As of September 26, 2026...about 8 months after acquiring the lens, it appears to have begun to develop a loose helicoid key(s). Right now the wobble is very small, but as we all know, these things don't repair themselves. It's had moderate use and has not been bashed around. Disappointed that it is either poorly designed, poorly assembled, or perhaps just somewhat delicate. If it has to go away for many months for service, I might consider getting another copy, because the lens is still the best 28mm for Z mount. It'll be like people said about owning a Ferrari car: You need to have two– one to drive and one to have in the shop.
I hope that this 28/2 APO look will complement my 50 lux. They seem to be very similar in size. I like that. I am looking forward to this lens. Voight seems to deliver once again.
Fred Miranda wrote:
In terms of blur amount, they're not that different. The Leica is labeled 28mm after the software in-camera crop, but optically it's really about 25.2mm uncropped (see the discussion here: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1830361/).
So if we compare 25/1.7 vs 28/2, the Q3 still produces slightly more blur, especially when the background is far from the subject...but the difference is small. (see illustration below)
When it comes to correction, though, the CV 28/2 APO is clearly optically better controlled for CA and distortion, and it delivers higher resolution and contrast, particularly off-axis. Honestly, nothing else matches the Voigtlander 28/2 APO-Lanthar in terms of resolution, correction, and compact size. so if 28mm is your preferred FL, I highly recommend it....Show more →
RacingManiac wrote:
Where is the loose part? I haven't noticed anything that seems out of order on my copy atm.
If it's the helicoid key as I suspect, that part is inside the lens. Hopefully, your copy will never be out of order in any way. Fingers crossed that my copy is an outlier and not typical.
Surfnsun wrote:
I hope that this 28/2 APO look will complement my 50 lux. They seem to be very similar in size. I like that. I am looking forward to this lens. Voight seems to deliver once again.
I think it complements the 50mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH extremely well. Both share a modern rendering style and deliver high performance with excellent axial CA control. While the 50 Lux isn't quite as corrected wide open as the 28mm f/2 APO, it holds its own remarkably well against other f/1.4 glass. I actually don't own the Voigtlander 50mm f/2 APO, so I rely on the 50 Lux as my highly corrected 50mm...especially once stopped down to f/2.
I can state, that the
- Voigtländer Apo Lanthar 28mm/f2.0 +
- Voigtländer Apo Lanthar 50/f2.0
combination is extremely nice!
Just missing a lightweight 90mm/f2.0 Apo Lanthar for e-mount to finish off a trio.
(Someone said that patents indicate that something might be in the pipeline, fingers crossed …)
Knut. wrote:
Just missing a lightweight 90mm/f2.0 Apo Lanthar for e-mount to finish off a trio.
(Someone said that patents indicate that something might be in the pipeline, fingers crossed …)
Well, you know, they make the VM 90/2 Apo Ultron (340 g), the 90/2.8 Apo Skopar (M- and Z-mount, that can be adapted to Sony), and the 90/4 Apo Lanthar close focus (235 g) that - differently from the 90/2 Apo Ultron - performs very well when adapted to Sony (https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1952012/1#infinity4).
So I'm afraid a 90/2 Apo Lanthar isn't coming anytime soon. In the meantime, you can adapt both the 90/2.8 and the 90/4 to Sony cameras. Or buy the Viltrox EVO 85/2 FE
I recently received my copy for Z-mount, shooting with a Nikon Z8. I haven't come across a nice landscape to try it on just yet, so I'm trying it on all sorts of things in the meantime.
Ripolini wrote:
Well, you know, they make the VM 90/2 Apo Ultron (340 g), the 90/2.8 Apo Skopar (M- and Z-mount, that can be adapted to Sony), and the 90/4 Apo Lanthar close focus (235 g) that - differently from the 90/2 Apo Ultron - performs very well when adapted to Sony (https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1952012/1#infinity4).
So I'm afraid a 90/2 Apo Lanthar isn't coming anytime soon. In the meantime, you can adapt both the 90/2.8 and the 90/4 to Sony cameras. Or buy the Viltrox EVO 85/2 FE
Yes, I know.
But wouldn’t it be swell if exif data including distance coding could be transfered to the camera natively?
As far as I am aware, there appears to be no native e-mount 90mm from Voigtländer.
