p.1 #1 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
My ‘local’ store doesn’t even have the lens in its system, let alone available for trial or sale. All my info is based on Fred’s review and Mr Leica’s video on YT. Both are very positive.
Now, at 28mm I actually have my only Leica lens for my M11, the Elmarit. I like that lens. For 45mm-50mm, I have four lenses, none Leica.
I’m not sure I want/need four 28mm lenses, esp. since the Elmarit is a good allrounder, I don’t see myself using the Leica as a landscape lens and I don’t need special rendering at that focal length for portraits.
Still, I’m curious. And I assume it would match my 50mm VL APO in its rendering, which is a plus.
Can’t rent VL lenses here, so that’s not an option.
So, who is buying or has bought the new VL and why, esp if you already have other 28mm lenses?
p.1 #2 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
My CV 28/2.0 Vers. I lens does everything I need it to do. In addition I have a similar well performing Leica 28/2.8 pre-ASPH lens. So no need to upgrade for anything in the 28 mm FL range. Also - just from subjective preference - I am not after a super sharp clinical APO look in lenses.
p.1 #3 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
This looks like a very fine lens at an attractive price. The 28mm focal length is the primary missing piece of my M kit. So I will likely get one of these once the dust settles on my move to Europe and they become readily available. I am in no rush however.
p.1 #4 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
retrofocus wrote:
My CV 28/2.0 Vers. I lens does everything I need it to do. In addition I have a similar well performing Leica 28/2.8 pre-ASPH lens. So no need to upgrade for anything in the 28 mm FL range. Also - just from subjective preference - I am not after a super sharp clinical APO look in lenses.
I do like variety in the normal range, so my 50 APO plays a role. Just not sure I want it in the wide range. For landscapes, I tend to use my GFX kit.
Aug 15, 2025 at 01:17 PM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #5 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
I will probably get one but right now I don't have a Leica M camera, so I will wait until they make it in Sony E mount. I have the CV 28 f/1.5 in Sony E mount and I like that lens for both its fast aperture and its rendering, so I will keep that. I will add the CV 28 f/2 APO Lanthar, however, because I would really like to have two rendering styles at 28mm. The APO lens has the rendering I like for landscapes, architecture, and nature shots. The Nokton, has a rendering I really like for people and street scenes. Which I take will depend on what I plan to shoot.
p.1 #6 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
1bwana1 wrote:
This looks like a very fine lens at an attractive price. The 28mm focal length is the primary missing piece of my M kit. So I will likely get one of these once the dust settles on my move to Europe and they become readily available. I am in no rush however.
Hope the dust settles relatively soon on your move. Ours so far took two years and counting, but then we completely left the US and made a stop in Holland, before we settled on Austria and Spain. Spain is still not fully done and we have a lot of stuff in storage to sort through. I thought by this time we would be traveling all over, but that hasn’t happened yet (other than between those three countries and back to NY). Good luck!
In the meantime, I’m still dealing with what kit I want to settle on. GFX has a role, MFT has a role. Leica, Fuji X and Nikon (with M lenses) and Canon less so. At least now prices are not much higher than in the US anymore. And the appeal of the small M lenses is very much still there.
p.1 #7 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
Steve Spencer wrote:
I will probably get one but right now I don't have a Leica M camera, so I will wait until they make it in Sony E mount. I have the CV 28 f/1.5 in Sony E mount and I like that lens for both its fast aperture and its rendering, so I will keep that. I will add the CV 28 f/2 APO Lanthar, however, because I would really like to have two rendering styles at 28mm. The APO lens has the rendering I like for landscapes, architecture, and nature shots. The Nokton, has a rendering I really like for people and street scenes. Which I take will depend on what I plan to shoot....Show more →
As long as Nikon doesn’t have a smallish camera with its modern MF focus aids and high resolution, I stick with M lenses for both my M11 and the Z6III. Not sure what I’ll do if/when Nikon releases a Z7III.
I do have the VL 40/1.2 in RF mount, but find I never use it (partly because I don’t use Canon much for wandering around).
p.1 #8 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
Maybe one day. I've never been a 28mm or 50mm guy with SLRs, strongly preferring 35/85 but on a rangefinder I've been really enjoying just using a 50mm. Almost makes me want to give a 28mm a shot, and I really like CV APO lenses.
Then again, never changing the lens on my Leica has a certain charm to it so I might just leave well enough alone.
p.1 #9 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
I’ll likely get one, but in Z mount to accompany the 50 APO which I already have for Nikon.
