Worth the Hype | Voigtlander 50mm f/2 APO-LANTHAR for Leica M Review
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- I’ve always been a fan of Voigtlander Lenses and actually the first lenses I purchased for my Leica M9 years ago were from Voigtlander. The new 50mm APO-LANTHAR is not only an affordable lens but an absolute beast that I’d put up against any other lens I’ve ever used.
Thanks to CameraQuest for loaning me this lens for review. You can order a copy through them: shop.cameraque...
shop.cameraque...
Learn more from me here:
► / benjhaisch
My Lightroom Editing Presets:
► benjhais.ch/ca...
Cascade LUTs are now available:
► benjhais.ch/luts
My Favorite Leather Camera Straps:
Single Camera: benjhais.ch/clever
Dual Camera: benjhais.ch/hol...
[Use Code BENJ for 10% off @CleverSupplyCo]
License the best music | benjhais.ch/mu...
The Easiest Investment App: benjhais.ch/rh
My filming gear:
Main Camera | amzn.to/3wLNMQ3
Studio Wide Lens | amzn.to/3dLmq3Y
Standard Lens | amzn.to/3by90GM
2nd Camera | amzn.to/2SIbCca
Shotgun Mic | amzn.to/3t3mq6q
Budget Video mic | amzn.to/3bxbKE1
Podcast Mic | amzn.to/38orw2j
Studio Light | amzn.to/2UM9Fyk
Subscribe to Benj Haisch Here:
► / benjhaisch
Benj Haisch on Social Media:
► benjhaisch.com
► / benjhaisch
► / benjaminhaisch
► benjhai...
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps to support the channel and allows me to continue to make videos like this.
Man, I gotta say, even two years out, this video really helped me. After seeing the images and then hearing your take at 5:50 - I'm sold. Arigato, from Tokyo!
Would love to see a review of the voigländer 50mm 1.5 nokton vintage line vm
it's absolutely amazing, bought one for 340.- last week!
JUST got the new one in for review
Absolutely. Love this lens. I think it’s technically my best 50mm. I do like images from the 50 pre lux v2 more...but I could easily live with the Lanthar. One thing I love about it is the short focus throw.
Man Ben these reviews are just in time. Recently purchased a SL2 and a 75mm SL APO. Totally tapped out. But want to build a small kit. These Voigtlander’s seem like a great lens to fill the void without seeing loansharks on 42md street.
My first lens was canons nifty fifty. Since then I have found the 50mm FOV kinda boring. But 7ish months ago I bought this lens to use on my SL2S and JC this lens is special. And at this point I would be ok saying this is my favorite lens of all time
something I just realising by rewatching this today is how good the Ttartisan 50mm 1.4 performs in these test shots
=D
Yes, but that f0.95 just doesn’t cut it (at wide open I assume). I wonder how it behaves at f2 though.
I bought the 35mm Voightlander APO Lanthar and it was amazing! I was trying to make up for selling my Q2 for the SL2S and it did!
It’s a stunner of a lens! I bought it... agree with everything you said but still ended up selling it. Haha! I have the Summicron 50/2 (non APO) and when I pixel peeped... there was no question the Voigtlander outperformed it in sharpness and aberration control... though the Cron is no slouch in that department either. But I stuck with the Cron in the end because when I compared the images from practical everyday use case (prints) I found the difference to be negligible. But the Cron is still a lot more compact and that made me carry it a lot more. If I were starting from scratch though and on a budget this is absolutely the best bang for your buck lens one can buy!
At least here in Australia, Summicron is 3.5x the price. And this lens is supposed to have quality on par with the APO.
wow, the ttartisan 1.4 looks comparable to the lux, am I seeing it correctly here?
I thought the same thing. I have the tt artisans and have been shook by what it creates.
Beautiful lens! I have the 50mm 1.2 and then 35mm 1.4 Nokton lenses and I am in love with them!!
Just a suggestion for next lens comparisons: I think it would be useful if you could show images shot at the same apertures (here f 2) or, if you did, mention it. You could also show how these lenses perform corners at full aperture, here f 2 as it is the Panther 50 mm widest aperture), as it is where most of the differences usually lie? 😉All the best.
