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Archive 2022 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländ...

Steve Spencer
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p.3 #1 · p.3 #1 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

vdo1 wrote:
Leica Thambar has a lot of renders, if that is what one is looking for.

https://www.overgaard.dk/the-story-behind-that-picture-0187_gb.html

I think you are just being snarky, but render(s) is not a noun or adjective. It is a verb so please use it as such. And the Thambar has a very particular rendering unlike any other lens I know of. Personally, I find it a bit too much, but some do like it. The OP asked about a lens with good bokeh and good build quality. They might want to consider the Thambar, but they should know the lens is quite soft and intentionally so. Given that they like the Voigtlander 65 f/2 APO Macro, I doubt the Thambar would be up their alley, but that is of course up to them.

Nov 26, 2022 at 09:56 PM

vdo1
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p.3 #2 · p.3 #2 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

Steve Spencer wrote:
The OP asked about a lens with good bokeh and good build quality.

And the Leica delivers on both, in spades. Voigtlanders don't come even close.

Nov 26, 2022 at 10:28 PM

Steve Spencer
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p.3 #3 · p.3 #3 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

vdo1 wrote:
And the Leica delivers on both, in spades. Voigtlanders don't come even close.

Good bokeh is of course a pretty subjective judgement, and ergonomics of lenses is certainly another very subjective judgements that probably relates to some people's judgments of build quality. Having had a dozen or so Leica lenses and even more Voigtlander lenses, I would say both Leica and Cosina built very high build quality lenses. I like the ergonomics of the Leica lenses a bit better which probably is part of the reason I would rate Leica as having slightly higher build quality. I do not think either brand is clearly better for the bokeh its lenses produces. Both brands have some lenses with quite nice bokeh and some lenses with not very nice bokeh. Now I have never owned the Thambar, but from looking through many examples with the lens I personally do not like the bokeh that much (especially the soap bubble out of focus highlights), but again evaluation of bokeh can be a pretty subjective judgment. Personally, I prefer the Leica 90 pre-AA f/2, which I have owned, and the bokeh of that lens is among my favorites.

Nov 26, 2022 at 11:42 PM

philip_pj
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p.3 #4 · p.3 #4 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

Couple more from the Loxia Sonnar. Its MTF is very close to the best there is in 85mm lenses, yet very decent treatment of female faces.

f3.5

Nov 27, 2022 at 12:42 AM

zeitlos
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p.3 #5 · p.3 #5 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

Pictures say more than a thousand words. Thanks!

Nov 27, 2022 at 01:04 AM

Humihiro
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p.3 #6 · p.3 #6 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

What about the CV110mm? I enjoy using it for portraits.

Nov 27, 2022 at 04:17 AM

zeitlos
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p.3 #7 · p.3 #7 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

I have to check on this one.

So far, I think I’m gonna go with the Voigtländer 75mm 1.5. Seems to be an exceptional lens.

Nov 27, 2022 at 07:15 AM

vdo1
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p.3 #8 · p.3 #8 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

A piece of opinion from B&H:

"For almost 20 years, for every conversation and website about lens sharpness, there has been a conversation and website about bokeh. Neither sharpness, nor bokeh, is usually the subject of a photograph, but they certainly are the catalyst for a lot of discussions."

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/understanding-bokeh

Nov 27, 2022 at 07:27 AM

zeitlos
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p.3 #9 · p.3 #9 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

vdo1 wrote:
A piece of opinion from B&H:

"For almost 20 years, for every conversation and website about lens sharpness, there has been a conversation and website about bokeh. Neither sharpness, nor bokeh, is usually the subject of a photograph, but they certainly are the catalyst for a lot of discussions."

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/understanding-bokeh

That's right, and you're about to start another one. Absolutely okay. I would only ask you to open a separate thread for these discussions.

Nov 27, 2022 at 07:35 AM

Oogappeltje
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p.3 #10 · p.3 #10 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

zeitlos wrote:
I have to check on this one.

So far, I think I’m gonna go with the Voigtländer 75mm 1.5. Seems to be an exceptional lens.

It's an exceptional lens. Take your time to learn and it will deliver the goods.

Some shots with the 1.5/75 Nokton from yesterday walkabout (I pack the Voigtlander 1.7/35 Ultron to make it a nice pair of high IQ lenses with OK weight & compact size).

Nov 27, 2022 at 07:59 AM

zeitlos
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p.3 #11 · p.3 #11 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

Thanks! Really nice.

Yes, I assume it will take me some time. Buying the CV75 also gives me one more reason to try a Leica SL or so someday

But again, I really like what I saw from the 75mm 1.5 so far.

Nov 27, 2022 at 08:03 AM

zeitlos
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p.3 #12 · p.3 #12 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

My plan continues to take shape. Whether it will work out in the end is another matter.

I buy the Voigtländer 75 1.5.
If it really delivers what I expect from it and if I can manage to manually focus without producing too much trash because of not focusing correctly, I might sell my Sigma 65mm F2.0. I need it as a compact travel lens – but basically exclusively for (static) portraits. If the Voigtländer can replace the Sigma, this change might make sense. Even though I hold the Sigma in high regard.

Next: If I like the manual Voigtländer, I might look for one more “specialist“ lens, maybe the Voigtländer 65mm for food photography. I think it could be a good choice. If yes, I might sell my beloved Batis 40mm 2.0 (which also has a close focus function. and was suitable to cover this. Not sure how it compares in this regard to the Voigtländer 65mm f2).