I find myself increasingly using 2-lens kits and I like 28+50 and 35+75/85. Typically it’s the 35mm and the 50mm that see the most use in those kits, the other lens is more auxiliary.
For the Leica, I’m leaning more towards 35+75 so the 28 APO is less interesting. In case I ever want to get a 28+50 kit for Leica, I‘d lean towards the 50mm f2.2 and the 28mm f2.8 for their compactness.
p.1 #10 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
johnvanr wrote:
My ‘local’ store doesn’t even have the lens in its system, let alone available for trial or sale. All my info is based on Fred’s review and Mr Leica’s video on YT. Both are very positive.
Now, at 28mm I actually have my only Leica lens for my M11, the Elmarit. I like that lens. For 45mm-50mm, I have four lenses, none Leica.
I’m not sure I want/need four 28mm lenses, esp. since the Elmarit is a good allrounder, I don’t see myself using the Leica as a landscape lens and I don’t need special rendering at that focal length for portraits.
Still, I’m curious. And I assume it would match my 50mm VL APO in its rendering, which is a plus.
Can’t rent VL lenses here, so that’s not an option.
So, who is buying or has bought the new VL and why, esp if you already have other 28mm lenses?...Show more →
You might want to ask yourself if your photography would really benefit from having a faster 28mm lens. One stop might not sound like much, but depending on what and where you shoot, it can make a noticeable difference. The Elmarit is a fantastic 28mm, but its performance is pretty similar to the tiny Voigtlander 28/2.8.
The only lens that gets close to the APO in quality (and is also f/2) is the Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron. They're not worlds apart, but there are still differences (I go into that in the review).
So, the real question is: do you want a 28mm f/2? If you're after the ultimate 28mm, the APO is an easy choice. You could always sell the Leica to cover it...and then some.
The tricky part will be actually finding one, since I've heard it’s going to be backordered for a while.
p.1 #11 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
Fred Miranda wrote:
You might want to ask yourself if your photography would really benefit from having a faster 28mm lens. One stop might not sound like much, but depending on what and where you shoot, it can make a noticeable difference. The Elmarit is a fantastic 28mm, but its performance is pretty similar to the tiny Voigtlander 28/2.8.
The only lens that gets close to the APO in quality (and is also f/2) is the Voigtlander 28/2 Ultron. They're not worlds apart, but there are still differences (I go into that in the review).
So, the real question is: do you want a 28mm f/2? If you're after the ultimate 28mm, the APO is an easy choice. You could always sell the Leica to cover it...and then some.
The tricky part will be actually finding one, since I've heard it’s going to be backordered for a while....Show more →
I don’t need the f/2 for 28mm. I would only get it if the rendering is markedly better for landscapes and the like over the Elmarit. I love the small size of the Elmarit. I’m not in a rush.
p.1 #12 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
johnvanr wrote:
I don’t need the f/2 for 28mm. I would only get it if the rendering is markedly better for landscapes and the like over the Elmarit. I love the small size of the Elmarit. I’m not in a rush.
If you usually stop down for landscapes, the CA correction advantage becomes much less noticeable. At f/5.6 to f/11, both lenses perform very similarly, though the APO still has a slight edge if you're really pixel-peeping. In other words, for landscape work, the gap between them is smaller than when shooting wide open...and that's where the APO really shines.
p.1 #13 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
johnvanr wrote:
I don’t need the f/2 for 28mm. I would only get it if the rendering is markedly better for landscapes and the like over the Elmarit. I love the small size of the Elmarit. I’m not in a rush.
What do you shoot with your M system?
I'm probably going to pass on the 28 APO. Not because it's optically the best 28mm lens currently available for the M system, or because it appears to have very pleasant near-distance OOF background character, but because for my preferences, it's too large for OVF use.
As Fred suggested, the VM 28/2 v2, which I already have, is close enough, especially considering I mostly use it stopped down anyway, but is also much smaller without frame line blockage.
