don't find it to be a big issue for the majority of shots. I'm guessing there won't be much difference stopped down. I like that the Sony is smaller/lighter and has AF.
pdmphoto wrote:
How about a Sony 55/1.8 comparison? I have a remarkable copy of the Sony 55. That (and an excellent Voigtlander 40/1.2 for manual focus) keeps me from biting on the 50APO. I am familiar with the CA from the Sony, but don't find it to be a big issue for the majority of shots. I'm guessing there won't be much difference stopped down. I like that the Sony is smaller/lighter and has AF.
The Sony 55/1.8 ZA is a great lens capable of high resolution across the field.
I'm pretty sure it will have lower contrast and much higher color aberration though. (Onion ring pattern in specular highlights too)
I will test it against the 50/2 APO.
I've never seen a normal lens more unlike the 55/1.8 (which I also bought on release in 2013). Color purity/neutrality/depth, bokeh quality, LoCA for sure, then the intangibles that take time to see: impeccable depth representation, f2 distant shots, even reflections.
But, we all shoot different subject matter/light and see results in our own way. And it's hard to extrapolate from one to the other based on reviews alone, which by their nature are looking into the far reaches of aberrations, as seen above. Few very expensive lenses even fully satisfy such investigations, as I have outlined above in this thread, with examples.
The AOV/DOF really works for it as compared with the too-long 65mm, for common apertures, and leaves one hungering for a 35mm version. Bokeh fade becomes much more important in such a 50mm and this is where you need to do your homework. For the high SBR I shoot, I'm very happy. They clearly made it for handholding too, it stays very sharp and scales at just over 1000g on an a7rII.
I was impressed with review of V50/2 and purchased it from CameraQuest. The outcome is exactly as he explained. Better than any 50mm overall (color rendition, Chromatic aberration control and etc.) I think Loxia 50/2 color is great, Opera 50mm is artistic, Sam Yang 50mm SP is also very unique, and Sony 55/1.8 AF is also fantastic (I think best AF for Sony 50mm), and Sigma 50mm is bit mechanical with wide variation of focus accuracy. One of the most closer to V50/2 in resolution is Contax G 45mm that is remarkably sharp. For landscape, V50/2 would be dominate for long period. I strongly recommend as one of the best 50mm for landscape manual lens as mentioned by Fred already.
I’d be thrilled with a 35 2.0 or a 28 2.0 APO. Insta-buy.
philip_pj wrote:
I've never seen a normal lens more unlike the 55/1.8 (which I also bought on release in 2013). Color purity/neutrality/depth, bokeh quality, LoCA for sure, then the intangibles that take time to see: impeccable depth representation, f2 distant shots, even reflections.
But, we all shoot different subject matter/light and see results in our own way. And it's hard to extrapolate from one to the other based on reviews alone, which by their nature are looking into the far reaches of aberrations, as seen above. Few very expensive lenses even fully satisfy such investigations, as I have outlined above in this thread, with examples.
The AOV/DOF really works for it as compared with the too-long 65mm, for common apertures, and leaves one hungering for a 35mm version. Bokeh fade becomes much more important in such a 50mm and this is where you need to do your homework. For the high SBR I shoot, I'm very happy. They clearly made it for handholding too, it stays very sharp and scales at just over 1000g on an a7rII....Show more →
keepcoding wrote:
And you As stated before, the color shift is most noticable when looking at the image globally. I can even see it if I watch it on my phone screen.
Are you referring to a color shift towards the corners? I feel like some of these images posted look more magenta in the corners.
Landscapes, my word, and you can see this in several of Bob's and Tim's images in the FE thread. But it's the sheer versatility that will win many over at the end of the day. It was inspired by the Leica M APO 50mm, hence the luscious bokeh and skin-softness, and very pleasing skin tones (lenses are most of what is euphemistically called 'color science'). A rare combination. These are untouched:
httivals wrote:
Are people sure that the CA pointed out with tree branches is caused by the lens, as opposed to the sensor, electronics, and/or a limitation of the Bayer filter/algorithm or a combination of the sensor and these other possible factors?
I think it can safely be attributed to only the lens, as I’ve never experienced any CA with the Voigtlander 110mm.
However, I think anyone not giving this lens a try because of some extremely minor CA is really missing out and missing the point of it. What @philip_pj said perfectly sums up what makes this lens so special, “Color purity/neutrality/depth, bokeh quality, LoCA for sure, then the intangibles that take time to see: impeccable depth representation, f2 distant shots, even reflections.”
Some people do need perfection in some aberrations, and CA at 100% is one of them. But balancing aberrations separates the great ones from the very good ones. I referred to the competitors of this A-L because even $4000-$8000 leaves you with some very obvious flaws that affect the whole image. It's easy to provide more examples, like the Otus 55 thread here:
Not everyone only wants an f8 50/2 with strong image quality there - so here bokeh is a big deal, hence the f2.8 aperture move. Others will be more inclined to agree with Ming Thein and Viktor on the APO issue and the micro-contrast boost. I believe Cosina has got the balance in a better place than both the (2012) APO Leica Summicron-M 50/2 and the (2013) 55/1.4 Otus. Their glass is new even since those days, as well, which certainly helps.
Near faultless bokeh and almost no busyness in bokeh balls - these are things that matter much more in my general photography than some tiny fringing - which I am yet to see in any case, but I am not in the habit of working my way around a 42mp file tile-by-tile when the IQ hits me in the face at full size. All will make their decisions, but yes, I do agree regular photographers would be missing out not at least trying this one.
One of the little things I noticed the first time I mounted the lens on my camera was that my hand found the aperture ring and then the focusing ring without looking at the lens. This is trickier with the Voigtlander 110mm as the aperture ring of that APO-Lanthar always seems to hide from my fingers. Back in the day, and my memory is hazy there was a European camera magazine that rated lenses on two parameters one was optical quality and the other parameter was something translatable to the joy-of-use. I think this lens would score well on both parameters.
Also, thanks to everyone for taking the time to post the beautiful images on this thread. All the best, john
On the first day I received my copy, I took this fountain test and found zero aberrations. Albeit, this was not in direct sunlight, so this might be meaningless, but I'm pretty sure the VC 40mm would show aberrations in the same conditions at F2. Even the 85mm GM would as well. I'll have to return on a sunny day and repeat the test to know for certain.
These were all shot in RAW wide open on an a7R iii.
Here's another aberration torture test which puts the focal plane in the middle of two light tubes (guessing LED). If you look really hard for it, you can see a tiny amount of purple fringe in the front of the focal plane and tiny amount of green fringe behind it. You can even see how it gradually increases in the fall off.
The other thing is I tend to expose for highlights. The untouched RAW version of this file barely shows any aberrations when viewed 1:1. However, if I click the auto exposure button, which generally lifts shadows and crushes the highlights, then it becomes more apparent. Even then, I still need to zoom in 2:1 to really notice it.
alphanumeric wrote:
On the first day I received my copy, I took this fountain test and found zero aberrations. Albeit, this was not in direct sunlight, so this might be meaningless, but I'm pretty sure the VC 40mm would show aberrations in the same conditions at F2. Even the 85mm GM would as well. I'll have to return on a sunny day and repeat the test to know for certain.
These were all shot in RAW wide open on an a7R iii.
