Voigtlander M-Mount Lenses: Tradition Meets Innovation
Classical optical formulas enhanced with cutting-edge technology
By Jason Schneider
The current Voigtlander lens line, designed and manufactured by Cosina in Japan, is acclaimed for its engaging combination of solid construction, a meticulously finished vintage form factor, high imaging performance, smooth natural rendition, and beautiful bokeh. The fact that these lenses are offered at substantially lower prices than their “elite brand” competitors has made them a popular choice among discerning Leica M shooters, whether they favor digital, analog, or both.
How did the Voigtlander optical design team manage to achieve such an impressive set of performance parameters? Basically, by combining the most desirable imaging characteristics of some of the most enduring optical designs perfected over the past century, and then enhancing them with the latest technology—aspherical elements, the latest anomalous dispersion optical glass, and when necessary, internal focusing and floating optical groups to maintain high image quality over the entire focusing range. To give you a general idea of why their approach was so successful we examined the optical designs of 4 Voigtlander M-mount lenses to see what they did and what they achieved in practical terms.
Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 50mm Aspherical VM
Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 50mm f/2 Aspherical VM: The flagship 50mm prime in the Voigtlander range, this exceptional lens employs a groundbreaking 10-element, 8-group design that incorporates 2 bi-aspheric elements, 2 anomalous partial dispersion elements, and a floating rear focusing group to achieve superlative optical correction and extraordinary sharpness and detail rendition over its entire focusing range, even at its widest apertures. Its optical formula has echoes of the classic Double Gauss and retrofocus designs and also employs two symmetrically placed doublets directly in front of the rear aspheric element to enhance its overall sharpness. It also achieves nearly flawless apochromatic color correction and extremely low levels of spherical aberration and distortion.
Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 50mm f/2 Aspherical VM optical diagram
Unlike its arch-rival, the breathtakingly expensive 8-element, 6-group Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2, which employs a more traditional Gaussian design with a single aspheric element directly behind the aperture, the APO-Lanthar has a greater number of individual elements, thus facilitating the correction of specific aberrations but requiring greater manufacturing precision. According to the majority of published reviews the 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar VM delivers spectacular imaging performance, capturing extremely fine detail over its full aperture range, thus placing it clearly in the top tier of ultra-performance 50mm lenses. Voigtlander describes the 50mm F2 APO-Lanthar as its best performing normal lens ever, high praise indeed. It also provides very pleasing bokeh thanks in part to its 12-bladed aperture that captures a circular bokeh pattern from point light sourcesat apertures from f/2 to f/5.6 with circular apertures.
50mm f/2 Leica APO-Summicron optical diagram
Other key features: Manual, rangefinder-coupled focusing down to 2.3 feet, classic traditional form factor with knurled 140-degree focusing ring, manual apertures with clock-stops at 1/3-stop intervals, all-metal helicoid. Compact and lightweight for its class, the 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar VM measures 2.19 inches in diameter, 2.09inches in length, and weighs in at a portable 10.16 ounces.
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II VM
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Vintage Line Aspherical II VM: Based on an ingeniously upgraded iteration of the original 6-element Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical of 2013 the current version of this popular high-speed M-mount normal prime lens features a brilliantly revised 8-element, 7-group Double Gauss-inspired formula that adds one more element to the front group, one to the rear group, and a convex-concave aspheric element at the rear. The happy result is a noticeably higher degree of correction of spherical and chromatic aberrations and linear distortion to achieve improved sharpness at the edges and corners of the image field that’s especially noticeableat the widest apertures without altering its classic rounded rendition, smooth transitions, and beautiful buttery bokeh. Note: The Double Gauss design, which dates back to the 1920s, reached a level of perfection in Walter Mandler’s 50mm f/2 Leitz Summicron of the ‘50s, and this lens is a worthy successor.
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II VM optical diagram
The lens is available in an MC (multicoated) version said to enhance color contrast and accuracy, and a single coated (SC) version that captures “classic” color rendition and a more traditional look along with slightly lower contrast in black and white. A 12-bladed diaphragm contributes to its smooth natural bokeh and it focuses down to 2.3 feet with rangefinder coupling. The lens is very compact, measuring 2.17 inches in diameter and a mere 1.5 inches in length. It’s available in black, silver, and bicolor, the latter evoking the style of classic lenses of the ‘30s. Like its erstwhile50mm f/1.5 stablemate, the 50mm f/1.5 Nokton Aspherical II is a great choice for low light shooting and for creative pictorial techniques using shallow depth of field.
Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Aspherical
Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Vintage Line Aspherical: This compact (63.3mm long) Vintage Line high speed moderate telephoto “portrait lens” in M-mount features a modified 7-element, 6-group Double Gauss optical design that incorporates 3 anomalous partial dispersion elements in positions 2, 3 and 4, and a plano-convex aspheric element bringing up the rear. This innovative optical design provides a very high degree of correction for spherical and chromatic aberrations and distortion, ensuring exceptional imaging performance across the field even at maximum aperture. A 12-bladed aperture enhances its beautifully creamy bokeh, its wide aperture facilitates pictorial effects using shallow depth of field, it’s rangefinder coupled down to 2.3 feet for head shots and compelling close-ups, and it stops down to f/16. Having shot with this lens on a full frame digital Leica M I can attest to its “vintage look” character as well as its superb color fidelity and exquisite detail rendition.
Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Aspherical optical diagram
Classical optical formulas enhanced with cutting-edge technology
By Jason Schneider
The current Voigtlander lens line, designed and manufactured by Cosina in Japan, is acclaimed for its engaging combination of solid construction, a meticulously finished vintage form factor, high imaging performance, smooth natural rendition, and beautiful bokeh. The fact that these lenses are offered at substantially lower prices than their “elite brand” competitors has made them a popular choice among discerning Leica M shooters, whether they favor digital, analog, or both.
How did the Voigtlander optical design team manage to achieve such an impressive set of performance parameters? Basically, by combining the most desirable imaging characteristics of some of the most enduring optical designs perfected over the past century, and then enhancing them with the latest technology—aspherical elements, the latest anomalous dispersion optical glass, and when necessary, internal focusing and floating optical groups to maintain high image quality over the entire focusing range. To give you a general idea of why their approach was so successful we examined the optical designs of 4 Voigtlander M-mount lenses to see what they did and what they achieved in practical terms.
Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 50mm Aspherical VM
Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 50mm f/2 Aspherical VM: The flagship 50mm prime in the Voigtlander range, this exceptional lens employs a groundbreaking 10-element, 8-group design that incorporates 2 bi-aspheric elements, 2 anomalous partial dispersion elements, and a floating rear focusing group to achieve superlative optical correction and extraordinary sharpness and detail rendition over its entire focusing range, even at its widest apertures. Its optical formula has echoes of the classic Double Gauss and retrofocus designs and also employs two symmetrically placed doublets directly in front of the rear aspheric element to enhance its overall sharpness. It also achieves nearly flawless apochromatic color correction and extremely low levels of spherical aberration and distortion.
Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 50mm f/2 Aspherical VM optical diagram
Unlike its arch-rival, the breathtakingly expensive 8-element, 6-group Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2, which employs a more traditional Gaussian design with a single aspheric element directly behind the aperture, the APO-Lanthar has a greater number of individual elements, thus facilitating the correction of specific aberrations but requiring greater manufacturing precision. According to the majority of published reviews the 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar VM delivers spectacular imaging performance, capturing extremely fine detail over its full aperture range, thus placing it clearly in the top tier of ultra-performance 50mm lenses. Voigtlander describes the 50mm F2 APO-Lanthar as its best performing normal lens ever, high praise indeed. It also provides very pleasing bokeh thanks in part to its 12-bladed aperture that captures a circular bokeh pattern from point light sourcesat apertures from f/2 to f/5.6 with circular apertures.
50mm f/2 Leica APO-Summicron optical diagram
Other key features: Manual, rangefinder-coupled focusing down to 2.3 feet, classic traditional form factor with knurled 140-degree focusing ring, manual apertures with clock-stops at 1/3-stop intervals, all-metal helicoid. Compact and lightweight for its class, the 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar VM measures 2.19 inches in diameter, 2.09inches in length, and weighs in at a portable 10.16 ounces.
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II VM
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Vintage Line Aspherical II VM: Based on an ingeniously upgraded iteration of the original 6-element Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical of 2013 the current version of this popular high-speed M-mount normal prime lens features a brilliantly revised 8-element, 7-group Double Gauss-inspired formula that adds one more element to the front group, one to the rear group, and a convex-concave aspheric element at the rear. The happy result is a noticeably higher degree of correction of spherical and chromatic aberrations and linear distortion to achieve improved sharpness at the edges and corners of the image field that’s especially noticeableat the widest apertures without altering its classic rounded rendition, smooth transitions, and beautiful buttery bokeh. Note: The Double Gauss design, which dates back to the 1920s, reached a level of perfection in Walter Mandler’s 50mm f/2 Leitz Summicron of the ‘50s, and this lens is a worthy successor.
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical II VM optical diagram
The lens is available in an MC (multicoated) version said to enhance color contrast and accuracy, and a single coated (SC) version that captures “classic” color rendition and a more traditional look along with slightly lower contrast in black and white. A 12-bladed diaphragm contributes to its smooth natural bokeh and it focuses down to 2.3 feet with rangefinder coupling. The lens is very compact, measuring 2.17 inches in diameter and a mere 1.5 inches in length. It’s available in black, silver, and bicolor, the latter evoking the style of classic lenses of the ‘30s. Like its erstwhile50mm f/1.5 stablemate, the 50mm f/1.5 Nokton Aspherical II is a great choice for low light shooting and for creative pictorial techniques using shallow depth of field.
Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Aspherical
Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Vintage Line Aspherical: This compact (63.3mm long) Vintage Line high speed moderate telephoto “portrait lens” in M-mount features a modified 7-element, 6-group Double Gauss optical design that incorporates 3 anomalous partial dispersion elements in positions 2, 3 and 4, and a plano-convex aspheric element bringing up the rear. This innovative optical design provides a very high degree of correction for spherical and chromatic aberrations and distortion, ensuring exceptional imaging performance across the field even at maximum aperture. A 12-bladed aperture enhances its beautifully creamy bokeh, its wide aperture facilitates pictorial effects using shallow depth of field, it’s rangefinder coupled down to 2.3 feet for head shots and compelling close-ups, and it stops down to f/16. Having shot with this lens on a full frame digital Leica M I can attest to its “vintage look” character as well as its superb color fidelity and exquisite detail rendition.
Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f/1.5 Aspherical optical diagram