New lenses from Voigtlander - 40mm F2.8 M & LTM, 35/1.2 Z

[TenEleven]

LTM makes so much sense for a 40mm, too.
This way everyone can decide if they want the 35mm Frame-lines or the 50mm ones. Or perhaps something else entirely.

I hope this means we might see a metal finder for 40mm, too?
I love my metal CV 28, 35, 90 and 21/25 finders.

 

[agentlossing]

LTM!
Yes! YES! YES!!!!

You probably could do nicely with the IIIg finder, but unless they reissue GOOD accessory finders (small and metal), it doesn't seem like a very useful focal length for LTM.

.5m close focus?
NO NO NO!!! A million times Please NO!!!

The place to go for a good 40mm finder now is Ricoh, they just put out a tiny, bright and optically very good one for the 40mm GR IIIx. I haven't bought it due to price, but I've handled it in a shop and it's really quite nice.

 

[Erik van Straten]

It did occur to me that it's possible they're offering the LTM version as a way to allow M users to choose their preferred framelines; you don't have to worry about filing down the mount to irreversibly swap from the default 50mm framelines on the M version to the 35mm framelines if you can just change the LTM to M mount adapter.

My M-cameras have no 40mm frame in their finders. And I would like to use the lens on my LTM-cameras.

Erik.

 

[Coldkennels]

The place to go for a good 40mm finder now is Ricoh, they just put out a tiny, bright and optically very good one for the 40mm GR IIIx. I haven't bought it due to price, but I've handled it in a shop and it's really quite nice.

That does look really nice (it's called a GV-3 if anyone's curious and wants to track one down):



It reminds me a lot of the CV 28/35 mini-finder, and would probably be the perfect accompaniment to the new 40mm on a Barnack. You're right about the price, though - looks like RRP here in the UK is £299. Oof. Might as well pick up one of the older CV 40mm viewfinders from Japan for £170 instead.

 

[Erik van Straten]

That does look really nice (it's called a GV-3 if anyone's curious and wants to track one down):

It reminds me a lot of the CV 28/35 mini-finder, and would probably be the perfect accompaniment to the new 40mm on a Barnack. You're right about the price, though - looks like RRP here in the UK is £299. Oof. Might as well pick up one of the older CV 40mm viewfinders from Japan for £170 instead.

Ricoh states that the percentage of the field of view on film of this viewfinder is 85%. In that case a normal 35mm finder will do too: 35 : 40 = 0.875.

Erik.

 

[hap]

If this lens is really LTM, and I am yet to be convinced..I would use my variable Tewe finder and set it inbetween 35 and 50mm . Iterate from there.

 

[Coldkennels]

Ricoh states that the percentage of the field of view on film of this viewfinder is 85%. In that case a normal 35mm finder will do too: 35 : 40 = 0.875.

Erik.

You're assuming that a "normal" 35mm finder is 100%. Voigtlander's website doesn't list the old 35mm finders, nor does it mention field of view for most of what they have now, but they do say the current 12mm viewfinder is "only" 92% of the field of view at 3 m, so there's a chance the 35mm finders they made are similar.

At any rate, there seems to be a fair bit of variation amongst the 35mm finders I have lying around; maybe one of them would work better for 40mm than others.

 

[Erik van Straten]

If this lens is really LTM, and I am yet to be convinced ...

About twenty years ago Cosina Voigtländer made a really beautiful 28mm f/3.5 lens in LTM, the Color-Skopar 28mm f3.5. It still ranks as one of the most beautiful LTM-lenses ever made, both mechanically and optically. Another beauty was the Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5. The lenses were made both in black paint on brass and in chrome on brass. It is about time that Cosina completes the line with a 35mm and/or a 40mm. So I think that this lens will be really LTM.

Erik.

 

[Coldkennels]

If this lens is really LTM, and I am yet to be convinced...

It is going to be available in LTM as well as M mount - two versions of the same lens. Larry Cloetta posted a link to the Japanese Voigtlander website which explicitly shows the LTM version: https://www.cosina.co.jp/voigtlander/vm-mount/heliar-40mm-f2-8-aspherical-l-l39/

It even says L39 in the URL and in the description, so unless something happens and it's cancelled, that's pretty solid confirmation.

About twenty years ago Cosina Voigtländer made a really beautiful 28mm f/3.5 lens in LTM, the Color-Skopar 28mm f3.5. It still ranks as one of the most beautiful LTM-lenses ever made, both mechanically and optically. Another beauty was the Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.5. The lenses were made both in black paint on brass and in chrome on brass. It is about time that Cosina completes the line with a 35mm and/or a 40mm.

That 28/3.5 is one of my favourite lenses of all time. The earlier 28/1.9 in LTM was great - a proper speed king - but felt way too big on a Barnack, and I wasn't ever that impressed with the results. The f/3.5 version balances better, fits better, and produces gorgeous images. I think the two Voigtlander 35mm lenses in LTM, the f/1.7 Ultron and the f/2.5 Color Skopar, are good analogs for that pair. I've never used either one, but the 35mm Color Skopar certainly looks a lot like the 28mm version in build and results, so I'd say the "line" was already complete in that regard.

