It's time for some enterprising manufacturer to make a slim extension tube for Nikon Z. ≈5mm would be nice, but I don't know what's possible. Of course, by extending the flange focus of a FLE lens, we'd be taking the lens out of it's design parameters, but sometimes that works OK.
Jorge Torralba wrote:
Voigtlander m to z adapter offers close focus capabilities.
The M-mount CV 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar focuses to 0.5m with roughly 1:11.3 magnification (~0.088x). On Sony E using the VM-E Close Focus Adapter II (4.3 mm extension) plus the lens helicoid, MFD drops to ~0.28m with 1:6.9 magnification which is essentially matching the native E- and Z-mount mirrorless versions.
On Nikon Z with the VM-Z adapter (This one has 5.5 mm extension), MFD drops further to ~0.23 m, giving ~1:5 magnification...closer than the native lens. The extra helicoid travel is why the adapted Z combo exceeds native performance for close focus. Floating elements keep image quality strong at these distances, making this a solid workaround, especially for Nikon Z users seeking more reach.
Stacking a 10 mm M-mount extension tube (I own one and it's fun to use) behind the M lens with the close-focus adapter adds from 10mm to 14.3–15.5mm total extension (depending on adapter), pushing MFD to ~0.13–0.17 m and magnification into 1:2.3–1:3 which is far beyond what the native mirrorless versions can do. You could also add a tube to a native E or Z lens for the same effect.
That said, the dedicated Z or E-mount lenses remain optimal for their respective sensor stacks.
Anyone care to post some more sample photos? I am second guessing my decision to purchase one despite looking forward to it for months. I have the Z mount 28 1.5 and have been disappointed by it in some situations and also disliked the 35 f2 APO petzval swirly bokeh, so now questioning whether I’ll like the 28 for environmental portraits.
larsbentzen wrote:
Anyone care to post some more sample photos? I am second guessing my decision to purchase one despite looking forward to it for months. I have the Z mount 28 1.5 and have been disappointed by it in some situations and also disliked the 35 f2 APO petzval swirly bokeh, so now questioning whether I’ll like the 28 for environmental portraits.
same here. I waited months for the z version, but with the price hike i'm not as interested. :/
I don't have anything else to post due to the very cold temperatures in our area, but I can't find any fault with this lens. I was also a bit put off by the price increase compared to 28/50 APOs (which I do not own), but I still think it is worth the price of admission. It is a great match on the Zf, and while it is APO corrected it still has nice bokeh and rendering. The 28 APO is a great complement to my 40/75 Noktons.
My 28 arrived from B&H I have not shot anything yet, but just looking through the EV1 view finder at my local scene it strikes me as a wider version of the 50 apo Lanthar that I have. The detail is remarkable on distant scene, the colors seem neutral and real, clinical ? seems to me it will be perfect for scenics. I'll shoot some M and then give it a try on a Nikon Z8 with a CS adapter. Next days will see some weather arrive in Tucson that should make the light more interesting than the warm and clear at the moment. It was a long wait for this lens, I almost forgot about ordering it many months ago. The lens is a little large but it feels light, it might be a difficult choice to decide when to carry the Nokton and Colorskoper 28 instead, actually the Colorskoper is easier being tiny it often goes in my pocket even though it is not quite the lens the other too are.
Mine (z-mount) arrived yesterday in Germany
Of course as of today rain and overcast moved in
I really like the new designed lens hood with a seperate bayonet.
Bob Bogo wrote:
Does the hood play nice with a filter attached at the same time? (Nikon Z mount version).
Yes. I would describe the bayonet-attached, circular hood as oversized. It is inconceivable that any normal filter would touch the inner surface of the hood. Maybe one of the larger diameter variable polas would have trouble with the hood. I can reach into the hood and attach/detach a B+W 58mm 007 CLEAR MRC nano filter with my fingertips, though it's easier to remove the hood to access the filter.
Keith B. wrote:
Yes. I would describe the bayonet-attached, circular hood as oversized. It is inconceivable that any normal filter would touch the inner surface of the hood. Maybe one of the larger diameter variable polas would have trouble with the hood. I can reach into the hood and attach/detach a B+W 58mm 007 CLEAR MRC nano filter with my fingertips, though it's easier to remove the hood to access the filter.
