fredmiranda.com

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Sony Forum | Join Upload & Sell

2 end

Archive 2024 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

dormouse99
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

I'm intrigued by Voigtl�nder lenses but really don't know where to begin. In your opinion, if you were to get started on the Voigtl�nder path, which would be the best first lens to try to get an idea of what the brand is about?

Per Steve Huff, it seems like the 50mm APO f/2 would be the answer, but I'm also really intrigued by the 65mm f/2 though for its focal length and macro capabilities.

I'm a bit leery of using an M adapter so would lean toward native E-mount even just to be able to gather electronic data.

I'm normally take photos of my dog on hikes in Vermont but also enjoy street and travel photography. So, I'm thinking a first lens in the 24mm to 75mm focal lengths would make sense. Many thanks for your guidance!

Jul 29, 2024 at 08:52 PM

tsdevine
Online
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

I use the 50/2 AL much more than the 65/2 AL. But if you like 65mm more than 50 and/or you want 1:2 macro, then the 65 is the way to go.

The 65 is a brick though compared o the 50.

There are a lot of options though. Some more classic rendering, some in between and then the APO Lanthars which a less character lenses and geared more towards optical perfection.

For example, another fave of people is the 40/1.2. I don't have that lens, but I know it's very popular.

Jul 29, 2024 at 09:17 PM

smpetty
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

My favorite Voigtlanders are:

65mm f/2 Macro APO Lanthar - good at everything except being small. Probably my overall favorite
50mm f/1.2 Nokton - so small and so fast with beautiful rendering
40mm f/1.2 Nokton - so small and so fast with beautiful rendering
35mm f/2 APO Lanthar - less character and speed than the Nokton but just about optically perfect
50mm f/2 APO Lanthar - less character and speed than the Nokton but just about optically perfect

Jul 29, 2024 at 09:32 PM

RoamingScott
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

I've had a number of them across a few mounts. So far the 35 APO is my favorite but that's as someone that likes 35mm more than 50mm. Either are amazing for what they are.

I found the 40/1.2 to have waaaaay too much CA wide open for my tastes and the fact that it didn't really clean up till f/2 was highly annoying. If you can manage to get a clean open shot with it, the rendering is incredible.

Jul 29, 2024 at 09:39 PM

Juha Kannisto
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

Your options in E-mount between 24mm and 75mm are:

Nokton 35/1.2 SE (discontinued so might only be found 2nd hand)
Nokton 35/1.4 classic
APO-Lanthar 35/2
Nokton 40/1.2 (original version)
Nokton 40/1.2 SE (discontinued so might only be found 2nd hand)
Nokton 50/1
Nokton 50/1.2 (original version)
Nokton 50/1.2 SE (discontinued so might only be found 2nd hand)
APO-Lanthar 50/2
Macro APO-Lanthar 65/2
Nokton 75/1.5

I've had all of these but I traded away my original versions of 40/1.2 and 50/1.2 after getting the SE versions and I also traded away my 65/2 as it was just too big & heavy and I don't shoot macro that much.

Depends on what your shooting preferences are but personally I like the fast Nokton lenses a bit more than the APO-Lanthars for their dual character (more classic rendering wide open esp. at close distance and great for infinity type shots stopped down). I prefer smaller and lighter lenses as well as camera bodies in general and I like 40/1.2 SE as well as 35/1.4 a lot. Even though 65/2 has great IQ I didn't really enjoy shooting with that lens due to the size & weight of the lens and for infinity shots it was a bit tricky to nail perfect focus as the focus throw is very short at the long distance end. However, for someone who is much more into shooting macro I think it would be a great option.

Jul 29, 2024 at 10:08 PM

mudlake
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

If you like 50mm, start with the 50/2APO or the 50/1.2 Nokton. If you prefer 35mm, get the APO or the 35/1.2. I own both the 35/1.2 and 50/1.2 Noktons (SE versions) and absolutely love them. Here�s a few.

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/8.0 1/80s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/5.6 1/6s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/1.2 1/2000s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/8.0 1/50s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/1.2 1/50s 200 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/1.2 1/8000s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/4.0 1/500s 1600 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 Voigtlander NOKTON 50mm F1.2 Aspherical lens 50mm f/2.8 1/80s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/1.2 1/800s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 50mm f/1.2 1/1600s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7RM5 Voigtlander NOKTON 35mm F1.2 Aspherical lens 35mm f/1.2 1/1600s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Jul 30, 2024 at 12:55 AM

BastianK
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #7 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

I would recommend to first figure out which focal length you want.
The range from 24 to 75 is not exactly narrow.

