p.1 #1 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
Today Cosina announced Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z and Canon RF mounts.
These will be released in February (no specific date given yet, but probably just in time for CP+ that starts 2/26):
I think that made it more notable than the sales volumes for Cosina. I think the E-mount version sold relatively well in Japan in the first couple of months but not sure how well it's been selling in the long run. It's definitely a bit more exotic one and not one of the top sellers among their lineup overall.
I have one in E-mount and I like it quite a bit at standard setting. Getting nice shots at highly uncorrected or highly overcorrected settings is quite tricky and one can easily go overboard, but the lens has many unique charms.
p.1 #7 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
For z, I can think of a handful of other lenses that would’ve made more sense. I feel like this is a release that’s fine for Sony or Leica where there’s a huge variety already.
p.1 #8 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
Thanks for the announcement Juha. I was beginning to think that Voigtlander was discontinuing Canon mount like they did with EF years ago.
Although I have all the EF and RF mount Voigtlanders I am trying to decide if I want to add this one. Comparing the current 75 1.5 vs Portrait 75 1.8
1. F/1.5 vs F/1.8
2. MFD 50cm vs 70cm
3. 525g vs 580g
Other than SA I do not see any advantage of adding a 2nd 75mm lens given portrait is something I rarely shoot.I could use it shooting flowers and other subjects, but I have the RF 100mm SA which does essentially the same thing and focuses down to 26cm.
As a couple of other posters mentioned that Voigtlander should flush out other focal lengths and APOs not currently offered for Canon and Nikon.
p.1 #9 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
This is a lens that has never made sense to me, nor do I understand the desire for its "worst" image quality setting. Did you know you can smear Vaseline on your front element for free?!
CV will do anything to avoid making a 21mm for Z, won't they
p.1 #10 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
I think this Portrait Heliar lens ties closely into Japanese "Pasha Style" photography and Cosina's involvement in related promotional activities. I think that may be behind the motivation for bringing this lens to all FF mirrorless mounts and it's primarily a Japanese market thing.
I'm not an expert of this so I did some searches about it and below are some search results quoted as-is:
-------------------------------------------------
In Japanese photography, "Pasha Style" パシャスタイル refers to a specific community and creative aesthetic centered around high-end, artistic portraiture. It is not a historical movement but a contemporary movement driven by a popular web magazine and print publication of the same name.
Cosina Voigtländer is a primary corporate partner and technical sponsor of the PASHA STYLE ecosystem. Their involvement goes beyond providing gear; they are deeply integrated into the community's educational and promotional activities.
The partnership focuses on the following key areas:
1. "X (Cross) Shooting" Collaboration
Cosina frequently participates in a signature PASHA STYLE magazine feature called "X (Cross) Shooting." In this series, a specific creator (such as "Light Magician" Ilko Allexandroff or fashion photographer Shuichi Maiyama) is paired with Voigtländer lenses to produce high-end creative work. These shoots serve as both artistic inspiration and technical "test reports" for the community.
2. Manual Focus Advocacy
PASHA STYLE promotes "decelerated" and intentional photography, which aligns with Cosina Voigtländer’s focus on manual-focus lenses.
* Workshops: Cosina supports "Manual Lens Practice Sessions" and seminars hosted by PASHA STYLE to teach photographers how to master manual focus for portraiture.
* The "NEXUS" Exhibition: In late 2024, Cosina and PASHA STYLE co-hosted a dedicated photo exhibition titled "NEXUS," featuring works shot exclusively with Voigtländer lenses by the magazine's editor-in-chief and other top creators.
3. Community Incentives
Cosina sponsors PASHA STYLE photography contests (such as "Human Patterns Through the Lens"), where the grand prize is often a high-end Voigtländer lens. This directly embeds the brand into the aspirations of the community members.
-------------------------------------------------
p.1 #11 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
burningheart wrote:
Thanks for the announcement Juha. I was beginning to think that Voigtlander was discontinuing Canon mount like they did with EF years ago.
Although I have all the EF and RF mount Voigtlanders I am trying to decide if I want to add this one. Comparing the current 75 1.5 vs Portrait 75 1.8
1. F/1.5 vs F/1.8
2. MFD 50cm vs 70cm
3. 525g vs 580g
Other than SA I do not see any advantage of adding a 2nd 75mm lens given portrait is something I rarely shoot.I could use it shooting flowers and other subjects, but I have the RF 100mm SA which does essentially the same thing and focuses down to 26cm.
As a couple of other posters mentioned that Voigtlander should flush out other focal lengths and APOs not currently offered for Canon and Nikon. ...Show more →
Thanks! I think with Canon RF, Cosina has had issues with Canon's non-BSI Cameras especially with wider focal lengths, i.e. this color shading issue that they have warnings about on their RF mount lens product pages for Nokton 40/1.2 and 50/1:
*1 Magenta coverage may occur on the periphery of the image with EOS R, RP and R6 depending on shooting conditions.
Only their 75mm lenses don't have this kind of warning text as the problem is likely more severe with wider angle lenses (as also seen with various adapted wide angle rangefinder lenses on Sony's older non-BSI bodies). For some reason they couldn't handle it with a lens correction profile on RF-mount. R6 series seem to continue to have the same limitation even with newer bodies that remain non-BSI. I personally think this has impacted Cosina's lineup for RF-mount in a way that they've not released any WA lenses or even APO-Lanthars for Canon RF so far.
