Voigtländer 50mm f/2 APO Lanthar lens review (Full-frame & APS-C)
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- Опубліковано 17 кві 2022
- Another day, another APO Lanthar lens from Voigtländer...can this one judtify its price tag?
Find it here (Affiliate link - thank you for your support! Be sure to get the right lens for your camera system):
geni.us/Voigtlander50f2
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All pictures taken by me on a Sony a7R III and Sony a5100 camera.
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Amazing!! Thank you for yet another thorough review! Worth noting that you can de-click the 50mm f2 aperture ring if you pull down the front ring with the yellow tab and twist it 180 degrees ;)
Your previous voigtlander reviews inspired me to pick this up a while back! Seeing your assessment on this is very refreshing.
Thank you for all the amazing lens reviews!!
The APO Lanthar line is one the best I have ever seen optically and build wise. I have the 65mm APO and it is just as amazing...with a macro of 1:2. Which is the same as 1:1 with a high MP body attached...the lens is that sharp so cropping ridiculous amounts ... still looks fantastic.
There are so many choices today...it can get confusing. I have a simple rule...I only purchase lenses I need and I only purchase lenses that are tack sharp at the widest aperture. As soon as I hear ...the sweet spot of this lens is F/X.X...I'm gone...not interested. This cuts the list down CONSIDERABLY. If a lens is tack sharp wide open with great color and contrast...that's a pro lens. Voigtlander has four of them. The 35mm, the 50mm, the 65mm...and the 110mm APO's. Keeps it simple. I would probably keep my 65mm over the 50mm if I had to choose. It's a bit more versatile...but optically...all four are pro level lenses.
The Leica M mount version is optically different, as can be seen from the optical construction diagrams and MTF charts provided by Cosina. This is necessary to allow for the smaller M mount opening and for the sensor thickness differences. The effect of this different optical design is that the M mount version is very slightly less sharp than this Sony E mount version when the former is used natively on a Leica or adapted to a thin sensor modified mirrorless camera, but is unusably soft in the edges of the frame when used on a unmodified mirrorless camera.
It should also be mentioned that a version based on the Sony E's optical design has been announced for the Nikon Z mount, with a 52mm rather than 49mm filter thread and a slightly different external design.
Guys, remember Sony is the sensor manufacturer for most cameras. Of course they take the cream! Pity Koreans...
Hey Chris, another great review. I've been using a Voigtlander 40mm Ultron f2 SLAIS ii with both Nikon SLRs and Nikon DSLRS and I can't seem to take it off the camera as the results are just fantastic. It would be amazing to see a review done on your channel if one passes you by, to see what you think of it as well as if there is anything exceptional about the image quality.
I own this lens!
It's absolutely gorgeous except for that (quite) heavy vignetting when aperture is wide-opened though...
Oh, and one more thing...
The camera sensor is self reflecting when strong light source is positioned dead-centre.
...and then you can find some interesting patterns from your image..
...Oh and I use this lens' aperture ring declicked almost always for reason that I-don't-know-why-exactly...(in stills shooting).
I have the Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 35mm 2.0 Aspherical and the Voigtländer Macro APO-Lanthar 65mm 2.0 which I can very highly recommend !
What are your thoughts about the 35mm Apo, sir? I'm thinking of adding it to my kit.
This lens also just released on Nikons Z mount.
I love this lens so much that I own it on SonyE and Leica-M! My most used lens for both bodies.
I' d love to see you review the Zeiss Loxia 35 and/or 50mm lenses for Sony E
Got mine 2 days ago and paired it with my a7r. Impressive!
Thanks for all your excellent reviews. Just a suggestion. When you do the vignetting tests, could you divide the screen into 4 quarters, and display different apertures at each corner? That would make comparisons really easy to see. (e.g. top left f1.4, top right f2, bottom left f2.8, bottom right f4).
That level of effort would be pointless considering vignetting is extremely easy to fix in post.
@@kanecain1981 Agreed, vignetting can be interesting at an academic level at best, but not of any consequence unless we're talking about a really terrible performance.
Excellent video😊!
Looks similiar to my NFD 50mm with small accesory screw-in aluminium lens hood + adaper to FX 😀 Like that shape and size
The results from this lens are what made me get a cheap vintage Nikon 50 to see if I hated 50mm or if I just hated the 50mm lens I used to have four and a half years ago.
Suffice to say I want this lens more than the 35mm APO now.
I bought this lens last week based on this review and I am very, very pleased with the results. I was hesitant about a manual focus lens but it's easy to get accustomed to it after you've seen the results!!!
Although you said the in-camera vignette correction was turned off, the text on the video said it was +in-camera correction (at 5:41)
As always, excellent review Chris! If you want to have some fun testing an odd, but beautiful lens, you should test the 50mm f/3.5 Heliar Classic. I own it and love it for walk around photography. I think you would enjoy it too! :)
Is this the lovely lens Cosina made in relatively small numbers and ceased manufacturing, despite its high resolving levels, quite a few years' ago?
@@robertcudlipp3426 I'm not sure of its history, but its vintage design and build would fit what you describe.