So dreaming of a 90mm e-mount Apo Lanthar (for example f2.0) is still viable!
Knut. wrote:
But wouldn’t it be swell if exif data including distance coding could be transfered to the camera natively?
I own two MF lenses without contacts: Nikkor AI 50/1.4 and Zeiss ZF 100/2 Makro-Planar.
I don't notice any drawbacks in using them compared to when I use my Zeiss ZF.2 or Z-mount Voigtlander lenses, aside from the lack of information about the aperture used in the EXIF data.
Knut. wrote:
As far as I am aware, there appears to be no native e-mount 90mm from Voigtländer.
So dreaming of a 90mm e-mount Apo Lanthar (for example f2.0) is still viable!
If I'm not mistaken, the only Voigtlander E-mount lenses that Cosina has introduced without first releasing a VM version are the ones that can't be used on rangefinder cameras: e.g., 65/2 and 110/2.5 macro lenses.
All the others were first released in VM versions, and only later with Sony FE, Nikon Z, or Canon RF mounts.
The 90-mm focal length can be used on rangefinder cameras and is quite (perhaps too?) common in the Voigtländer catalog.
Cosina released APO-Lanthar 50mm F2 for E-mount in 2019 and VM in 2021. Also 21/1.4, 21/3.5 (discontinued in E) and 40/1.2 came out first in E and then in VM the following year. 10mm came out a little earlier on E as well. 12mm V3 came out first in E and a few months later in VM. There are also Septon 40/2 and Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 that don't exist in VM although Heliar classic 75/1.8 VM is the original with same base optical design (not quite the same lens though).
The E-mount versions provide focusing distance info which enables 5-Axis IBIS instead of 3 and lens correction (distortion, CA, vignetting compensation) info in EXIF that can be utilized (optionally) in addition to the sensor stack optimization.
Oct 04, 2026 at 05:47 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
Fred Miranda wrote:
You should give the Zf a try, Juha. I think it would really suit your style since you mainly shoot manual focus. The focus confirmation alone is a game changer, and the Nikon sensor tends to handle Leica M-mount lenses better. You can also adapt your existing Cosina E mount lenses to Z mount, so there is no need to replace them.
Juha,
A bit off topic but I agree with Fred, that you may like the ZF. It is a really nice camera, and you seem to be happy with a camera with a bit lower MP. It isn't as small as your A7C II, but it isn't that big either, and there are only a few CV lenses that are available in E mount and not Z mount (I believe only the 10mm, 12mm, 21 f/1.4, 35 f/1.2, & 110mm Macro) and the ultrawides I think can be adapted from M to work as well as they do on Sony. I think you would only lose your 35 f/1.2, which I know you have in the SE version for Sony E mount and you would have to go with the bigger Nikon versions of the 40 f/1.2, and 50 f/1.2. Perhaps that one lens is worth staying with Sony, but I have found the focus aids to be game changers and would miss them if I went back to Sony.
My quick and non-nuanced take for a camera for adapting lenses (and nuances can certainly matter for each individual person) is that because focus aids are so useful
If you are happy with 24MP, then the Nikon ZF will generally be the best body.
If you want 45MP, then the Nikon Z7 or Z7 II is a great choice, but you should also consider the Canon R5 II especially if you want silent shooting some of the time or fast fps and you are willing to pay for those. If you can live with a bigger camera the Nikon Z8 is also a great choice.
If you need or want the smallest camera or 60 plus MP, however, Sony is the only place to get those things, so I expect there will still be some people who pick Sony for those options and that smallest camera possible still may be attractive to you Juha.
Knut. wrote:
Yes, I know.
But wouldn’t it be swell if exif data including distance coding could be transfered to the camera natively?
As far as I am aware, there appears to be no native e-mount 90mm from Voigtländer.
So dreaming of a 90mm e-mount Apo Lanthar (for example f2.0) is still viable!
I believe a longer APO-Lanthar following 28/2, 35/2, 50/2 that could round out the f2 APO-Lanthar series for mirrorless (E and Z) could be in the cards but I have no idea about possible timeline... Since we have 2 other 75mm mirrorless lenses and nothing in the 90mm space it might make more sense to make it a 90/2 as well. I don't think it would be coming very soon though. I have higher hopes of a pancake 28mm lens that would pair perfectly with Septon 40/2. Waiting to see if Cosina makes any announcements for November and December... Next chance for an announcement would be 10/15.
