Why not a Voigtlander 50mm?

[kivis]

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https://www.47-degree.com/focus-shift/leica-m-50mm-lens-comparison-part-4

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Al Brown]

This test omits many fast M 50mm lenses currently available, including Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.0, Leica Noctiluxes, current Leica re-edition pre-asph 50/1.4, TTartisan 50/0.95 and several others.

Edited April 4 by Al Brown

[RexGig0]

I agree that Cosina makes some wonderful Voigtlander 50mm lenses, though this tester/reviewer did not evaluate two of my personal favorite CV Fifties, the Nokton f/1.0 Aspherical VM, and the APO Lanthar VM. Each goes very different tasks well.

[Chris W]

The APO VM seems like a stellar lens and the Voigtlander 50mm I would buy, and probably will.

[Ko.Fe.]

Agreed with reviewer. 50 mm is desert lens these days. Cosina made are good enough for it.

Overall review is questionable.

Calling ZM lenses "ergonomics" as outstanding shows incompetence. 

 

 

[Harpomatic]

On 4/5/2025 at 10:27 AM, Ko.Fe. said:

Agreed with reviewer. 50 mm is desert lens these days. Cosina made are good enough for it.

Overall review is questionable.

Calling ZM lenses "ergonomics" as outstanding shows incompetence. 

 

 

I’m the incompetent reviewer here.
So your opinion on Zeiss lenses ergonomics makes me incompetent? Thanks! A very valuable and objective point of view. Wonderful.

[Harpomatic]

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On 4/4/2025 at 11:33 PM, Al Brown said:

This test omits many fast M 50mm lenses currently available, including Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.0, Leica Noctiluxes, current Leica re-edition pre-asph 50/1.4, TTartisan 50/0.95 and several others.

 

On 4/5/2025 at 1:32 AM, RexGig0 said:

I agree that Cosina makes some wonderful Voigtlander 50mm lenses, though this tester/reviewer did not evaluate two of my personal favorite CV Fifties, the Nokton f/1.0 Aspherical VM, and the APO Lanthar VM. Each goes very different tasks well.

Those lenses had not been released when I made the review, apart from the Noctiluxes and the TTArtisan 0.95, which didn’t impress me and was reviewed in another article. I didn’t have it anymore when I bought all those lenses to review them. Sorry, my budget was stretched at that point, I couldn’t spend over ten  thousand more to get the Noctiluxes!

[Vanillasludge]

10 hours ago, Harpomatic said:

I’m the incompetent reviewer here.
So your opinion on Zeiss lenses ergonomics makes me incompetent? Thanks! A very valuable and objective point of view. Wonderful.

No good deed goes unpunished here 😂

[Vanillasludge]

On 4/5/2025 at 6:56 AM, kivis said:

https://www.47-degree.com/focus-shift/leica-m-50mm-lens-comparison-part-4

I’ve owned four of the lenses tested and for the most part I have to agree with your assessments. 
The Voigtlander 50 1.2 is the best all around lens I have found.  It is modern, but has character and doesn’t screw up my images with flare.  
The Sonnar is actually not truly a vintage design as it was modernized somewhat when re-introduced years ago.  I wanted to love it but I could not live with the unpredictability of focus…

That said, I use a true vintage Contax 1.5 all the time and have never found the shift to be an issue like it is on the modern version.   🤔 

The Planar is very good but I never fell in love with it. No logic to that, just me.  

The Summicron is amazing in that it is still considered a high performance lens after 45 years!   
Flare, as you said, can really bugger it.  

Thanks for posting these reviews!
 

 

[Harpomatic]

1 hour ago, Vanillasludge said:

No good deed goes unpunished here 😂

You’re so right!🤣

[Harpomatic]

1 hour ago, Vanillasludge said:

I’ve owned four of the lenses tested and for the most part I have to agree with your assessments. 
The Voigtlander 50 1.2 is the best all around lens I have found.  It is modern, but has character and doesn’t screw up my images with flare.  
The Sonnar is actually not truly a vintage design as it was modernized somewhat when re-introduced years ago.  I wanted to love it but I could not live with the unpredictability of focus…

That said, I use a true vintage Contax 1.5 all the time and have never found the shift to be an issue like it is on the modern version.   🤔 

The Planar is very good but I never fell in love with it. No logic to that, just me.  