Jul 30, 2024 at 01:53 AM

Alan Parker
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #8 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

I personally feel that the CV35 APO, CV40 and CV50 APO are in the 'easy to enjoy' category.
Voigtlander however has a large range of lenses between 24 and 85 like BastianK said; you would have to narrow down what you'd enjoy and what the goal is. Voigtlander lenses are on the more expensive end, so you can't buy a bag-full.

Jul 30, 2024 at 02:46 AM

ustjwenew
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

I started with the 35/2 AL myself because I most often use that focal length. I am very happy with it. It is easy to use and it is a great lens which gives very clean and colourful results. Later I added the 75/1.5 and 50/2 which I still have to really start using.

Jul 30, 2024 at 05:36 AM

dormouse99
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

BastianK wrote:
I would recommend to first figure out which focal length you want.
The range from 24 to 75 is not exactly narrow.

I'm fairly well covered on autofocus lenses, so I'm pretty indifferent to where I'd start in the Voigtl�nder universe. I was more wondering if there was a particular lens Voigtl�nder made that was a "Don't miss out on this!" kind of lens.

tsdevine wrote:
Some more classic rendering, some in between and then the APO Lanthars which a less character lenses and geared more towards optical perfection.

Juha Kannisto wrote:
Depends on what your shooting preferences are but personally I like the fast Nokton lenses a bit more than the APO-Lanthars for their dual character (more classic rendering wide open esp. at close distance and great for infinity type shots stopped down).

From these and other opinions, it sounds like I could either enjoy optical perfection with the APO Lanthar or get a dual character lens with the 1.2 Nokton. Can't go wrong either way. The 65mm sounds like a great lens but just too heavy for everyday use with the macro feature being a plus and a minus.

I'm leaning toward starting with the 50 f/2 APO, as it seems to be at a decent price at B&H right now. I'll think about the 40 f/1.2 at a later date once my wallet recovers.

Jul 30, 2024 at 06:15 AM

mkuznicki
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

I'm sure it just a personal thing, but I'm not a fan of any manual focus 50mm lens. It just doesn't fit my needs. I tried both the APO and the Nokton and couldn't get excited about either.

The 65, however, is a special lens. It's a great focal length (for me), focusing is a pleasure, and macro results are impressive (if you're not looking for 1:1 of course). Yes it's a bit on the large side, but I don't find the extra weight/bulk to be an issue when hiking. Great price, too.

Jul 30, 2024 at 08:06 AM

sandycrane
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

dormouse99 wrote:
From these and other opinions, it sounds like I could either enjoy optical perfection with the APO Lanthar or get a dual character lens with the 1.2 Nokton. Can't go wrong either way.

Well said.
The 40/1.2 is very sharp when stopped down. What it adds is the world of possibilities wide open. Take a look at the Voigtlander 40mm review thread here on FM. Check out Post #6 on page 291(!).

Jul 30, 2024 at 09:45 AM

scrappydog
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #13 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

I also have the 35/2 APO, 65/2 APO, 180/4 APO, 50/3.5 Heliar (M mount), and a couple more.

The 65/2 APO is my best lens and I have over 20. It's amazing. As noted, it's on the larger size. This is the "don't miss out on this!" lens.

For walk around, I would use the 35 APO because that is my preferred focal length and it renders beautifully. If you want gooey bokeh, you may want a faster lens.

If you are up for adapting and are adventurous, the 50/3.5 Heliar has weird haptics, but renders really nicely with very smooth bokeh. It's also really inexpensive comparatively.

Jul 30, 2024 at 09:57 AM

Al Trujillo
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

Some of the Voigtlanders are heavy but 'how heavy' is a matter of personal perspective. I came to Voigtlander because the Zeiss Milvus lenses I had at the time were, IMO, exceptionally heavy and the Voigts were more pleasant to carry. Now, of course, YMMV. I also feel the IQ from the Voigtlanders (specifically the APO's) were as good as the Zeiss'.

