Mine arrived too. If anything, the hood is an abomination on an M-camera. Regrettably the LH-13 does not fit. But it might fit after some Dremel surgery...
I should have clarified that what I meant by 'made for mirrorless' referred to the physical design of the lens. It's a large lens for rangefinder users, but small for mirrorless user. It 'only' needs optical optimization for mirrorless, which will happen when it's eventually released in mirrorless mounts.
Leica makes large lenses but puts a lot more effort into minimizing VF blockage when possible. For example again, Leica's 35 Cron APO ASPH is much shorter than the VM 35 APO. 35mm is arguably *the* M focal length and users who are going to pay for a 35mm Leica want everything to be just right with the user experience, which includes minimizing VF blockage. With Voigtlander you're buying it either because it's a lot less expensive than a Leica and sometimes have to accept the size compromise, or you prioritize optical performance above the user experience. This is where I'm on the fence about the VM 28 APO. I very much appreciate that it is the best technically performing 28mm natively available for use on a Leica M camera. But I'm also somewhat picky about the M user experience, which I actually value over many technical aspects (otherwise I probably wouldn't be a Leica user). Therefore while the 28 APO is unmatched, at the stopped down aperture values I typically use with 28mm, other smaller more viewfinder friendly options are close enough. Since the user experience is a high priority, I'll probably stay with a small 28 and accept the tradeoff in optical performance....Show more →
Thanks for the clarification, but now I'm not sure why you're giving the AL 50 such an easy pass. It was the origin of the design logic and the one best suited to lose a centimeter in diameter at the front. Instead, they went with something more distinctive that seems to have informed the designs on the rest of the VM ALs.
I get what you’re saying about user experience. And the Ultron’s a sweetheart optically and a great size, so I can see why some owners wouldn’t be looking to replace it. I just think “made for mirrorless” isn’t really a fair label in this case based on VF blockage, since the lens alone takes a smaller bite out of the VF than Leica’s current Summicron 28. If you want to say the hood looks like it was designed for use on mirrorless, with that, I can’t argue. But, like you said, it doesn’t look like the hood’s really necessary.
freaklikeme wrote:
Thanks for the clarification, but now I'm not sure why you're giving the AL 50 such an easy pass. It was the origin of the design logic and the one best suited to lose a centimeter in diameter at the front. Instead, they went with something more distinctive that seems to have informed the designs on the rest of the VM ALs.
I get what you’re saying about user experience. And the Ultron’s a sweetheart optically and a great size, so I can see why some owners wouldn’t be looking to replace it. I just think “made for mirrorless” isn’t really a fair label in this case based on VF blockage, since the lens alone takes a smaller bite out of the VF than Leica’s current Summicron 28. If you want to say the hood looks like it was designed for use on mirrorless, with that, I can’t argue. But, like you said, it doesn’t look like the hood’s really necessary....Show more →
The VM 50 APO gets a pass because it's a 50. It's about the same size as the 50 Lux ASPH and that lens only just edges into the 50mm frame lines at infinity. But yes, it could also have been made narrower to minimize frame line blockage. I'm not a fan of the current 28 Cron redesign. This is one case where I don't think Leica improved the physical design over previous versions First of all, I really dislike Leica's built-in extending hoods, and it seems kind of pointless with this design because it's so short. I thought the second version with the square metal hood was probably the best design refinement of the original version, which I had. If I didn't want hood intrusion in the viewfinder, I could simply unclip it, though it was somewhat of a clunky plastic hood. At least without the hood it was a small/short lens.
All that said, the early 'real world' images coming from the VM 28 APO are great, really clean looking. It might just be a matter of accepting its size/design as a necessary evil.
junglialoh wrote:
CameraQuest said The price is adjusted due to tariff 15%.
Originally $999, but increased to $1149 now.
What is the 'right' way to incorporate something like a tariff in the selling price/MSRP?
Let's say you import a product for $100 and the tariff is 15%. It costs you an additional $15. You previously sold the product at retail for $300. Do you increase the retail price $15 or 15%?
$15 increase retains your previous gross profit amount, in dollars. But your gross profit percentage decreases...
