p.13 #1 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
GFX100 is sony bsi right? I tested the cv 21 f4 on that and it performed surprisingly well can't seem to find my samples tho. but it might be better suited for b/w work vs the newer model
m43hero wrote:
Reviving this thread.
Anyone have experience with the old(er) Voigtlander Color Skopar 21mm F4.0 or 28mm F3.5 on stock Sony (BSI) sensor?
I'm trying to put together a compact 21/28/50mm travel kit and need some advice. I already have the Nokton 50mm F1.5 II and I'm keeping that lens, as it performs great on my A7RII.
I recently tested the Voigtlander 35mm F2.5 and love the size and rendering of that lens, but found it suffers from smearing in the outer 2/3rds of the image on my A7RII even at F11. Similar issue with the Zeiss Biogon 35mm F2.8. In any case, I am looking for a 28mm, not a 35mm.
I guess the 21 and 28mm being Biogon-based designs will also suffer from corner smearing on the Sony sensor?
I am not looking for optical perfection, but some character and reasonable sharpness stopped-down. I know some will suggest it, but don't like the harsh/crunchy/clinical look of the Ultron 28s. I do have the 7Artisans 28mm F1.4 and love its rendering/performance, but it's a beast of a lens....Show more →
p.13 #2 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
I'm considering having a thin-glass modification done on my a7r3. I suppose with the thinner stack, performance should be comparable to performance on Leica bodies. I've read that auto white balance doesn't work any more after such a modification, but I'm curious whether there are any other side effects?
p.13 #3 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
qqphot wrote:
I'm considering having a thin-glass modification done on my a7r3. I suppose with the thinner stack, performance should be comparable to performance on Leica bodies. I've read that auto white balance doesn't work any more after such a modification, but I'm curious whether there are any other side effects?
In general - yes for the most part. Leica M bodies have in addition to the thinner sensor glass cover micro lenses on top which supposedly do a beneficial effect especially with wider rangefinder glass. I have not seen so far any test where the effect of micro lenses was shown compared to just using the thinner glass cover on the sensor and how much of a visible difference it makes. The thinner glass cover will fit the bill for most rangefinder lenses I believe and will avoid the purple fringing in the corner often seen with standard Sony sensors and adapted M/LTM-mount glass.
Another thing to consider is that the thicker standard Sony sensor glass cover is optimized to be used with SLR and DSLR-sized lenses. Users who had the thin-glass modification claim that they are still able to use E-mount or other (D)SLR glass afterwards without having issues. I haven't seen any test here either for this but could potentially see culprits after such modification with other than rangefinder lenses used.
Currently this thin-glass modification is the best way to obtain an EVF-based camera in use with rangefinder lenses. Leica has currently no equivalent offer for this kind (only OVF-based M cameras, fixed lens Q-series, or much more bulky SL series).
p.13 #4 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
qqphot wrote:
I've read that auto white balance doesn't work any more after such a modification, but I'm curious whether there are any other side effects?
The other thing to be mindful of is that the ultra-thin mod glass is more fragile and you have to be a lot more careful when wet-cleaning with a swab. I don't know about you, but my Sony cameras' sensor glass always picks up and retains a lot of dust; I use a rocket blower several times a week and usually have to do a wet-clean two or three times per year to get rid of the more stubborn particles that can't be blown off. The higher risk of breaking the glass during cleaning has been the main thing keeping me from getting a Kolari mod, but I think I'll go ahead and do it anyway.
p.13 #5 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
m43hero wrote:
Reviving this thread.
Anyone have experience with the old(er) Voigtlander Color Skopar 21mm F4.0 or 28mm F3.5 on stock Sony (BSI) sensor?
I'm trying to put together a compact 21/28/50mm travel kit and need some advice. I already have the Nokton 50mm F1.5 II and I'm keeping that lens, as it performs great on my A7RII.
I recently tested the Voigtlander 35mm F2.5 and love the size and rendering of that lens, but found it suffers from smearing in the outer 2/3rds of the image on my A7RII even at F11. Similar issue with the Zeiss Biogon 35mm F2.8. In any case, I am looking for a 28mm, not a 35mm.
I guess the 21 and 28mm being Biogon-based designs will also suffer from corner smearing on the Sony sensor?
I am not looking for optical perfection, but some character and reasonable sharpness stopped-down. I know some will suggest it, but don't like the harsh/crunchy/clinical look of the Ultron 28s. I do have the 7Artisans 28mm F1.4 and love its rendering/performance, but it's a beast of a lens....Show more →
I do own both lenses, the old(er) Voigtlander Color Skopar 21mm F4.0 and the heavy brass 28mm F3.5.
While I liked them on the NEX-5n 16 MP APS-C sensor, I don't use them on my A7RII, because IMHO they don't perform well enough on the 42 MP full-frame sensor (neither does the M-Hexanon 28mm for example).
p.13 #6 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
I have several older Voigtlander lenses, originally bought mainly to use on film Leicas and a Voigtlander R2.