My Voigtlanders:

Nokton 21mm/1.4: This lens surprised me with its versatility, in my case it makes an outstanding WA landscape lens, light and easy to carry. If I was searching for a CV WA I'd definitely give this one a try.

APO-Lanthar 35mm/2.0: Another fabulous landscape lens; sharp, beautiful colors, and not all that heavy. I chose this one because I already owned the CV 65mm and with my 21mm the three make a great kit. I'm glad I bought it.

Nokton 40mm/1.2: This lens has quite a fanbase; beautiful colors, small..from my perspective it has great 'character' and is a good people / cityscape lens.

APO-Lanthar 65mm/2.0: This is perhaps the best lens that I've ever used and owned. I've been shooting for over 50 years, and the image quality from this one is better than anything I have experienced. I'm likely to never get rid of this one. Somewhere in your decision you should at least give this one a try.

APO-Lanthar 110mm/2.5: Though I don't use it as much as some of the others this one always makes me happy. It is heavy, I hate the long focus throw, the aperture dial is in the most awkward place...but I've learned to overlook all of that because the image quality is so special. I use it specifically on landscape and flowers. Of all those mentioned I believe this one is more a specialty lens and the last of the group I would purchase.

I've tried adapting a couple of VM lenses to my Sony but never was happy with the results. The lenses themselves were special, it's just a problem I ran into by using an adapter. From that point forward I've used only native E-mount lenses.

As long as you're not shooting moving subjects you'll learn to use and enjoy the MF aspects of Voigtlanders. I have and am glad for it.

Jul 30, 2024 at 10:54 AM

tsdevine
Online
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #15 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

If agonizing over the 50/2 AL vs the 65/2 AL, some people will have one of the two....probably a minority have both. I have both and gravitated to the 50/2 AL, but they are both outstanding.

FWIW Lenstip has tested both. Trick is they only tested one copy of each lens, so you never know if both copies were excellent. But if you want to see how they compare, with all the standard caveats, it might be worth looking at.

https://www.lenstip.com/613.4-Lens_review-Voigtlander_Apo_Lanthar_50_mm_f_2_Aspherical_Image_resolution.html

https://www.lenstip.com/517.4-Lens_review-Voigtlander_Apo-Lanthar_65_mm_f_2_Aspherical_1:2_Macro_Image_resolution.html

Who knows whether both were excellent copies, but you can see they are both outstanding. So size/weight and no need for macro might drive you one way. The need for macro or a longer FL might lead you another way.

Jul 30, 2024 at 11:16 AM

dormouse99
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #16 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

Augh! It sounds like it's not really possible to get just one Voigtlander! I guess the 65mm will have to figure into my plans as well. It's very telling how many of you are saying that it's the best lens you've ever used.

So much for tuition payments...

Jul 30, 2024 at 05:42 PM

Kenneth Lee
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #17 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

dormouse99 wrote:
I'm intrigued by Voigtl�nder lenses but really don't know where to begin. In your opinion, if you were to get started on the Voigtl�nder path, which would be the best first lens to try to get an idea of what the brand is about?

You might find it helpful to view the 55 pages of Voigtlander images - a huge variety of lenses, subjects and lighting - on the forum thread Voigtlander lenses on E-Mount bodies at https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1688359/

Jul 30, 2024 at 07:03 PM

RoamingScott
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

We�ve amassed a 30+ page thread in less than a year on the Nikon side too

all CV optical formulas are the same across mounts to my knowledge despite different body styles.

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1831828/

Jul 30, 2024 at 07:14 PM

davidjl
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #19 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

Currently, _Voigtlander_ is MIA in the 24 and 28mm focal lengths, but the 25mm Loxia (if you can find a good copy: some people have had troubles, here the first try was great) is one amazing lens, also made by the folks at Cosina. The lens hood and cap are terrible and it's hard to get on/off the camera. But if you like eye-shredding sharpness, you want this lens.

Only available in M mount so far, the 28/1.5 Nokton is getting great reviews, so it's something to keep your eye out for next year.

As others have pointed out, the 21/1.4 is seriously amazing, ditto for the 75/1.5.

My personal take on the 35/1.2. 40/1.2 (which I own*), and 50/1.2 is that Cosina noticed that the bokeh was a tad funky on the 40/1.2 and twiddled the designs on the 35/1.2 and 50/1.2.