Even at $999 it would still be ~$225 more than in Japan, pre-tax. But it seems this range has always been the case with Voigtlander lenses outside of Japan.
Some daytime shots (quite sunny and hot here), Kenko ZXII and hood, mostly ISO 64 or 400. I see some localized spot flare but it could be from the filter.
One more set ZXII/hood again. Finally found the worst case scenario for direct backlight to induce veiling flare. Some localized glare patterns (could be filter), rest of scene pretty well suppressed. Also took some in dimmer indoor light here with different color levels.
junglialoh wrote:
CameraQuest said The price is adjusted due to tariff 15%.
Originally $999, but increased to $1149 now.
What is the 'right' way to incorporate something like a tariff in the selling price/MSRP?
Let's say you import a product for $100 and the tariff is 15%. It costs you an additional $15. You previously sold the product at retail for $300. Do you increase the retail price $15 or 15%?
$15 increase retains your previous gross profit amount, in dollars. But your gross profit percentage decreases...
Even at $999 it would still be ~$225 more than in Japan, pre-tax. But it seems this range has always been the case with Voigtlander lenses outside of Japan.
A 15% tariff on $300 is $45. (300 x .15). The problem is that the tariff percentage is what is paid to the government, to remain solvent the vendor has to add further costs for the time and labor related to the additional administrative effort.
I get what you’re saying about user experience. And the Ultron’s a sweetheart optically and a great size, so I can see why some owners wouldn’t be looking to replace it. I just think “made for mirrorless” isn’t really a fair label in this case based on VF blockage, since the lens alone takes a smaller bite out of the VF than Leica’s current Summicron 28. If you want to say the hood looks like it was designed for use on mirrorless, with that, I can’t argue. But, like you said, it doesn’t look like the hood’s really necessary.
A minor point: I could very well be wrong as I have neither the Apo-Lanthar nor the current Summicron in front of me, but the Summicron is both smaller at the front and maybe 6-8mm shorter than the A-L, so viewfinder obstruction would be less with the Summicron.
The information in Leica's pdf on the 28 Summicron is incorrect in regard to the size of the lens; this has happened often. Nobody seems to check these specs for consistency nor accuracy.
Henning wrote:
A minor point: I could very well be wrong as I have neither the Apo-Lanthar nor the current Summicron in front of me, but the Summicron is both smaller at the front and maybe 6-8mm shorter than the A-L, so viewfinder obstruction would be less with the Summicron.
The information in Leica's pdf on the 28 Summicron is incorrect in regard to the size of the lens; this has happened often. Nobody seems to check these specs for consistency nor accuracy.
I was wondering, but it's hard to tell from the photos. And, in fairness, I think it hits its max diameter in the middle of the lens and the length may be shorter in front of the mount and more extended behind. Still, I wouldn't say it's going to give you much of the frame back in the VF.
Thanks for posting this. I haven't been to their youtube channel in a while but I love those look book "camera is fashion" videos they've been doing lately - nice idea!
Samples 4: Mostly Low Light at mid and close-up distances
All samples shot wide open.
Post-processing was kept minimal, limited to some sharpening and slight exposure adjustments. I used either the Adobe Color or Standard profile to better reflect the lens's natural color rendering. This lens show very high level of contrast which translate to very bold colors.
Vignetting and distortion were not corrected for any of these samples.
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/60s640 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/60s320 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/60s320 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/60s2000 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/60s1000 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/60s250 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.51/60s500 ISO-1.0 EV
Through a dirty glass. :)
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/1600s100 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/4000s100 ISO-1.0 EV
Post-processing was kept minimal, limited to some sharpening and slight exposure adjustments. I used either the Adobe Color or Standard profile to better reflect the lens's natural color rendering. This lens show very high level of contrast which translate to very bold colors.
Vignetting and distortion were not corrected for any of these samples.
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/5000s100 ISO-1.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.01/8000s100 ISO-1.3 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/60s200 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/60s320 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/60s320 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/60s250 ISO-1.0 EV
LEICA M10-RVoigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens28mmf/2.21/60s200 ISO-1.0 EV
