What say ye about the CV APO Lanthar 90/3.5? Is this too much of a cost/benefit compromise vs the elmar/elmarits?

-- Jay Bee (JBee193@aol.com), March 14, 2002

Answers

While I'm at it - how does the CV 28 Ultron compare?

-- Jay Bee (JBee193@aol.com), March 14, 2002.

This lens is my second favotite after Nokton. Never used Leica 90s but I really like APO-Lanthar look. Plenty sharp for me. Erwin has very favorable review on his site if you care about such things. Here are some snaps shot with this lens:

http://www.ele ctricmist.com/annapolis2/anl08.jpg
http://www.ele ctricmist.com/annapolis2/anl11.jpg
http://www.ele ctricmist.com/annapolis2/anl12.jpg
http://www.ele ctricmist.com/annapolis2/anl14.jpg
http://www.ele ctricmist.com/annapolis2/anl17.jpg
http://www.ele ctricmist.com/annapolis2/anl21.jpg

-- Alexander Grekhov (grekhov@wgukraine.com), March 14, 2002.

Thanks Alexander. The lens is plenty sharp and the bokeh appears excellent.

-- Jay Bee (JBee193@aol.com), March 14, 2002.

"All general statements, including this one, are false." Having thus qualified my opinion: the CV offerings are a wonderful bargain. They are as good as Leitz lenses of a few years ago. The current crop of Leitz lenses, at three or four times the price, are better. The differences appear in wide open performance, and edge to edge consistency. To really get the maximum out of either lens, fine grain film and a tripod are recommended. My own experience is with the 35/1.7 Ultron and 21/4 Skopar. I think CV "cheats" a little in their lens design, because making the lens slow gives the designer an advantage over the rest of the range.

-- Phil Stiles (Stiles@metrocast.net), March 14, 2002.

My own experience is with the 35/1.7 Ultron and 21/4 Skopar. I think CV "cheats" a little in their lens design, because making the lens slow gives the designer an advantage over the rest of the range.

35/1.7, 50/1.5 and 28/1.9 are by no means slow and are direct competitors to 35/2, 50/1.4 and 28/2. As far as slow film and shooting technique goes -- I decided for myself that my technique is not good enough to take advantage of the optical benefits that Leica lenses provide. I did not buy rangefinder to use it on a tripod after all...

-- Alexander Grekhov (grekhov@wgukraine.com), March 14, 2002.

Right after I posted that I realized I should have said "some CV lenses," and I was thinking of the 50/3.5 Heliar, and 21/4 Skopar. If there's a "Leica look" for me, it's the wide open lens, used at fast shutter speed, so the sharp subject "pops out" from the blurred background. That's the one area CV has a hard time matching Leica.

-- Phil Stiles (Stiles@metrocast.net), March 14, 2002.

Just one more comment about Voigtlander lenses. Some people say they are cheap. I don't think so. If you compare with Leica glass, yes they cost a lot less. But compared with Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Minolta, Olympus, etc. good quality manual focus prime lenses, they are about the same price or a bit higher. And the quality is there. I prefer Leica glass for the lens(es) I use most, but for the less seldom ones, VC is hard to beat.

Ilkka

-- Ilkka Kuusisto (ikuu65@hotmail.com), March 14, 2002.

Friends,

I love the little VC 21/4. It is really light, even with its new rain catcher hood. The even lighter 35/2.5 is also a joy to use. My 35mm has to be the best and I got the new 35/2 ASPH. But the Ultron 35/ 1.7's performance is not shabby. IMO that in terms of value and optics it is better than the over-designed, over-build, over-priced and optically pretty good (but not great) Hexar 35/2. Wide open in night-city lights situations the Ultron knocks the stuffings out to the Hexar. And compared to my old 'lux 35/1.4 non-asph--no contest wide open. The Ultron 28/1.9 is an excellent lens. Wide open it isn't up to the new 'crone 28/2 but after 2.8 they are virtually tied. The very critical E. Putts says the Ultron 28.1.9 beats the old Leica 28s. And if you use LSM, VC is the only way to go for excellent modern optics.

The APO Lanthar 90/3.5 is a fine lens but a touch slow for my taste- -I mean if I were to get a new 90.

I

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@suma.kobe-wu.ac.jp), March 15, 2002.

does anyone have any examples of the CV 90 Lanthar shot wide open portrait?

-- tim (emulsion71@hotmail.com), March 15, 2002.