What about bokeh you ask? The Loxia does not have the best reputation in this regard, but to some a very structured bokeh is preferable.
Here is the scene:
A last one for the bokeh. More fringing but less cat-eye shape for the Loxia. Bokeh will swiftly show ngons on the Loxia while they stay round longer on the CV due to their new(ish) aperture design.
Summary: Well, there are no surprises here really. The 35mm APO is the superior lens from a technical standpoint. Zeiss made it a bit too easy for themselves when they adapted the old Biogon design from yesteryear.
It is not without advantages though. It is a lot cheaper these days, a bit smaller, has less cat-eye shaped bokeh and shows sunstars at any aperture smaller than f2.5.
I will sell mine off though, and keep the CV, it can play the roles I used my Loxia for with ease, and then also make new use cases viable. It's going to be a killer combo with my 65mm APO as well.
Ben
Btw: I uploaded all RAW files from my tests here, if you want to take a look yourself. 35mm Loxia vs CV 35mmAPO
Tora_2097 wrote:
Summary: Well, there are no surprises here really. The 35mm APO is the superior lens from a technical standpoint.
Thanks for performing the test and providing the samples. You and Fred have shown that the Voigtlander's rendering improves when changing the aperture from f/2.0 to f/2.8. What happens in between, at f/2.2 and f/2.5? Is there a sudden jump at f/2.8 (thanks to the round aperture at that setting) or does the outlining at the in-between apertures change subtly, too?
Tora_2097 wrote:
Summary: Well, there are no surprises here really. The 35mm APO is the superior lens from a technical standpoint. Zeiss made it a bit too easy for themselves when they adapted the old Biogon design from yesteryear.
It is not without advantages though. It is a lot cheaper these days, a bit smaller, has less cat-eye shaped bokeh and shows sunstars at any aperture smaller than f2.5.
I will sell mine off though, and keep the CV, it can play the roles I used my Loxia for with ease, and then also make new use cases viable. It's going to be a killer combo with my 65mm APO as well.
Ben,
I just saw you posted the RAW files and I downloaded them to compare.
A few thoughts:
You've tested them on the A7R III (42MP) and I believe the APO's superiority would be even more evident on 61MP.
On 42MP and f/5.6, the Loxia gets very close to the APO at center. Before that, the APO does better especially wide open and f/2.8. I'm not surprised by this as the APO is the not sharpest 35mm lens at center and the Loxia is great at center at f/4 and smaller.
At mid-zone, the Loxia never matches the APO even at f/5.6, but it's not too far behind. The CV 35/2 is excellent from wide open.
At the extreme corners, the Loxia needs f/8 to be optimal but does not match the APO even at this aperture. The CV 35/2 is already excellent from wide open.
Rendering-wise, the Loxia wide open has even more defined outlining which makes rendering busier in comparison. CA is way more evident on the Loxia images.
On a positive note, the Loxia has lower optical vignetting (Less cats-eye wide open as you mentioned) but the OOF corners seem slightly shaper in comparison. Both are excellent in terms of distortion.
Tora_2097 wrote:
Summary: Well, there are no surprises here really. The 35mm APO is the superior lens from a technical standpoint. Zeiss made it a bit too easy for themselves when they adapted the old Biogon design from yesteryear.
It is not without advantages though. It is a lot cheaper these days, a bit smaller, has less cat-eye shaped bokeh and shows sunstars at any aperture smaller than f2.5.
I will sell mine off though, and keep the CV, it can play the roles I used my Loxia for with ease, and then also make new use cases viable. It's going to be a killer combo with my 65mm APO as well.
Thanks Ben – Great test, and really great for you to post the raws – that's where I could really see the differences in the far UL corner at F5.6 and F8. Hard to justify not springing for the CV apo after seeing that so clearly.
Off topic sidenote – I've photographed that DB glass skyscraper at dusk before from the adjacent brick building with a 4x5. I'd post it but have to save my nickels for cosina rather then the paywall hahaha..
Are there anyone who comparison test between Voigtlander 35mm APO or VM APO and VM 35/1.7.
When I checked VM35/1.7 at A7R2 and outcome is very impressive. For Panasonic S1R, ZM 35/1.4 and ZM 50/2 are more impressive. In my test at A7R2, Voigtlander 35mm F2 APO-Lanthar is impressive than ZM 50F2 which is also very impressive in both Sony A7R2 and Panasonic S1R.
It depends on what they generally shoot, what their priorities are, etc.....which may not match yours. What do you like to shoot, and what are your priorities?
matt-to wrote:
Which one would you guys chose if you can own only one 35mm lens: the 35/2 apo or the 35/1.2 SE ?
