Voigtländer 125/2,5

[Cindy Flood]

Paul,
The first time they said they would check with the distributor. I heard nothing. Now, a couple of more weeks have passed. I wrote an email again yesterday. I told them that I had read that the factory was sold out. They wrote back that they would follow up. I am not going to ask for a refund until they tell me that they won't be able to fulfill. I really want the lens.

 

[Terry]

What is it that you like about this lens? I now have Guy's Nikon 180 f2.8 while it looks a good bit larger than the Voigtlander, I pick up the one stop plus AF. Can't say if I like or hate the lens because my new body arrives tomorrow.

 

[Paul.R.Lindqvist]

What is it that you like about this lens? I now have Guy's Nikon 180 f2.8 while it looks a good bit larger than the Voigtlander, I pick up the one stop plus AF. Can't say if I like or hate the lens because my new body arrives tomorrow.

Well i never warmed up to the AF 180/2,8, i compared it to my 70-200/2,8 at the time and wasnt impressed, given that i where comparing a prime vs a zoom.(i at least expected it to match)

My copy of the 180/2,8 Ais seems to be equally sharp to the 70-200/2,8 (wide open) But also very similar to the rendering of the 135/2,8 ais that i also own.

But back to your question, The Voigtländer 180/4 is in my opinion a extraordinary little lens. Wich out performs all nikkors(fixed 180mm) at corresponding apertures.Its also has the APO design, and its contrasty and sharp right from the get go. The bokeh is excellent aswell. The magnification ratio is also great, wich means that subject isolation is very easy to achive (for headshots) even though its quite slow (aperture wise) since you can get close to your subject. One of these days ill do a comparison between the Nikkor 180/2,8 ais and the 180/4 Voigtländer.

180/4 voigtländer @ F/4

Nikkor 180/2,8 ais @ F/2,8

 

[robmac]

FYI

If anyone is looking for the rare LH-75 square hood that fits the CV 75, 90/3.5 APO and 180/4 APO, kevincameras has 1 new unit (w/rubber cap) left for $95.

The regular, snow-cone, round hood is $69. I just ordered a 180/4 from CQ and managed to dig up a new square hood from KC. The round hood may/may not be effective, but it is one ugly sucker.

Page #5, Voigtlander section of his/their website

 

[Paul.R.Lindqvist]

The round hood works, are you sure the one listed on #5 fit the 180/4 ?

It may be better looking, but it dosent seem to do its job to well on the 125/2,5 since its quite prone to flare (probebly more due to the lens then hood though)

I mailed Kevincameras, and he didnt knew if it would fit or not ?



/Paul L.

 

[fotografz]

Welcome Paul...I like what I see above, lens and photographer.

It will be interesting to hear your thoughts as you use it more. My first Nikon mount Voigtlander lens arrived today (58 f1.4). I like their lenses!

I just got the 58/1.4 also! Wonderful little lens. I haven't done much with it yet but was delighted with the D300 snaps I took around the studio and house to check it out. I'll take it with me to this Saturday's wedding gig to do some real shots ... dreamy Bokeh that should be perfect for some wedding shots.

 

[robmac]

Paul - think the flare issue on the 125 may be due more to the lens than the hood not being deep enough. That said, the 100ZF has a MUCH deeper hood than the 125 CV. I know the 100 is very flare resistant but I wonder if the tests were done sans hood or not. I never got that far in testing with mine - the focus resistance was the stiffest I'd ever seen (picture an antique hand-driven wood drill). Returned it to US vendor and just keeping my eyes open for a possible smooth-focusing replacement.

Based on info from cameraquest, the LH-75 or 75-S (square and round) hoods fits the 75, 90 and 180. Oddly enough the S designation appears to belong to the round hood. That being said, maybe they just used whichever of the two boxes was handy at the time...

Doesn't surprise me KC wouldn't know - I don't think they're as up to speed on newer vs. older gear. Not the cheapest vendors around, but reliable.

Marc - The 58 looks like a very nice optic, especially for the $$$. It's on the short list for me vs an early version of the 50/1.8 Nikkor and the 50/2. The latter is optically better BUT has a 300 deg focus rotation so as a carry-round, it won't be the best. Then there's the price vs (nikon-mount) alternatives.

The discontinued CV SL lenses weren't the most refined tools in the shed, but they were hellish bargains (at their original prices). Shame they were killed. Should have expanded and refined the line - would have sold like hot cakes. The SLII line (so far) looks promising.

 

[Paul.R.Lindqvist]

Ok thanx, ill think ill stick with my uggly round one, it does work. The 180/4 VG is a great lens for sure. It packs alot of contrast and detail from F/4, superior to the 180/2,8 @F/4.

My 125/2,5 is smooth and just enough resistence. The thing that annoys me a little is the "play" it has.

The 58/1,4 VG is a bargain lens for sure, not aswell buildt as the Zeiss but close enough in performance. Wide open and upclose it performs very well, the bokeh is not the best though, very similar to the Nikkor 50/1,4 but also to the Zeiss 50/1,4 (wide open)

 

[robmac]

Paul - assuming the square unit actually works, I compared the prices ($69 vs 95) and decided to give the square unit a whirl.

 

[Paul.R.Lindqvist]

Rob,im sure it will work. Will be interesting to hear what you think of the 180/4.

Fotografz:
Cool images. Upclose (depending on the background offcourse) one can get away with pretty much anything bokeh wise. Put some distance to your subject and have some foliage or highlights in the background and the 58/1,4 will show its somewhat "busy" "nervous" bokeh.

 

[fotografz]

Rob,im sure it will work. Will be interesting to hear what you think of the 180/4.

