Which Voightlander lens for my Sony?
p.2 #1Which Voightlander lens for my Sony?
pulper11 wrote:
I own both canon and sony cameras. is there a benefit to either version of Voigtlander lens (RF vs FE)? Maybe manual focus is better with one camera vs the other? I have the R5ii and R3 along with the A9 and A9iii. thanks!
I have used Voigtlander lenses on both Sony and Canon extensively and I have a pretty strong preference for using them on Canon and with your cameras Voigtlander RF lenses will work well. My preference for using them on Canon is mostly the excellent arrow focus aid that turns green when focus is attained. It works great almost all the time and means you don't have to use magnification or peaking except in really rare instances. So for the Voigtlander lenses that are made in both RF and FE mounts, I personally would get them in RF, but there are of course a number of lenses that are made for FE mount and are not made for RF mount.
By the way on Canon you can buy the Shoten adapter for M lenses with electronic contacts and that adapter lets you use M lenses on Canon RF cameras with the excellent focus aids. That is another option for some lenses.
I own both canon and sony cameras. is there a benefit to either version of Voigtlander lens (RF vs FE)? Maybe manual focus is better with one camera vs the other? I have the R5ii and R3 along with the A9 and A9iii. thanks!
I have used Voigtlander lenses on both Sony and Canon extensively and I have a pretty strong preference for using them on Canon and with your cameras Voigtlander RF lenses will work well. My preference for using them on Canon is mostly the excellent arrow focus aid that turns green when focus is attained. It works great almost all the time and means you don't have to use magnification or peaking except in really rare instances. So for the Voigtlander lenses that are made in both RF and FE mounts, I personally would get them in RF, but there are of course a number of lenses that are made for FE mount and are not made for RF mount.
By the way on Canon you can buy the Shoten adapter for M lenses with electronic contacts and that adapter lets you use M lenses on Canon RF cameras with the excellent focus aids. That is another option for some lenses.
Jun 19, 2026 at 07:41 AM
p.2 #2Which Voightlander lens for my Sony?
with the canon and that adapter, do the m lenses suffer curvature issues (I believe that's the issue) that the m lenses suffer with the sony? I've read a little bit that the sony has a thicker sensor (??) so that has an impact when using the adapter and the m lenses.
Jun 19, 2026 at 08:58 AM
p.2 #3Which Voightlander lens for my Sony?
pulper11 wrote:
with the canon and that adapter, do the m lenses suffer curvature issues (I believe that's the issue) that the m lenses suffer with the sony? I've read a little bit that the sony has a thicker sensor (??) so that has an impact when using the adapter and the m lenses.
It depends on the lens whether they show larger field curvature or not. I have the Voigtlander 21 f/3.5 and my experience is consistent with Fred's review that the lens performs just as well on Canon as it does on Leica M and as well as the Sony version on Sony FE mount. Fred reports very similar performance on Sony as on Leica M for the 50 f/3.5 APO Skopar and the 75 f/2.8 APO Skopar. I expect that the new 90 f/4 APO Lanthar won't show performance declines either. The ultrawides at 10, 12, and 15 generally don't show big declines either and I can confirm that personally with the 15 f/4.5, but most other lenses do suffer from increase curvature of field, perhaps a bit less on Canon than Sony, but it will still be there for many lenses on Canon as well.
with the canon and that adapter, do the m lenses suffer curvature issues (I believe that's the issue) that the m lenses suffer with the sony? I've read a little bit that the sony has a thicker sensor (??) so that has an impact when using the adapter and the m lenses.
It depends on the lens whether they show larger field curvature or not. I have the Voigtlander 21 f/3.5 and my experience is consistent with Fred's review that the lens performs just as well on Canon as it does on Leica M and as well as the Sony version on Sony FE mount. Fred reports very similar performance on Sony as on Leica M for the 50 f/3.5 APO Skopar and the 75 f/2.8 APO Skopar. I expect that the new 90 f/4 APO Lanthar won't show performance declines either. The ultrawides at 10, 12, and 15 generally don't show big declines either and I can confirm that personally with the 15 f/4.5, but most other lenses do suffer from increase curvature of field, perhaps a bit less on Canon than Sony, but it will still be there for many lenses on Canon as well.
Jun 19, 2026 at 09:51 AM
p.2 #4Which Voightlander lens for my Sony?
Just an update. I ended up purchasing a used 40 F1.2 RF version from CameraQuest. Thanks everyone for your help.
Jun 19, 2026 at 02:04 PM
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p.2 #5Which Voightlander lens for my Sony?
