| Author: | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2010 Location: Sebastopol, California Posts: 2,020
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 27, 2018 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Lightweight, rich color, high contrast, sharp, close-focusing | | Cons: | Hard to find. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 7
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 VL SLII
I'm writing this because I think this page needs a separate review of the SLII version of the Voigtlander 90mm lens. It is one of three superb Lanthar APO Voigtlander lenses: 90mm, 125mm, and 180mm. All SLI versions are recognized by their "retro" silver and black look, and all are some of sharpest lenses ever made with interior designs that have much in common. But the SLII Version of the 90mm is a different beast.
I've owned both the SLI and SLII version of this lens, and I've also owned the Voigtlander 125 and 180, of which there are only SLI versions. A lot of people gush over the 125 and 180, but don't realize the 90mm is almost identical in terms of IQ. The 125 is of course a dedicated macro, so gets close up and has ultra-sharpness across a flat field, but the 180 and the 90mm are ridiculously sharp too, and from wide open onward, plus the 90mm gets very close as well. Besides super sharpness they all shared rich color rendering, contrast and micro contrast . . . with no differences that I could discern.
I sold all my SLI version Voigtlanders because of their stiff focusing rings. For manual focus, especially telephotos, I personally need the focus ring to glide using just one finger. So when I discovered the SL II version of the 90 has very smooth and easy focusing, it became a permanent member of my small lens kit. It also comes with a little close up lens for those of us who don't need a dedicated macro lens. Other cool things about the 90 SLII is how lightweight and small it is, and the screw-on hood that allows for attaching the close up lens can be left on full time as a lens hood.
Experts say the SLI and SLII versions internally are exactly alike and so there should no difference in IQ, but it's not my experience. I did comparisons between the two and the SLII version was consistently more contrasty and rendered colors richer. Could've been the copy I had of course.
All in all it is one of the finest lenses I've ever used, highly recommended if you can find it (. . . I've seen it show up most often in Japanese camera stores on Ebay).
 | | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2016 Posts: 105
1 user found this helpful
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2015 Location: USA Posts: 2,875
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 1, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Quality feel, it makes images that make me smile | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K3
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I've owned and tested over a dozen lenses on my K3. My 90mm Voightlander is special and is my favorite lens for this body.
Well made lens that looks good and is fairly heavy for it's size.
I love precision old manual focus lenses like this one that just ooz quality.
Take your time with this lens and you will be rewarded.
UPDATE: Yesterday I completed detailed comparisons of this lens against the Zeiss ZK 85mm f/1.4 lens. I paid for my Zeiss 85mm lens double what I paid for my Voightlander 90mm lens. I have to admit, while the Voightlander is a very good lens, the Zeiss is just a tiny bit better. Hard to describe the difference, but the Zeiss 85mm lens has ever so slightly better contrast and tonality. It is very hard to see, even when pixel peeping at 100%.
So, if you have lots of money and want a tiny bit more from your lens, I'd recommend the mucher larger and heavier Zeiss 85mm lens over this Voightlander 90mm lens. But, you will pay allot for this tiny TINY bit of improvement.
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 14
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 22, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, color, bokeh | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5, K-7
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 | | | | | | | Senior Member Registered: January, 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 131
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 14, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $489.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Bokeh, Sharpness, Color | | Cons: | Some purple fringing | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
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Bought this lens new. The official name is Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 90mm f3.5 SLII Close Focus, KA mount. It's a full frame lens.
It comes with quite a hood system, and is assembled in this order on the front of the lens:
1) 52mm to 39mm step down hood
2) 39mm closeup lens
3) 39mm lens hood
4) 39mm plastic pinch cap. This fits all the other pieces.
Sadly, it's worth reading the instructions. You can mess up the assembly, by reversing steps 2 and 3 (ie screw the 39mm lens hood into the 52-39mm adaptor, and the 39mm closeup lens on top of this, which is wrong...).
