Specifications

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I think it came across from my review that I was quite impressed by the Voigtländer 2/65‘s performance. So when Cosina announced the 2.5/110 they had my attention and I made my interest in a review copy known immediately. For some reason though the release date has been postponed from August. I hope we don’t have to wait much longer.

Features

The Voigtlander 110mm F2.5 APO-Lanthar Macro focuses down to a magnification ratio of 1:1. Unlike the Sony FE 2.8/90 it does not focus internally so it extends a lot when focused at smaller objects. I couldn’t test the working distance at PK but it will be interesting to see how it compares to the Sony macro.

Another key-feature is the APO-correction. While other companies have used this term rather generously the 2/65 APO offers a really high degree of correction for any kind of CA so the expectation is quite high here. Conditions at PK didn’t allow for much testing of the CA-correction.

Another “feature” is that this is the longest native manual focus lens in E-mount. I think together with my 1.2/40 and the new 3.5/21 it could form a really nice three prime set which covers almost any application I would have for it from landscape over macro to portrait. If your focus is on portraits you will almost certainly be better served by the mighty GM 1.4/85 and eye-AF. But if you like to take an occasional portrait while your focus is on other applications and you enjoy manual focus this lens might work very well for you. At least that is what I am hoping for.

Handling

At Photokina I could handle a copy and take some images. I was positively surprised to note that the 110mm Macro is just 9mm longer than the 65mm. This is possible because while the 65’s front element is deeply recessed the 110mm’s is not. Another advantage is a more reasonable filter size of 58mm. This is shared by most other Voigtlanders.

I can’t say that much about the handling: The focus ring felt nice. I didn’t use it enough to notice how it balances. The aperture ring has moved from the front to the back which one will get used to. So it most likely will be what one has come to expect from a modern Voigtlander lens which is a very pleasant to use lens.

Optical performance

Again I didn’t learn a lot from the short usage at PK. An exhausting fair where you are constantly bombarded by information and sounds isn’t a good testing ground. You can find my test images in this set. They were handheld and didn’t show anything unexpected.

One aspect I looked at was bokeh and cat-eyes. This is the full image and out of focus highlights look pretty smooth and not defined. Cat-eyes are pronounced though.

I also don’t see any onion rings which is good news.

Conclusion

I didn’t learn much about the CV 2.5/110 APO at Pk but I didn’t learn anything negative either. I look forward to either reviewing it myself or reading David’s review, depending who gets one first. I think it could find a constant place in my kit.

Specifications

Despite my appreciation for Voigtländer lenses which usually balance performance, size, handling and price in a way that suits my needs like few others I initially couldn’t find a reason to buy their new 3.5/21 since I have been eying the Zeiss Loxia 2.8/21 for quite some time and Jannik, Bastian and David all vouch for it’s excellence.

And just when I had the funds together and was waiting for a good offer on a used Loxia the specs and price for the CV 3.5/21 were announced. These made me preorder it.

The Voigtlander 3.5/21 weights 230g which is a little more than half as much as the Loxia which comes in at 394g. At 40mm it is also significantly shorter than the 73mm Loxia. I paid about 650€ for my preorder at Robert White which is less than half as much as the Loxia. It also focuses a little closer (20cm vs 25cm).

So I will get a truly small lens which I expect to take with me more often. I think there will be a few situations when the Loxias faster speed would have been handy. For astro photography for example but that is not where my focus is so it is not a significant compromise for me. This is nothing but speculation but at that size and price I don’t quite expect the CV 3.5/21 to reach the Loxia’s performance. I hope it will be close enough that it won’t matter for my photography. So I think that the CV could be a really interesting lens because of the very compact size and competetive pricing aswell as the good flare resistance and contrast I have come to expect from a Voigtlander lens.

I could take a few test shots at PK which you can find here. They don’t reveal much because the conditions were pretty bad but at least they tell me that the Voigtlander has decent enough corners from wide open. Anything more detailed will have to wait until I have my own copy. We will also compare it to the Loxia.

I got an estimated shipping date of November while other places talked of October. So check back in a month or so for my rolling review.