[FotoPete]

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You'd better hurry because I don't know how long the remaining stock will last. Don't worry: you won't be disappointed and, will you ever wish to resell this lens, I can predict you won't loose any money on it; its value will likely increase because Cosina will not produce it anymore -- the deal with Zeiss forbids Cosina from selling SLR lenses under its own brand in exchange for the fabrication of the whole new Zeiss lens line. Have you ever priced the Cosina made Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100?

Cheers,

Ah thats why! Cuz the Phoenix site was inaccessible. Plus the disappearance of Cosina/Vivitar 100mm f3.5 among others at dealers all over.

[tcom]

The Voigtlander 125 is a great lens, very nice bokeh, easy to manual focus, well built, good contrast and color rendition. The lens also works very well with the 1.7x AF teleconverter.

I have under Voigtlander 125/2.5 Macro - a photoset on Flickr full size photos taken with this lens (and also with the teleconverter).

Hope it helps.

[m8o]

You'd better hurry

... well, the order's been placed through PayPal (for the 125/2.5). Even though I don't have a correctly working camera for when it arrives (broken screen and body). I'll have to wait sending it in for repair to shoot some test shots with the lens (a real pain to work this way)... Really looking forward to the arrival of this lens!

BTW, is re-invigoration of your photog hobby a big part of everyone's LBA? It seems to be part of mine.

[thePiRaTE!!]

Couple shots from my folks yard during a late Canadian Thanksgiving gathering. Had a chance to examine the close focus isolation abilities of the SL180/4. I have to add as well that, while I bumped the contrast slightly in Lightroom, I did nothing at all to the color on either shot, nor was there any filters (or even lens shade) on the lens itself.

[and]

Thanks for posting 180 shots! There are lots of shots from the 125, but I havent seen anyone else post shots from the 180. It seems very good, altho its a bit slow for my taste for a prime, but then again the size is small considering the focal length. The price is also right.

I wonder how it would do with portraits?

[thePiRaTE!!]

Thanks for posting 180 shots! There are lots of shots from the 125, but I havent seen anyone else post shots from the 180. It seems very good, altho its a bit slow for my taste for a prime, but then again the size is small considering the focal length. The price is also right.

I wonder how it would do with portraits?

The numbers (180/4) certainly aren't anything eye catching, but as a result, it turns out to be a very compact little telephoto that can deliver shots as sharp as a fast normal for the price of one or less. Also having real APO and ED glass - you get the great resistance to CAs and vibrant color rendition. In the end, it really is a cool, compact, freehand medium telephoto that can give great shots for a low price. f4 is perfect for day time, outdoor stuff. I've pretty much ignored anything over 2.8 in this focal range as a matter of course until now, but with the potential the 125 had for producing 'keepers', I altered my priorities and took a chance on the 180/4. I haven't been disappointed.

I find it somewhat of an irony that the potential for increased shutterspeed denotes a lens as fast when in order to do so, it must increase in size and encumbrance - making it bulky and lethargic. To my mind, this 180/4 is 'fast' - I can carry it as an afterthought, slap it on and freehand around into all sorts of areas. Its much 'quicker' I suppose is the keyword, than a traditional tele. But again, this is all icing on the image quality.

With regards to portraits, I'm no expert but I would find the focal length a bit limiting for portraiture personally. Also, its f4 peak means it comes off the body when I go indoors anyways. This would certainly not be its strong suit for me. I did break out the 125 at a family gathering last night though, aside from it being a more generous 2.5 in low-light, the glass is virtually the same, hence you might find the following shots informative -

[and]

Well no doubt the 125 is one sweet piece of glass.

180 for portraits, well you know sometimes it can help the proportions to whip out a really long lens. of course lights would be used so f4 is not a problem. i do struggle to mf with f4 indoors though. I use a split prism screen, which is fantastic for manual focus but it does make the vf darker because its more coarse and that means anything over f2.8 indoors is a challenge. f4 is also the limit for proper metering with the split prism.

how is the mf? I Have an A 300 myself and its not my fave to MF even though its an MF lens, the focus throw is very long and it takesquite a bit of handling to get it from closest focus to infinity. also the focus ring is way too stiff for my taste, making the focusing even slower.

[thePiRaTE!!]

Heh, the focus throws are huge on the Lanthars. Its 2 full turns on the 125 due to its macro focusing (though you can safely ignore half of the throw unless your focusing in on nose hairs). The 180 is also wide with its 'close-focusing' ability. Its nice to be able to shoot a few feet away from something with a tele though, gives awesome selectivity in that regard.

I'm not sure if its due to example or design, but my 125 glides fairly readily around while focusing, but the 180 is a bit stiffer. Might just need some working in. By no means is it a complaint on my part though. I will confer that while shooting a bird with the 180 yesterday, having him flit around me had me turning the focus more than composing, but once I learned to lead his pattern a bit, I got some shots, even with the long manual throw. I'll have to get those up later, or feel free to have a look over at my flickr page (Flickr: Photos from Kelly Sereda)

K.

[m8o]

or feel free to have a look over at my flickr page (Flickr: Photos from Kelly Sereda)
K.

Wow... love this shot. Flickr Photo Download: Flickr II
I can't wait to get that lens!

I can predict you won't loose any money on it; its value will likely increase because Cosina will not produce it anymore --

I would say that the 125 macro will increase its price hugely in 5-10 years. Unfortunately for me I dont have the money at this moment to buy it. I am just crossing my fingers to see if they last enough

[thePiRaTE!!]

I would say that the 125 macro will increase its price hugely in 5-10 years. Unfortunately for me I dont have the money at this moment to buy it. I am just crossing my fingers to see if they last enough

I tend to agree with you, though Cosina has moved on to the Zeiss lenses now so you will have other (albeit more expensive) options with which to enjoy their work. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lanthars eventually coming closer to parity on the second hand market against the Zeiss line in future. For now, they simply remain a good value for enthusiasts - save those sheckles!

K.

[m8o]

I understand the Cosina is the mfgr and just bought the Voigtländer name for name recognition. Really no relation to the original Voigtländer. But where does the Lanthars name come in?

edit: perhaps I should be asking what is 'Lanthar'. I was it on the product listing when I ordered it and see on the box it's APO-Lanthar, so I'm guessing it's a property of the glass, not a name of a corporate division or something.

re-edit: I think I found-out what that is: "The yellowing is usually where Thorium is involved, due to yellow coloured products of its radioactive decay (which in turn can largely be bleached out with UV). Lanthanum isn't radioactive, so this particular issue doesn't apply. In fact, the original reasons for using Lanthanum oxide in glasses were not only to produce a high refractive index, but also because the glass was regarded as 'non-corroding' relative to the alternatives available.

All that said, I agree with him that as 'Lanthar' is an old Voigtlander name for a lens design, there's no real reason to assume there's any Lanthanum in this particular lens."

thnx,
-steve

[m8o]

Going for cheap so far, but 6 days to go so who knows...

Voigtlander 125mm 2.5 SL Macro - Nikon AiS Mount - (eBay item 270175716761 end time Oct-22-07 16:15:00 PDT)

[and]

But then its the Nikon version so...

[thePiRaTE!!]

I've yet to see a K-mounted version come-up second hand. But then, by our smaller market nature, we can still buy them new as a result, lol. On that note - if anyone sees a 75mm Heliar in K-mount come up, let me know