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Voigtlander SL 125mm F2.5 APO Lanthar

Jonathon Delacour

Subscriber Member
This may be of interest to the Sony users who are dissatisfied with the Sony 100/2.8 Macro and/or are longing for the Zeiss Makro-Planar 100 in a Sony mount. I just noticed that there is a Voigtlander SL 125mm F2.5 APO Lanthar in Sony/Minolta mount for sale on eBay.

This lens has a superb reputation, with the Photozone review being typical:
The Voigtlander SL 125mm f/2.5 APO Lanthar is certainly not a lens for the masses simply because it lacks AF. If you don't mind manual focusing it represents an excellent offer (at around 600€/US$) because it has basically no weaknesses. The resolution figures are excellent straight from f/2.5 and neither CAs nor vignetting and distortions are something to worry about. The bokeh (out of focus blur) is exceptional as you may have noticed from the sample images above. According to the owner of the lens it is somewhat prone to flare though. On top of its optical qualities the Voigtlander offers macro capabilities down to a max. object magnification of 1:1. The build quality of the lens is great - also a side effect of the manual focus design which allows tighter tolerances. Highly recommended! If you're interested in this lens it may be a little difficult to find a dealer outside of Japan though.
The current bid (as I write this post) is US$375.00 although it will certainly fetch a lot more than that, since the user reports that I've read suggest that the APO-Lanthar would give the Zeiss Makro-Planar some stiff competition. (I have the 90/3.5 and 180/4 APO-Lanthar lenses in Nikon mount and, while they are both excellent, the 125/2.5 is acknowledged to be better.)
 

robmac

Well-known member
Always wonder why I don't hear more Sony users using this lens. It's a NICE macro shooter and from all reports from folks Bjorn R, etc., holds up exceptionally well on high-res bodies like the D3X, etc.

I've owned the 75, 125, 180 and still own (but may sell) the 90 all in AiS with the exception of the 125 which was Ef, and I'd actually put the 90 ahead of the 125, the 125 and 180 about on par followed closely by the 75. The 125's fine focus pitch makes faster non-macro work a bit challenging, but exceptional CA control, res, colors, etc.

Also owned the ZF 100/2 and while would give the ZF a nod in say F2.8 res over the 125 (and the Leica 100 a nod over the ZF), the ZF isn't APO by a long shot and it's not avail in Sony mount.. From a purely monetary perspective, the ZF also won't increase in value like the SL CV lenses will/have. I mean if you like how it shoots and handles and can actually avoid losing money in the process... The rarer (more in demand as well) AiS mount SL1s and very rare EF 125 have gone up 2-3x in price since new. Other mounts, less so.
 
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surfotog

New member
I think the reason you don't see more Sony users shooting this lens, is it's rarity. It's at least as rare as the EF mount version. Recently, one popped up on ebay with a BIN price of $1400, and was sold within an hour. It wasn't mint either. I'd love to have one but am reluctant to spend that much, so I make do for the time being with an old Vivitar Series 1 90/2.5, which is a great lens for $200. I'm patiently waiting for either a series II Voigtlander 125/2.5 APO, or a Zeiss APO macro.
 

robmac

Well-known member
Didn't realize the Minolta version was so rare. They are sweet glass and SLII versions would be very well received - as would an APO cut of the 100/2 ZF.
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
The Voigtländer SL Macro Apo-Lanthar 2,5/125mm from Hong Kong went for $1,425.
It's beyond my understanding why Cosina do not take up production of this popular Voigtländer SL lens :confused:
 
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