40mm / 1.2 is great, but ...

[jmilkins]

Thanks Roland - your examples and analysis are welcome, as always.

On the issue of hoods - if a manufacturer felt a hood would appreciably improve the quality of their lens’ output, then I would hope they would include it as standard.

I’m certainly not questioning the comparative value and quality of this particular lens - a great achievement , kudos to Mr K and his team. And I will probably buy one when I can.

But why would you release a product to market that is not performing at its optimum ? Where is the pride in your product being the best it can be?

I’m not directing this solely at CV but at any manufacturer that asks “would you like firies with that?”

 

[creenus]

I use Chinese aluminum hoods on my Leica lenses. They help protect the filter/lens and do not vignette. I cut down a 90mm hood slightly for my 75mm Summarit. Again, cheap but functional. I'm not paying hundreds for a Leica hood - they're nice and all, but I can live with aluminum and not brass.

 

[zuiko85]

Zuiko85, do you have the details of that hood?
I'm not a fan of the voigtlander hood.
Thanks

That particular hood was found by a ebay search for '39mm lens hood' and then scrolling through the large selection. Look for a solid (not vented) 39mm hood marked 'W' for wide with a 46mm front lens cap size, that is what mine is and I bought it about 3 years ago. In a search there are just hundreds of large vented hoods for 39mm, all about the same size as the CV hood so it can be hard to find.

 

[ferider]

Seriously?

The first 40mm f1.2 in the history of photography and you are whining about not getting a free hood?

: : :

Seriously?

Stephen

Business must be good, Stephen, if you can treat a repeat customer and long-standing forum member like that. Good for you.

No. I don't mind the price (and am not asking for a free hood), and I obviously appreciate the lens' qualities, see the OP. I do mind having to do a second purchase and waiting for another week for the hood, however, and would appreciate that "Hood is not included" or similar is part of the lens' advertisement. As simple as that.

Roland.

 

[Erik van Straten]

To be honest I did not like the hoods that came with my VM 50mm f/1.5 and VM 35mm f/1.7 lenses. I've found replacements that are more functional and look better too. Using the lens without a hood is better than using the lens with a hood that does not match the lens in looks.

for 35mm f/1.7:

for 50mm f/1.5:

Erik.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

It is all about hoods here. I paid 1.2K$ for 35 2.5 NiB Leica M mount lens in 2016. It came with no hood and it costs above hundred dollars. But, somehow, I'm not pissed off about it.

 

[creenus]

Well, I appreciate what you offer (quality glass at affordable prices) and I hope you can stay in business.

People forget that profits are necessary to keep a company going. And others believe they are entitled to bargains at the expense of business owners. And others still can never be happy, no matter what deal they get.

Life is too short for squabbling over lens accessories, IMO. YMMV, of course.

Seriously?

The first 40mm f1.2 in the history of photography and you are whining about not getting a free hood?

FYI no vented hood is included with the Voigtlander 35/1.2, 35/1.4, 35/1.7, 35/2.5 or 40/1.4.

The 40/1.2 is capable of stunning images and beautiful bokeh
at 1/5 the same lens would cost with a Leica nameplate,
and you are complaining you are not getting a free vented hood with the lens.
On top of that its small for its aperture and handles great on an M body.

Seriously?

Stephen

 

[raid]

I would add the cost of the matching lens hood to the lens of the new lens and then I would decide if the total cost is what I am willing to pay or not. Yes, of course it should be clearly stated what is included with the lens. Expectations may differ from different buyers. When you are about to buy a car, say, you expect the car to come with the 4 tires.

 

[Daryl J.]

Lens hoods were extra for all my lenses save where they were (dysfunctionally) built in.

Am looking forward to getting this lens in 2018.


D

 

[bayernfan]

accessories are where serious money is to be made, we all know this. with this particular lens, voigtlander (cosina, etc) is betting that the customer will really want the hood.

it looks like the LH-8 hood goes for $110. if voigtlander was wise, they'd package it with lens and bump the total price up $40 to $50. they'd still be making a nice profit on the hood and they'd be doing right by the customer.

instead, they've pissed off a lot of customers, and many of them are going to go look at third party hoods. any profit that could have been made is out the window.

 

[f16sunshine]

Technically, it turns out to be a "grail lens", it's very, very good: plenty sharp wide open, and undramatic vignetting - the first 1.2 lens that I could use for landscapes @f1.2. Beautiful bokeh, and only the faintest hint of distortion (pin-cushion at 2m in the corners). And small, smooth to operate, and easy 52mm filters. And with LV, I do like 0.5m min. focus.

