zugzwang2 wrote:
I'll look forward to tests of those lenses on a Sony body. (Please.) I enjoy using the 85/4 Tele-Tessar while hiking, but the new offering from Cosina seems likely to be even better performing and lighter weight.
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rscheffler wrote:
Check Juha's earlier post for a link to images from the two new VM lenses on his Sony camera. IMO it looks like there is very minimal (if any) noticeable image quality reduction caused by the Sony sensor stack with the VM 90/4. But we'll only know how much if Fred does his usual review of these lenses.
It has been ages since I've used the ZM 85/4 but my impression, based on Juha's images with the 90/4, is that it has better wide open sharpness and overall 'snap.' It will be interesting to see the Lanthar's MTFs once those are released by Cosina. The ZM is 'only' around 70% at 40lp/mm, is somewhat heavier and ~15mm longer. Plus the ZM's hood makes it even longer, whereas Cosina decided on a flat hood design instead....Show more →
The Zeiss 85/4 ZM really is phenomenal, and I have owned several copies over the years. There is noticeable sample variation with that design. Even with the best copy I had, the mid-zone and corners needed about f/6.7 to really look their best.
Don't get me wrong, it delivers excellent image quality wide open. But when I compared it to lenses like the Leica 90/2 APO, it was clear that the Zeiss needed a couple of stops to reach its peak performance.
Wide open is where I expect the new CV 90/4 APO-Lanthar to stand out.
It's just a guess. The Ultron can still be found at B&H, for example, discounted to $595. Interestingly there is no mention of it at Cameraquest. The new 75/2.8 is APO, which the Ultron wasn't, and appears to be a conscious design project to make it smaller and more ergonomically in-tune with Leica M user requests/expectations. Therefore I don't expect it to be priced as an entry level lens.
For the 90/4, the VM 90/2 and 90/2.8 are only $150 price difference in the US market ($900 and $750). It appears it will compete with the 90/2 in respect to technical image quality, but it's a stop slower than the 90/2.8, so from a superficial uneducated buyer's perspective, an f/4 lens will be less desirable than either of the others, even if it optically outperforms both (to be determined). Therefore I think Cosina will face some friction because it's a slow lens (outside of its potentially narrow M user target market). It won't get the same general uptake as the more sexy 90/2, or possibly even the 90/2.8, which is similarly compact, but a stop faster. Therefore at least for the 90, it will likely be priced lower than the other two.
But this is all just guesses. Who knows, by the time these are available, US tariffs might increase on a whim, even more...
ZM85 and APO-Summicron-M 90/2. The new 90mm lens should be doing ~80% (40lpmm) from f4. Bokeh also comes into play at the short MFD, esp if it has some breathing, as is usual. In an era of 14-15-17 element lenses, these two have 5/3 and 5/5 designs. The count of glass-air interfaces was still important back then, I think it still is, for greater transparency.
The 90/2 APO is just 500g, what a lens for use with EVF cameras. The new 90mm is an 8/7 design (according to AI). Room for improvement!
philip_pj wrote:
ZM85 and APO-Summicron-M 90/2. The new 90mm lens should be doing ~80% (40lpmm) from f4. Bokeh also comes into play at the short MFD, esp if it has some breathing, as is usual. In an era of 14-15-17 element lenses, these two have 5/3 and 5/5 designs. The count of glass-air interfaces was still important back then, I think it still is, for greater transparency.
The 90/2 APO is just 500g, what a lens for use with EVF cameras. The new 90mm is an 8/7 design (according to AI). Room for improvement!
Most of the Cosina APO-Lanthars already achieve around 80% at 40 lpmm wide open in the center, across the 28mm to 110mm focal length range. Based on that, I'm confident the new CV 90mm f/4 APO will reach the same level, and it might even be the first to surpass it. I'm very curious to see how it performs.
What's truly impressive about the Leica 90mm f/2 AA is how well it performs off-axis, especially at f/4 and smaller apertures. Very few lenses can match it in that regard, with the CV 90mm f/2 APO-Ultron being one of the few exceptions.
Here's the Leica 90/4 Macro-Elmar-M, which is a 4E, 4G optical construction. I've had one for about 10 years and it's good. Very convenient because it's so small. But IMO it's showing its age. I'm guessing it will be easy pickings for the VM 90/4, based on Juha's images.
Maybe, hopefully. The MTF might have a lower ceiling here. The existing APOs at 90mm are an 8/7 Ultron and a 7/7 Skopar. They use six and five APD elements - the engine for high MTF, effectively, for Cosina - respectively.
It's easier to do a sharp 90mm with fewer elements than a 50mm, but the other factor is lens speed, which also encourages element count parsimony. They got APO correction in the 50/3.5 in an 8/6 design, far less complex than the no-holds-barred 10/8 of the 50/2 APO. It trails off in outer frames from axis 75%, still a lovely lens.
Leica did great in the elegant 90/2 APO-Summicron-M, it's a 5/5, all very fine glass, still for sale after 27 years. Has any lens in 2026 been sold for longer than that period? The APO-Summicron-SL 90/2 is 11/9, super modern and full of the fine glass types, ultra tolerance control, coatings. It struggles to put more than half the frame over 80% 40lpmm.
It might be a law of diminishing returns at work. TBH, anything over 75% is going to be a gain with great clarity and feel (235g), but yes, very interesting for what it can do in the design. The count of APD elements will inform us further, do we know yet?
It makes sense to place a lot of emphasis on absolute center performance, and that's certainly important. That said, anything above 60% at 40 lpmm is already sharp and captures fine detail. Yes, 70 to 80% is sharper, but what matters more to me is how the lens performs across the horizontal MTF axis, in other words, across the entire image field.
