p.4 #1 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
There are posts where the poster wrote that he chose a Zeiss lens over a sharper lens because he loved the Zeiss color. They were all pretty modern lenses. And the implication was that the Zeiss color was noticeably better. My guess is he never did a comparison of two (or more) lenses on the same subject, at the same time.
AeroPhoto wrote:
There are posts where the poster wrote that he chose a Zeiss lens over a sharper lens because he loved the Zeiss color. They were all pretty modern lenses. And the implication was that the Zeiss color was noticeably better. My guess is he never did a comparison of two (or more) lenses on the same subject, at the same time.
What lenses are they? 1. Voigtlander 35mm Apo/ 2. Loxia 25mm/ 3. Voigtlander 50mm/. ? The color and contrast all look pretty much the same (aside from varying vignetting and slightly varying exposure) - I'm making guesses by the fields of views....
Or are they all Zeiss??
Or all shot with the same Sony or Sigma zoom?
p.4 #6 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
I have vignetting correction off in camera, and I used PhotoMechanic to save a JPEG out of the RAW.....so yeah, I think this is what the vignetting looks like for these lenses.
j4nu wrote:
One thing I don't understand, quite some vignetting for f/9? Or am I just used to vignetting correction ...
p.4 #7 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
Sorry, I used PhotoMechanic to save a JPEG off the RAW files, for some reason it didn't include the Lens ID, which I hadn't expected.
CV 35/2 APO
Loxia 25/2.4
CV 50/2 APO
OscarF wrote:
What lenses are they? 1. Voigtlander 35mm Apo/ 2. Loxia 25mm/ 3. Voigtlander 50mm/. ? The color and contrast all look pretty much the same (aside from varying vignetting and slightly varying exposure) - I'm making guesses by the fields of views....
Or are they all Zeiss??
Or all shot with the same Sony or Sigma zoom?
p.4 #8 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
I'm not sure I processed these exact shots, but I wanted to do a little processing on these as possible, so I just grabbed JPEGs from the RAWs via PhotoMechanic. When I did process shots from this trip, I found I did less work on the Loxia shots, and I tried to make the CV shots look like the Loxia shots. I'm happy with the CV 35 & 50, but if people say the prefer the color with the Loxias, I'm not sure you can completely discount that they have that preference. I can easily pick out the CV 35 & 50 as they look very similar. The Loxia 25 shot to me does look different. They all can produce great results.
A lot can be done via post processing, but you start with what a lens/camera gives you. Would I have tried to make the CV's look more like the Loxia shot if I hadn't shot the Loxia? Probably not. Would I have been happy with the CV 35/50 shots if I just processed them alone, yes. Some of this may be subtle, but there may be reasons why some people say they like the Zeiss colors. Just my humble opinion.
p.4 #10 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
I have a mix of Loxia and CV lenses including the Zeiss 21, 25, and 85mm, the 35, 50, 65, and 110 Lanthars. They are all great lenses in their own right and am happy to own them. When purchasing the 50MM, I was mostly concerned with resolution, distortion, and naturalness of color. That falls in line with my interest in architectural photography and preference for B&W work. I do think that the Zeiss lenses can appear more saturated, but not to the point that I think it's a distinguishing factor. You might feel differently.
I will say that I strongly favor the CV ergonomics over Loxia. STRONGLY. The Loxia line looks very cool but for me the handling leaves a lot to be desired.
p.4 #11 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
I have the Loxia 35 and 50 and the Apo Lanthar equivalents.
I prefer the Apo aperture ring location at the end of the lens.
The Loxia focus throws (180 degrees) are greater than the Apo (145 degrees) which makes focusing easier.
The Loxias are slightly lighter and shorter, thus easier to carry.
At f8 and f11 which is favored for landscapes to achieve depth of field, both brands are very sharp.
The Apos are sharper off-center at larger apertures.
But at large apertures we usually seek softness off-center (as in portraits) so this wouldn't matter.
Lots of people think Loxia color is better, but there is no evidence for this.
Some people praise the Loxia transition from in-focus to out-of-focus.
But I doubt that anyone could identify which lens shot any given photo containing focus transitions.
So you will likely be very happy with either brand.
p.4 #14 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
Someone posted recently that they liked the MF Loxia 50mm better than the AF Sonnar 55 because AF sometimes grabbed the wrong thing. Agreed, but the Sonnar behaves almost as good as an MF lens in MF mode.