If I was primarily a mirrorless user, then yes, I would get the 28 APO once it's available in native mirrorless mounts, in part because it's optically one of the best 28s on the market, but size seems to be a better fit for mirrorless systems.
p.1 #14 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
If you do get one, beware of crafty, well-groomed Vikings. They'll express no interest in the lens, then abscond with it back to their ancestral home in Norway once they know how well it performs on on their new M11. You'll wake up one morning and find them gone, and a Minolta MD 28/2 and MD W. Rokkor 28/2 sitting on your nightstand with a Post-It note haiku attached that reads:
I took your new baby
It looks better on my M
Dry your tears with these
So I had one for a little over 72 hours, and was really enjoying it as a wide all-arounder on my Kolari UT modded a7rII. However, the reason I'm not plotting my revenge against said Viking is because I was beginning to suspect it was the right lens but the wrong camera. I think where it will see the most use is on wildlife hikes with my AF gear as my general all-around wide for landscapes, panos, and envro portraits of my fellow hikers. So I'll let the Viking have his way and let him buy me the e-mount when it's available.
Still, never trust a Viking anywhere near your lens.
p.1 #15 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
rscheffler wrote:
What do you shoot with your M system?
I'm probably going to pass on the 28 APO. Not because it's optically the best 28mm lens currently available for the M system, or because it appears to have very pleasant near-distance OOF background character, but because for my preferences, it's too large for OVF use.
As Fred suggested, the VM 28/2 v2, which I already have, is close enough, especially considering I mostly use it stopped down anyway, but is also much smaller without frame line blockage.
If I was primarily a mirrorless user, then yes, I would get the 28 APO once it's available in native mirrorless mounts, in part because it's optically one of the best 28s on the market, but size seems to be a better fit for mirrorless systems....Show more →
Sound thinking.
I use 28mm mostly for street and just walk around purposes.
p.1 #16 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
I'll buy the Z-mount version to replace the CV Z 28/1.5 Nokton I sent back. I didn't like its rendering and LoCA.
Probably I'll buy the Simera 28/1.4 along with the 28/2 AL. I'll compare them and keep the one I like the most.
p.1 #17 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
I got it (was able to get it pretty early, from Cameraquest) because my only other 28 mm is the TTArtisan 28 mm f/5.6. Which I like, but I wanted a faster 28 as well. Most of my other M lenses are more of the characterful variety, too, so I thought this would be something very good and different. And, obviously, a good value compared with the Leica.
Aug 16, 2025 at 07:07 AM
Steve Spencer Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #18 · Who’s getting the new 28mm APO Voigtlander, and why?
Ripolini wrote:
I'll buy the Z-mount version to replace the CV Z 28/1.5 Nokton I sent back. I didn't like its rendering and LoCA.
Probably I'll buy the Simera 28/1.4 along with the 28/2 AL. I'll compare them and keep the one I like the most.
It is really nice to have 2 very nice fast and smallish 28mm lenses with very different renderings for Sony E and Nikon Z mounts, and adding the 28 f/2 APO would/will offer another very solid and very different option. I like the rendering of the CV 28 f/1.5 with its slightly more structured bokeh and it field curvature. It does have quite a bit of axial CA (both bokeh fringing and purple fringing in the focus plane) in harsher light. All of these are flaws, but if you stop down to f/2.8 they are tamed pretty nicely. The Thypoch Simera 28 f/1.4 from what I have seen has less axial CA and really nice close focus performance, but not the flare resistance of the CV and it has smoother bokeh. It is fairly sharp, but not in the corners at wider apertures which is typical for Thypoch lenses. Looks to me like a great people lens.
From Fred's review the CV 28 f/2 APO does not have the flaws of the CV 28 f/1.5. It is flat field, it has quite neutral smooth bokeh, and it has very low axial CA and it doesn't have the flaws of the Thypoch either. It has very good flare resistance and is razor sharp across the field from wide open. Seems to be a very modern rendering, but of course it is a stop slower than the other two.
Personally, I can see a role for all three, but will probably only own two of the three. I like the CV 28 f/1.5, like the Leica M 28 f/1.4 lux that I had and has similar rendering for it dual character. Wide open it has an interesting rendering that I like but I see why it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but stopped down it is a very solid performer with all of it weaknesses covered nicely (added depth of field covers for the field curvature, axial CA goes away, and there is less bokeh and what is there seems less structured if you don't like it, and it retains its excellent flare resistance).
The Thypoch Simera 28 f/1.4 I think quite purposely is much less of a dual character lens. It looks much the same wide open and stopped down and retains the same characteristics both good and bad (smooth bokeh, decent but not exceptional sharpness, good close focus performance, a bit of susceptibility to flare) when you stop down.
Similarly, the CV 28 f/2 APO looks very much the same whether shot wide open or stopped down with only depth of field really changing as you stop down.
It is great to have these options as we waited a long time for a 28mm manual focus lens for either of these mounts.
