Introduction
Modern Voigtländer branded lenses are made by Cosina in Japan. These are all manual focus lenses but except for the M-mount lenses they all feature electronic contacts to communicate with your camera. This is an overview of ~50 of their lenses with my opinion summarized in one sentence to give you an overview and starting point before delving into our in-depth reviews.
The one sentence reviews are a new concept I am testing here, please tell me in the comment section what you think of it.
E-mount
- Voigtländer 10mm 5.6 Hyper Wide Heliar E
The Laowa 9mm 5.6 does the same thing but much better, so get the Laowa - Voigtländer 12mm 5.6 Ultra Wide Heliar E
Got discontinued fast, performance wise it sits between the 10mm and the 15mm MK III - Voigtländer 15mm 4.5 Super Wide Heliar E
Some reports about sample variation, if you find a good one this is a nice compact 15mm lens - Voigtländer 21mm 1.4 Nokton E
Very sharp stopped down a bit, but too high vignetting, the Sony FE 20mm 1.8 G is the more sensible choice for most - Voigtländer 21mm 3.5 Color-Skopar E
Nice and compact 21mm lens, but for a little more money you can get one of the ultra wide angle zooms which might make more sense - Voigtländer 35mm 1.2 Nokton SE
Already discontinued, if you want one get one now - Voigtländer 35mm 1.4 Nokton Classic E
If you want a vintage lens with busy bokeh and electronic contacts - Voigtländer 35mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar E
Not as Apo as the 50mm, still an extremely high resolving 35mm lens, much better than the Zeiss Loxia 35mm 2.0 - Voigtländer 40mm 1.2 Nokton E/SE
The fastest 40mm option and a well balanced lens, lightweight SE version already discontinued - Voigtländer 50mm 1.0 Nokton E
If you want an f/1.0 lens this is the sharpest you can get, for its asking price I would rather get the Sony FE 50mm 1.2 GM with AF and cleaner bokeh though - Voigtländer 50mm 1.2 Nokton E/SE
Well balanced comparably compact 50mm 1.2 lens with great bokeh, lightweight SE version already discontinued - Voigtländer 50mm 2.0 Apo-Lanthar E
Perfectly corrected 50mm lens with amazing performance from f/2.0 - Voigtländer 65 mm 2.0 Macro Apo-Lanthar E
Same as the 50mm 2.0, but with macro capabilites and much bulkier, focal length a bit in no man’s land - Voigtländer 75mm 1.5 Nokton E
If you want a manual focus portrait lens this is a great option, most will get better pictures with an 85mm 1.4/1.8 AF lens though - Voigtländer 110mm 2.5 Macro Apo-Lanthar E
One of the best macros in the ~100mm range, be sure to be okay with straight aperture blades in a macro lens though
M-mount
- Voigtländer 10mm 5.6 VM Hyper Wide Heliar
The Laowa 9mm 5.6 does the same thing but much better, so get the Laowa - Voigtländer 12mm 5.6 VM Ultra Wide Heliar III
Got discontinued fast, performance wise it sits between the 10mm and the 15mm MK III - Voigtländer 15mm 4.5 VM Super Wide Heliar I/II
Color cast issues on Leica cameras M10 and earlier, otherwise very sharp yet compact lens - Voigtländer 15mm 4.5 VM Super Wide Heliar III
Now optimized for digital cameras, but also much bigger - Voigtländer 21mm 1.4 VM Nokton
Very sharp thanks to floating elements, probably the sharpest 21mm lens for M-mount, sadly too high vignetting - Voigtländer 21mm 1.8 VM Nokton
I didn’t manage to find a well centered sample yet, don’t buy new, get the 21mm 1.4 instead - Voigtländer 21mm 3.5 VM Color-Skopar
If you don’t need faster, this is a very nice and compact 21mm lens - Voigtländer 28mm 1.5 VM Nokton
Very good fast 28mm lens, much smaller than the competitors - Voigtländer 28mm 1.9 Ultron
Better get the latest 28mm 2.0 MK II (too much field curvature and bad minimum focus distance) - Voigtländer 28mm 2.0 VM Ultron MK I
Better get the latest 28mm 2.0 MK II (still bad minimum focus distance) - Voigtländer 28mm 2.0 VM Ultron MK II Type I