Curious your thoughts on the new Voigtlander 28mm f2 Ultron
Yeah, kinda wondering what the +$300 difference is between Ultron v1 and the new “Vintage” line but I’m sure the differences are marginal
It’s on its way 🙌🏼
@@benjhaisch my Lord with the quickness🙌🏽
I enjoy your reviews Benj. Would love if you also mentioned how the lens performs on your film cameras when looking at new lenses.
I'm a huge fan of 50mm; have a lot of them in half a dozen mounts, some of them more than 50 years old. Discovered Voigtländers at the turn of the century and really love them, in a Leica or a Nikon or a Fuji, they shine!
I got me a Summicron 50 in 2003 (v.5) to go with a new Leica MP. Still shooting it; it has superb color and the creamiest bokeh this side of ice cream on B&W. However, it's not *great* on the 40Mp of my "new" M10-R. Found a NOB (demo) at B&H for $800 and finally reached me last week.
I love it! It fringes in and beyond the focal plane and doesn't have that spectacular bokeh of the 'cron. It lacks a focusing tab too but it has an undescribable vibrancy that makes the 40Mp sensor truly shine! It is a revelation!
Thanks for the video. I was hoping to see it reviewed. Voigtlander is just killing it these days with their M mount lenses.
I own a 90mm, 200 mm and 125 mm macro APO Voitllander Lanthar lenses from the 70s amazing on my Nikon & Leica digital camera. The 200 mm is the size of a can of soda. I absolutely love them.
UGH TO MANY GOOD THINGS FOR LEICA'S THAT I NEED TO RAISE UP FOR. Mike, Gene and I were talking about how it would be fun to shoot mainly Leica for photo and then a different system for videos. Maybe one day. Still loving my M3.
For sure! It’s not a bad system if you’re into it
Personally found this lens TOO critical and a little lacking in character - especially for portraits. Ended up going with the Nokton 50mm 1.5 ii and I believe this may be a better option for many. Smaller size, more than sharp enough images and that extra stop of light is also very helpful. Would love to see a review by you Ben on the Nokton 1.5 ii. Always appreciate your videos!
So wait...do you like it? It was hard to tell. 😁
I love my 50 'cron but this one has me thinking.
Been using this lens for a few weeks and it is brilliant.
I’m a big fan of f2 over 1.4. Slower lenses are often a bit sharper (and smaller, blocking less finder). And this thing wide open looks incredible to me.
They also offer a little more focusing/depth of field "safety" when using a rangefinder (f 2 over f 1.4).
100%, on full frame as well, for me 50mm f2 is plenty of shallow depth of field, anything more is just too much blur in my opinion
I’ve been thinking about this or a Leica 50mm summicron older type. I had one but sold it and a part of me misses it. It was sharp and had a great look to it.
Finally pulled the trigger on this lens for my M10 but will live on the M10-R I plan on getting in a few months. I avoid the TTArtisan lenses because I’m too lazy to calibrate my lenses. I’m used to having a lens that’s ready to use.
May eventually get a 21mm to complete my desired 3 lens kit. Not sure which 21mm to get. The 28mm is a bit too close to my 35mm and wouldn’t make sense to buy it… but I may get the 28mm Ultron V2 if I do decide to get a 28mm.
Only downside to this lens imo is the lack of a focusing tab. It’s so useful.
That TTArtisan is SHARP!
nice review i have been interested all along how the performance of the voigtländer APO design is. Not bad for "dirty little voigtländer" as ken rockwell would say. 😆
Voigtlander invented the APO chromatic design way back in the early 50’s
@@ofeykalakar1 didn’t know that. Thanks. Probably pick this one up for sure.
Wonder how it would stack up against the Zeiss 50mm f/2 Planar? Technically not the same APO spec, but much more compact.
I’m exchanging the Planar for this APO. The planar is great, but it can be quite harsh especially with skin.
I honestly cannot wait to buy this lens, so much praise about it and it comes close to the Leica version at a much cheaper price.
When you zoom in for detail during those comparison shots, you gotta let us know what lens is taking what image! Especially cycling through them! Glad you reviewed this lens but I was genuinely curious about it's rendition compared to others and I couldn't get anything from the examples you put just do to the sequence of things.
I enjoyed this video a lot but man I know it wasn't the point but the TTartisan 50mm 1.4 actually looks pretty good lol.
Yeah… sort of shockingly good in comparison
I have both lenses (TT50/1.4 and Apolanthar 50) and am still very impressed with the TT. The APO is much lighter which is a plus, but I like the portraits coming out the TT.