A bit off topic but I agree with Fred, that you may like the ZF. It is a really nice camera, and you seem to be happy with a camera with a bit lower MP. It isn't as small as your A7C II, but it isn't that big either, and there are only a few CV lenses that are available in E mount and not Z mount (I believe only the 10mm, 12mm, 21 f/1.4, 35 f/1.2, & 110mm Macro) and the ultrawides I think can be adapted from M to work as well as they do on Sony. I think you would only lose your 35 f/1.2, which I know you have in the SE version for Sony E mount and you would have to go with the bigger Nikon versions of the 40 f/1.2, and 50 f/1.2. Perhaps that one lens is worth staying with Sony, but I have found the focus aids to be game changers and would miss them if I went back to Sony.
My quick and non-nuanced take for a camera for adapting lenses (and nuances can certainly matter for each individual person) is that because focus aids are so useful
If you are happy with 24MP, then the Nikon ZF will generally be the best body.
If you want 45MP, then the Nikon Z7 or Z7 II is a great choice, but you should also consider the Canon R5 II especially if you want silent shooting some of the time or fast fps and you are willing to pay for those. If you can live with a bigger camera the Nikon Z8 is also a great choice.
If you need or want the smallest camera or 60 plus MP, however, Sony is the only place to get those things, so I expect there will still be some people who pick Sony for those options and that smallest camera possible still may be attractive to you Juha....Show more →
I do prefer 24MP to 36MP range and I'd rather not use higher resolution bodies as I shoot a lot of volume and I practically never crop. Having a lot of unnecessarily large files would be a negative thing.
I'm not eager to buy into more systems though as I already have multiple Sony E-mount cameras, Fuji X-S10 and Sigma fp but I mainly just use Sony. If I decided to offload my secondary cameras I could buy a Nikon as a replacement but there has been no particular motivation so far.
I have pretty much all the lenses I need in E-mount + lots of adapted glass (I'm always happy to buy some more when CV, MS-Optics or Kinoshita Optical release something exciting though). I'm not having any strong desire for different focusing aids, I've been enjoying manual focusing with focus peaking + selective magnification since I first got into adapting lenses in 2013 or so and I use the same method on all of those bodies that I have even though Fuji and Sigma have some different options too. I think there are a lot of positives with seeing the depth of field with focus peaking, not having to deal with any focus box (that I might need to move manually to desired area first) etc. I'm totally accustomed to that and there's nothing that annoys me with that method. I also pay a lot of attention to the visual sharpness of the focused area besides looking at the strength of the peaking (since some lenses may not have the best contrast and resolution at the same plane of focus at all times).
Nikon Zf didn't feel very comfortable when I tried demo cameras in some shops before, ergonomics didn't work for me and it's just too big & heavy compared to my A7CII (and A7C) and it would need some add-on grip + the mount is larger than necessary for adapting M-mount lenses, would need new adapters etc. Also, I don't like the traditional Nikon focusing direction as much. I also don't want to start stacking adapters to get the focusing aids and with my native E-mount lenses I can utilize all the EXIF data in my post-processing in C1 Pro (Manufacturer Profile supported by C1 Pro depends on lens compensation data from EXIF). I think that wouldn't really carry over if I adapted those lenses to Z. I wouldn't want to start buying many lenses in additional mounts + a new set of adapters or swapping out my existing lenses to same ones in a different mount.
So overall it would be nice to try a Nikon Zf (or Z5 II) to see how I feel about it but I'm not that much drawn into them and I have no history with Nikon at all. Z8 and Z9 would definitely be too big to appeal to me. Would require too much investment to buy one just to have a little try to see if I would really like it.
Canon R5 II would be my choice is I wanted to buy Canon but I'm not in favor of their closed mount strategy and there's no particular motivation for me to try Canon mirrorless. I do have history with Canon though as I used their SLRs and DSLRs for several years before moving to mirrorless.
I'm inclined to stay put with my Sony A7CII as my main camera and I'm looking forward to A7CIII in the future. If Nikon did put out a similar (to A7CII) compact "rangefinder style" camera with an EVF I would immediately be more tempted to try it out than the existing models they have though. In that case I might trade off one of my secondary cameras and replace it with a Nikon for trial purposes.