As for Nikon, I think 21/1.4 and 110/2.5 may not have been prioritized so far since they have not been very high sellers in E-mount and VM (21/1.4 only) and Cosina seems to have a picked a subset from their E-mount offerings for Z-mount (focusing on top-sellers and avoiding major overlap among different options at similar focal lengths). Although 21/1.4 is like a flagship lens for them from design perspective (FLE etc.), it seems to have never been a very good seller at least in Japan market and 110/2.5 is also the least popular from their APO-Lanthar lines. Time will tell if they will try to close these gaps in the future.
p.1 #12 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
Juha Kannisto wrote:
As for Nikon, I think 21/1.4 and 110/2.5 may not have been prioritized so far since they have not been very high sellers in E-mount and VM (21/1.4 only) and Cosina seems to have a picked a subset from their E-mount offerings for Z-mount (focusing on top-sellers and avoiding major overlap among different options at similar focal lengths). Although 21/1.4 is like a flagship lens for them from design perspective (FLE etc.), it seems to have never been a very good seller at least in Japan market and 110/2.5 is also the least popular from their APO-Lanthar lines. Time will tell if they will try to close these gaps in the future....Show more →
FE mount can also be adapted to Z quite successfully (apparently, as I do not have firsthand experience), which does make the above and other FE-only Voigtlander models available for use on Z cameras.
Thanks for the Pasha Style background information. This does not surprise me as we know that Cosina is not averse to addressing niches, which this certainly is.
p.1 #13 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
Juha wrote:
I think this Portrait Heliar lens ties closely into Japanese "Pasha Style" photography and Cosina's involvement in related promotional activities.
Juha,
Thanks so much for this. It's fascinating.
After seeing you post about the new release of this lens, I went back and found it hiding out in my photo closet. Bought it shortly after it came out for sony, but we didn"t play well." I did some portraits and fooled around with it. After picking it up again, I've been really into it and its style of images. Love what it does. The Pasha stuff is right up my alley. The philosophy and imagery.
Insanely or interestingly, I've been shooting landscapes and still-life stuff with it - not models as I don't really have "willing" subjects. Was shooting a snow storm just this past morning in NY. Haven't processed yet, but love what I saw in camera - sony7cr.
Anyway, Juha, thanks for the info. Would love to see it in person some day.
regards,
Joe D
p.1 #14 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I think this Portrait Heliar lens ties closely into Japanese "Pasha Style" photography and Cosina's involvement in related promotional activities. I think that may be behind the motivation for bringing this lens to all FF mirrorless mounts and it's primarily a Japanese market thing.
I'm not an expert of this so I did some searches about it and below are some search results quoted as-is:
-------------------------------------------------
In Japanese photography, "Pasha Style" パシャスタイル refers to a specific community and creative aesthetic centered around high-end, artistic portraiture. It is not a historical movement but a contemporary movement driven by a popular web magazine and print publication of the same name.
Cosina Voigtländer is a primary corporate partner and technical sponsor of the PASHA STYLE ecosystem. Their involvement goes beyond providing gear; they are deeply integrated into the community's educational and promotional activities.
The partnership focuses on the following key areas:
1. "X (Cross) Shooting" Collaboration
Cosina frequently participates in a signature PASHA STYLE magazine feature called "X (Cross) Shooting." In this series, a specific creator (such as "Light Magician" Ilko Allexandroff or fashion photographer Shuichi Maiyama) is paired with Voigtländer lenses to produce high-end creative work. These shoots serve as both artistic inspiration and technical "test reports" for the community.
2. Manual Focus Advocacy
PASHA STYLE promotes "decelerated" and intentional photography, which aligns with Cosina Voigtländer’s focus on manual-focus lenses.
* Workshops: Cosina supports "Manual Lens Practice Sessions" and seminars hosted by PASHA STYLE to teach photographers how to master manual focus for portraiture.
* The "NEXUS" Exhibition: In late 2024, Cosina and PASHA STYLE co-hosted a dedicated photo exhibition titled "NEXUS," featuring works shot exclusively with Voigtländer lenses by the magazine's editor-in-chief and other top creators.
3. Community Incentives
Cosina sponsors PASHA STYLE photography contests (such as "Human Patterns Through the Lens"), where the grand prize is often a high-end Voigtländer lens. This directly embeds the brand into the aspirations of the community members.
-------------------------------------------------...Show more →
Thanks for the explanation and links. Explains a lot of why this lens is being released.
p.1 #15 · Cosina Voigtländer Portrait Heliar 75/1.8 for Nikon Z & Canon RF announced
tunisia wrote:
...After picking it up again, I've been really into it and its style of images. Love what it does. The Pasha stuff is right up my alley. The philosophy and imagery.
Insanely or interestingly, I've been shooting landscapes and still-life stuff with it - not models as I don't really have "willing" subjects. Was shooting a snow storm just this past morning in NY. Haven't processed yet, but love what I saw in camera ....
Joe would love to see some posted here once you have processed. The snowstorm one in park icular.t
