I just took delivery of a Voigtlander 180mm f/4 Nikon mount lens. I have the Zeiss ZF 100mm makro lens and was hoping that the 180mm could provide similar performance at a longer focal length (plus it's much cheaper and is small too). It was made in the same factory as the Zeiss lenses and is similar in look and feel to the Zeiss ZF lineup, which currently does not offer anything over 100mm. I bought it from Stephen Gandy at Camera Quest for a bit over $500 with the optional hood and it came in a few days. From my first few test shots, this lens looks unbelievably sharp and the bokeh is beautiful. I don't have any samples to post yet but will after I shoot with it some more.
This lens is now discontinued and is hard to find (B&H lists it as a special order but they weren't sure if they could get one for me, so I went with Camera Quest). I have the 70-200 f/2.8 VR, but this is a great alternative when I want to go lighter. I strongly recommend that if you are interested in this focal length and don't mind a manual focus lens, you check this lens out before it becomes even harder to find.
I bought one of these SL APO-Lanthar's last fall from Stephen. In addition to being super sharp, there's virtually no CA ('cause it's an APO lens). It goes well with the Voigtlander Color-Heliar 75/2.5, but it's too late, they're all gone.
Both of them work fine on my 5D and 20D, with generic focus-confirmation F to EOS adapters from Roxsen on eBay. They do not work at all on my 1DII, the shutter won't fire (?).
Bought one new from B&H for $350 a few months ago. I agree that it is sharp and CA-free. I can't really think of a better alternative for a compact 180/200 mm except maybe the Nikkor 200/4. One problem is that the lens came full of dust, dirt, whatever, between the elements. That was also the case with a Voigtlander 90/3.5 I had ordered and subsequently returned.
Kakan, that's too bad about the dirty lenses. The two Voigtlanders I bought from Camera Quest were both new, and looked it. I've used the Nikkor 200/4 AI and a SMC Pentax-M 200/4 as compact 200's. They're both very sharp and well made, but I think the APO-Lanthar is better in every respect (except cost), it's even at least 30mm shorter than both of these 200's.
jcolwell wrote:
I bought one of these SL APO-Lanthar's last fall from Stephen. In addition to being super sharp, there's virtually no CA ('cause it's an APO lens). It goes well with the Voigtlander Color-Heliar 75/2.5, but it's too late, they're all gone.
Both of them work fine on my 5D and 20D, with generic focus-confirmation F to EOS adapters from Roxsen on eBay. They do not work at all on my 1DII, the shutter won't fire (?).
It seems like the Camera Quest has 180/4.0 lens in Nikon Mount.
So, this can be used on 5D with an adapter?
Paul Yi wrote:
It seems like the Camera Quest has 180/4.0 lens in Nikon Mount.
So, this can be used on 5D with an adapter?
Yes, that's what I meant whan I said: "Both of them work fine on my 5D and 20D, with generic focus-confirmation F to EOS adapters from Roxsen on eBay" - the "F" is the Nikon mount (AIS variant in the case of the Nikon-mount 75/2.5 and 180/4 Voigtlanders from CameraQuest).
So, the 180/4 APO-Lanthar might be a candidate for your longer lens (as mentioned in the "Change of heart" thread). It's a great little lens, but if you want something longer, the Canon 300/4L IS is a real beauty. It's OK to use both Canon and alternative lenses, that way your camera store guy will be happy too.
I've tried the Viogtlander 180mm. Given the superior image quality from the 70-200L f4 IS, coupled with AF, IS, I don't see the need to have the Voigtlander. Bear in mind that IS comes in very useful in getting sharp images on the 180mm focal length.
If I was still shooting Canon and had my 70-200 f/4 IS I also would not feel the need for the Voigtlander. But now I shoot Nikon and while I love the 70-200 VR, it really is big and sometimes I like to travel with a lighter kit...
jcolwell wrote:
Both of them work fine on my 5D and 20D, with generic focus-confirmation F to EOS adapters from Roxsen on eBay. They do not work at all on my 1DII, the shutter won't fire (?).
This is an adaptor problem. The 1-series requires the adaptor press in a microswitch that's recessed just inside the mount. It's usually done with a small screw that you can see sticking out from inside the adaptor.
foxbat wrote:
This is an adaptor problem. The 1-series requires the adaptor press in a microswitch that's recessed just inside the mount. It's usually done with a small screw that you can see sticking out from inside the adaptor.
Sorry Jim, but I'm a little surprised that you aren't aware of this already.
From a happypagehk e-bay listing:
"Adapters now SPECIALLY MODIFIED with additional screw to trigger AF camera mount switch. Work instantly with Film and Professional Digital EOS Camera models such as EOS D30, D60, 1D, 1Ds, 1Dmk2, 1Dsmk2, 1V, 1N, and many other film cameras."
It is possible to stick a bit of card paper or something in there to trip the switch, but having the pin on the adapter is certainly the best solution.
Thanks foxbat and Paul. Now that you mention it, I vaguely recall hearing about this in the past, but I guess I forgot because I normally use my alternatives on the 5D, and I only recently got into the 1D-series cameras. Maybe I'll look into getting my Planar 85/1.4 adapter modified; it's a Haoda original, and that's the lens I'm most likely to use on the 1DII.
...ten minutes later. Well, I'll be, the Haoda adapter on my Planar 85/1.4 does have the microswitch depresser. That just goes to show that I've probably forgotten more about alternative adapters than I currently know.
Can anyone comment on the amount of CA typical of this lens? Jim mentioned a small amount.
I just bought a new M42 mount which I've tried with a Happypagehk adapter and an old cheap adapter I had lying around (Happy's was slightly thinner). There was no difference between the 2.
The CA I see is green/magenta and is correctable with ~12 offset in Lightroom.
The CA on mine is relatively easy to see at 100%, maybe 50%, this is at the edge, not right into the corner, and with no blown highlights. I print large so I look for this. I have to say I was disappointing, but I'll probably look for another one although I doubt I'll find a new one for $450 again!
