Should this company charge more for their lenses?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- In this video I'll offer my opinion on what I believe are the most undervalued lenses made for any camera system.
michael-cantwell.com
My gear:
Nikon Z8
Nikon Z7II
Nikon Z50 (converted infrared)
Nikon 20mm F.18 S lens
Nikon 50mm F1.8 S lens
Nikon 85mm F18. S lens
Nikon 24-120 F4 S lens
Voigtlander 50mm F2 APO lens
Voigtlander 75mm F1.5 Nokton lens
Tamron 70-300 F4.5-6.3 lens
7Artisans 24mm F1.4 lens
FLM tripod
Kase magnetic filters
Actratech ball head
I've got a Z8 and a Zf and I love the Voigtlander 50 f/1, the 35 f/2 APO and the 74 f/1.5. All are outstanding lenses, outstanding value. With the new manual focus systems, focusing is a breeze and the quality of the images are as good as any other lens I've shot. Voigtlander's all metal construction, the damping, and the colors they produce and both the sharpness and out of focus areas are top notch. I have a couple of Voigtlanders for my leica m mount (M8.2) and they render beautifully. Thanks for the video! BTW, agreed on MAP camera, they have high standards. Otherwise I stay away from ebay as a seller, I used to sell a lot on ebay and they've become a terrible place to sell a lens. Too expensive and no seller protections.
Hi, John, thanks for checking in with your thoughts. I keep hearing how much easier it is to focus Voigtlander lenses with the ZF camera bodies. I keep going back and forth as to selling my Z7II and picking up the ZF to use with the Voigtlanders. Thanks again and good luck with your photography.
I've had the 25mm Nokton f0,95 for mft and loved it. This week the 40mm Nokton f1,2 arrived for my Nikon Zf and it's stunning! I had the chance to get the Nokton 50mm f1,0 in my hands some weeks ago - absolutely thrilling but quite expensive. The 40mm fits great on my Zf, the ability to use the focus-confirmation is lovely and the results are gorgeous!
Thanks for watching and commenting. Others seem to like the Voigtlanders best on the ZF if on a Nikon body. I keep going back and forth as to trading my Z7II for ZF but so far I've stayed with the Z8 and Z7II. It is a however a tempting thought. Thanks again and good luck.
I’ve the 15mm and 40mm on a ZF and they are absolutely stunning! Colour and rendering outstanding! I’ve been shooting professionally with a Nikon FM since 1979 and before autofocus and with the ZF you get focus conformation so I can shoot almost as fast with these manual lenses than with Nikon z lenses.
Thanks for watching and commenting. If I were to get another lens, it would be the 15mm. Glad to hear you like it, thanks.
Hi Michael, I have the Z-mount 35mm f2 Apo-lanther, which I use with my Z7, and I just love this lens. My next purchase will be the Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 Nokton. I totally agree with you about the handling & build quality of the Voigtlander lenses, they are really top-notch. I am so pleased you made this video, Thank you.
Thanks for watching and adding your opinion on the Voigtlander lenses. I'm happy you enjoyed the video. Thanks again.
I agree on the 50mm Nikkor 1.8 S. Beautiful images and that's my go-to lens for portraits and sometimes street photography. However Nikkor lens designs are boring on my Nikon ZF. I bought a ZF for that vintage feel and what I can't wrap my mind around is why haven't they produced a new series of vintage lenses with the same quality as their S lenses to complement the ZF aesthetic. Majority of their Nikkor lenses are built like tanks and completely kill the ZF experience for me so I went the Voigtlander route. Now the problem with Z-mount Voigtlander lenses is it's so hard to get your hands on some of their more premier boka F1.0-1.2 aperture 40mm and 35mm lenses brand new - reason being that's really the only modern vintage lens option for us ZF shooters on Z-mount, now we're all waiting on line for Z mount Voigtlanders. So instead I decided to buy an E mount to Z mount adapter (megadap ETZ) just to get my hands on the Voigtlander I had in mind. I bought a 35mm F2 apo lanther but didn't like the boka quality and the experience was so bad for the work that I do, it left a bad taste in my mouth so I didn't want to risk buying another Voigtlander....I instead traded my 35 F2 apo for the Sigma 24mm 1.4 E to Z mount - Sigma lenses on Nikon ZF are a beautiful combo might I add. In summation I agree with everything you said but the Voigtlander line is so long because Nikon refuses to make any modern vintage lenses.