Here, for what I do, 40mm is a tad tight, so I'm using the 35/2.0 as my "normal" lens, and the 21/1.4 and 75/1.5 as my bokeh/character lenses.

*: To prove I'm a liar on the 40/1.2 bokeh:


	https://a4.pbase.com/g12/29/138229/2/169801847.nlaIkZ4f.jpg

Jul 30, 2024 at 09:01 PM

nbaronzzi
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #20 · Voigtl�nder: Where to start?

Chiming in with some thoughts on the various Voigtlanders I've used in the past couple years:

15/4.5 Super Wide-Heliar III: Great little lens. Plenty sharp, vibrant colors. Strong vignetting. Sunstars! Enjoyable and challenging to frame with.
21/3.5 Color Skopar: Tiny, light, straightforward, a joy to use. Not much "wow" factor considering the max aperture and focal length, but the rendering is pleasant and the sharpness is good enough. More great sunstars--actually, most CV lenses have standout sunstars at smaller apertures. A great pocket companion to a 35/40/50.
21/1.4 Nokton: Fantastic IQ and rendering--real wow factor here. I tried to make this one work for a while, but ultimately for how sparingly I actually wanted to use 21mm, it was just too bulky and got left at home.
40/1.2 Nokton: My beloved, my favorite lens of all time. I've been using it for 2 years in E- and M-mount, I've tried a few dozen other lenses in that time, and nothing can usurp this bad boy. The focal length (actually ~41.5mm) looks and feels incredibly natural and honest. The rendering? Like two great lenses in one: ethereal and captivating below f/2.8, modern and sharp above. It's flawed, with strong vignetting and CA wide open, focus shift, and field curvature; consider it testament to its (subjective) greatness that despite those things, it remains my daily driver over even GM and Zeiss lenses.
35/1.2+50/1.2 Noktons: Both fantastic, with in fact slightly better IQ than the 40 (sharper, less vignetting, 11 vs 9 aperture blades for rounder specular highlights). The 50/1.2, with its slight compression and extra sharpness, actually edges out the 40/1.2 for my favorite rendering. But I could never gel with 50mm and find the 40 far more versatile while being 95% of the way there optically. The 35 felt a little less special than the 40+50, I think because the magic at wide apertures is just naturally better suited to a more compressed subject. But if 35mm is "home" for you, I'd certainly recommended it.
75/1.5 Nokton: I think this is my second- most used lens now, and I can recommend it to anyone willing to try a manual portrait lens. It's got all the Nokton color and personality with just the right amount of compression. It has a subtle, ethereal portrait glow at f/1.5, cleans up noticeably at f/2, obviously by f/2.8. I find myself reaching for this one more and more, and hope its recent cross-mount release will open more people up to it.
110/2.5 Macro AL: Sharp and vibrant, long focus throw, big and heavy, decidedly niche. I don't really care about macro and have never gelled with primes longer than 85mm; this lens wasn't meant for me.

ILCE-7M3 Voigtlander COLOR-SKOPAR 21mm F3.5 Aspherical lens 21mm f/3.5 1/400s 100 ISO -1.0 EV

ILCE-7M3 Voigtlander NOKTON 35mm F1.2 Aspherical lens 35mm f/1.6 1/60s 125 ISO -1.0 EV

ILCE-7C Voigtlander SUPER WIDE-HELIAR 15mm F4.5 III lens 15mm f/4.5 1/30s 2000 ISO -1.3 EV

ILCE-7C Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical lens 40mm 1/320s 100 ISO -0.3 EV

ILCE-7M3 Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical lens 40mm f/1.2 1/80s 100 ISO

ILCE-7M3 Voigtlander NOKTON 21mm F1.4 Aspherical lens 21mm f/2.0 1/60s 400 ISO -1.7 EV

ILCE-7M3 Voigtlander NOKTON 50mm F1.2 Aspherical lens 50mm f/4.0 1/100s 100 ISO -0.7 EV

ILCE-7CM2 Voigtlander NOKTON 75mm F1.5 Aspherical lens 75mm 1/125s 800 ISO +0.3 EV

ILCE-7C Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.2 Aspherical lens 40mm 1/8000s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

ILCE-7C Voigtlander NOKTON 75mm F1.5 Aspherical lens 75mm 1/60s 125 ISO -1.3 EV

Jul 30, 2024 at 09:30 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Sony Forum \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end