Voigtländer 2/50 APO-M mount! PREORDER $999

[astrobuoy]

I can only speak for the Leica 50 APO; aside from a neutral bokeh, contrast at the plane of focus is so high and that of the OOF foreground & background diminished that the images have a 3D character to them that you can’t get from any other 50 that I have used. Plane of focus is dead-flat, distortion is near-zero. I think I have rarely shot it at f/4 or 5.6. Really stunning results.

Do you have any shots on film with the Leica APO lens? I'm curious how this new Voigtlander APO will render on film, and whether it's just overkill in terms of resolution (though, as others have said, there's also the color fidelity to think about).

 

[nzeeman]

I can only speak for the Leica 50 APO; aside from a neutral bokeh, contrast at the plane of focus is so high and that of the OOF foreground & background diminished that the images have a 3D character to them that you can’t get from any other 50 that I have used. Plane of focus is dead-flat, distortion is near-zero. I think I have rarely shot it at f/4 or 5.6. Really stunning results.

please someone explain me what is stunning here??? for 7500...

if any small maker made this much CA leica people would be attacking from all weapons sayin "thats why i prefer to pay extra for leica lens". i saw examples of new 7artisan apo and people saw CA that was barely visible and already screaming: this is not apo! if this leica apo is apo then whole designation doesnt make sense... but ok this is last thing i will comment in this thread... im happy that voigtlander made this for 999 and hope they will show no big money is needed to make apo... (btw if anyone need cheap and true apo i will twll you one secret - go get mir 1 37mm f2.8... i saw old interview with designer and he said it was corrected for all CA - but in those days nobody used apo name )
cheers

 

[Sonnar Brian]

No lens corrects all CA, with an Apochromat three distinct wavelengths of light come into focus at the same point. Walk away from those three wavelengths, you get aberration. The design of the lens also controls how far off the "in between" wavelengths are from the point of focus. You can have an Achromat (corrected for two wavelengths) , like the 1950s vintage Summicron, with a very low walk-off that will outperform an apochromat with a high degree of walkoff. I think the Apochromat designation was used in large-format copy lenses very early on. I gave away a Goerz 24" F11 Apochromat Artar to a photographer that made his own cameras, it was uncoated- maybe made in the 1940s? The "Apochromat" designation was on the namering. The Pentax Ultra-Achromat is corrected for four wavelengths of light, from UV through to near Infrared. Name ring carried the "Ultra-Achromatic" designation, late 1960s. Important for a spectrometer.

I tend to use the IR focus index of a lens to judge how much CA it is going to have. The Rigid Summicron V1 has the IR mark at about the F2 DOF mark. Some other lenses, such as a Sonnar, it is past the F5.6 mark. Shooting the M monochrom, using an Orange filter eliminates softness due to CA.

I have a lens used in an optical computer that is designed to focus one wavelength of light, used with a LASER. Cost $40K to manufacture. Pulled it out of a dumpster after they retired the computer some 25 years ago.

Looking at the deign of the Cosina lens and Leica lens- the Cosina designs "looks like" it has a more powerful retrofocus design to it than the Leica APO-Summicron. Longer optical paths make it easier to get the wavelengths into agreement. This could account for the size difference. I'm looking forward to getting this lens.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

please someone explain me what is stunning here??? for 7500...

I don't know about stunning but the second one immediately made me think of the cover of Led Zeppelin IV.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The introduction of the Leica APO-Summicron coincided with the M Monochrom. Color correction is more important for a monochrome camera than a color camera, as you cannot correct in post.

The three wavelengths of light for an APO lens, two wavelengths for an Achromat, Four for an Ultra-Achromat: apply to the primary point of focus of the lens, not the out of focus regions. Some lenses have "Soap-Bubble Bokeh", others don't. It's hard enough to get light to focus free of aberrations at all, let alone worry about all those out-of-focus areas- one optical engineer told me. The other problem in this digital world is how the sensor and filter stack interfere with the true rendering of the lens. I'll be using the M9 and M Monochrom with this lens. I would not trust a Sony with the thick filter stack to do this lens, or the APO-Summicron, justice.

 

[Michalm]

I recommend looking at Dpreview M10R DNG samples as they were shot on Apo 50 f2 Leica lens , this is probably better than looking at random often overprocessed jpg images on the web.

 

[james.liam]

I use an M9M with the 50 APO. Can't speak for color images.

