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Archive 2022 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternativ...

suteetat
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

AmbientMike wrote:
The German sounding name probably appeals to people. Are they made in Germany?

It is made by Cosina in Japan. I think Cosina bought the name right or the company outright but I dont remember the detail.
However, Cosina is the OEM manufacturer for most Zeiss lenses nowadays so their quality and reputation is well deserved.

Nov 29, 2022 at 11:05 PM

AmbientMike
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Vento wrote:
The Voigtländer lenses are made by Cosina/Japan, like most of the Zeiss F-mount lenses.
Afaik the Zeiss Otus line and other Zeiss lenses were/are also made by Cosina.
Today only the name sounds german, Voigtländer was founded in 1756 in Vienna/Austria, today it's only a trademark.
Cosina has it's own glassworks, which is rare.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voigtl%C3%A4nder

They may be great lenses, but I think a lot of it is a cool sounding name and so forth

And there's so many cool nikkors to adapt, which is one of the 1st things I thought of. Like the cm marked ones from the 60's. Picked up 20cm and 13.5cm. Granted the potential radioactivity issue on older lenses but my 50/1.8 AI seems ridiculously sharp at f/8. It has a focus shift but so does 40/1.2 IIRC from reading Fred's review. Just not something that I am interested in dealing with on a fairly expensive new lens.

And I have an OM 50/1.8 that seemed to beat my Canon 50/1.8 II. But I usually took the af lens. Not saying af is a panacea though YMMV

Nov 29, 2022 at 11:13 PM

bernardl
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Voigtlander lenses are not just about the name.

I have their 125mm f2.5 APO in F mount that I like better than the Zeiss 100mm f2.0 Makro and 135mm f2.0 (I replaced both lenses by the Voigtlander) and the 50mm f2.0 Z mount.

Both are very special.

Nov 29, 2022 at 11:56 PM

NissanPatrol
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Vento wrote:

Do you want to shoot a lot of portrait stuff, how important is AF, how frequently you want to shoot moving subjects, how important are features like weather sealing for you, how fast the 35mm should be and what main strenghts it should have.
The right lid for every pot, it's the same with lenses.
Without knowing what pot you want, lid recommendations only make very limited sense.

Not for portraits. Landscabe were I am behind.

AF, weather sealing, weight and size are not important, but if they come at no cost (Not removing other features) then they should be preferable.

I am not too sensitive about the corners or the need for corrections as long as the image is not obviously suffering.

my prime feature is sharpness at longer distance.

Thanks very much

Nov 30, 2022 at 12:11 AM

NissanPatrol
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

suteetat wrote:

For Zeiss Milvus, if you buy the ZF.2 version, it is an F mount version and you can use it with FTZ adapter and
you will get all the exif data. Zeiss 35/1.4 ZM is M mount so you will need M mount adapter. If you get Megadap or
Techart, they willl turn manual focus lens into AF lens. Not as fast as native lens but good enough for stationary object,
most portrait or even street photography.
---------------------------------------------

Very helpfull

Thanks

Nov 30, 2022 at 12:32 AM

Fpessolano
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

bernardl wrote:
Voigtlander lenses are not just about the name.

I have their 125mm f2.5 APO in F mount that I like better than the Zeiss 100mm f2.0 Makro and 135mm f2.0 (I replaced both lenses by the Voigtlander) and the 50mm f2.0 Z mount.

Both are very special.

The ZF 135/2 is one of my all-time favs, what made you like the 125 more?

The CV APO have great resolution but the bokeh and OO rendering is not of my taste. So it depends a lot on what you look for.

Nov 30, 2022 at 01:46 AM

Ripolini
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Fpessolano wrote:
The ZF 135/2 is one of my all-time favs, what made you like the 125 more?

I guess @bernardl@ preferred the 125/2.5 CV Apo to both Zeiss 100/2 Makro Planar and 135/2 Apo Sonnar because the 125/2.5 works well as portrait, landscape, and 1:1 macro lens at the same time, with much less LoCA than the 100/2 Makro-Planar (which is 1:2 only), and less weight (690 g vs 930 g) than the 135/2 AS.

Nov 30, 2022 at 03:40 AM

Fpessolano
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Ripolini wrote:
I guess @bernardl@@ preferred the 125/2.5 CV Apo to both Zeiss 100/2 Makro Planar and 135/2 Apo Sonnar because the 125/2.5 works well as portrait, landscape, and 1:1 macro lens at the same time, with much less LoCA than the 100/2 Makro-Planar (which is 1:2 only), and less weight (690 g vs 930 g) than the 135/2 AS.