Very well balanced fast 28mm lens - Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 VM Color-Skopar
Not much cheaper than the 28mm 2.0 MK II, but noticeably smaller, great option if you don’t need faster than f/2.8 - Voigtländer 35mm 1.2 VM Nokton III
Third time’s a charm, well balanced fast 35mm lens - Voigtländer 35mm 1.5 VM Nokton
Similar performance as 35mm 1.2, but slightly slower and smaller, also a well balanced 35mm lens - Voigtländer 35mm 1.7 VM Ultron
No idea why this has been discontinued, the sharpest 35mm M-mount lens faster than f/2.0 - Voigtländer 35mm 2.0 VM Apo-Lanthar
Not as Apo as the 50mm, still an extremely high resolving 35mm lens - Voigtländer 40mm 1.2 VM Nokton
The fastest 40mm option and a well balanced lens - Voigtländer 40mm 1.4 VM Nokton MC
Classic rendering but very compact and affordable, pairs greatly with Minolta CLE - Voigtländer 50mm 1.0 VM Nokton
Cosina’s better answer to Leica’s fast M-mount lenses, if you want super fast, this is the one to get - Voigtländer 50mm 1.1 Nokton
Better than its reputation if you can live with the focus shift, affordable high contrast super fast 50mm option - Voigtländer 50mm 1.2 VM Nokton
Well balanced 50mm 1.2 lens with beautiful bokeh, more sensible option than the two faster 50mm options - Voigtlander 50mm 1.5 VM Nokton
Nice fast 50mm option but many people hate its focus ring - Voigtländer 50mm 1.5 VM II Nokton MC
Thanks to its compact size a great fit to the M-mount system, high contrast and resolution, too - Voigtländer 50mm 1.5 Heliar Classic
Soft vintage 50mm lens you can buy new - Voigtländer 50mm 2.0 VM Apo-Lanthar
Perfectly corrected 50mm lens with amazing performance from f/2.0 - Voigtländer 75mm 1.5 VM Nokton
One of the greatest entrance pupil to size and weight ratios, build quality a bit dinkier compared to most other VM lenses - Voigtländer 75mm 1.8 Heliar Classic
Noticeably worse than the f/1.5 and f/1.9 versions, stay away from it - Voigtländer 75mm 1.9 VM Ultron MC
Best balanced fast 75mm lens for M-mount, great sharpness, nice bokeh and very nice minimum focus distance - Voigtländer 90mm 2.8 VM Apo-Skopar
A better deal and better performance than a used Leica 90mm 2.8
F-mount
- Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar
Best manual focus 28mm option for F-mount with great minimum focus distance - Voigtländer 55mm 1.2 SL IIs Nokton
Best f/1.2 lens for F-mount - Voigtländer 58mm 1.4 SL IIs Nokton
Well balanced fast 58mm lens with nice rendering for portraits - Voigtländer 90mm 2.8 SL IIs Apo-Skopar
Same optics as the M-mount version, sharp and nice bokeh but a lot of competition from faster and cheaper 85mm 1.8 F-mount lenses - Voigtländer 180mm 4.0 SL APO Lanthar
One of the few lightweight tele primes, better at shorter distances than infinity, rare and therefore too expensive
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My name is Bastian and I am your expert here when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses, super fast portrait lenses (ranging from a 50mm f/0.95 to a 200mm f/1.8) and I also have reviewed way too many 35mm lenses.
Don't ask me anything about macro or wildlife shooting though.
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Nicely done, but a little too concise. Maybe it would be useful to throw in some numbers for a handful of categories (sharpness, coma etc.) like they do in Pentaxforum. Or just that final “conclusion” (plus, minus, meh) you already show in the extended reviews (you can somehow code them in order to make them shorter and keep them on one or two line of text).
It’s meant to be very concise. Easy to run through the entire list, yet all relevant info is just one click away.
some valuable information/opinion here, would love seeing this added (to all lenses) in the FE-List spreadsheet.