Excellent review 📸👌 I use this 50mm apo on my Fuji xt4 with the voigt close focus adapter and the results are just simply fantastic!!! Out of all my 6 voigtlander lenses this is the best performance and my Fuji 50mm f2 is very close to this apo lens for image quality 💪🏻
There is also a version coming out for Nikon Z. 35mm f2 and 50mm f2 for full frame cameras, and 23mm f1.2 and 35mm f1.2 for their APS-C cameras.
Hopefully Chris reviews the Voigtlander 23mm F1.2 and the 35mm F1.2 DX lenses for Nikon Z mount.
I have now the 50mm Z mount and is just great, I sold my Zeiss Milvus 50mm f2.
@@paavn1957 where did you get it? I have looked at various sellers, but no one seems to be selling it yet.
I have the 50mm f1.2 Nokton VM, not sure I'm going to sell it for the f2. I'm waiting for the 35mm f2 and am hoping they will release the 21mm f1.4 for Nikon Z as well.
Hi Christopher, great reviews! One question: for Nikon Z7 could I have your opinion the Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 versus the Voigtlander Apo Lanthar 50mm f2 in Nikon Z mount that is now available?
TIL I'm a hipster because I have 4 voigtlanders. Please review the 110mm Chris, imo it's the best of them.
I hope you will review this lens with the Nikon Z 6/7 as well. In Germany, the lens is already available for Nikon Z.
Hi Christopher ! Please can you test and review the zeiss loxia 35&50mm ? Thank
Please do the sigma trio for Fuji separately. The previous videos for sigma lens for Sony and cannon have quite a difference between them.
would be nice on a leica or the a7c, as a "lighter" travel camera
please do a canon 28-80mm f2.8-4 review!!
Obrigado muito. Eu curioso muito...
Hello Chris, what do you think of the Voightlander 50 f1.0?
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.0 Aspherical MC Lens This should be next one to try?
Looking forward to getting this stolen from me in the coming weeks!
I hope you do know that the original company Voigtländer is long gone and buried, but Cosina bought the rights to the brand and is designing and building the lenses under the name.
It's not like Zeiss which still exists in Germany but outsourced its production to a slew of optical businesses in Japan like just Cosina and Tamron do for Zeiss today and Yasica in the past as some examples.
Have you tested the 1.2 lens, I can't decide between this one and that one
Apo (apo) is a type 1 shortening for apochromatic, apo is not an initialism with the letters being the first of several words nor pronounced as such. Apo is to be pronounced as a word.
Thank you for another good review. I would love to see the Voightlander for Fuji tested. I have the 23mm f1.2 for Fuji and love it
Voigtlanders are cheap bargains compared to Leica lenses. And they are usually a compromise for when you don't want to pay for the Leica ones. I wish Chris can start testing more Leica M lenses made by Leica. It would really redefine what a good lens looks like on this channel.
Look at Matt’s (mr Leica) channel and “the maths photographer” for good comparisons on Leica lenses. You will soon see that this lens is an equal to the £6k counterparts. Zeiss lenses have always matched Leica for sharpness even if other qualities aren’t quite as smooth. Maybe Chris should hire a Q2 to give you a reference...
that lens still blow me away but very expensive 🫣
Now how about testing the 40 mm 1.2 Chris..
I have the Leica version on my m9p. It’s almost too sharp
The Taiwanese national flag resembles a sun with 12 points sun star, but it's difficult to get a lens with 12 blades aperture nowadays, and this Voigtlander 50mm f/2 and the 7artisans 75mm f/1.25 are the only two modern lens with this attribute which I know of.
In addition, the following current Voigtlander lenses all have 12 blade apertures:
Nokton 50mm f/1 VM
Nokton 50mm f/1.5 II VM
Nokton 75mm f/1.5 VM
APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2 (VM, Sony E, Nikon Z)
Nokton 21mm f/1.4 (VM, Sony E)
Nokton 50mm f/1.2 (VM, Sony E)
Nokton 35mm f/1.2 (VM, Sony E)
Super Nokton 29mm f/0.8 (M4/3)
Nokton 23mm f/1.2 (APS-C)
Nokton 35mm f/1.2 (APS-C)
@@Bayonet1809 thanks for sharing
I've actually always been confused about why these lens reviews even mention diffraction. I thought that the amount of diffraction at a given stop was determined only by the focal length, and isn't a feature of the lens itself.
I don't think the focal length comes into it, but sensitivity to the diffraction effect is affected by the pixel density of the sensor. Obviously people tend to want high pixel density up to a point. That doesn't increase diffraction, it just means assuming the lens is good enough you're capturing more detail and will bump into the descending resolution ceiling imposed by diffraction earlier. As you continue stopping down you'll meet the lower res sensor which didn't have more detail to start with but now it's results are also being limited.
When they talk about diffraction, they are showing you best sharpness which is never a surprise to find at ~F8, then it should be seen as a reminder of principle about diffraction become a noticeable limiting factor ~F13-F16 rather than lens performance. However the sharpness wide open (or nearly) can be seen as a factor in lens performance.
