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Voigtländer Apo-Lanthar f2.5 125mm SL - well I jumped!!
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Spiratone looks like a wonderful way to generate rainbow patterns. Trioplan is very good! APO-Lanthar results are as expected.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:

Apo-Lanthar, well, it's contemporary technology. Obviously it wins hands down. To tell the truth it's also a bit unfair to the other lenses to put it in direct comparison. Wink


There are a lot of 'contemporary lenses' with much worse results.

Its not the age of the technology, more what features it was thought desirable to optimize for in the design.


PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
Spiratone looks really bad even at f/8. Who made that lens?


I think it's a Sigma made lens. It suffers badly from longitudinal chromatic aberration but I still use it quite a lot for taking pictures during indoors performances (concerts, theater) as I have no faster 135mm lens.

Cheers!

Abbazz


PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Today I used Lanthar outside for the first time and here's my report:

what I like:
- it's fast
- it's really sharp wide opened, I have no need to stop-down the lens because of sharpness (maybe it's my sharpest lens at f/2.5)
- smooth focusing
- precise macro focusing
- bokeh in macro

what I don't like:
- position of aperture ring - despite my slim fingers it's not easy to change aperture
- tele focusing - microscopic movement of focusing ring completely change focused area, focusing with Trioplan is much easier
- not possible to set f/3.2... only f/2.5-4-5-5.6-7-8-9-11... why? Shocked

what is good, but could be better:
- bokeh when taking images of adjacent objects is different to close-up bokeh; it's smooth and the lens doesn't create rings, but isn't as good as you can see in many macro shots
- lateral chromatic aberration is zero, axial chromatic aberration is very low, but in some situations appears (however, I've found it only in shots of adjacent objects - not in macro shots)

The uneven behaviour of the lens is likely caused by the design - the lens body isn't just an extension tube, but the rear element doesn't move when focusing, only the distance between elements is changed. Mutual position of the lens elements is different for different distances, so optical performace seems to be different too.

All of the shots are taken at f/2.5 or f/4 (majority at f/2.5)

example of the most significant purple fringe (axial CA) I captured today:



crop:




sharpness set to -0.3 (negative value) in RAW convertor, click to see 1:1:




water droplets, click to see 1:1:






macro 1:1 - unfortunately wind was so strong, that I must use higher ISO and wide-opened lens to capture unblured image (I know deeper DOF would be better, but conditions weren't good):




bokeh of adjacent object (quite difficults situation, a lot of reflective dry grass and some reflections from swamp), click to see 1:1



PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
it seems to me an outstanding lens.


PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
no-X wrote:


The uneven behaviour of the lens is likely caused by the design - the lens body isn't just an extension tube, but the rear element doesn't move when focusing, only the distance between elements is changed. Mutual position of the lens elements is different for different distances, so optical performace seems to be different too.



I do not know what the uneven performance due to distance is, but my initial reaction is ....

Among famous macro lenses with its sharpness and bokeh, Tamoron 90/2.5, Leica AME 100/2.8, and Zuiko macro 90/2 all have
stable/fixed rear element or group. This Voightlander macro has the same structure, ie. stable rear element(s). No wander. Very Happy
Isn't this to be thought as floating element in the modern lens, which tries to collect near distance field curvature. In the same
way, theses macro lenses has such an optical formula I guess, though I am not an optical designer.

So what you observed for performance difference with different distance is, more or less I think, corrected than normal macro
lenses which are normally optimized for 1:10 magnification ratio. That is my undestanding, I maybe wrong for this lens as
you observed, otherwise all those so called famous macro lenses might have been not great or just happened to be lucky. Very Happy

I have not used this lens, so my opinion does not count much of course. This is a very interesting find of yours, since
I am a bit interested in this Cosina's macro lens myself.

Thanks for the review.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
a flower shot(I think at wide open):



and one more at f4 or something and it seems a bit of focus:



your comments are welcome. There was no post processing other than resize.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I see loss of highlight detail in both pictures, but especially in the statue picture, where the statue is almost burned.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
I see loss of highlight detail in both pictures, but especially in the statue picture, where the statue is almost burned.


thanks, I will work on it to get a better result.


PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Many thanks to Klaus for last Sunday's wake up call Very Happy

Outside is pitch black and snowstorm, but I can't just sit and stare at the lens so I shot what was at hand - coins, cactus, tobacco, a lock...

f/2.5


f/5.6


f/4


f/8


Link to Mflenses gallery http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/mfl_club_members/esoxlucius/

Links to Flickr original size images
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mureena/4312162362/sizes/l/in/set-72157623176867047/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mureena/4311853172/sizes/l/in/set-72157623176867047/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mureena/4311841974/sizes/l/in/set-72157623176867047/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mureena/4311857522/sizes/l/in/set-72157623176867047/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mureena/4311844706/sizes/l/in/set-72157623176867047/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mureena/4311109997/sizes/l/in/set-72157623176867047/

Initial impressions: I was surprised by the large size and heavy weight. From photos of lens I had received the impression it is moderately sized, like the 180/4. It's quite heavy, I wouldn't be able to do hand-held macro work after a cup of coffee. Then again, I am not a coffee drinker.

Mechanically it feels luxuriously hand crafted and precise, the Aston Martin of SLR lenses. It is even sturdier and build-wise better than the fantastic Zeiss Planar T* 85/1.4 ZF. Focus throw is perfect for macro, allowing so precise focusing I cannot think of another similar. This of course means it is not a street or sports photographer's dream.

Coming from 60mm macro lenses I was initially surprised at the effort needed to get enough depth of field with a 125mm 1:1 lens. Like a sports car, this lens requires more handling to really deliver. But when it delivers... I am blown away by the detail which seems unaffected by change of aperture from f/2.5 to f/8.

This lens calls for large prints, 70x100cm etc. would be child's play with the resolving power it has.

Last but not least, some lentils or Lens culinaris, my main source of nutrition for the next 4 weeks Laughing Laughing Laughing

resized


100% crop


PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Just an update: I made some large prints, and the detail is quite frankly outrageously good. Just keep an eye on your shutter speed or use tripod.

It is however clear that this lens would never fit into mainstream use, the resolving power it has simply is not unleashed on monitors, much less in web resized pics.

I sure hope large prints will not be restricted to medium format digital backs or Hassy in the future, because this is one of the few 35mm lenses that can bridge the gap between these two systems. It just shouts out to be used on future large-size full-frame sensors like the D3x.

Last edited by Esox lucius on Mon Feb 15, 2010 6:28 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 12:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
WOW Vilhelm, outstanding results! Great that you like it as much as I do! Darn, should have charged you a finders fee ... Wink Wink


PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kds315* wrote:
Darn, should have charged you a finders fee ... Wink Wink


Drinks are on me at next Mflenses meet! Very Happy
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