If somebody is looking to buy 28/2 AL in Tokyo, I noticed that Sukiya Camera at Ginza have 2 new ones in their store at the moment. Their price is 125K yen. Not sure if they have any Tax Free option for tourists though. https://maps.app.goo.gl/6hx58XKj3Co724BJ6
Knut. wrote:
Any news when the 28mm Apo might arrive for e-mount? One of the lenses I‘m really looking forward to.
There's no word yet on whether it will even be made in E-mount, or when that might happen. Right now, the M-mount version is almost impossible to find anywhere.
Fred Miranda wrote:
There's no word yet on whether it will even be made in E-mount, or when that might happen. Right now, the M-mount version is almost impossible to find anywhere.
If there is going to be an E mount version, I suspect it won't be announced until Cosina works through the backlog of M mount version demand.
But once that happens, it would seem crazy to me to not produce an E mount version.
tsdevine wrote:
If there is going to be an E mount version, I suspect it won't be announced until Cosina works through the backlog of M mount version demand.
But once that happens, it would seem crazy to me to not produce an E mount version.
I don't think the new production of 28/2 AL VM is connected to upcoming new release plans. Popular Cosina lenses are always running out of stock cyclically and new batches are always being produced and recently it seems that launch volumes of new lenses can sometimes be below the demand and new supplies can take months to arrive but new lens releases keep coming almost every month. Next announcement for a new October release (if any) could be on September 12th (since 15th is a national holiday). I'm keeping an eye out for that.
I hope you’re right, but announced or not, it’s really about satisfying demand. If announced and released, but unavailable….the semantics may not matter.
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I don't think the new production of 28/2 AL VM is connected to upcoming new release plans. Popular Cosina lenses are always running out of stock cyclically and new batches are always being produced and recently it seems that launch volumes of new lenses can sometimes be below the demand and new supplies can take months to arrive but new lens releases keep coming almost every month. Next announcement for a new October release (if any) could be on September 12th (since 15th is a national holiday). I'm keeping an eye out for that.
Early birds who pre-order can usually get any new releases but some of the more popular new releases (like this one) tend to run out of stock in most stores a week or two after release in Japan based on my observations and recently it seems to take a longer time than before until next production run happens. Perhaps Cosina are doing smaller initial production runs and not reacting as quickly to high demand than they used to. I've never failed to get any new release if I preordered it but if I started considering purchasing a couple of weeks after release, sometimes I've had to wait for next production run or had to do some hunting. Only their most popular lenses seem to run out of stock in a week or two from release though. In the past there was usually a new batch about 1 month after initial release but now it seems to take a few months instead.
I don't know why but it could be that they have a larger number of lenses in production across all supported mounts and they are always busy doing new batches of some of those. In general it seems to take longer for them to restock some of their most popular lenses when they periodically run out of stock than it used to, new and old. Some of the top-sellers seem to be backordered much more often than they are available.
tsdevine wrote:
I hope you’re right, but announced or not, it’s really about satisfying demand. If announced and released, but unavailable….the semantics may not matter.
Juha Kannisto wrote:
Early birds who pre-order can usually get any new releases but some of the more popular new releases (like this one) tend to run out of stock in most stores a week or two after release in Japan based on my observations and recently it seems to take a longer time than before until next production run happens. Perhaps Cosina are doing smaller initial production runs and not reacting as quickly to high demand than they used to. I've never failed to get any new release if I preordered it but if I started considering purchasing a couple of weeks after release, sometimes I've had to wait for next production run or had to do some hunting. Only their most popular lenses seem to run out of stock in a week or two from release though. In the past there was usually a new batch about 1 month after initial release but now it seems to take a few months instead.
I don't know why but it could be that they have a larger number of lenses in production across all supported mounts and they are always busy doing new batches of some of those. In general it seems to take longer for them to restock some of their most popular lenses when they periodically run out of stock than it used to, new and old. Some of the top-sellers seem to be backordered much more often than they are available.
I guess at the end of the day, if they announce an E mount version, I will pre-order day 1. I'll be a happy camper if they fulfil mine out of the first batch.
Just impatient, but a 28 AL is something I've been hoping for for a long time.
I know these are in short supply but has anyone seen a rendering comparison with the Nokton 1.5?
I believe Fred mentioned the background blur was smoother with the APO a few pages back now and that perhaps the APO had more contrast, but that he stilled preferred the Nokton.
@Fred Miranda any chance you could elaborate on why you preferred the Nokton and is that for people photos?
I don't plan on taking many people shots with the 28, though I believe the Thypoch might be well suited for that?
Because if it's not for people, and the apo has better uniformity, corrections, more contrast and a smoother background blur...why so keen on the nokton?
Considering the nokton is the only one available for e-mount right now, it would make things easier! Trying to avoid the rabbit hole I went into with the 40-55mm lenses collectathon.
Yogifi wrote:
I know these are in short supply but has anyone seen a rendering comparison with the Nokton 1.5?
I believe Fred mentioned the background blur was smoother with the APO a few pages back now and that perhaps the APO had more contrast, but that he stilled preferred the Nokton.
@Fred Miranda@ any chance you could elaborate on why you preferred the Nokton and is that for people photos?
I don't plan on taking many people shots with the 28, though I believe the Thypoch might be well suited for that?
Because if it's not for people, and the apo has better uniformity, corrections, more contrast and a smoother background blur...why so keen on the nokton?
Considering the nokton is the only one available for e-mount right now, it would make things easier! Trying to avoid the rabbit hole I went into with the 40-55mm lenses collectathon....Show more →
My favorite 28mm of all time has been the Leica 28mm f/1.4 Summilux. I shot with it for years and loved not just its performance but especially its rendering...it isn't technically perfect, but to my eyes its character is beautifully unique. When the Voigtlander 28mm f/1.5 Nokton came out, I was honestly shocked at how close it felt to the Leica in both rendering and performance, while also offering excellent haptics, a smaller size, and lighter weight. I valued it so much that I ended up selling the Leica, which says a lot. It's not as clinically perfect as the Ultron or the newer 28mm f/2 APO, but I see each of those lenses serving different purposes, even though they share the same FL.
Sep 24, 2025 at 01:32 PM
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Fred Miranda wrote:
My favorite 28mm of all time has been the Leica 28mm f/1.4 Summilux. I shot with it for years and loved not just its performance but especially its rendering...it isn't technically perfect, but to my eyes its character is beautifully unique. When the Voigtlander 28mm f/1.5 Nokton came out, I was honestly shocked at how close it felt to the Leica in both rendering and performance, while also offering excellent haptics, a smaller size, and lighter weight. I valued it so much that I ended up selling the Leica, which says a lot. It's not as clinically perfect as the Ultron or the newer 28mm f/2 APO, but I see each of those lenses serving different purposes, even though they share the same FL....Show more →
This is exactly my view as well. I loved the 28 Lux, but was happy to get the 28 Nokton because it is so similar and yet smaller with great haptics. I might like the 28 APO Lanthar more, but I think even if I do I will still keep the 28 Nokton for its quite different character, which to my eyes is a wonderful rendering.
Appreciate the responses and I can completely understand being attached to a particular rendering style.
From the samples so far, the APO is looking brilliant to my eye. Don't want to make a mistake, will keep going through Nokton image samples a few more times till the look is clearer, thank you.