That I can understand. I was never a fan of the ZF100 and 135/2 is at times long and heavy :-)
You still having fun with the 50apo I see. I am still debating on the 35 APO (because I have and love the 40/1.2)

Nov 30, 2022 at 05:04 AM

Sauseschritt
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

The annoying thing about Voigtländer is that english speaking people constantly brutally butcher the spelling. But whatever.

Voigtländer got founded in Vienna in the 1750s. They went bankrupt in the 1960s and Zeiss bought them. Zeiss sold the name to Ringfoto GmbH. Ringfoto partially sold the rights to Cosina, who uses it for its lenses now.

Cosina Voigtländer lenses, commonly abbreviated as CV, are compareable to Zeiss and Leica lenses. All three use metal bodies and heavy crystal glas.

P.s.: Leica of course only offer lenses for their own systems, though they sometimes design lenses for third parties, such as Panasonic. Zeiss only designs lenses, the actual production happen at Cosina and for the Sony lenses at Sony. I think one of the classic lenses got made by Zeiss themselves, but with the Milvus lenses that production moved to Cosina, too. Either way Zeiss hasnt made any new consumer lenses recently anymore.

Nov 30, 2022 at 06:20 AM

Vento
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

NissanPatrol wrote:
Not for portraits. Landscabe were I am behind.

AF, weather sealing, weight and size are not important, but if they come at no cost (Not removing other features) then they should be preferable.

I am not too sensitive about the corners or the need for corrections as long as the image is not obviously suffering.

my prime feature is sharpness at longer distance.

Thanks very much

Then you should definitely take a closer look at the Apo-Lanthar, at least if it is planned to use the lens wide open as well.
If you work almost exclusively with a 35mm lens stopped down, it's still a great lens, but then it doesn't really make sense to go for a CV 35/2 AL investment.
There lies the essential advantage with the Apo-Lanthar's, the level of resolution and the very high level of optical corrections wide open across the field + outstanding MFD performance, thanks to the floating group design.

The Final Thoughts of the FM review should give you a good impressions of the lens.
There are other options if you want to adapt a 35mm lens, especialy if you want AF, or are looking for a faster lens and more possibilities with separation.
Sony 35/1.4 GM, Sigma or Zeiss.
The CV 35/2 AL-Z has the advantage beeing a native Z-lens, compared to adapted solutions, licensed by Nikon in a very compact size with moderate weight and superb build quality.

Than there is the very solid Z 35 f/1.8 S.
It can't match the CV 35/2 AL-Z in terms of the extreme level of resolution across the field and the level of optical correction wide open, but it has AF, is extremly sharp in the center area wide open, is weather sealed, no need for manual aperture operation and therefore a better allrounder.

You'll find comparison shots of the CV 35/2 AL with some of the best 35mm options available today in the FM review.
One thing which makes the Apo-Lanthar special, is the new 12-blade mechanism, with different blade shapes.
One of the blade shapes gives you perfectly round bokeh balls/oof highlights with clean inner structure at f/2, f/2.8, f/5.6 and f/16, but you can still get nice sunstars inbetween with different blade shapes @ 2.2, 4, 8, 11..........

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1695782/17#15582112

Edited on Nov 30, 2022 at 10:17 AM · View previous versions

Nov 30, 2022 at 09:56 AM

NissanPatrol
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Vento wrote:
Then you should definitely take a closer look at the Apo-Lanthar, at least if it is planned to use the lens wide open as well.
If you work almost exclusively with a 35mm lens stopped down, it's still a great lens, but then it doesn't really make sense to go for a CV 35/2 AL investment.
There lies the essential advantage with the Apo-Lanthar's, the level of resolution and the very high level of optical corrections wide open across the field + outstanding MFD performance, thanks to the floating group design.

The Final Thoughts of the FM review should give you a good...Show more →

I highly value the reply.

At least I have the basis for making the decision

Nov 30, 2022 at 10:04 AM

Vento
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Posted weeks ago in the CV 35/2 FM review thread, possibly helpful to get an impression of the dimensions of the CV 35 AL-Z.

Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S, Canon New F-1 AE + nFD 85mm f/1.2 L, Nikon Z6 + CV 35mm f/2 AL-Z.

CV 35/2 AL-Z = 70,4 mm + 360 g
Filter size is 52mm vs 49mm (E-mount), the Z-version only comes with one lens cap in 52mm, which fits both the lens with and without the metal hood.
With mounted hood the cap fit is fiddly.
The CV 35mm f/2 AL-Z has a dedicated aperture ring with 1/3 click-stops from f2.0 to f16 and is manual aperture operation only. (M + A mode, no P or S mode)
In contrast to the E-mount version, on the Z-mount version, the click-stops cannot be switched off for video usage.
Besides the peaking + magnification options, the Z version of the 35/2 Apo-Lanthar is making use of the Nikon Z focus confirmation box as a additionally manual focusing aid.
The same principle like in AF-S mode with Single-point AF box.
The outer frame of the AF-box is turning from red to green as focus confirmation and you can move the box around in the same way.
It comes with electronic contacts and realizes communications between the lens and your Z-body, latest FW provided, which gives you Exif information and in-body image stabilization (3 axes).