Then again: it's a 900$ lens. And a hood is not included. Seriously ?

Roland.

It's a legit complaint and one it seems Cosina should remedy. Yet...
..However bad a taste it leaves, I doubt Cosina will lose any sales of the lens.
It's too unique of a piece and the price is still so well below its competitors (? at 35mm ? 50mm?).
I'm surprised at the sharpness at wide open... amazing for $1k when one compares to Leica Summilux 35 or Zeiss Distagon35 !!!!

 

[raid]

This lens sells for $899 online. Is this the best asking price right now?

 

[CameraQuest]

That's not the point. The point is that the 50/1.5 VM did come with a hood. Why not the 40 ?

The 50/1.5 includes a straight non vented hood. That lens is about half the size of the 40/1.2 and the 50/1.5 lens barrel intrudes much less into the viewfinder.

A solid 40/1.2 hood will be harder to shoot with as it will block the subject, unless its so small its shading value could be questionable.

For the 40/1.2, Voigtlander chose a vented hood as the best lens hood solution. Voigtlander M lenses seldom include vented lens hoods. Only the 75/1.8 includes a small vented hood.

 

[loneranger]

I would rather pay 899 with no hood than 1050 with a hood that i may or may not like, so I am really glad they did not include a a hood, to make this more affordable. Agree with Stephen wholeheartedly here,

 

[bayernfan]

serious question: they make bargain optics, why can't they make bargain accessories? leica hoods are not 5x more expensive, right?

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Bargain optics is 50 1.1 lens under 400$. It also comes without hood. Because bargain hoods costs under ten dollars.

 

[Bille]

Seriously?
(...)

The 40/1.2 is capable of stunning images and beautiful bokeh
at 1/5 the same lens would cost with a Leica nameplate,
and you are complaining you are not getting a free vented hood with the lens.
On top of that its small for its aperture and handles great on an M body.

Seriously?

It´s still bad habit not to include a proper hood. Especially at 900$ retail.

 

[Daryl J.]

I am itching to see a comparison with real images between the 1.2/50 Noctilux and this 1.2/40. I bet it cements the value of the new CV piece given the $15,000-30,000 price tag of Leica's glass.

At $1200 the 1.5/50 C Sonnar is a solid value according to the market.
At ~$800, the 1.5/50 Nokton is a solid value according to the market.
At $3895, the 1.4/50 Summilux ASPH is a solid value according to the market.

That some markets disinclude me is perfectly acceptable.

That a lens hood suddenly is an issue for a few individuals when it hasn't been an issue in the market for decades is, well, silly.

 

[peterm1]

Cosina - Voigtlander is a bit idiosyncratic about hoods. Most do not come with one but the Ultron 28mm f2 does have a small removable hood designed as part of the lens and the 50mm f1.1 comes with a hood as does the 75mm f1.8. I am not sure why this is, other than for marketing reasons, but many other Voigtlander lenses do not come so equipped.
Olympus also tends not to provide hoods in their lens' price, at least for m43 lenses - at least not in my experience. And they charge high prices for the hoods they make available as an accessory purchase. So what this has done is to provoke the availability of some quite nice and relatively inexpensive substitute hoods on eBay out of China. I am not totally sure why this has not happened with Voigtlander lenses. Perhaps because many are satisfied with the very cheap screw in hoods (similar to Leica's slotted hoods) that are readily available for those lenses because many Voigtlander lenses are designed for M cameras and slotted Leica-like hoods are acceptable on such lenses. I do this myself but more out of necessity.
I have often thought that there are two lens hood designs I would pay a premium for (though hopefully not a premium of something around one hundred bucks like many Olympus hoods). I would like a wider range of after market metal clamp fit hoods which I prefer to screw in ones. And I would like a wider range of after market metal rectangular hoods. A few of these are available but not many which means one has to resort to vintage hoods if one does not want a bog standard hood of the slotted Leica type out of China. The problem with vintage hoods I have found is that many of them are from the USA and on eBay when you buy a $10 or $20 small item from the USA you will often be stiffed with a further $20-$30 postage fee and this is out of the question for an otherwise inexpensive item.

 

[Perks]

That particular hood was found by a ebay search for '39mm lens hood' and then scrolling through the large selection. Look for a solid (not vented) 39mm hood marked 'W' for wide with a 46mm front lens cap size, that is what mine is and I bought it about 3 years ago. In a search there are just hundreds of large vented hoods for 39mm, all about the same size as the CV hood so it can be hard to find.

Aha, a screw in marked W.
Thanks!