I was led to believe that producing LTM lenses is way more difficult than making M mount ones, and that the only reason Voigtlander started with LTM was because there was still a patent on the M mount. But Voigtlander definitely have experience with LTM, and I'm glad to see they're going back to it. I just hope it's not a one-off.

 

[Erik van Straten]

I think the two Voigtlander 35mm lenses in LTM, the f/1.7 Ultron and the f/2.5 Color Skopar, are good analogs for that pair.

The 35mm f/2.5 was not as nicely made (no black paint on brass) as the 50mm and the 28mm, if I remember well. No doubt that it was optically very fine, but I've never tried that one. I have the Ultron 35mm f/1.7 in LTM, but this lens - aspherical - is too big and is in (yellow) aluminium.

Erik.

 

[CameraQuest]

I was led to believe that producing LTM lenses is way more difficult than making M mount ones, and that the only reason Voigtlander started with LTM was because there was still a patent on the M mount.

not true. M patents had already expired, the Konica Hexar RF is proof of that.

 

[Coldkennels]

not true. M patents had already expired, the Konica Hexar RF is proof of that.

In that case, do you know why they dropped LTM in favour of purely M-mount lenses? I'd have thought that when making lenses for a relatively niche market, LTM would have given them a far bigger customer base just due to the added versatility/wider compatibility of the mount.

 

[bluesun267]

In that case, do you know why they dropped LTM in favour of purely M-mount lenses? I'd have thought that when making lenses for a relatively niche market, LTM would have given them a far bigger customer base just due to the added versatility/wider compatibility of the mount.

I've been asking that for 15+ years. Haven't heard a real suitable answer. On the practical side, the M mount does afford a bit more breathing room at the rear as far as lens design goes. I've also gathered that Kobayashi Hirofumi just fell out of love with LTM after the initial few years of making them. Hopefully this 40mm shows that he is cognizant of the lasting interest in LTM.

 

[PRJ]

I wish they had the option of a LTM mount in more of their lenses. Just charge more for it. Plenty of people would pay I'd think.

 

[hap]

It is going to be available in LTM as well as M mount - two versions of the same lens. Larry Cloetta posted a link to the Japanese Voigtlander website which explicitly shows the LTM version: https://www.cosina.co.jp/voigtlander/vm-mount/heliar-40mm-f2-8-aspherical-l-l39/

It even says L39 in the URL and in the description, so unless something happens and it's cancelled, that's pretty solid confirmation.



That 28/3.5 is one of my favourite lenses of all time. The earlier 28/1.9 in LTM was great - a proper speed king - but felt way too big on a Barnack, and I wasn't ever that impressed with the results. The f/3.5 version balances better, fits better, and produces gorgeous images. I think the two Voigtlander 35mm lenses in LTM, the f/1.7 Ultron and the f/2.5 Color Skopar, are good analogs for that pair. I've never used either one, but the 35mm Color Skopar certainly looks a lot like the 28mm version in build and results, so I'd say the "line" was already complete in that regard.

I was led to believe that producing LTM lenses is way more difficult than making M mount ones, and that the only reason Voigtlander started with LTM was because there was still a patent on the M mount. But Voigtlander definitely have experience with LTM, and I'm glad to see they're going back to it. I just hope it's not a one-off.

Maybe someone can contact our bartender and see what he opines.

 

[agentlossing]

That does look really nice (it's called a GV-3 if anyone's curious and wants to track one down):



It reminds me a lot of the CV 28/35 mini-finder, and would probably be the perfect accompaniment to the new 40mm on a Barnack. You're right about the price, though - looks like RRP here in the UK is £299. Oof. Might as well pick up one of the older CV 40mm viewfinders from Japan for £170 instead.

Oh man, that 40 on a Barnack with this finder, that's a sexy sounding combo right there!

 

[BWF]

This lens release is another great surprise. I’m hoping for some new external viewfinders soon. I think they would sell in 28 and 40, and maybe 35 and 50.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Maybe someone can contact our bartender and see what he opines.

Here it is in English : https://www.cosina.co.jp/voigtlander/en/vm-mount/heliar-40mm-f2-8-aspherical-l-l39/

 

[mapgraphs]

Traditional Heliar:

https://www.antiquecameras.net/heliarlenses.html

 

[bluesun267]

I propose a new "Ultra-Vintage" line of LTM:

In addition to the 40/2.8, I'd definitely buy:

1) A Re-issue of the Color-Skopar 28/3.5 in a barrel similar to the 40 (or just the same as the old one)

2) The current Ultron 35/2 in LTM, keeping the V2 style barrel but with close focus limit of .7m.

The new Ultron's rear element is certainly narrow enough to accommodate LTM.

& such a lens would be a huge revelation: a super sharp, compact, affordable, decently fast 35 in LTM (for those reasons, it is already a revelation in M-mount, so why stop there?!)

3) A re-issue of the Color- Skopar 50/2,5. Admittedly this would be quite a bit further down the list given the ubiquity of great 50s in LTM. But since we're designing a whole line of cool LTM lenses, why not?

Any votes for a 75 or 90?