Nov 30, 2022 at 10:27 AM

NissanPatrol
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Vento wrote:

The CV 35/2 AL-Z has the advantage being a native Z-lens, compared to adapted solutions, licensed by Nikon in a very compact size with moderate weight and superb build quality.

Is it this one?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1724133-REG/voigtlander_ba374b_apo_lanthar_35mm_f_2_aspherical.html

Nov 30, 2022 at 10:59 AM

Vento
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

AmbientMike wrote:
They may be great lenses, but I think a lot of it is a cool sounding name and so forth

And there's so many cool nikkors to adapt, which is one of the 1st things I thought of. Like the cm marked ones from the 60's. Picked up 20cm and 13.5cm. Granted the potential radioactivity issue on older lenses but my 50/1.8 AI seems ridiculously sharp at f/8. It has a focus shift but so does 40/1.2 IIRC from reading Fred's review. Just not something that I am interested in dealing with on a fairly expensive new lens.

And I have...Show more →

I don't think it really does justice to the Cosina/Voigtländer products, even if brand names, better said the image of a brand always plays a role in product perception.
They serve a very special and small niche with most of their CV lenses.
Not only the reduction to classic manual focus style lenses, they offer various lines with a very special rendering character.
It's usually not even about optical perfection, the approach they take with the apo-lanthars 35/50/65/110 lenses, it's more about the rendering style, the overall lens character, usualy in a very small and compact design.
Where many modern lenses barely have their own rendering style, sometimes clinical, interchangeable, probably partly because of missing flaws, Cosina goes a different way with most of their Voigtländer line-up.
As is said before, Cosina has their own glassworks, which is rare and helps them to achieve their design goals.
There is no right or wrong, some like the Cosina/Voigtländer approach, others don't, manual focus only, which slows things down, classic build quality made for decades of use, fast and super-fast lenses with comparable tiny-small size/low - moderate weight, mostly with a distinctive rendering style, nice defined sunstars, innovative blade constructions....

@Nissan Patrol, yes that's the Z-mount version of the Voigtländer 35mm f/2 Apo-Lanthar Aspherical.

Nov 30, 2022 at 11:06 AM

Ripolini
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

NissanPatrol wrote:
Is it this one?

Yes it is.

Nov 30, 2022 at 04:54 PM

Lightsearcher
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Nov 30, 2022 at 09:33 PM

bernardl
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Ripolini wrote:
I guess @bernardl@@ preferred the 125/2.5 CV Apo to both Zeiss 100/2 Makro Planar and 135/2 Apo Sonnar because the 125/2.5 works well as portrait, landscape, and 1:1 macro lens at the same time, with much less LoCA than the 100/2 Makro-Planar (which is 1:2 only), and less weight (690 g vs 930 g) than the 135/2 AS.

Yes, thank you!

On top of that, its bokeh is very nice and focusing ring is smoother than that of my copy of the 135mm f2.0 APO which helps with small focus adjustments.

Cheers,
Bernard

Nov 30, 2022 at 09:45 PM

NissanPatrol
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Lightsearcher wrote:
I have two Voigtlander lenses (Sony E mount) with the Art-Tech adapter on my Z6, the 40mm f1.2 and the 21mm f1.4.

Love everything about these lenses, specially the size, the rendering wide open, sharpness at 5.6 and over, the ergonomics and smooth focus ring.

Voigtlander are my favorites lenses for traveling and street shooting.

the [email protected] is very impressive

unreal

Is this the adaptor you have? E to Z

https://techartpro.com/?product=techart-sony-e-nikon-z-autofocus-adapter-tze-01

Dec 01, 2022 at 08:34 AM

Fpessolano
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Get the megadap if you want such an adapter. IT is better
But get it from a good sources as there are still some bad first batch ones.

I

Dec 01, 2022 at 08:51 AM

Ripolini
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · What makes Voigtländer lenses "special" or a better alternative to S lenses?

Fpessolano wrote:
Get the megadap if you want such an adapter. IT is better

Is the Megadap ETZ21 (https://megadap.net/product/megadap-sony-e-to-nikon-z-autofocus-adapter-etz21/) better for E-mount MF lenses too?
Thanx.

Cheers,

Riccardo

Dec 01, 2022 at 11:26 AM

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