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Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 APO Lanthar

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Jan Anne:
The lens that Cosina needed to stop making to land the Zeiss contract and became legendary afterwards because a certain Norwegian nature photographer declared it as one of the best lenses ever made (and from personal experience can tell you he still uses his on a regular basis if not daily).

I was lucky to source one locally with a Canon EF mount new in box for a very decent price last year and am very pleased with it on the Sony a7S.

Here's a mugshot on an a7R (which got traded for the a7S) using a Commlite EF-NEX electronic adapter, the electronic adapter enables the operation of the aperture (sadly no aperture ring on the EF model), EXIF registration (though f/2.5 registers as f/2.8 ) and on modern Canon lenses also the use of AF and IS.

Update 11-3-16: The EXIF registers properly now with a Metabones IV T adapter.



I didn't use this lens that much but here are a few images, don't hesitate to add more samples to this topic.

Stealing Jakovs shot during our Montenegro trip last year in June, using an a7R


Jakov last September playing with his Panda Df and 300/4 Ai-S, shot with a Sony a7R


The mandatory tourist shot on our current NG trip in Slovenia, this time shot with a Sony a7S:

Bjørn Rørslett:
If anyone should be in doubt about the image qualities of the Voigtländer 125 mm f/2.5 APO-Lanthar lens, these images should settle the score once and for all.

Vilhelm:
A fantastic lens that delivers both in technical quality (detail, free of aberrations) as well as aesthetic capabilities (pleasant rendering of OoF areas). Bought mine in December 2009, used in a box for 900 EUR. I sincerely can't see why anyone would sell this lens, it is every bit as good as the reviews written about it.

I am aware of the internal construction which makes it prone to loosening and disassembling itself, this was however in my case quite easy to prevent by having a local technician open it and replace the screws, it has worked flawlessly for the past 6 years and I have actively used it for shooting watches and jewellery for clients.

Bjørn Rørslett:
I'm lucky in having my close friend Erik making the maintenance service and repair on the 125 APO-Lanthar each time I visit him in Copenhagen ... The first of my 125 APO-Lanthars is around 10 years old now and as laconically remarked by Jan Anne, it looks "used" ....

Since I felt uncertain how long the lens actually would hold up and for how long Erik would be willing to do the internal work on it (well, mainly the first was of concern), I got another sample to distribute the wear. A Lanthar version of the SSD "wear-levelling algorithm" so to speak :D

I have the two other models in the Lanthar series, thus the 90 mm f/3.5 and the 180 mm f/4, and whilst they are excellent lenses on their own, somehow they don't shine in their performance as the 125.

I'm using the 125 mainly for landscapes and details. Visible light applications only, as it like so many fast lenses, exhibit a hot spot in IR. Nor does its fare well for UV, but no worries as I have UV specialist lenses for that purpose.

My 125 APO-Lanthar lenses are both CPU-modified of course. Erik to the rescue again (modification of this lens is non-trivial in case anyone wonders, but not enough to deter Erik ...).

The image smoothness delivered by the 125 is remarkable and colour clarity is outstanding. The latter no doubt is due to the near-perfect "APO" behaviour of this optical design and the main reason I quickly got rid of my AFS Micro-Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8 VR and replaced it with the 125 APO-Lanthar.

Vilhelm:
There is definitely something in the clarity and purity of color rendition on this lens - the spidercrab photo is an excellent photo and it also displays this. High contrast compositions without lateral or longitudinal color fringing --> don't we all wish for that in a lens?

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