Voigtlander 65/2 apo

[Luvwine]

There are very few posts on the Sony thread here. This may be old news, but I thought I would share some lens thoughts and a few images since the paucity of content on the gear forums is unfortunate to me. This lens is a GREAT lens. Here was a brief write-up I did on another forum:

I have not seen much buzz about this lens. Maybe there is no interest in a manual lens with a 65mm focal length. I am telling you, it is a great lens. There are a few drawbacks and some aspects that are less than stellar, but overall I think it deserves a lot more attention than it is getting.

First, the lens is sharp. It is sharp across the frame from wide open even at infinity. Second, it is truly apochromatic. it is better corrected for CA than my Leica 75/2 apo, for example--not even close. Third, it is extraordinarily versatile--it does macro at 1:2 with no tubes and quite a bit closer with them and it is equally at home at infinity for landscapes--truly terrific. Fourth, it has like zero distortion and is extraordinarily flat field--no real field curvature. Fifth, it is well built with excellent damping--is a pleasure to use. Sixth, it is an excellent value for a lens of its quality. It is likely replacing the Leica 75/2 apo in my bag and is right up there in sharpness with my best lenses including Loxia 85/2.4. Seventh, it has fabulous 10-pointed sun stars (just like Loxia lenses).

Drawbacks? It has only average to good flare resistance. It is larger than many lenses--67mm filter thread and is beefy and not light (all metal construction, after all).

In sum, I think it is an extraordinarily versatile and first rate quality lens. It would be a fine choice to take out as an only prime or paired with say a 28 or 35mm prime for a day of shooting. Below are some samples taken with the lens. I have compared it for portrait and landscape with the Loxia 50, Leica 75/2, Loxia 85 and GM 85. It is sharper at infinity at large apertures than either the Loxia 50 or the Leica 75 and equal or better stopped down. It is equal in my book to the Loxia 85 at landscape tho with a slightly different drawing style (perhaps less 3D). The bokeh is good, tho clearly not in the GM 85 or 100 STF league, but in most shots, it is more the acceptable. All lenses are compromises, but this one seems to have few.

I have not had the lens for long, but here are some images I made while lens testing. I have really enjoyed it so far and it has earned a place in my bag.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Stephen,

That does sound like a very interesting lens.

And your write up here is really well written and made me think, that in the Article Section, that perhaps I should make a "Hands on Review" category. What you wrote here, would be excellent for a hands on review.

What do you think?

Jim

 

[Luvwine]

Hey Stephen,

That does sound like a very interesting lens.

And your write up here is really well written and made me think, that in the Article Section, that perhaps I should make a "Hands on Review" category. What you wrote here, would be excellent for a hands on review.

What do you think?

Jim

Hi Jim,

That would be a possibility though this post seems short for a true review. Also, if it were a review, more sample pics than allowed under the current limit of 5 would be appropriate with lots of comparison shots. I guess you need to figure out if you want longer, more detailed, product reviews and a dedicated section for them. Don't know if there is a right answer for that. It just depends how you want to organize things. I was a bit surprised no one had reacted to the post, but I suspect most folks that come here are not interested in equipment discussions and, if so, most don't use Sony so this is a niche topic here at this point.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Stephen,

The 5 photo limit only applies to the Landscape, Wildlife, City and B&W if I recall correctly. So feel free to add as many photos as needed here.

As for the length of a review, shorter like this one is fine if the information is valuable. Of course, doing longer more detailed reviews would be awesome. And perhaps we come up with terms to describe the difference between a short hands on review and a longer more detailed review?

We have quite a few people that shoot Sony, so I would think they would be interested. The issue with all of the gear forums is since we currently don't have any people that are real gearheads and love discussing gear all day, there hasn't been much to come look at here, so for some of them, I am guessing they just don't realize there is something interesting to look at.

So as fruitless as it might seem at this point, every article or question or thought that gets places in these gear forums will help them to build up and get some momentum going. Also if you know of any gear talking guys, please invite them here. I think it's just a matter of getting some people in here who really like talking gear.

Jim