I think it’s an excellent concept. Thanks a lot,
Interesting idea. This can be a fine starting point when contemplating a lens choice, and full reviews are there for further reading. It’s like a better version of a plain lens list.
I like this concept! There’re way too many Sony-compatible lenses already, an it’s a good starting point.
interesting article format
remark on the Voigtländer 21mm 3.5 Color-Skopar E
“Nice and compact 21mm lens, but for a little more money you can get one of the ultra wide angle zooms which might make more sense”
> i dont see how an AF zoom can make more sense vs a prime, orange vs apple … this prime value prop is all about compactness and voigtlander UX and rendering. its not meant to compete vs a versatile and large zoom. better compare it to sigma 21 3.5 or loxia 21 2.8?
thanks for the great article.
Thibault
I agree, zooms aren’t going to have the same sunstars and perhaps not contrast and color, or indeed the same feel when operating. I don’t think the sentence is wrong per say, I do however think about three sentence reviews would be much more valuable : )
I like the format. A good way to narrow the choices before digging into the full-lenght review. Appreciate all you’re doing for the site.
Thanks!
Bastain, I like it. The main purpose for me would be a starting point to dig deeper. It’s a nice overview of the complete offering – thank you!
Damned Apple auto correct 🙂
I picked up the 40mm f/2 and 75mm 1.5 used on my Nikon ZF and love the combination. Your thoughts?
I just ordered a Zf and I am looking forward to the manual focusing aids.
I like the one-sentence concept. I find myself in the market for an M-mount medium tele and I had read Bastian’s previous individual reviews of the various Voigtlander options, so this summary provided a convenient reminder of which ones should be on my shortlist. Thanks!
That is exactly what it is supposed to accomplish!
I enjoyed the brief comments. Excellent starting point for further review of a particular lens.
Hoping for a CV 28mm for e Mount 😩 please happen
Love this format!
Voigtländer 35mm 1.7 VM Ultron
No idea why this has been discontinued, the sharpest 35mm M-mount lens faster than f/2.0
On this, you’d rate it sharper than the ZEISS 35/1.4?
Yes
Wonderful idea, great concept. A very good view on all the lenses. Thanks.
Interesting idea, but I agree with the first comment made, and would suggest a graphic (icon) and/or color coding, with for example a 1-10 scale for some variables like focus shift, field curvature, Laca, Loca, sharpness/contrast, Vignetting, Distortion, Build/Handling, etc.
I noticed that two lenses in the list of one-sentence reviews are not available in full review format, like the Voigtländer 28mm 2.8 SL IIs Color-Skopar (Best manual focus 28mm option for F-mount with great minimum focus distance.), or the Voigtländer 90mm 2.8 SL IIs Apo-Skopar (Same optics as the M-mount version, sharp and nice bokeh but a lot of competition from faster and cheaper 85mm 1.8 F-mount lenses.) Are those reviews in the pipeline?
Yes they are.
Great way to index all the hard work you and crew have put into reviewing lenses. Looking forward to seeing which brand you do next.
On the risk of asking you to speculate, are so many Sony versions discontinued because newer versions are coming, or is Cosina focusing on other mounts?
I guess the SE versions as well as the 12mm didn’t sell particularly well.
I also guess there is currently more money to be made in Z and RF mount where apparently not many third party manufacturers are allowed to sell lenses with electronics.
That’s a shame. It’s not my fault, I bought an SE version. 🙂
I would have also bought the SE version 🙂
Good read. Thanks for posting. I have been a long time Nikon, Zeiss and Leica user since my teen years. Back in the day when shooting film pixel peeing was yet to evolve. For the most part, most lenses performed well except forthos Spiratone long lenses that sold for 70.00 🙂 None the less, As of recently I have been enamored woith the new line of Voigtlander lenses for the M and Z. In particular the Apo lanthars and the 50 1.0. So much so that I have created a website http://www.voigtlanderimages.com just to host photos captured with voigtlander lenses. As of today, I own several of the newer lenses and have sold my Leica glass as I found it to be marginally better than the voigtlander if not equal. So, why hang on to them? In all honesty, photography should be about results and less of a fashion statement. I believe the Voigtlander delivers whta is needed for today’s modern cameras.
Great and practical idea.