Thanks for the review!
@@carl-magnushogerkorp498 what is the difference, can you weigh both and let us know?
Love the review!! I am currently looking at the Voigtlander 35mm APO so this video was extremely useful
Haha ! Even your test images are thought-out and beautiful. A really useful and practical test of the Voight, the Leica AND the 77 Artisans. Your reviews are really helping me build a cut price - as yet still in my mind - an excellent Leica camera & Lens set, thanks very much Benj.
IMO it beats the Leica on sharpness, color, corrections (only bokeh is slightly smoother on the leica. because of the f1.4 aperture). The voigtlander apo-lanthars are indeed some of the best lenses ever made! (the 65mm f2 apo for sony e-mount is even better than this 50, but the barrel extends quite a bit)
Somehow TTArtisan looks better to my eyes 👀
It’s so good 🤯
@@benjhaisch do you have original files to share?
Love this lens soooo much. I use it along with my good old Summilux V2. When I need fast focusing like taking pictures for pets or kids, I use the lantha apo, and I do others with the summilux. BTW, the jjc hood for the x100 series fits this lens, not perfectly but it works, and it’s cheap
The TT Artisan performed so well, wow.
Appreciate the review, Ben.
Do you use a Leica in-body lens profile? If so, which one?
Best
I didn’t. I always just have the settings on auto
Though I have the Zeiss 35mm/1.4 zm I also have the 35mm/2 APO VM and 50mm/2 VM and would say they all get used. Love the character of the VM's on my SL2-S.
Huge fan of the channel, definitely picked up this lens off this review and I’ve loved it. I recently got my hands on the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm 1.5 II which is smaller and faster than the APO, and doesn’t have the old school barrel design of the gen 1 version which I didn’t like. The IQ of the APO is amazing but it is a bit heavy, so I’m torn on which one I should keep. I saw you messed with the Heliar, but I was curious to know if you’ve messed with the MC Nokton at all. Would be super interested in your thoughts.
Brother Benj, you should also check out the Canon 50mm 1.4 LTM. A great vintage lens that is relatively cheap. You’ll have to get an adapter to place it on the M mount however.
Out of curiosity, did you test its coverage on a GFX? Looks amazing!
Love to see a comparison between the Voightlander R3M compared to the Voightlander Heliar Classic 50mm F2. Would be so sick.
I have the TT 50 1.4, I always want to upgrade to a Summicron but the TT is so good and has character. Its just heavy and not as smooth focusing as Leica lenses.
have you tried it on the gfx? how's the vignette?
If you have the Leica 50mm APO F2, should you still consider Voigtlander 50mm f/2 VM ASPH APO-Lanthar Lens for Leica M?
Have you ever tested that lens on the fuji gfx body? Would be interesting how it performs on the medium format sensor.
Great video, but I’m curious to know: given the fact that you already have the summilux 50 1.4 asph, will you buy the voigtlander 50 apo? Or the difference is too minimal unless we are pixel peeking? Thanks
I don’t shoot 50mm enough to own both. If I didn’t need the f/1.4 I probably would though.
Look forward to watching this (and hope you compare it to the TTArtisan's 50mm1.4!)
You did! The results TTArtisan 50 1.4 looked pretty good on my monitor. But for the $1000 (£900 here) for the Voigtlander I think I'd look at a Summarit 50mm f2.4 (or f2.5). Smaller, lighter and sharp.
Hey Benj. I'm a little bit on the bargain side of the leica system (I know it's a bad thing:)). I have the 40mm 1.4 classic (for CLE and M240). But I want a sharp modern 50mm all purpose go-to lens. So the Question is: going with a 50mm Summiocron (ultra bargain ~600$ but has cleaning marks on the front), The Zeiss Planar ZM (around the same used) or waiting for the praised Voigt Apo 50 for around 800 used which is a lot for my budget but would be the sharpest most contemporary solution. but is it worth the extra cost? Some say the Zeiss will do 90% of the job. Thanks for the help. I would really appreciat other opinions from the community on that. :) cheers. Chris
These APO-Lanthar lenses are great and outperform (in terms of sharpness, contrast and rendering) the older Summicrons. Only if you like the specific vintage ‘Cron-look’ it might be worth to go there. As for the Zeiss Planar… as much as I love Zeiss lenses, their VM lenses are no match for these APOs. The Zeiss has good contrast, but is nowhere as sharp and has a very busy bokeh compared to the APO-Lanthar. In my brief trails, the only lenses for Leica M that perform even better are the new APO-Summicron-Ms at 7 or 8 times the price of this APO-Lanthar or when you need the specific wide-open look of a Summilux-M, the most recent gen. of Lux-lenses (at 5-6 times the price).