OK, diffraction does relate primarily to the aperture.
F-ratio is f-length / aperture
Aperture is f-length / F-ratio
So yes longer focal length at given F-ratio means less diffraction insofar as a larger aperture is implied. But the longer lens fills the sensor with light from a narrower view effectively magnifying the refractive effect back up to leave you at the beginning.
So diffraction with a slit or hole - based on the aperture (and wavelength, but visible light is constrained to a small range).
With a lens that has a focal length, effect as seen on sensor relates to F-ratio.
Wow! I thought $1K US was pretty expensive but it seems like this is one of those lenses that justifies its price. My question is whether it justifies its price compared to a 50MM autofocus lens of similar price. No offense meant to those who shoot manual focus, of course, but sometimes the workflow doesn't allow for manual focus.
At this high quality of the optical performance you do not get any better ! Sony 50mm 1.2 GM are $2300 !!! The Voigtläner weighs 364g, the Sony 779g, the Voigtländer are compact, the Sony big and bulky. If you need autofocus get the Sony Zeiss Sonnar 55mm 1.8 !
@@cameraprepper7938 You can pick one of those up for about $650 US used, but would it compare on image quality? I'll have to have a look. Of course, it's all academic for me. I don't use Sony.
@@cameraprepper7938 So I looked up the review of that Zeiss Sonnar and the quality versus the Voigtlander is similar but the Voigtlander has the edge when it comes to sharpness and vignetting. If I knew I could get away with manual focus and I could afford the price I would probably go with the Voigtlander. So yeah, it *DOES* justify its price versus an autofocus lens! Well done Voigtlander!
@@swistedfilms The 55mm 1.8 suffers from chromatic aberation, I've heard from several people online that it performs poorly, especially when photographing waves against the sunlight for instance.
That's what I wonder too. I think that no auto focus is a deal breaker for me since I like to do street photography where there's often little time to get the picture.
Pricey? Yes.
Value for money? Very good, indeed.
Well.. I just sold mine.. I literally just come from ups🤷🏻♂️. Waiting for a sigma 50 f2 af
I have the 50 VM APO for the M mount. All I can say it justifies the price for the performance, and a bargain in the M mount world. I cannot see myself purchasing the Leica 50 APO because of this lens.
I'm curious about the performance of the voightlander VM35 1.4 II
Bad, very bad at almost every level on this kind of reviews, but just because it's not a performance seeker. It's a Nokton "Classic", so it tries to give you that, a "classic vintage look". I have its brother, the 40mm f/1.4 Nokton Classic (only found on M mount), which is a little bit better, and it's extremely fun to use. It's just... what it is.
Also, the 35mm can be found on E mount, but with a waaaay uglier look.
There's a new Voigtlander 50mm f/1 (M mount only for now). Now THAT'S an interesting specimen to review :D.
My weird lens suggestion: how about a review of the old Summi/Rokkor 40mm f/2 M mount? That's an interesting piece of history imho.
VM 35 / 1.2 II Nokton is better than VM 35 / 1.4 classic
It's so bad they discontinued it. Check out the Nokton 40mm f1.2 instead.
Great review Chris. A weird lens but another choice.
I wouldn't call it "weird". It's probably the sharpest 50mm lens you can get for the Sony mirrorless cameras.
A 1000 bucks for a Christopher Frost review is pretty cheap though... they should send you a copy as thanks ;)
time to hide my canon nifty fifty, it's a shame how much worse is my canon :(
APO isn’t a.p.o. It’s apo, as in apochromatic.
First! Just in time for a meeting. Cheers!
Voigtlandee 50mm f1 nikon z , 🙏
5:31 hahahahaha. Death and taxes
The picture quality of this lens is amazing. However, I prefer it could scarify some picture quality and make it F/1.2 or 1.4 instead for more variety use. I think I won't buy it.
Have a look at the 50mm f1.2 Nokton then. However it's a different beast. It's got the most amazing vintage look and bokeh, but gets very sharp as you stop down. It's especially great for people photography.
@@stefan_becker Thanks! I wish Chris would consider testing this lens as well: ua-cam.com/video/JpoZjcU1dzo/v-deo.html
@@peteryungcp Yes, but in Chris review it might not look too good because it's not that sharp wide open and has got also longitudinal ca. But it's bokeh is sooo nice. Imho it's a kind of "poor mans" 50mm 1.2 GM 😅 I sold my Nokton after I've got my 50mm 1.2 GM.
Or you can buy Takumar 50mm f/2 fo 20 times less price.
But it wont get anywhere near the optical quality of this Voigtander.
No weather sealing, disaster focus breathing, manual focus, gross vignetting hipsterish shit for 1000$... how about no 😅
Would tend to agree, no actual reason to buy this over a 1st-party 50/2. If you want 'character' in a lens, then buy one from 30 years ago.
If you want to have the sharpest 50mm lens for Sony cameras this is it. I tried it on the A7rIV with pixel shift. And guess what: You'll get incredibly sharp 250mp pictures!
So…a $1000 7Artisans lens.
Hey do you have Instagram??