True, it‘s a bit on the large side. But you have good access to a pol-filter with your fingers. I can also take off the hood with the filter (b+w xs-pro pol) attached without problems.
It looks like the aperature blades follow an other design as the 35 apo. I have a faint sunstar at f2. It‘s getting crisper when stoping down, but is always there.
The 35 only has a sun star at certain apertures.
Just some quick photos with new 28 f/2 APO Z shot on Nikon ZF. No edits.
The B/W was shot with Scott's Ilford Lo and last one with Premium Kodak 2025 picture control
There is a natural comparison between the 28mm apo lanthar and the thypoch 28mm 1.4 simera. I tested these on Sony E and adapted to Nikon on a Z8 and Z7. The Voight 28mm f2 apo has a much closer focusing ability. However, in many ways, surprisingly, the simera has some real advantages. The sharpness is comparable with a slight edge in sharpness and contrast wide open to the Voigtlander. However, focusing both lenses to the simera's minimum focus distance, and both at f2, the simera's bokeh is much more out of focus and much more pleasing. Notably, the voight shows some cat's eye bokeh in the corner here, too and the simera is surprisingly round. Yes, the simera has some color fringing wide open, but it cleans up pretty quickly. I'm honestly surprised.
In short, my observations are:
Simera 28mm 1.4 has better rendering and bokeh and the ability to go to 1.4. It's also substantially cheaper. It breathes heavily from 3ft to MFD, but almost none from 3ft to infinity.
The Voight is APO from f2, has a very slight edge in sharpness and contrast at comparable apertures, but not by much. Maintains sharpness at narrower apertures. Breathes moderately, but not significant. Voight communicates exif data, which matters on sony, but less on other brands like Nikon.
I don't know that at the end of the day it's worth the 2x price premium, but YMMV. I've been using the Voight 28mm on a boom for top down flat lay shots with pixel shift and it excels at that. It's light, sharp, contrasty and can resolve better than the sigma 28mm 1.4 art I was using. If I was just using it for a walk around or street lens, I think the better choice is the 28mm 1.4 simera, no question. I'd like to test both lenses on star fields, but haven't had a good chance yet. I do think the 28mm is a better lens than the 35mm apo lanthar, but I also wish that Voigtlander had used the rounded aperture blades at f/2.8, and I don't love the design choices on the sony e mount version.
Edited to add one oddity: LR has a profile for the 28mm f2 voightlander when used adapted to Nikon, but not for Sony (I have the Sony version). It's seems like others are saying that there is no profile for the Nikon version when used on Nikon.
These are the reasons why, in my opinion, the Simera complements an Apo Lanthar so wonderfully.
Of course, besides the fact that it was available for a third of the price of a 28/2 AL-Z during the expired Simera discount promotion.
Unlike my 35/2 Apo Lanthar, the Simera shines with a significantly more suitable bokeh when photographing people/portraits.
It's also really fun to use with Nikon's manual focus assists, magnification, peaking....
Manual focus subject/face/eye detection is very nice for portrait photography with manual focus lenses.
Even if you don't get focus confirmation via the green frame with non CPU.
I agree with Vento's assessment of the relative merits of these two 28mm lenses. I found that the very long focus stroke of the Simera 28 Z a boon to scale-focusing but a slight hindrance to eye-focusing. The 28 Apo Z racks through the focus stroke faster but still maintains a serviceable scale-focusing capability thanks to accurate markings on the barrel.
I've tried to read as much of this thread as possible, and the lens looks superb, but can someone summarize how this compares to the leica q3 28 lens? I have and LOVE that lens. And I also shoot fuji. And man, I wish there was something in between. Other than autofocus, this looks like it could pair with the sony a7rc very well and be similar in size to the q3 but then give me the option of longer focal lengths as well. But I'm very used to the fuji 18 1.4 and then the q3, and it's hard to go back to the fuji after the q3 lens. But I keep it for the other lenses (33, 56, 90, etc.)
Having the sony and this lens would fulfil my 75% EDC use case, and i could easily get another lens or two to match the fuji 33/56. And gain the benefits of FF and better tech. But.... I really don't want to gain a lot of size. So this looks appealing. Would it compare well to the q3?