Ben, what sort of strap is on black Leica M? It looks like a Peak Design, but the strap is leather? Thanks
Ill wait for the vm apo 50mm 1.4
Good morning. And what is the 35mm APO Lanthar worth?
Do you recommend the m mount or E mount if you have Sony and Leica cameras
Have you tried the voigtlander 35mm 1.2? Looks like an amazing lens
'12 aperture blades, which is unheard of'... The Tair11 passes his beer to a mate...
hhahaha
Well that's unexpected, I like the rendering of this more than the Summilux!
I watched your Leica Summilux 50/1.4 ASPH review again right after watching this. In that previous video you said that the 'lux has the perfect balance of image quality and character, and other 50s you've used tend to look too clinical. Do you still feel that way after shooting with the APO-LANTHAR? Your comparison shots show the Voigtlander is sharper (I'm assuming all pics were taken at f/2), but does it lack the 'lux's 3 dimensionality?
All photos were taken at their maximum apertures. The APO-LANTHAR actually has some swirling towards the edges and some cats eye bokeh, which I don’t mind. f/2 isn’t going to have the same “pop” as f/1.4 if both lenses are pretty sharp, but I’d say it does have a lot of separation
@@benjhaisch Thanks for your quick reply. Like you I have the silver chrome 50 lux ASPH and there are times I wish I could reach for something lighter. Is saving 101g worth $1100? In the world of UL backpacking some think so, but not in this case. I'm not going to be selling on my 'lux so it'd be additive. Really good to see how well the APO-LANTHAR performs though. If I'd been in the market for a 50 'cron this would give me serious pause. Appreciate the detailed review.
Great video man, love your perspective!
Fantastic review Benj, clearly excellent glass
One of the best, if not the best, 50-ish lenses I've used since I started 10 years ago (except for the astronomically priced Otus and Leica Noct, Lux and Cron APO).
I use this adapted digitally but natively for film. Even used on a Nikon Z, I prefer it over the native 1.8 S lens. The 1.8 S is indeed sharper in my eye, but sometimes it is too much. This lens is just right imo.
Hopefully I'll be able to get to use this on a digital M soon, along with my Distagon 1,4/35 ZM.
We need a 35mm Voigtlander apo vs the 35mm ultron! Review please!
Honestly would love to review their entire line with the new 35/1.5 too
Great review!
Any shots on film?
Is it true that the apo-lanthar lenses are radioactive?
Damn, the e mount version I have came with a lens hood, screw on and made of metal.
Completely off topic, but! Dude, where did you get that button up from?
Nice work! ...thanks for beautiful review, was helpful.
Excuse me , can I ask this lens can set on Fujifilm X mount with adapter ? Thank you .
You can, but I’m not sure if it’d be the best use case for it tbh.
how would you compare this to the Zeiss 50mm f1.5 C Sonnar ?
VERY different actually. The Sonnar is a great lens, but lots of more “vintage” imperfections and some focus shift. It’s sharp for sure, but about as far as you can get from each other in terms of use and style.
I would have preferred to see all the comparisons done at f/2.
I’m sure there will be others. Personally I don’t care how the Summilux stacks up at f/2. I want to see how they look at maximum apertures but that’s just me.
How is the Voigtlander 35mm F2 APO-Lanthar?
Haven’t had a chance to test it yet but am planning on it
Anybody know how it handles lens flares?
The video would have been quite a bit more useful if you showed edge performance (both sharpness and CA) vs the other lenses.
"Worth the hype", Voigtländer Lenses are NOT hype and WORTH the price ! Leica Lenses are hype and not worth the price ! If you get the Sony E-mount version of the Voigtländer it is better than the M-mount version !
Being only an occasional M shooter, the Leica APO's will never be on my radar, and being one of those undecided ones concerning 35mm or 50mm, I ordered both the Voigtlander APO 35mm and 50mm. However, due to supply chain I have to wait for stock. Boo. Have you ever noticed that almost all APO's from any manufacturer are f2.