15mm 4.5 vers 1, 21mmf/4, 28/1.9, 35/2.5 and 75/2.5
The Nex 5n and the 6 had, for reasons best known to Sony, a thinnercover glass than others apart from Leica, all those lenses worked well on the Nex 6 I had. Only the 28/1.9 and the 75/2.5 were useable on the Sony A7 I had, and they also work well on my Fujis. The 15 /4.5 is OK on the Fujis too (aps-c of course, not large format) but not as good as the Fuji 14mm at the edges.
p.13 #11 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
'..35/1.5 work on the 60mp Sony bodies?'
'Infinity performance on the Sony A74
The Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton is not optimized for the thicker Sony sensor and therefore this combination degrades image quality considerably. There is more astigmatism and extreme field curvature when using the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.5 Nokton on the Sony A74 body. Expect even more side effects when using this lens on higher resolution Sony bodies.
The lens is sharp wide open and perform very well at center but due to induced field curvature, it performs poorly at mid-field and corners unless stopping the lens down to f/8 where it's actually a great performer even on the Sony.'
p.13 #14 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
qqphot wrote:
I'm considering having a thin-glass modification done on my a7r3. I suppose with the thinner stack, performance should be comparable to performance on Leica bodies. I've read that auto white balance doesn't work any more after such a modification, but I'm curious whether there are any other side effects?
Ultra wide lenses with a large aperture become problematic.
The new Sigma 14mm / f1.4 which is quite sharp on unmodified cameras clearly deteriorates on thin-glas modified Sony cameras.
(Unfortunately several reknown lens testers have not been upfront with this, when they tested the Sigma 14/f1.4, thus badmouthing it‘s performance while the real problem is, that they used a modified camera while the Sigma is calculated for a thick stack. At f1.4 this clearly makes a difference, especially in ultra wide angle lenses).
p.13 #15 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
Knut. wrote:
Ultra wide lenses with a large aperture become problematic.
The new Sigma 14mm / f1.4 which is quite sharp on unmodified cameras clearly deteriorates on thin-glas modified Sony cameras.
(Unfortunately several reknown lens testers have not been upfront with this, when they tested the Sigma 14/f1.4, thus badmouthing it‘s performance while the real problem is, that they used a modified camera while the Sigma is calculated for a thick stack. At f1.4 this clearly makes a difference, especially in ultra wide angle lenses).
Hmm, are there any renowned testers that have and use a thin-stack camera for native lens reviews?
p.13 #16 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
Knut. wrote:
Ultra wide lenses with a large aperture become problematic.
The new Sigma 14mm / f1.4 which is quite sharp on unmodified cameras clearly deteriorates on thin-glas modified Sony cameras.
(Unfortunately several reknown lens testers have not been upfront with this, when they tested the Sigma 14/f1.4, thus badmouthing it‘s performance while the real problem is, that they used a modified camera while the Sigma is calculated for a thick stack. At f1.4 this clearly makes a difference, especially in ultra wide angle lenses).
This is interesting - first time I read that a DSLR-like lens on a thin sensor stack causes issues. I suspected issues of using lenses made for thicker sensor stacks but used on [modified] thin stack sensors in the past which was always dismissed as being a no-issue. This can be important if a MLC is modified having a thin Leica-like sensor stack but still sometimes be used with SLR and DSLR-lenses, too.
p.13 #17 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
retrofocus wrote:
This is interesting - first time I read that a DSLR-like lens on a thin sensor stack causes issues. I suspected issues of using lenses made for thicker sensor stacks but used on [modified] thin stack sensors in the past which was always dismissed as being a no-issue. This can be important if a MLC is modified having a thin Leica-like sensor stack but still sometimes be used with SLR and DSLR-lenses, too.
The Contax N 85/1.4 showed a worse performance on a stock than modded sensor as well.
p.13 #19 · Best Voigtlander M-mount lenses for Leica and Sony sensors
j4nu wrote:
Hmm, are there any renowned testers that have and use a thin-stack camera for native lens reviews?
TimWildAstro wrote:
I saw this review and instantly thought that the field curvature looked like a modified camera (astromod). Either that or an extremely bad copy of the lens, so I asked the reviewer. I was right, they confirmed the tests were done on a modified camera. If I was Sigma I'd be very annoyed, as most people would just see those very poor corners and believe it. The reviewer said that the mod doesn't affect performance but this is absolutely false in almost (I'll say almost, but it's almost certainly every) every case, especially with a wide angle lens.
…
The quote comes from the Sony forum on this site (thread concerning the Sigma 14/1.4).
Diglloyd also reported poor performance for the Sigma and I always believed he also tests on a modified Sony. (But in this latter case, I‘m not completely sure. I‘m no longer a subscriber).