Hi Nelson, thanks for checking in with your comments. Everyone certainly has a look they are searching for with their lenses. Every time I think of trading my Z7II in for the ZF, something stops me. I think however in the future, I'll try out a ZF and the different lenses. My pocketbook can only go so far with horse trading camera bodies and lenses even if my heart and mind would enjoy doing it far more than I do now. I'd be curious in the future what you end up choosing as your favorite pairing with camera and lenses for street and portraits. Thanks again.
nikon z 105 is magic!
Tell Santa to send me one and I'll check it out.. thanks for watching and reaching out..
I use 2 Voigtländer lenses with my Sony a7R III: the 10mm 5.6, and the 65mm 2.0 Macro, plus an adapted Schneider K. 28mm shift lens. The 65mm V. in particular is just superb, and some reviews say that it's the sharpest lens for Sony. I love that they communicate with the camera electrically, unlike all the Chinese lenses.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I've heard the same about the 65mm. The main reason why I never bought the 65mm was because it's too close to the 50mm and I was holding out waiting on the 75mm. You're right about communicating with the camera. I should have mentioned that in the video, it's a huge plus. Thanks for sharing that point.
Lens prices need to drop a lot, absolutely not go up. It's not camera prices that are killing the hobby, but the cost of lenses.
I bought one DSLR just to see if I might be interested in using it. Not an expensive one, the Panasonic S5 with a kit lens, then a 70mm Macro lens to digitise my film negatives. I don't have a 50mm, nor will I buy one, because I rapidly found out that I don't like using the DSLR for normal photography, it's just no fun at all. Yes it has lots of resolution, but it's just so boring when compared to using a 35mm film SLR or one of my Medium Format cameras.
I couldn't even consider it for a lot of my architectural photography, but then the same is true for other film formats I use. That requires a field camera to do well.
The only advantage they have is no film needs to be developed, but the lenses cost an absolute fortune, so I'd have to adapt my current manual focus lenses (not really an issue as I happen to prefer manual focus), and the camera bodies ave a limited lifespan. Many of mine don't, as they're so simple I can have them repaired/serviced easily.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I 100% agree with you that lenses and camera prices are high. Again, I was not really advocating that Voigtlander raise prices. It was more drawing a comparison between them and other lens companies. I think they are a good value in comparison, however that doesn't mean you can't find older lenses for a fraction of the cost. As far as not wanting a 50mm lens, of course that's your choice. I guess that's why lens companies make a wide variety of focal lengths. I have tried a few 35mm lenses and always seems to sell them and go back to the 50mm. Shrugs, just my personal choice. I've been tempted by medium format having used 4x5 film cameras in the past. There is some magic in that format that you can't get with 35mm format. Thanks again.
@@MichaelCantwell I mostly use 50mm lenses, or equivalent focal lengths on other formats, I just don’t want to buy an expensive 50mm lens native to the S5 when I already have so many frankly iconic ones (Zeiss 50 1.8, Nikkor 50 1.2 AIS, Original Meyer Optik Görlitz 50 1.8) I could adapt if I wanted to.
The issue being I don’t want to because the digital photography process is so utterly boring for me.
Maybe because After almost 40 years of using film I enjoy far more than just the end result?
After all I’ve incorporated digital image analysis into my academic work since the early 2000’s, so it’s not a lack of understanding of the technology that’s causing me to dislike it.