Fotografz:
Cool images. Upclose (depending on the background offcourse) one can get away with pretty much anything bokeh wise. Put some distance to your subject and have some foliage or highlights in the background and the 58/1,4 will show its somewhat "busy" "nervous" bokeh.

I'll give it a try. Always good to know the limits of a lens. I don't know about your opinion of the Zeiss 50/1.4 however ... the N version was the worst lens for Bokeh I ever owned ... horrible. Even this inexpensive lens is a lot better. It's the reason I didn't get the ZF 50/1.4 ... for fear it would be like the N50/1.4

 

[robmac]

Will do. Also just found a 90/3.5 with square hood as well for less than what CQ is asking for their last unit (in OM mount) , so that should prove interesting.

Given that am thinking of possible move to D700 and my lens cabinet looks pretty empty (went thru a Leica phase), decided to limit any replacements (at least for now) to only those that could be used on Nikon (Nikkor, CV, ZF, Mamiya, Hassy).

At the same time I decided to do some better homework scouring around for under-sung gems. Hopefully the CVs live up to that label.

While priced above their initial list price (and climbing), having owned the 125 Lanthar, the 90 and 180 remain relative bargains given their reported performance. On the handling side, $400-500 buys a lens a lot more latitude in that regard than does $1500 (in roughly the same FL naturally).

Rob,im sure it will work. Will be interesting to hear what you think of the 180/4.

Fotografz:
Cool images. Upclose (depending on the background offcourse) one can get away with pretty much anything bokeh wise. Put some distance to your subject and have some foliage or highlights in the background and the 58/1,4 will show its somewhat "busy" "nervous" bokeh.

 

[robmac]

The 180/4 APO Lanthar showed up this a.m. Haven't had chance to shoot with it yet, but some observations:

1. Tiny. w/o hood, not much larger than my Nikon 55 micro or Leica 60 macro. EASILY fit it into a coat pocket, small bag or even a purse.
2. Well built - better than the 125 APO I owned. No inner/outer barrel movement/rattle.
3. Smooth, but dampened focus - again better than 125. Reminds me of Leica R's.
4. The square hood from the 75/2.5 Heliar DOES fit just fine. (Kevin Cameras has one left - $95 vs $69 for round hood from CQ). They are rare vs the round units. Fits snugly going on, but has a little slop when on (moves a bit), but nothing a bit of plumbers tape or wide rubber band wouldn't fix.
5. The screw-on anodized aluminium front lens storage cap is a nice touch. The hood also comes with a rubber cap, again, a nice touch. Given how close the front element is to the front of the barrel, I'd recommend one of the two stay on it.

Assuming it lives up to rep/tests I've see, I'd encourage anyone interested who wants a small pocket-APO sized lens with some reach, to pick one up. Much more impressed with the handling than I was with my 125 Lanthar.

Until I shoot with it, I can't comment on performance, but so far so good. Have a 90/3.5 Ais w/square hood I managed to find on way as well.

 

[Cindy Flood]

I finally received my Voigtlander 180 f/4 from Stephen Gandy on Saturday. B+H never notified me that I they found out the lens was discontinued (I told them/they were going to check/they dropped the ball). They had my money for 2 whole months. I finally asked for a refund (and was told ...yes, it is discontinued). I hope no one else here is waiting for one from them.
My D700 arrived today. I think it is going to be great on the D700. First thing I did was to enter the 3 Voigtlader lenses into the D700.:thumbup:

 

[Terry]

I finally received my Voigtlander 180 f/4 from Stephen Gandy on Saturday. B+H never notified me that I they found out the lens was discontinued (I told them/they were going to check/they dropped the ball). They had my money for 2 whole months. I finally asked for a refund (and was told ...yes, it is discontinued). I hope no one else here is waiting for one from them.
My D700 arrived today. I think it is going to be great on the D700. First thing I did was to enter the 3 Voigtlader lenses into the D700.:thumbup:

Cindy, congrats on the D700. Which three lenses did you have to add? I use the 58 and 40 on the D700 and dont have to go into the menus.

 

[Cindy Flood]

Terry,
You don't have to add them to make them work. I added them so that I get the proper info into my exif data. Flash and metering are adjusted for non-CPU lenses (which I thought these were. Am I wrong?)
I have the 58 and 180 and the 40 on the way. Those lenses along with my 85 PC will all fit in my Domke F2 again with the D700. I am a very happy camper.

 

[Terry]

I get full exif info on the 58 and 40 and did not have the enter them in (I think that is the difference between the "chipped" Voigtlanders and the Zeiss lenses). I'm waiting for Photokina before making any new lens decisions. Right now I'm concentrating on processing. LOL.

 

[Cindy Flood]

Terry,
I never put the 58 in on my D3, but I just thought that I had to if I wanted all the info transfered. Thank you for pointing out that they are chipped. ....One less thing to worry about.
I'm looney, trying to switch from PC to Mac.:ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL:
I'm getting there finally and I'm so happy that I made the effort.

 

[Terry]

Cindy,
Just put the lens on and turn the aperture ring all the way (closed down) and you will see the aperture on the LCD (if you see EE you went the wrong way) and you are good to go using the aperture control on the camera not lens. It is that simple on the SL II's that's why I hope we get some good Voigtlander news for Photokina.

 

[robmac]

Am so far very impressed with my 90 and 180 CVs. May add the 40 and then Like Terry wait and see what transpires post-show. The CVs deliver top-drawer IQ for a nice price and an expansion of the Sl/SLII line, if the rumors are true, would be nice.

One key aspect of shifting from Canon to Nikon that I would/will regret is the loss of ability to use some of the spectacular lenses that are out there (not that I'll miss stop-down metering any time soon), so the more F-mount prime options we get the better.