The Summicron is amazing in that it is still considered a high performance lens after 45 years!   
Flare, as you said, can really bugger it.  

Thanks for posting these reviews!
 

 

I agree with you, the Planar is a fantastic choice but the heart doesn’t bond with it!

 

i still think the Nokton 1.5 II is the best choice for me, I love using it and took so many good images with it. 
 

I am very curious about the 50mm 2.2 Color-Skopar, being so small and great quality. I adore my 28mm 2.8 Color Skopar, it would go very well together!!

[Chris W]

I just bought the 50mm f2 Apo VM and it's outstanding.

[Stuart Richardson]

2 minutes ago, Chris W said:

I just bought the 50mm f2 Apo VM and it's outstanding.

I bought one on a bit of a whim for the M10M, as I love the 50mm APO Summicron SL on the SL2, which is my main work camera. It is not quite as stunning as the SL lens, but it is close. My main 50mm M lens was the 50mm Summilux ASPH, but that is not getting much use these days because the Voigtlander is a better performer for landscape, which is most of what I do. I have been shooting Leica long enough to know it is not usually wise to sell M lenses, however, so I will hold on to the 50mm ASPH. I bought it new on release, so it seems a bit of a shame to sell I lens I have shot with for over twenty years. But the Voigtlander is the one getting all the use now.

[Chris W]

I won't own a Leica APO as they are very expensive and the L mount versions are huge.

[TomB_tx]

2 hours ago, Harpomatic said:

i still think the Nokton 1.5 II is the best choice for me, I love using it and took so many good images with it.

I agree - been using one on film and M10 quite a bit and have no complaints.

[Ovid]

Bought and used the Apo three times. It's just a bit too big. Found a good offer on a Nokton 50mm f1.5 II in the black/nickel version. Is it true that they don't make those anymore? 

[Ko.Fe.]

20 hours ago, Harpomatic said:

I’m the incompetent reviewer here.
So your opinion on Zeiss lenses ergonomics makes me incompetent? Thanks! A very valuable and objective point of view. Wonderful.

Cosina made Zeiss pimple instead of Leica superior tab is joke. But you need to understand what for focus tab is, regarding fast and intuitive pictures taking process. 

A.k.a. Leica fiddling. This is where ergonomics comes to play.

Enormous amount of long spread of aperture clicks is just no go. With Leica lens you change apertures without fighting the aperture ring.     

Not to mention Cosina's cost cuts focus helicoids. Not as smooth as Leica made.  

But what do I know, except how to fiddle Leica lens in the split of the second.

I'm not a reviewer here, just a long time moments of life shooter.

Where are ergonomics allowing me to use Leica the way it was intended for and where is Zeiss build for else.

[caranatar]

Why not voigtlander? Because light lens lab 😄

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[costa43]

A top company and a real blessing that they exist and are releasing so much variation at such high quality, They make two of the highest performing 50mm lenses in their respective aperture range for the M mount imo. The VM APO 50mm (both f2 and f3.5) is about as good as it gets on measurable performance and the f1 Nokton is the highest performing ultra fast 50mm lens for M mount when it comes to resolution wide open. 

[Harpomatic]

2 hours ago, Ko.Fe. said:

But what do I know, except how to fiddle Leica lens in the split of the second.

I'm not a reviewer here, just a long time moments of life shooter.

So you are implying you know how to use rangefinder cameras and lenses and I don’t? You don’t know me and have no idea how I use the camera and how fast. You are calling me incompetent only on the basis of your personal preferences in shooting with a Leica. Obviously on this basis anyone not shooting with tabbed lenses is incompetent then? No good photographer using SLR cameras with manual focus I imagine? 

Why don’t you just say that you like Leica style tabs, you prefer them to the Zeiss ergonomics, and refrain from insulting me?

I can’t stand keyboard warriors, criticising anyone actually doing something FOR FREE to help the community, feeling all that better that anyone else and being totally ungrateful for the many hours of hard work that went into making such resources.

Please don’t be one and accept that your opinion is not gospel, it’s only your opinion and other people’s opinion are as valid as yours. Especially given that I have used Leicas for years and I have the images on the same website to demonstrate that I can photograph well.

With this I won’t respond to anything else on this matter. I just wanted to speak my mind.