How can Cosina be so totally trashed in virtually every review, then suddenly be compared with Leica ?

-- ROBERT AMOS (bob@des.net), April 26, 2002

Answers

Are you talking about Cosina in general or Cosina Voightlander?

-- Karl (Karl.Yik@dk.com), April 26, 2002.

How is it that "Made in Japan" used to mean cheap crap that you'll throw away in a month, and now it doesn't?

People (and companies, and industries) have the capacity to improve. Cosina looks like it has the desire to improve its products, and apparently, in some cases at least, it is succeeding.

-- Steven Hupp (shupp@chicagobotanic.org), April 26, 2002.

Cosina and Cosina-Voightlander are totally different arent they?, Apart from they are both owned by Cosina. Voightlander has always produced some very good stuff, and the comparison to Leica is only natural as a lot of M users also use Voightlander because either Leica dont make an equivalent eg 12mm and 15mm, Dont want to spend so much money or want a small and light equivalent. Also Voightlanders products have the antique LEica look, compare this to the Hexar lenses which look typical of a japanese mass produced lens.

-- Karl (Karl.Yik@dk.com), April 26, 2002.

"How can Cosina be so totally trashed in virtually every review, then suddenly be compared with Leica ?" Nearly all the reviews I have seen on their lenses praise the optics as first rate. What reviews are you referring to? By the way, my 25mm lens is at least as good as my 24mm Nikkor, so its no slouch. The 35 f1.7 was extremely highly rated.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), April 26, 2002.

Karl - Cosina and Voigtlander are one and the same. They bought the Voigtlander name a few years back but have no relation to the original company. The Bessa bodies (not sure about the new R2) are all based on the same chassis that is at the heart of the Nikon FM/FE 10, Olympus 2000, various Vivitar cameras etc, though with a modified shutter with a capping second blind. But there's nothing wrong with that because these cameras have a very good reliability record. As well Cosina has been a manufacture of lenses for other people for years, many of which have been very good. I do believe that the cream of the crop (design and production wise) goes into the Voigtlander lineup.

-- Bob Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), April 26, 2002.

Cosina apparently made some of the Zuiko (Olympus) lenses, though I don't know if it was all of them or just a few.

The Zuikos generally get good reviews and are considered good optics for their time (the 70s).

-- Preston Merchant (merchant@speakeasy.org), April 26, 2002.

Hi all,

Cosina was originally the producer of cheap and cheaply made adaptable lenses for 35mm SLR's. These were poor performers and got what they deserved from the reviews.

Since a few years, after buying the rights to use the old Austrian brand: Voigtländer, Cosina has developed an entirely new range of products under the name of Vogtländer and calling their bodies Bessa (a name once the property of the original Voigtländer corp.). The lenses range which has been issued since which is all composed of 39mm Leica thread mount lenses is built to an entirely different quality standard than the Cosina lenses still sold under the brand name Cosina.

Not only these lenses (adaptable to M mount bodies with conversion rings) looks nearer to aspect of the traditional Leica lenses from the 50's and the 60's, but they are built to an excellent optical quality standard. The average ones rates between the pre-aspheric generation Leica lenses and the contemporary aspheric generation. This is obtained while maintaining these lenses to a very affordable price level. The result is a very high value for money. Some being particularly interesting like the 21mm f/4 or the 75mm f/2.5 as a cheaper alternative to Leica lenses (though the present Leica lens are definitely superior their superiority doesn't show unless put in very demanding circumstances). To illustrate the advantages of the Cosina line, consider the aspheric 21mm f/2.8 shows only superior quality when used wide open and few of us will use a 21mm wide open anyway). The 75mm f/2.5 is a valuable alternative to the heavy and very expensive 75mm f/1.4 as long as you don't need to use the exceptional aperture of the Leica lens and it is both much more compact and many times cheaper than the Leica lens. Properly used 1 or 2 f stops closed (f/4 - f/5.6) it seems the quality of the image is almost equal to what can be obtained with the Leica lens - at least if you use a medium or fast film. For two of them (12 and 15mm wide angles) there are even no other choice available.

Conclusion: if yo need the best because you're bound to push your lens to the limits, then Leica is still the better choice. If you can satisfy your needs with lenses which won't perform with the same perfection at the edges of their theoretical possibilities Voigtländer lenses will certainly meet your requirements and be of a better value for money.

The Hexanon lenses (but for the 90mm which is not so bad of a lens) while being cheaper than the Leica equivalent are not the same value for money. I feel them relatively overpriced for their quality.

As far as I'm concerned, I won't hesitate to buy Voigtlânder lenses for those lenses I'm sure I won't use so much wide open but will stay Leica otherwise...

Friendly

François P. WEILL

-- François P. WEILL (frpawe@wanadoo.fr), April 26, 2002.

Now, what's with the rumour that Leica is buying Cosina? I have not heard much about it lately. Igor

-- Igor Osatuke (visionstudios@yahoo.com), April 26, 2002.

Cosina was the manufacturer of a whole slew of economy lenses sold under various other brand names including Vivitar and Phoenix in the US. In Europe there was/is a line of 3rd-party lenses sold under the Cosina name, but the name was virtually unknown in the US before the Voigtlander line. Of my 2 identical black 15mm Heliars, one is engraved (well, painted might be a more accurate descriptor) Voigtlander and the other Cosina.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 26, 2002.

Cosina has made aspheric lenses for a number of manufacturers and is apparently the largest Japanese manufacturer of asph elements. The new Nikkor 45 f2.8 Pancake is made by Cosina which is the half sister to the new Voigtlander 40 f2 ASPH SLR lens which undoubtedly will be the finest 40mm focal length lens for the 35mm format yet made. Not a bad effort in my opinion.

-- Joel Matherson (joel_2000@hotmail.com), April 26, 2002.

Hello Everyone,

I believe Cosina made (and makes?) Vivitar lenses. The Series One of old were breakthrough designs at the time and the 90 macro is still a great performer.

I've been fascinated by the Cosina Voigtlander revolution. It's giving RF photogs all the stuff they could either only dream about or find on second-hand shelves. Remember the clip on meters that were available before CV brought out their own?

At this point CV lenses are not up to Leica either optically or mechanically--but they are getting close. The 28/1.9 Ultron isn't as good as the Summicron 28/2. But no 28 is as good as the Summicron from what I can see. The Ultron does out perform the old Leica 28's according to Erwin Putts; and it might even out perform the Hexanon 28/2.8 (depending on what reports you read).

For years Cosina was a "Kuroko"--like that puppeteers in black in Bunrako. It is coming into its own now. Every month it seems they have something new and exciting. It's fun.

I have a number of Voigtlander lenses and am happy with them so far.

Best,

Alex

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4u.or.jp), April 27, 2002.