Fred Miranda
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 p.5 #20 · Voigtlander 90mm f/2 APO-Ultron Review | |
Steve Spencer wrote:
Thanks for these samples Fred. Although there is an obvious similarity in the optical performance between the Leica M 90 cron AA and this Voigtlander lens, it is becoming clear that there are some important differences. In the Voigtlander's favor, it has even more contrast and especially microcontrast, even better correction for axial CA, and less susceptibility to flare than the Leica 90 cron AA, which is high praise. In the Leica's favor it has less vignetting which shows up with rounder bokeh balls for more of the frame and a bit more blur at the edges and corners of the frame. In general, I find it easer to tell these two lenses apart than some of the recent comparisons to Leica M lenses (e.g., CV 28 f/1.5 to Leica M 28 lux Asph; Thypoch 50 f/1.4 to Leica M 50 lux Asph).
If all else was equal, I think I would prefer the Leica tradeoffs in optical performance, but all else is not equal. The Voigtlander is smaller, focusses closer, and is much cheaper and given those advantages, for me anyway, it is pretty clear I will opt for the Voigtlander over the Leica.
For years I have thought that my ultimate rangefinder 28, 50, & 90 set of lenses would be the Leica 28 lux Asph, 50 lux Asph, and 90 AA. I have owned all three of those lenses, but never at the same time and really liked the performance of each of them. The problem from my point of view, however, is that the three together start to add a significant amount of size and weight. Together they weigh 1,275 g. What I find exciting is that I can get quite similar performance with the CV 28 f/1.5, the Thypoch 50 f/1.4, and this CV 90 f/2 APO and the total weight of the lenses would be just 866g. That weight is about a third and over 400g less. That to me starts to be a very compelling option even if there was no difference in price, which of course is even greater than the difference in weight....Show more →
I feel the same way, and I learned a lot from the rendering and resolution comparisons, Steve. It's much harder to spot differences between the CV 28/1.5 and the Leica 28/1.4 Lux, or between the Thypoch 50/1.4 and the Leica 50/1.4 Lux.
However, with these 90mm lenses, the rendering structure and transitions are similar, yet the differences are more apparent. The Voigtlander shows noticeable darkening in the corners, while the Leica's rendering displays less optical vignetting and flare, resulting in softer corners which I prefer. Differences in the shape of specular highlights are also evident. These variations stand out even when comparing resized thumbnails side by side.
The Voigtlander 90mm f/2 APO-Ultron strikes me as the better-corrected lens with higher contrast, but that doesn't always translate to better images. It ultimately depends on the subject and the desired look. Technically, apart from the more pronounced optical vignetting, the Voigtlander is hard to fault. It's especially impressive given that it's one of the smallest high-performing 90mm f/2 lenses available for the M-mount..
Ironically, the higher optical vignetting might be a significant factor in achieving the compactness advantage. As you mentioned, it all comes down to different trade-offs.
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