Klaus at Photozone did a couple of tests of this ; he found that the SLR version was great and the LS mount version less so (I think these were tested on APS Sony cameras but I'm not sure)
This could easily be sample variation though. The LS version is smaller which appeals
There might be a couple of versions of the SLR one: SL and SL2 but this will just be about contacts etc, not optics.
I had one in EF mount which is I used on Sony. It was great, but really, didn't bring anything to the table that a number of other lenses do. I think I sold it in favour of the ZM85 which was lighter and at least as good.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I've been looking at this lens to adapt to the E-mount but there are a few variants.
Which one is the best for the Sony sensor and what's to expect compared to modern 85-90 lenses?
I've got a Nikon mount version with the CPU (SL2 I guess).
On my D800 it was hard to get a sharp image because the focusing was very very sensitive at infinity - i.e., very slight changes make significant different in the sharpness. The not very good live view on the D800 did not help.
But on my A7RIII + adapter I can get very sharp images right from wide open.
Stopping down doesn't improve the sharpness drastically last time I checked.
Is it as sharp as other 90 or 85mm offerings? Not sure since I only have the 85/1.8 Sony and 85/4 ZM.
This is one lens that I'm currently holding onto to maybe some day buy a Nikkon Z7 + Adapter to use.
It would be great if there was a Nikon to Sony adapter with simple CPU support so the lens could be recognized by my A7RIII (or future A7RIV).
EDIT: I guess there are some Nikon F to Sony FE electronic adapters that would work with my SL2 90/3.5. I'll need to get one since I have the 45/2.8 AI-P, 90/3.5 SLII, and 135/2 Zeiss ZF.2. Not a bad set of lenses to have on my A7RIII
Jeff Kott wrote:
John Hinkey turned me on to a nice used copy of the Leica 90/4 and then I did a comparison of that lens to my CV 90/3.5 LTM and my 90 Cron AA here:
Does it has to be the Voigtlander ? How about the
Leica APO-Summicron-M 90mm f/2 ASPH. I used to use it on my Sony E. I have not tried it in some time. Will take it out again and take it for a spin.
I used to have the 90/3.5 LTM version but I eventually sold it since I prefer the Konica M-Hexanon 90/2.8 especially when it came to close-ups and bokeh. I found the close up bokeh rendering on the CV to be somewhat harsh sometimes, although it was better than Konica in infinity shots.
The LTM version is 260g and has MFD of 1m while the SL v1 version is 390g and has MFD of 0.5m. There is also SL v2 that was lighter than v1 at 320g and had a close-up lens option, and Nikon S-mount version (85/3.5). The optical designs look same.
SL2 was introduced in 2010, 8-9 years later than LTM and SL v1 versions so there might have been some additional improvements that are not visible in the specsheets. Looks like SL2 came with a close-focus accessory lens in the box. Canon SL2 version seems to have no aperture ring on the lens so it would not be a good one for adapting. Pentax KA SL2 was only in production for a couple of months and seems to be rare.
2nd hand prices for SL2 versions seem to be noticeably higher (in Japan) than LTM and SL1 and I think SL2 availability is more limited.
I have the APO-Lanthar SLII variant in F mount. It's a great lens. When shooting on Nikon the hard stop was perfectly calibrated, unfortunately with my adapter it's slightly out so infinity is just before the hard stop. It does not appear to suffer at all aside from this from being adapted, with IQ just as excellent as on it's native mount. A great small, sharp little lens, although not so small once the adapter is added.
I had an APO-Lanthar for a SLR camera with an M42 thread.
The rangefinder version has the same optical design but a different aperture shape.
The aperture of the SLR version is rounded and it turns out not nice sunstars.
From paired landscape shots it seemed to me that the Apo-Lanthar was slightly superior to the 90AA.
I also have the SL II Nikon mount. It operates well on Sony.
Although I don't have any direct comparison I am quite sure it is not as sharp as say a Milvus 85 at f/4 - f/5.6.
FWIW it covers a 44x33 mm sensor well. Good resolution out to the corners, but takes a hit on contrast. As with any other adapted small format lens, it vignettes and the CA increases rapidly towards the corners.
This lens was from an era when Cosina was playing second fiddle to Zeiss and just churning out run of the mill lenses (with the possible exception of APO Lanthar 125/2.5).
I hope there will be a stellar version soon from the new Cosina.
realVivek wrote:
This lens was from an era when Cosina was playing second fiddle to Zeiss and just churning out run of the mill lenses (with the possible exception of APO Lanthar 125/2.5).
The CV 58/1.4 is also superior to the Planar 50/1.4 ZF IMO.
I had this Voigtlander 90 f/3.5 APO SL Canon mount. It is probably of the lenses that I have had, the one that was the most disappointing. It was fairly sharp, but not with the greatest contrast, but the real problem with my copy was quite a bit of fringing or axial CA. Certainly not what I expected from a f/3.5 APO lens but maybe my expectations were too high.
I have had both the Leica M 90 f/4 Macro and the Leica M 90 f/2 APO and I liked both of these lenses a lot more. The Leica M 90 f/4 is wonderfully compact when it collapses and I found the small aperture performance to be excellent. You do get a little lateral CA towards the corners (which cleans up well in post) and a little sharpness drop towards the corners as well.
My favorite of these three, however, was the M 90 f/2 APO which was a fantastic performer even on Sony (it was just a tad better on the Leica M10, I think). The 90 AA is very sharp, has a very flat field, has quite good control of CA (similar to the new Voigtlander 50 f/2 APO from the looks of those samples), and surprisingly to me bokeh that I really liked. It worked very well for portraits, street, and landscapes. It does have a long MFD and closer than 1.5M or so you get a slight drop in performance.
I have the F-mount SL-II version of the CV90/3.5. On a 24mp sensor it's about as good as the Zeiss MP 100/2 and ZM 85/4 at similar apertures. The Zeiss lenses have better global contrast and a preferable color palette to my eyes. For an APO labeled lens it is not APO like the current CV generation, there will be LoCA until f/5.6. Focusing at longer distances is challenging as well.
The benefits are that it is a really compact 90mm SLR lens that close focuses natively and comes with a close-focus diopter. As I'm now shooting a Z6 it's regained a spot in the bag as I can get EXIF and it has a similar family look to the CV 40/2 and 20/3.5 lenses for editing. Speaking of the 20/3.5, not the greatest lens by any stretch but so tiny I can't help but carry it with the other 2.
Compared it to the Loxia 85 at infinity a while back and it's not a Loxia but it was 90% of the way there, with sharpness being very close but other intangibles lagging like you'd expect.
Thanks for the info guys! Since I wanted a compact 85-90mm solely for landscapes, I think I will re-purchased the Zeiss 85/4 ZM. (Regret selling my copy)
If I come across a CV 90/3.5 APO, I will compare it to the Zeiss.
Fred Miranda wrote:
Did the Zeiss 85/4 ZM get discontinued? I don't see it for sell at B&H Photo / Adorama.
There's been no announcement of discontinuation at least in Cosina's site but Zeiss might not allow them to make such announcements even if production has actually ended... Sometime in the past Cosina made a number of discontinuation announcements for classic Zeiss SLR lenses (that were being replaced by Milvus) and then retracted those announcements shortly after...
In Japan it seems that this lens has limited availability in shops now as well, a few have limited stock but many are out of stock with statuses like "direct order from the maker". It might just mean that the previous production run has almost run out but there might still be future production runs later...