Finally, step 3. If I really sell my Batis 40mm 2.0 and the Voigtländer 65mm 2.0 (or another glas) serves as a substitute for fields like food photograph, I will finally go for the 50mm GM 1.2 to have a autofocus lens again that covers this (around) 50mm range.

This is my very own “domino theory“.

… Everything will be completely different again tomorrow!

As the saying goes, if you want to make God laugh, make a plan.

Sometimes I miss the Pentax days. Everything became clear very quickly. And yet the results were fine

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Nov 27, 2022 at 12:24 PM

zeitlos
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p.3 #13 · p.3 #13 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

Just ordered the Voigtländer 75mm 1.5 + the adapter (TTArtisan Leica M/Sony E 6-Bit). Very much looking forward to it. Not sure if I‘m good enough, but I‘m sure it‘ll be fun anyway

Nov 28, 2022 at 03:44 AM

Alan Parker
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p.3 #14 · p.3 #14 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

zeitlos wrote:
Just ordered the Voigtländer 75mm 1.5 + the adapter.

I look forward to your review/impressions!

We really are a bunch of enablers here haha

Nov 28, 2022 at 03:48 AM

Bokehddicted
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p.3 #15 · p.3 #15 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

If i still had my Lox85, i would send it to you for a shootout. But i sold it, and already miss it :-)

Nov 28, 2022 at 08:57 AM

zeitlos
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p.3 #16 · p.3 #16 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

Bokehddicted wrote:
If i still had my Lox85, i would send it to you for a shootout. But i sold it, and already miss it :-)

Thank you!

Well, never say never. I do have the Batis 40mm 2.0 so I got a glimpse of what ZEISS in general is able to do. I have outlined my plan above which would involve selling the Batis 40.
Shortly after I wrote it, all of a sudden it came to my mind: NO!!! You can't sell the Batis 40. You must not.

The reason is quite simple. It always delivered. Really always. No matter what I photographed with it, it fit. Well, let's see.

Maybe I'll have the Voigtländer (my first Voigtländer) here with me tomorrow. I have to find the time to take pictures first, but I'm looking forward to it.

Nov 28, 2022 at 10:03 AM

darrellc
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p.3 #17 · p.3 #17 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

I really like the look of the Voigtlander 75/1.5 images and in your hands, Zeitlos, I’m sure it will deliver beautiful images!

I’ve got the Sigma 65/2 and use for portraits but agree with you that while very pleasing, it is a bit perfect/boring. Much longer than 65mm is too tight for the more informal family documentary portraits I tend to do, so I went the other way and bought the TT artisans 50/1.4 based on the reviews and sample images over at https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-ttartisan-50mm-1-4-e/. I thought the overall rendering and bokeh was really beautiful in these images and for only $220 total new shipped from TT artisans, worth a shot.

Nov 28, 2022 at 11:43 AM

zeitlos
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p.3 #18 · p.3 #18 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

Thank you for your kind words.

I can fully see your point with longer lenses. That‘s why I like 65mm so much. I have mentioned it before, but I really like my Pentax 43mm on APS-C for portraits which equals those 65mm on full frame. I also like 75mm even though it‘s true that it is less “environmental/documentary“ then. 85mm etc. leave that path even further. At least in in door settings.

Thanks for mentioning this 50mm lens! I will have a closer look at it. As you say, 220 is affordable. I mean, I had some really lovely lenses from Samyang. I can imagine some people shying away from them because they are cheaper than most competitors. But still, they are fabulous. I loved the rendering of the 85mm AF (I) a lot. I have also read lots of good things about their manual 135mm 2.0. So I will take a closer look at the TT Artisans 50mm 1.4.
I wish you lots of fun and good results with it!

Nov 28, 2022 at 01:43 PM

zeitlos
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p.3 #19 · p.3 #19 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

darrellc wrote:
so I went the other way and bought the TT artisans 50/1.4 based on the reviews and sample images over at https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-ttartisan-50mm-1-4-e/. I thought the overall rendering and bokeh was really beautiful in these images and for only $220 total new shipped from TT artisans, worth a shot.

I do have a question concerning this lens. Does it share data with the camera (E-Mount?) In the review – if I understood it correctly – it says: no. Does this mean there‘s no difference in using a M-mount version via adapter with my Sony A7III or the native version for Sony? If no, buying the M-mount version might be useful later on. But maybe there‘s a difference?

Nov 28, 2022 at 01:59 PM

darrellc
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p.3 #20 · p.3 #20 · State of the art manual portrait lens for Sony – Loxia 85 2.4? Voigtländer 65 2.0?

zeitlos wrote:
I do have a question concerning this lens. Does it share data with the camera (E-Mount?) In the review – if I understood it correctly – it says: no. Does this mean there‘s no difference in using a M-mount version via adapter with my Sony A7III or the native version for Sony? If no, buying the M-mount version might be useful later on. But maybe there‘s a difference?

I don’t have mine yet, just ordered. But from what I’ve read: no electrical contacts - so you lose exif, have to set focal length manually for IBIS, etc. I think the reviews say there is no optical difference between the M and E mount version. E is cheaper, weighs more, bigger, if I recall correctly.

M mount probably better if you want to use a Techart adapter for AF (that would be compelling to me if I still had a bunch of alt glass, but I’ve simplified and don’t want to do that anymore), or move between mounts. I’m sticking with Sony only for foreseeable future and so went for convenience with the e mount version.

Nov 28, 2022 at 02:19 PM

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