 

[raid]

I could not resist, and I placed a pre-order for this lens. I have many really good 50mm lenses, but I don't have an APO lens. It was meant to be. Plus, it is Christmas time and I was a good boy all 2020.

 

[james.liam]

please someone explain me what is stunning here??? for 7500...

No one is twisting your arm. Use the lens properly and you see the subtleties. At $999, I'm sure you've spent more on worse and you could always sell the VM 50 APO for almost the same if you're disappointed. Not like its a low-cost TT7fArtisan recyclable.

I recommend looking at Dpreview M10R DNG samples as they were shot on Apo 50 f2 Leica lens , this is probably better than looking at random often overprocessed jpg images on the web.

Exactly. Those Steve Huff photos are a high-contrast stress test for the best of lenses and not indicative of anything. Searching through this site and Leica Users will give you better examples but remember, all the images are downsized small jpg's and my iPhone 12 will look better.

I could not resist, and I placed a pre-order for this lens. I have many really good 50mm lenses, but I don't have an APO lens. It was meant to be. Plus, it is Christmas time and I was a good boy all 2020.

Don't think many were out and about in '20 to be all that bad. Glaring exceptions notwithstanding.

 

[BWF]

Would this version be bad for adapting to Sony since it’s designed for M digital sensors? I’m debating the M version but I mostly shoot film and do not currently have a Leica digital, though I have a Sony.

 

[james.liam]

Would this version be bad for adapting to Sony since it’s designed for M digital sensors? I’m debating the M version but I mostly shoot film and do not currently have a Leica digital, though I have a Sony.

E-mount appears to have different glass mix and each version is optimized for its respective sensor/mount. Stick with the Sony for the Sony.

 

[BWF]

E-mount appears to have different glass mix and each version is optimized for its respective sensor/mount. Stick with the Sony for the Sony.

That makes sense. Alas I thought I could kill two birds with one stone. Maybe I should get a camera to suit the lens haha

 

[GLL]

BWF you could definitely kill two birds with one stone - the M-mount version might be slightly less optimised for e-mount, but I use almost exclusively m-mount lenses on my sony A7 and, apart from the older super wides, they all perform so well that i've yet to buy a single native mount lens. Even if you lost, say, 10% performance in the corners because of the sensor stack (an amount much greater than you're likely to lose), the 50 f2 APO will probably still be an exceptional lens on the A7.

 

[james.liam]

I beg to differ
If the optical diagrams are correct, the Sony version contains more anomalous dispersion elements. They’re there for a reason. Before you blow a cool grand hoping for interoperability, wait till someone does the A/B.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

For fear of stating the obvious, I've been incredibly impressed by Cosina Voigtlander's offerings over the last few years. By any measure, their glass from ultra-wide to 75mm is as good as it gets.

But please, please, please release a VM 90/f2.8 (or thereabouts).

Please and thank you 🙂

 

[aizan]

And a 28mm f/2.8 Vintage Line pancake!

 

[WJJ3]

BWF you could definitely kill two birds with one stone - the M-mount version might be slightly less optimised for e-mount, but I use almost exclusively m-mount lenses on my sony A7 and, apart from the older super wides, they all perform so well that i've yet to buy a single native mount lens. Even if you lost, say, 10% performance in the corners because of the sensor stack (an amount much greater than you're likely to lose), the 50 f2 APO will probably still be an exceptional lens on the A7.

The info on Cosina’s website says adapting this lens to other mounts is not recommended.

For fear of stating the obvious, I've been incredibly impressed by Cosina Voigtlander's offerings over the last few years. By any measure, their glass from ultra-wide to 75mm is as good as it gets.

But please, please, please release a VM 90/f2.8 (or thereabouts).

Please and thank you 🙂

I agree! Would love to see a compact VM 90mm f2.4-2.5ish lens

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

And a 28mm f/2.8 Vintage Line pancake!

I wouldn't say no 😀

I have the 28/f2 Ultron, which is a great lens. But a 28mm in the style of the 35/f2 Ultron (but even littler) would be very nice.

 

[David Murphy]

I could not resist, and I placed a pre-order for this lens. I have many really good 50mm lenses, but I don't have an APO lens. It was meant to be. Plus, it is Christmas time and I was a good boy all 2020.

Raid, you deserve it - please share some more stunning shots of Florida when you get it!

 

[Archlich]

And a 28mm f/2.8 Vintage Line pancake!

Not necessarily a pancake but surely is very likely. I've already sold my 28/3.5 in anticipation for it...