Voigtlander 50mm APO-LANTHAR for Sony E mount

[kallisti]

Just wanted to share. The Voigtlander 50mm APO-LANTHAR (currently only available for Sony E-mount) is the best 50mm prime I have ever used. Sharp beyond belief. Contrasty. Renders gorgeously. I feel it is a reference lens. Manual focus only, which might be a deal breaker for some. But if you shoot Sony, I would strongly recommend this lens.

An M mount version is rumored to come out early next year. I will be buying it for use on my M10M and SL2.

Lenses are often the reason one camera system ends up being ”better” than another. This lens has become one of my favorite lenses. Currently only an option on Sony, but can’t wait to shoot it on my Leica bodies.

 

[MacNut]

Any sample images?

 

[Clix Pix]

I've been tempted by the Voightlander Lanthar series of lenses, as they've got a couple of outstanding macros, too..... I've never had my hands or eyes on one, though, to try it out! Shooting with manual focus is not my preference but with the help of Focus Peaking and a mirrorless camera it is not as tricky as it was with a DSLR for me.

 

[kallisti]

Sorry I never posted any sample images.

Shot an aperture series tonight. Bricks at various angles. Light from strobes coming from both sides. Camera on tripod. ISO 100. f/2 through f/16.

f/2

f/2.8

f/4

f/5.6

f/8

f/11

f/16


Focus for all was on the bottom brick.

While this might not be an optimal series to showcase this lens (and the images posted on this site are always less than optimal), this is a reference lens for the Sony mount. It rivals a Zeiss Otus lens in performance. From a pure optical performance standpoint, it is one of the best lenses out there at this focal length for any mount at any price (counting Leica, Zeiss, etc.). This is a truly phenomenal lens. **Insane that it is so inexpensive.** The only downside is that it is MF and not AF (and this can be seen as a feature and not a bug depending on your shooting style). It has a very good focus throw and is a joy to use with the Sony EVF. This lens alone (perhaps along with Voigtlander's other APO-LANTHAR offerings) is a compelling reason to shoot Sony--assuming it is a focal length you would use. It's really that good.

 

[Allyance]

Thanks for sharing, spent the morning browsing photo and camera sites that bring back memories when I was at RIT in photography (circa 1964). I started looking for a magazine for large format Linhof cameras. The printing quality was fantastic, but I couldn't find any reference for it. Then I saw this thread, I recognized the Voightlander name but never had any of their equipment. A German company that ended up being part of a Japanese company. Lens is getting top notch reviews. Then I browsed Sony's camera site, some fantastic cameras. If I only had the money! Back in the late 60's I had a Hassleblad 500C and a Super wide body. I rebuilt a Sinar 4x5 that was in a fire, got a Schneider Super Angulon wide angle for it, beautiful lens.

 

[OldMacs4Me]

Have a Super Angulon 121-ƒ8 in my collection. Fabulous lens. Looks like I will be dead and gone before they put together a decent affordable digital back for my old Linhof Technika, and mailing film to Toronto is not very practical.

 

[Allyance]

Do you remember the magazine for Linhof? It used some high quality printing process, maybe photogravure. Images were stunning. It was in the late 50's early 60's.

 

[Clix Pix]

Couldn't resist temptation any longer and today the FedEx guy delivered a lovely new Voigtlander Macro APO-Lanthar 110mm F/2.5!! The lens and I immediately had a getting-to-know-you photo session with a random subject and, wow, I am very pleased so far!!! It is definitely one heckuva sharp lens and yes, nice and contrasty -- just stellar, even when shooting under not-so-ideal situations (I was shooting in natural light and it went from soft sunshine to overcast and cloudy within a short period of time), but I still kept pressing on and afterward, in reviewing my images was surprised at how well this lens handled things. I haven't processed much yet, just one image which I knew I wanted to convert to B&W immediately, but I am pleased and happy with what I'm seeing when looking at the files.

Concerns about shooting in manual focus quickly went away, and I appreciate how nicely one can fine-tune the precise focus, as well as benefitting from Focus Peaking for getting into the right ballpark. I can already predict that this lens is going to be spending a fair amount of time on my camera! My beloved Sony 90mm macro is starting to feel rather uneasy, as for the past year and a half she's been the macro queen in this household.....

 

[kallisti]

Awesome!! Glad you like . I haven’t found MF to be a problem with the 50/2 with the exception of a rapidly moving kiddo.

They just announced a 35/2. Traditionally I’ve been more of a 35mm guy rather than a 50mm guy, but I’m going to stick with the 50/2 for now. Maybe I’ll turn into a 50mm guy . Voigtlander is on a roll recently.

 

[Clix Pix]

I'm really happy with my new lens! Probably at some point I'll go ahead and get the 2:1 65mm f/2, too..... Macro and closeup photography is my first love and of course manual focus works out well in that kind of application. That 50mm f/2 sounds very tempting, too, but over the years I have found that I rarely reach for a 50mm lens -- I either tend to want to get up close and personal via a macro or closeup lens or I approach the subject with a zoom lens of some length...while zooming in closely on it.

Anyway, this thread definitely was a factor in my decision-making process!