There are lenses that look fantastic in the center but fall apart toward the edges, not just in resolution, but also with astigmatism, color errors, and field curvature. I consider a lens truly great when it not only delivers strong center performance for bragging rights, but also maintains high resolution and contrast across the frame, with tangential and sagittal lines staying close together.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I consider a lens truly great when it not only delivers strong center performance for bragging rights, but also maintains high resolution and contrast across the frame, with tangential and sagittal lines staying close together.
+1
I'm cautiously optimistic about the 90/4. At least at close distances, focus transition both in front and behind the plane of focus appears to be smooth and calm without harsh bokeh edges, double lines, etc. It looks promising! Not that I want a lot of bokeh out of a slow 90, rather, I want 'natural' optical characteristics that don't distract from image content.
I'd like to extend a thanks to the number of independent "investigative journalist" photographers feeding back early information on the new Cosina releases. Extremely thoughtful sample photos, write ups and commentary.
Better coverage than paid outlets - doing it for the love of the craft!
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I also visited Samyang booth yesterday and talked to a Samyang guy who seemed to be from Korea about the desire for additional optical modules for RS set like they had hinted at in the early phase of RS set launch. I didn't get any explanation like ftllens did but it seemed very much that they had no plans at the moment and the Samyang guy just promised to take the feedback to their team and he seemed apologetic about it. He tried to promote the Schneider Kreuznach collaboration line which seems to be the main thing now. I guess even in Japan the RS set hasn't sold enough in the long run since it's nowadays available at big discount (around 33K yen for the set in some shops). It's unfortunate since I'd also like to see additional modules....Show more →
Are you planning to get any of the new lenses after trying them in person, Juha? I'd like to review them myself, and I am personally very intrigued by the new 75mm concept.
Fred Miranda wrote:
Are you planning to get any of the new lenses after trying them in person, Juha? I'd like to review them myself, and I am personally very intrigued by the new 75mm concept.
I'm waiting to get the Septon 40/2 as soon as it comes out (I had already preordered before trying it at CP+) and last weekend I made some trades to fund Otus ML 35/1.4 (E-mount version), and I made a reservation for one at Map Camera (to be released sometime late April, should be in time for Japanese Golden Week holiday).
When it comes to the upcoming CV VMs I haven't made any decisions but the 90/4 could be up for consideration depending on the price and release timing and whether I have a good budget for lenses at that time. It's far from decided though. I'm not planning to get the 75/2.8 since I have lots of 75mm coverage as it is and the smaller size alone doesn't make it especially appealing to me. I'm not planning to get anything else from the ones I saw or tried at CP+.
After Septon and Otus I'm going to get the Apoqualia 35/1.4 re-release (probably around June for the BP version) and nothing else is planned for this year currently. If Cosina releases something new for E-mount later in the year after all pre-announced lenses I'd surely be interested.
Recently I have no interest in buying new AF lenses as I use them much less often and I already have good coverage for all my AF lens needs.
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I'm waiting to get the Septon 40/2 as soon as it comes out (I had already preordered before trying it at CP+) and last weekend I made some trades to fund Otus ML 35/1.4 (E-mount version), and I made a reservation for one at Map Camera (to be released sometime late April, should be in time for Japanese Golden Week holiday).
When it comes to the upcoming CV VMs I haven't made any decisions but the 90/4 could be up for consideration depending on the price and release timing and whether I have a good budget for lenses at that time. It's far from decided though. I'm not planning to get the 75/2.8 since I have lots of 75mm coverage as it is and the smaller size alone doesn't make it especially appealing to me. I'm not planning to get anything else from the ones I saw or tried at CP+.
After Septon and Otus I'm going to get the Apoqualia 35/1.4 re-release (probably around June for the BP version) and nothing else is planned for this year currently. If Cosina releases something new for E-mount later in the year after all pre-announced lenses I'd surely be interested.
Recently I have no interest in buying new AF lenses as I use them much less often and I already have good coverage for all my AF lens needs....Show more →
I'm thinking along the same lines. The Voigtlander 40/2 Septon seems to be a no-brainer for those who appreciate compact lenses with a bit of character.
As for the CV 90/4 APO, I already shoot with the 90/2 APO. While the new 0.5m MTF looks great compared to the 90/2's 0.9m, I'd need to try it first to see if it’s something I really need.
Right now my only lens around that focal length is the MS Optics 73mm f/1.5, so the CV 75/2.8 APO is tempting as a well-corrected option at that focal length to complement it.
they didn't seem sure about release date at the time of con but hopefully this year. i somehow ended up with all 43mm filter lenses for my M, so I think I will probably round off with the 75mm. The 90 was great, but I never seem to keep the super extending barrel lenses (I really liked the 50 3.5 but didnt keep it either for that reason, or the 35 apo due to the extended cf travel range). Really liked the 75mm and I can still focus pretty accurately on it. Think for the 90s, it's a good addition but I'd probably just get the 90/2 again or even the 90/2.8 if those copies didn't have the focusing issues.
diogodh wrote:
Hello friends,
Any news of when will the 75mm be release or any other news like price.
Thanks
Cosina usually announces new lenses officially on the previous month prior to market release, along with the Japan market price info and these announcements usually come on or near 15th of each month if anything new is to be released the following month.
There's no release schedule or pricing info for any of the new lenses that were pre-announced at CP+ available yet. They will probably start getting released one by one from May at the earliest and one can only guess which order they will be released in (that includes the 4 upcoming lenses: 75/2.8 VM, 90/4.VM and 35/1.4 Nokton classic for Z and RF mounts). Most likely they will all come out somewhere between May and October this year...
Cosina is always quite secretive about such information prior to official announcements. If anything will be released in May, we could expect official announcement on April 15th.