I haven’t been able to get my hands on the 35 APO from Voigtlander yet although I have requested a copy. I have high hopes though based on this one. The only knock I really can have is the size.
@@benjhaisch As I'm not a working pro, the size isn't an issue for me. It goes with having a quality lens. I'm willing to have the additional size in return for the additional image quality. And given that I can use these on my SL2, the size is what I would consider beneficial.
An APO corrects for the different wave lengths of the red, green and blue light and ensures they hit the sensor plane at the same point, producing the sharpest possible image without color fringes. Constructing an f1.4 APO will result in a very expensive lens. Due to the larger diameter glass and therefore wider angles, there’s a lot more correction to be done.
What camera is this mounted to
M10
Does it have a focusing tab?
It does not
@@benjhaisch Bummer. I was afraid of that. Thanks
Do the 35 apo
I love you Benj
フォクトレンダーを作ってるコシナはツアイスのレンズも製作してるからね
Correct
Dope !!!
Wish it had 6 bit coding
A lot of talking and some cute pictures but no objective tests. Compare it for instance with the Kern-Switar 50mm 1.9 macro lens.
should have gone for sony alpha version. has lenshood and exif data and mf assist
But I don’t have a Sony Alpha camera?
@@benjhaisch who needs exif data. I was only joking, as I like the look of the Leica-M version of this lens. It is nice and convenient having focus triggered MF assist peaking, and exif data for aperture on the Sony e mount version.
Bro actually said affordable in the description
You’d have to wonder why Leica lenses are so expensive when all these other brands are so good and cheap
Some of it is label $$$, but in my experience every Leica lens I've ever touched feels almost 100% the same in quality, throw, dampening, etc, and the others are a bit more hit and miss. I have plenty of awesome Russian lenses that I love, but man the feeling and quality of my Leica lenses are consistently awesome.
@@ProjectMockingbird yes, I must admit Leica lenses are superb but some of the Chinese manufactures make “equivalent” lenses for often less than 10% of the cost proving there must be plenty of profit margin for Leica
This lens is made not to flare. Hood isn’t needed.
I got the hood for protection of the front element.
@@charruaporelmundo it’s already so huge for a manual 50f2, if I was concerned with that I would just use a filter. Anyway. Perfect IQ but I’ve already sold it and replaced it with something less perfect. It was a great lens but I don’t miss it.
@@carlosmcse I have an UV too 😁.. I must say I like the look with the hood better. I need to decide If I’ll keep the apo or the 40 1.2. I love the micro contrast more on the apo. Let’s see which one goes to eBay
@@charruaporelmundo It was too sharp and too perfect for me, so it became heavy and boring. I decided to buy my first Leica lens and got the Summicron (v5). It’s amazing. Like 3 lenses in one. So I don’t miss the APO, although it’s perfect IQ. Maybe if I was into landscapes and shot the SL.
*Lanthar
Will you please just get a black leica dot? come on bro
Got a link?
@@benjhaisch haha I was just giving you shit. My M6 came with one so I never had to source one down. DAG used to sell them for just a couple bucks but I guess they don't anymore? The only other one i could find was an original one from Germany for a painful and totally not worth it $180 on ebay
www.ebay.com/itm/114829615
Only one thing……… it’s not a Leica . I also looked at this lens but I haven’t bought it, my wallet said yes to the Voigtlander but my heart said no, go for a summicron, so I did 😌
Not even close to Leica. Fact
Why buy a M6 or a M10 and shoot with Zeiss, Voigtländer or Artisan glass? That's ridiculous.
The more photographers buy cheap lenses, the faster Leica gets bankrupt and disappears. That's the truth guys.
Leica Camera & Leica Glass. No more not less.
I disagree. The more the bar is lowered for people to get into the system, the more that people will be able to give Leica a try. This type of gatekeeping is going to do more harm to Leica than people buying 3rd party lenses.
I’m totally with you here Benj. I just sold all my Fuji kit (minus an X-E4 and one lens) for an MP (film), and I wouldn’t have been able to afford getting into the system if it weren’t for quality optics from 3rd party companies (I bought the new Voigtlander 28mm Ultron ASPH)
Voigtländer is just sooo good lately that U dont need to go for Leica. For example i use my Summicron 28 with Voigt 50 and its just as good as Leica.