crf59 wrote:
I'd love to see someone really test the 50 APO vs the Voigtlander 50 APO Lanthar BTW. If anyone out there has both, love to hear thoughts. I have seen a couple reviews on line, but there seemed to be some clear "budget lens" bias in those.
I have had the Leica M 50 cron APO, the Voigtlander Leica M mount 50 f/2 APO, and currently have the Voigtlander Sony E mount 50 f/2 APO. They all have a very similar look and profile, but there are subtle differences in the rendering. The Leica lens is slightly sharper than the the Leica M mount Voigtlander lens, but I doubt you will ever see that even with side X side comparisons and 100% magnification. They both are just wickedly sharp even from wide open. I think the notable difference is in ergonomics. The Leica lens is notably smaller (2.6mm skinnier and 6mm shorter) and hardly blocks the frame lines at all and the built in hood works well and is super convenient. I find the ergonomics on the Leica lens to be about perfect. The Voigtlander lens doesn't have bad ergonomics, but they don't compare to the Leica lens and the hood really adds to the size or at least how big the lens feels. You save a lot of money with the Voigtlander lens, and get quite similar optical performance but the size and ergonomics certainly favor the Leica in my view.
Steve Spencer wrote:
I have had the Leica M 50 cron APO, the Voigtlander Leica M mount 50 f/2 APO, and currently have the Voigtlander Sony E mount 50 f/2 APO. They all have a very similar look and profile, but there are subtle differences in the rendering. The Leica lens is slightly sharper than the the Leica M mount Voigtlander lens, but I doubt you will ever see that even with side X side comparisons and 100% magnification. They both are just wickedly sharp even from wide open. I think the notable difference is in ergonomics. The Leica lens is notably smaller (2.6mm skinnier and 6mm shorter) and hardly blocks the frame lines at all and the built in hood works well and is super convenient. I find the ergonomics on the Leica lens to be about perfect. The Voigtlander lens doesn't have bad ergonomics, but they don't compare to the Leica lens and the hood really adds to the size or at least how big the lens feels. You save a lot of money with the Voigtlander lens, and get quite similar optical performance but the size and ergonomics certainly favor the Leica in my view....Show more →
Great summary and thanks. I might just try the VM and can claim frugality with my wife
i have both the Leica and Voigtlander APO and they are not similar at all. for one the Voigtlander has a wider FOV and has stronger vignetting wide open and more cat's eye bokeh in the corners. Voigtlander renders color a bit more on cooler side on Leica sensors.
And here is a review of the Apo lanthar which IMHO is as good as the apo summicron. Butthis shows you the diff in bokeh vs a lux butthe detail is amazing