Right now I’m trying to accumulate sufficient resources to conduct neural network based research *without* using any pre-existing software, so writing the AI code myself, to clean up B&W images, or rather to analyse them, locate possible locations of problems, produce ‘correction’ layers, and make those available for people to repair images themselves.
The aim being to help conservators in museums, and people doing home scanning. I’ll not make an auto cleaner, because those are prone to errors.
The type of Neural Network I want to use is so processor and memory intensive my current resources can’t handle it, but after Christmas I’ll be meeting with the head of research to discuss this project.
@@careypridgeon I fully understand your thoughts about film and the idea of sanitizing an image. Good luck with your research.
Don't even suggest a price hike, as it's so expensive already these days.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I wasn't suggesting one. I was only trying to suggest they are a good value because they are priced where they sit in the price range.
You have to try those lenses with the Nikon Zf… 😊
I'd love to if Santa delivers one. LOL. Seriously though, I think it will be in my future to try out that pairing of camera and lenses. Thanks for watching.
@MichaelCantwell I hope Santa treats you well 😀 I have the camera but don't have the lens and I've been avoiding manual lenses because of my level of skills 😃But it seems that Nikon Zf is a very good way to start using manual lenses
@@americosequeira8670 practice, practice, practice... pick up a cheap manual focus lens and try it out. You might surprise yourself at how fast you pick it up.
Voitlander on the brain! I'm outta money so my Nikkor 50 1.8 S, which I'm thrilled with, will have to keep me satisfied for now. I love it to death. And with my f/4 trinity (14-30mm, 24-120mm, and 100-400, I feel fully stocked and ready for the world. Off to Australia again in February.
Honestly Marcus for what you generally photograph, and I don't mean this with any disrespect, I'm sure you know that, but for your landscape work, your set up is perfect for you. You have a great set of lenses and camera that most would drool to own. I know I'd love the 100-400 but my back prefers to carry the lighter Tamron, otherwise if I was 20 years younger, I'd use the Nikon. Always good to hear from you, my friend.
Haha. I can tell that you have no vested interest whatsoever because you mention Zeiss (Otus & Milvus for Nikon). No one else does that. Do you know why? I only have theories!
Hey ya, Stephen. Hmmmm, now you have me guessing on your theories because I don't really have one except for the fact that Zeiss makes (or did) great lenses similar to Cosina Voigtlander. I realize they are made in the same factory but other than that, I really don't have any theories. Also, you are correct, I have ZERO vested interest in Zeiss or Voigtlander other than I like their products. Thanks for checking in again. Always nice to hear from you. But yeah, fire off a theory or two :)
@ I’ve heard that Zeiss no longer design for anyone except super high end ARRI;,even the relationship with Sony is getting long on the tooth (G Master is pure Sony). I would have thought that Nikon would work with Zeiss at the higher end but there’s not a squeak from any UA-camr regarding rumours. I’ve had various conversations at both Zeiss HQ departments and mentioned Nikon to them but they don’t believe anything will happen. Nikon UK contacted me a few months back, so I asked them why they don’t work together (surely only the Nikkor Noct is priced hi end) but those guys have seemingly got nowhere despite the takeover of RED by Nikon). It almost seems that the two companies emotionally dislike one another! My only other theory is that there are too many conflicts of interest between them in other industries such as semiconductors or microscopy. But being a romantic amateur methinks it’s a great shame.
@@Stephen_Baker Thanks for responding. You're correct in that Zeiss seems to have stopped working with Nikon. I'm not privy and any inside information as to why. I'm just a dopey guy in Florida wondering why camera and lens companies do what they do. I am happy the Cosina Voigtlander seems to still have a working relationship with Nikon. Thanks for following up with your theories. They could easily be spot on.
@ who knows if my theories make any sense whatsoever, so greetings and happiness from a fellow heart (& etc.,) enthusiast from from Dorset. Please keep posting!
@@Stephen_Baker Thanks. They make as much sense as any. Thanks for all your support. I'm working on a new infrared video. Not going so well so far but maybe I'll manage a video out of it. Smiles