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 p.89 #10 · Voigtlander 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar Review | |
RexGig0 wrote:
Thanks for this clarification. 3mm, in each dimension, is rather insignificant. Some of the apparent size difference may be due to the aesthetic shape of the Leica APO, versus the APO Lanthar, making the Leica APO appear leaner. Both are beautiful, to my eyes. Those old press images, showing Henri Cartier-Bresson, covering the political unrest in Paris, with an original-version Noctilux 50/1.2, very much normalized that design aesthetic, in my brain. I am glad that Cosina still makes lenses that have that appearance. (Indeed, one reason I bought a Nokton 50mm f/1.0 VM, last year, was because it was “easy on my eyes.”)
If I were sufficiently wealthy, I think that I would like, one, each, of the three 50mm M-mount APO lenses, the Leica APO Summicron ASPH, the Voigtlander APO Lanthar, and the Summilux-M ASPH, which is now known to be APO, as stated by its designer, Peter Karbe. There are conditions in which each has advantages, and in which each has one or more weaknesses.
(In some conditions, at least, it appears that the APO Lanthar resists flare, more successfully than the Leica APO.)
Jimmy Cheng shows Leica APO versus APO Lanthar flare here:
Jimmy Cheng also shows that the Leica APO can best the APO Lanthar, in minimizing chromatic aberrations. My take is that one picks the best available tool for the particular task. Sometimes, I want to use flare creatively. Sometimes, I need the perfect, “modern” look.
To be clear, I am not trash-talking Leica lenses, or the Leica APO Summicron-M ASPH. I started Leica M shooting, with a pre-owned Summilux-M 50mm ASPH. I had already been acquainted with Cosina Voigtlander SLR lenses, and Cosina-made Zeiss SLR lenses....Show more →
I've never felt the urge to go for the Leica 50/2 APO, all thanks to the existence of the Voigtlander 50/2 APO-Lanthar. Despite being slightly larger, the Voigtlander offers a similar size and frameline experience as the Leica, and its performance is something I can't complain about. In fact, in terms of resolution, contrast, and color error correction, it stands as the best Voigtlander 50mm lens to date.
On the other hand, the Leica 35/2 APO is significantly smaller than its Voigtlander counterpart. It's unfortunate that Leica has made this lens incredibly hard to come by.
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