Why so few reviews of Voigtlander Lenses in major photo magazines?

[Keith]

Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) would make a great lens and camera tester IMO!

I can just see him looking down at the M9 and Noctilux he's just dropped and broken and saying ... "Well that can't be good!"

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

What's wonderful is the huge success of Voigtländer and the name they made in rangefinder world for the past ten years, a relatively brief period of time... They've made it based on high quality optics and clever design, after knowing and using other brands deeply and for long... They're true photographers like us!

They make world class products and have the higher quality/price ratio, so people are interested in checking every new lens or camera they design...

Thanks CV!

 

[jonmanjiro]

asahi and nippon review all new voigtlander lenses. we just need someone to translate!

they certainly do. they also run great regular features on all sorts of film gear (i.e. tips on hunting for used gear, in depth review of various vintage Nikkors etc. etc.). Japan certainly still in love with film and film gear.

but as for translating, as mentioned already -> its expensive and hard to find quality translators. There's also a major shortage of native English speakers with the Japanese language skills to do such translations. So they end up being done by native Japanese speakers, of which there are very few with the required English language skills.

 

[Kristopher]

Because they are making money with Nikon and Canon, not film or small niche products.

Every issue of Outdoor photographer has more "pro" shots made on velvia than anything else. But so you see film related articles in magazines?

As far as I know, only Aperture has some analog related ads once in a while.

On another note : have you ever seen an objective review in the mainstream mags? Seriously, they can't tell me what system or lens suck. Popphoto even said that the Pentax standard kit lens (that I owned) was exceptional. I am sorry, but it certainly not the case. By reading their review, you would think that it even beats some Leica offerings that I also worked with.

Photo magazine are mostly devoted to spread the big players propaganda.

 

[Nikkor AIS]

I got soft spot for photo magazines as I grew up reading them. I saw my first Leica in one of those mags. You got to know that they play to the man who calls the tune. So be it. I still think they have value and a matter of fact I gave a bunch of not so old photmags to one of my photo students the other day. he was like wow cool. I think many forget what it was like to be a beginner🙄.
when they get to the level of using lecia camera's and the what not. i mean can tell by the type of photography on this forum and types of discussion on this forum that there many advanced photographers.

As far as Voigtlander lenses not getting the love in photo mags it's very simple. If they buy advertising, the love will come. I still think that if you like a product like say the Voigtlander 28 1.9 ASPH start a thread and post some shots. The internet and more specifically forums like this have real impact on people opinion and the gear they purchase. While Im sure Cosina would like more exposer in print IMO now a days it isnt totally necessary.



Taken with with Nikkor 45 PC-E and a D3



Taken with a 28 1.9 Voigtlander ASPH @ 1.9 on Lecia M7 on XP2

Gregory

 

[alan davus]

Must admit I haven't bought a photography mag in years for the reasons stated above. If I'm shopping in the RF world I head straight for forums like this and there's more reviews abpout the gear I'm interested in (like CV) than you can poke a stick at.

 

[maddoc]

"カメラ　Magazine" (Camera Magazine, Japanese) has a lot of Cosina (and Zeiss) ads and reviews. This magazine is dedicated to film photography and classic cameras (mainly Leica / Hasselblad / Rolleiflex). There is nothing written about DSLR, digital P&S or Photoshop but darkroom tips, film reviews and so on. The only magazine that I buy (even not able to read it .... )

 

[cidereye]

Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) would make a great lens and camera tester IMO!

I can just see him looking down at the M9 and Noctilux he's just dropped and broken and saying ... "Well that can't be good!"

Hehehe, I can see it now with Clarkson reviewing the new CV 12mm VM lens ........

"It's the widest Leica mount RF lens in the Woooooorrrrrrrrllllllldddddddddd !!!

Now for a lap with our tamed racing driver......."

😀

 

[Ronald_H]

Just got a package delivered, my CV 40mm f2 SLII has arrived. Yes, a SLR optic, sorry RF guys. I found one review on-line, this seemed pretty positive.

I'll tell you what I think of it very soon... but the raw data is promising. You only live once.

 

[jsrockit]

So, if magazines only review products from companies that put cash in their pockets, then it is safe to say the reviews are biased as well no?

 

[Nikkor AIS]

Call me skeptical but how can trust a magazine when there financial existence is so closely tied to the products that they review. Im mean what do you except them to say. "So and so" product sucks and are the worst thing ever😱. Imagine a magazine sales rep trying to pitch the next issues "advertising" for that product to fill the space between the content that seems to there just so the advertising dosnt all join together.
So yes I would be very skeptical of anything a magazine reviews.


Even the lack of coverage for film related products and usage in recent years is very suspect if you ask me. Film isnt dead but you wouldn't know by the Photographic print media in recent years in regards to coverage. It's really quite sad how the "digital AF monster" has intimidated the folks using, shooting and doing incredible work with film camera's. No wonder folks have switched with the huge amount of media pressure.
Who here has never been asked "why do you still use film buy someone they know?

And seriously think the companies have a monetary interest in getting use to buy a "new camera and AF lens every 6 months. Consider camera like the Lecia M6 and Nikon F3 which for the most part will last a person a lifetime. And where produced for a good 10 years before they where upgraded. Now consider the modern digital offerings from the same companies. Here today gone later today. If a digital camera is around more than a year the consensus is that it's getting long in the tooth. And when there is an upgrade offered in 6 months who want the old one. It's human nature and it's plays on the the consumor driven economy and throw away mentality thatn is so prevalent.

In some ways even using Lecia camera and Non AF Voigtlander lenses and shooting shooting film is slap in the face to the modern so called digital world.


And getting back to the more specific issue of reviews You know the problem with "any" review is sample variation. You can measure and evaluate as much as you like but sample variation is the something that can not be ignored. Without testing a number of samples than "any" review needs to be viewed with that in mind. There really is merit in the scientific method.



Taken with Nikkor 28 1.4 AF-D on F4s with Ektar film.


Gregory

 

[KenR]

Are the reviews biased? When was the last time you saw a negative review in one of the photo mags? It seems like you pay for an ad and a positive review will be generated. No cash, no review at all.

 

[Roger Hicks]

It seems like you pay for an ad and a positive review will be generated. No cash, no review at all.

No. Plenty of products are reviewed without any ads being sold beforehand, though of course the advertising department then tries to sell ads on the back of the review.

Why no blatantly negative reviews? Well, one reason is that reviewing pays so badly that no-one in their right mind wants to waste time reviewing kit they don't like.

Second, if you do get a camera you don't like, you know that you're going to have to deal with the same company at some time in the future, and you don't want to blow your chances of ever getting anything out of them again. If reviewers bought the kit they reviewed, it would be different, but no-one can afford to do that any more.

Third, very few cameras (or lenses, or anything else) are completely useless, so as suggested elsewhere, you do need to read between the lines to some degree. "Although its performance is not in the same class as a ______, nor is the price" can be a clue. So can such phrases as "ideal for the beginner". Then there are flatly true statements: "This camera is idea for landscape photography, but you probably wouldn't want to use it for nature," usually followed with an explanation such as that it's too slow-handling, or whatever.

Addition: Quite a few products are advertised but not reviewed. This may be because review samples have not been available; or because no-one felt like reviewing it; or because the prodct has been around too long; or because of some other reason. Whichever it is, advertising does not guaranteed good (or indeed any) reviews.

Cheers,

R.