Voigtlander lenses in general. Plus the 50mm F1 is amazing bokeh !

[Archiver]

I am rather partial to short tele lenses and given this, the Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 Heliar "classic" has always been a favorite of mine. It sort-of never really took off when it was new - I think because 75mm is a "betwixt and between" (neither "fish nor fowl") kind of focal length and because Voigtlander already had at least one 75mm lens in its line up. But now that more other optics companies are making 75mm lenses, I wonder if it will become more popular as its virtues become realized. This short review demonstrates its quality. If it has any "sin" it is that it is physically a tad long and skinny for many people who seem to prefer more shorter lenses, especially for R.F. use. This has never really bothered me though.

I have posted one of my shots made with the lens, below but I will see if I can also dig up a few more images taken by me with it. You can see from this example that it is a "natural" for portraiture where it really does live up to its "classic" description.

Short Review: Voigtlander Heliar 75mm F1.8 - phillipreeve.net

Review of the Voigtlander Heliar 75mm F1.8 on the Sony a7 with many full resolution samples images.

phillipreeve.net

Candid Portrait of a Stranger by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

There's a wedding videographer/photographer named Philip White who used to shoot almost exclusively with the Leica SL and Voigtlander 75/1.8. He also had a fast 35 - not sure which maker - but his primary lens was the 75/1.8. He has since moved to the SL2S or SL3 and the Q2, but I think he still favours 75mm.



Some years ago, my main lens for event video work was the Voigtlander 42.5mm f0.95 (85mm equivalent) on the Panasonic GH4, which was surprisingly versatile.

 

[olakiril]

I have only good things to say about the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 Z. Mounted on the Zf with the highly customisable profiles I get the closest filmic look without any editing.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (color skopar 50mm f2.5) leica lll

Council chamber of Utrecht, 2020

 

[peterm1]

I have only good things to say about the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 Z. Mounted on the Zf with the highly customisable profiles I get the closest filmic look without any editing.
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Gorgeous photo. It reminds me a little of one I made with a Nikkor 55mm f1.2 S auto. I love these kind of portraits. Slightly soft but in an organic, good way. I had no idea the 40mm f1.2 is that good.

Restaurant Scene by Life in Shadows, on Flickr

 

[Richard G]

My hardly ever used Color Skopar 24 is on the M9 this morning for my walk. As I sat wondering whether to change lenses and deciding not to, and thinking of the other Voigtlanders discussed here recently including LTM 50s and 28s I thought to myself, I could sell half my Zeiss lenses and all my Leica lenses and leave just the LTM 50 Elmar on the IIIf and have three M mount Voigtlanders and be done with it. And be several grand ahead. Unlikely I will do it, but if I get another lens for the IIIf it will be a VC for sure.

 

[mrtoml]

I'm currently enjoying my CV 90/2.8 APO Color Skopar on the M10M.

 

[olakiril]

Slightly soft but in an organic, good way. I had no idea the 40mm f1.2 is that good.

This is a nice property of this lens, 1.2-2 is soft/organic, then sharpens pretty fast after that so I can still use it when I need more detail.

 

[Alpsman]

Who else built a 12mm and a 15mm lens that fits on Nikon RF and on F2?
😃

 

[Dogman]

I have so many lenses I forget what I have tucked away. I use M-mount lenses on Nikon Z cameras. I don't own a rangefinder these days. In general I prefer the look of Zeiss to Voigtländer lenses but the Voigtländers are overall beautiful performers. While it seems to be overlooked pretty often, I'm a great lover of the Nokton Classic 40/1.4 lens. A couple of years ago I went to a Christmas Eve party and used it exclusively. It performed beautifully. I posted photos here on RFF and got lots of compliments. Here's a couple of my favorites:







The 40mm worked for everything. Except I could have used AF in several shots I've since deleted--my fault, not the lens.







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[Out to Lunch]

I've always liked the Color-Skopar 4/25

 

[Archiver]

This is a nice property of this lens, 1.2-2 is soft/organic, then sharpens pretty fast after that so I can still use it when I need more detail.

The 50mm f3.5 limited edition collapsible nickel Heliar gave me the same experience, despite its f3.5 aperture. It had the most organic but sharp rendering I'd ever seen from a lens, something very pleasant and rounded that was perfect for portraits in good light. That condition was the caveat though, as I do a lot of low light shooting and the Heliar just didn't get that much use. The 90cm minimum focus distance didn't help, either. I part-exed it for the Zeiss Distagon 35, which has been my favourite M lens since.

 

[Dogman]

I've always liked the Color-Skopar 4/25

Those have the best "3-D pop" I've seen this side of Zeiss. It's a nice lens. I should use it more.



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[Richard G]

Color Skopar M Mount 25mm f4 @ f4 M9-P

Late afternoon just past sunlight on this rose.

 

[Richard G]

25/4 M9

 

[peterm1]

This is a portrait taken a few years ago of a young lady whom I knew, (she owned and ran a local coffee shop near my place of work) made with the Voigtlander 40mm f1.4. It demonstrates its lovely bokeh and its relative sharpness which is of the sort that is ideal for portraiture in my view. It seems to be a "character" lens more than one of the clinically sharp sort.

Unfortunately for me I traded this - for a Voigtlander 35mm f1.2 (first version) and am now missing the 40mm lens a little though the lens I traded it for is itself very nice. I presently am in the process of selling some of my old camera gear, so maybe I will consider using some of the proceeds to repurchase the 40mm lens. I only ever had two gripes about this lens- both having to do with its focal length. I found it annoying that on my Leica M8 there were no specific frames for this focal length so estimation was needed for framing. And secondly, I kind of found 40mm a sort of "betwixt and between" focal length - it competed for space in my bag with 35mm and 50mm alternatives. As a result when time came to step out with a camera, too often I found myself choosing either a 35mm lens or a 50mm lens to accompany me and as a result the 40mm was getting used less than it should have. I think both of these factors (more than any other) played into me selling it but in hindsight I now feel I was wrong. The lens definitely had much charm as proven by the fact that even now maybe close to 15 years later it is still available new. Lenses like this do tend to be fated to be used for specific jobs and specific purposes so it is in their nature that they may be used less often than some others so if I do decide to buy another, perhaps I just need to face up to that.

Below is a nice review of the 40mm lens (comparing it to the 35mm f1.4) by Matt Osborne one of my favorite internet reviewers. I aways find his reviews pretty balanced, well considered and, unlike too many internet reviewers who are essentially a talking head, Matt, being a professional photographer, always makes a point of providing lots of good examples of images made with the lenses being reviewed by him. He is an avid user of Voigtlander, Zeiss and Leica glass.




Fiefy by Life in Shadows, on Flickr