Exciting! I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine. I especially get a lot of joy using it for night noir shooting.
Ely Nevada Night by Kevin Kemner, on Flickr
Ely Nevada Night by Kevin Kemner, on FlickrJun 19, 2026 at 02:40 PM
p.2 #6Which Voightlander lens for my Sony?
My preferred Voigtlander primes are:
Voigtlander FE 15mm f4.5
Voigtlander FE 21mm f3.5
Voigtlander FE 28mm f2 APO
Voigtlander FE 50mm f2 APO
I used to own the Voigtlander FE 40/2, but the extreme LoCa bothered me from f1.2 to f2.8
Also the Philip Reeve review questions whether the Voigtlander 35/f2 APO should be labelled APO because it showed too much LoCa wide open:
https://phillipreeve.net/blog/voigtlander-35mm-2-0-e-review
"Well… It is not like the performance is bad, but considering the Apo tag on the lens and taking into account the performance of previous Apo-Lanthar lenses I can’t say I am impressed. The apochromatic correction was one of the main selling points of this series and here I simply don’t see it. What makes things worse: the M-mount sample I received performed even worse in this category, so you should not expect this being the worst sample you might possibly get.
To be perfectly honest, I would have not given this lens the Apo designation and I don’t think it performs visible better than the Sony FE 35mm 1.4 GM which is a full stop faster..."
J
Voigtlander FE 15mm f4.5
Voigtlander FE 21mm f3.5
Voigtlander FE 28mm f2 APO
Voigtlander FE 50mm f2 APO
I used to own the Voigtlander FE 40/2, but the extreme LoCa bothered me from f1.2 to f2.8
Also the Philip Reeve review questions whether the Voigtlander 35/f2 APO should be labelled APO because it showed too much LoCa wide open:
https://phillipreeve.net/blog/voigtlander-35mm-2-0-e-review
"Well… It is not like the performance is bad, but considering the Apo tag on the lens and taking into account the performance of previous Apo-Lanthar lenses I can’t say I am impressed. The apochromatic correction was one of the main selling points of this series and here I simply don’t see it. What makes things worse: the M-mount sample I received performed even worse in this category, so you should not expect this being the worst sample you might possibly get.
To be perfectly honest, I would have not given this lens the Apo designation and I don’t think it performs visible better than the Sony FE 35mm 1.4 GM which is a full stop faster..."
J
Jun 19, 2026 at 08:57 PM
p.2 #7Which Voightlander lens for my Sony?
Seabassius wrote:
Scott's right... we're all going to say the 40 1.2
. I haven't tried the APO so I can't say one way or another there but have really liked the pics I've seen from it. The 40 is my longest owned lens and I've owned it 3 times. I don't even have a Sony body right now and still own it because one day I will again. I also really liked the Thypoch 28 1.4, but the was adapted M, but I don't think they made any changes other than the mount for e mount. I have the slightly smaller...Show more →
I'm going to probably be an outlier here. I've owned two Nokton 40/1.2...didn't like them and sold them. I just couldn't mesh with their IQ and besides, their focal length is too close to what I consider one of the best lenses I've ever owned (the 35 APO). In the end I just couldn't see having a 40mm focal length I rarely used.
On the other hand, the 35 / 2 APO-Lanthar remains one of the best lens I've ever owned. The second best is the 65 / 2 APO-Lanthar. If you're looking for near perfection either of these lenses will make you happy. And before you go off and buy a lens that has 'character' try to understand clearly what that means and measure it up against what you really want.
Good luck.
Scott's right... we're all going to say the 40 1.2
. I haven't tried the APO so I can't say one way or another there but have really liked the pics I've seen from it. The 40 is my longest owned lens and I've owned it 3 times. I don't even have a Sony body right now and still own it because one day I will again. I also really liked the Thypoch 28 1.4, but the was adapted M, but I don't think they made any changes other than the mount for e mount. I have the slightly smaller...Show more →I'm going to probably be an outlier here. I've owned two Nokton 40/1.2...didn't like them and sold them. I just couldn't mesh with their IQ and besides, their focal length is too close to what I consider one of the best lenses I've ever owned (the 35 APO). In the end I just couldn't see having a 40mm focal length I rarely used.
On the other hand, the 35 / 2 APO-Lanthar remains one of the best lens I've ever owned. The second best is the 65 / 2 APO-Lanthar. If you're looking for near perfection either of these lenses will make you happy. And before you go off and buy a lens that has 'character' try to understand clearly what that means and measure it up against what you really want.
Good luck.
Jun 19, 2026 at 09:53 PM