I test the MF mode on each of my lenses. The majority are ok. A minority are not ok.
The Tamron 24 and 35 are soooooo slow as to be useless in MF mode. That's because their AF is so slow. Too bad, because they are optically excellent. I eventually "benched" these two lenses for slow focus. When I shoot, I tend to pause at half-press of the shutter to allow AF, but when I reviewed pics taken with these two lenses, I found that I wasn't pausing long enough.
p.4 #15 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
FWIW, my Tamron 35 focuses much faster in AF-C on my a7R V. Granted that doesn’t help with MF and the MF in that lens leaves a lot to be desired.
AeroPhoto wrote:
Someone posted recently that they liked the MF Loxia 50mm better than the AF Sonnar 55 because AF sometimes grabbed the wrong thing. Agreed, but the Sonnar behaves almost as good as an MF lens in MF mode.
I test the MF mode on each of my lenses. The majority are ok. A minority are not ok.
The Tamron 24 and 35 are soooooo slow as to be useless in MF mode. That's because their AF is so slow. Too bad, because they are optically excellent. I eventually "benched" these two lenses for slow focus. When I shoot, I tend to pause at half-press of the shutter to allow AF, but when I reviewed pics taken with these two lenses, I found that I wasn't pausing long enough....Show more →
p.4 #16 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
I care a lot about color as well. I've tried the Apo & I own the Loxia 50. For me the color is not even close, It's the Loxia all the way. I wouldn't describe the Apo as a lens with muted or retro-style colors, but it has a look that I'm not particularly fond of.
It all comes down to how much you care about resolution, the APO offers really nice across the frame sharpness at infinity wide open that the Loxia cannot match. Even at optimal apertures on a 40mpx body you might see the resolution (but not contrast) advantage of the APO. ...Show more →
It is a composite of the same subject shot with four 50mm lenses at f8. One of the four is a Loxia 50mm. Another is an Apo Lanthar 50mm. You wrote, "For me the color is not even close, It's the Loxia all the way." Can you identify the Loxia frame?
Thank you,
Alan
p.4 #17 · Voigtländer 50mm f2 apo VS Zeiss Loxia 50mm f2
I have the Loxia 21, 25 (love this lens, in particular) and the 50, as well as the CV50. I shot both 50s side-by-side last fall. Since my use is landscape, I only really shot them at F5.6, f8 and f11 at infinity. My test was done at Avalanche Lake, Glacier NP. I had to go to 200% to see that the CV50 was a little shaper on the edges and corners - but not by much. There was a slight cast difference, but nothing that couldn't be manipulated one way or another in post. I would be more than happy to post those here in a couple of weeks (traveling) if this thread is still going and if anyone is interested.
Since I was unsuccessful in selling the Loxia 50 a while back, I have decided to keep it as my backpacking 50, as it is lighter than the CV 50. Sure wish the Pocket Pano Lens grips were still available - definitely one annoyance of the Loxias
It is a composite of the same subject shot with four 50mm lenses at f8. One of the four is a Loxia 50mm. Another is an Apo Lanthar 50mm. You wrote, "For me the color is not even close, It's the Loxia all the way." Can you identify the Loxia frame?
Thank you,
Alan
Althought I love Loxia, it's of course difficult to say which is which. All I can do is comment on some of the colors (I've checked these with low-end laptop screen).
- Top left seems a bit too warm/yellow to be Loxia (or my liking). I've seen many people liking warm colors of, for example, Samyang lenses, but to me it's a sign of using cheap glass materials and will get you into trouble when you start to increase contrast in post production. Yellows get too much and it's difficult to get rid of.
- Bottom right shows anemic colors. In fact, it looks like you've shot this with entirely different camera system as it looks like the dynamic range is lacking. The greens are washed out, reds are clipped. Whatever this is I would throw into trashcan.
- Bottom left is ok.
- Top right is my preferred choice. The greens, particularly in the bottom left of the frame looks good. Of course some of the greens, like right from the center of the frame, look a bit washed out, but it's because of they reflect more light. A bit of a local exposure adjustment would probably make them quite ok (or use of polarizer in the first place).
BUT did you use 'Auto White Balance' with these pictures or did you set the white balance manually? If you used the Auto, then we are mostly comparing minor white balance differences, because even very minor differences in lenses will probably cause shifts in white balance if using auto.
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