The reality is that I leave all the bits and pieces at home, and just use a cheap 52mm Nikon plastic pinch cap, which works fine. Using the 52-39mm lens hood and pinch cap is ok, good protection for the front lens element, but it's too easy to knock the pinch cap off. 39mm replacement pinch caps are hard to find, and if you do find one, it's usually Leica, and ridiculously priced.
The Voigtlander 90mm Lanthar is superbly constructed, a step up from the excellent Pentax FA primes. From the weight of the lens, I'd guess it is machined brass.
The focus mechanism is smooth and perfectly damped. It is a full 270 deg turn from infinity to minimum focus (0.5 meters) smooth as silk, no sticky spots. The focus grip has a rubber texture. Like any macro lens, close focusing is a challenge, because the DOF is so narrow. With my copy, infinity focus is at the mechanical stop, ie can't go beyond infinity.
The aperture ring operates solidly. It's missing the click at f/4, and goes directly from f/3.5 to f/5.6, which seems odd, since all the aperture settings past f/5.6 are in 1/2 stops clicks. The lens appears as a Pentax "A" lens in the EXIF data. It operates identically to an "A" lens, with an A setting on the lens, and all modes of K-5, K-r, etc work fine. With the K-5/r, you can only dial in 85mm for shake reduction, the next option up is 100mm.
The bokeh from this lens is circular and nearly perfect smooth. Voigtlander lenses seem to be known for their bokeh, and this lens is no exception. A pure cream machine, even though it's maximum aperture is only f/3.5. At f/3.5, there can be some outlining, and that's gone by f/5.6. At the corners, the bokeh from bright spots starts to become slightly oblong in shape, instead of circular, but you have to look pretty hard to see it. The lens shows some purple fringing in high contrast situations.
The colors are quite different than a DA 70 f/2.4 lens. The 70 f2.4 has more contrast, more "snap", and the Voigtlander has richer and smoother colors, if that makes any sense.
One aspect of this lens that surprised me, is it's landscape potential. It's bitingly sharp at infinity. As far as I can tell, the sharpness of the Voigtlander at f/3.5 (properly focused) is nearly the same as f/11, quite even across all apertures.
In summary, the Voigtlander 90mm f/3.5 is a throw back in time - few, if any, modern lenses come close the rock solid build quality of this lens. Manual focusing is a challenge, but live view or a split prism/precision matt focusing screen helps quite a bit. Although it's not a macro lens, it focuses quite close, and with the closeup lens, it approaches a true 1:1 macro. Highly recommended if you can find one.
f/3.5, 1/50 sec, ISO 320
f/3.5, 1/1000 sec, ISO 800
f/4.5, 1/250 sec, ISO 100
f/6.3, 1/160 sec, ISO 100
f/5.6, 1/750 sec, ISO 100
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: November, 2011 Posts: 4,310
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 24, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $600.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Compact, sharp, versatile | | Cons: | Small maximum aperture makes manual focusing harder than with some other lenses | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
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This review is for the SL2 version.
Optically, the SL2 version seems to be the same as the SL version, 6 elements in 5 groups.
However, some published specifications for the SL 2 version describe it
as having "7 elements in 5 groups." The 7th element is just the supplementary close-up lens.
When in use,
this close-up lens should be mounted between the two halves of the hood.
The SL 2 version takes a 52mm filter, and does not have the chrome
49mm filter thread/hood bayonet of the SL version that could be an additional source of flare.
It can focus down to a 1:3.5 scale on its own (50cm MFD), and to 1:1.8 with the close-up lens.
I bought this lens new in 2011, to give me the aperture automation
that was not provided by my M100/2.8. These two lenses share several features,
particularly compactness for their focal length, made possible by the limited maximum aperture,
and impeccable build quality.
The Apo-Lanthar 90/3.5 is a very sharp lens, particularly in the closer half of its focus range.
Manual focusing is moderately easy, helped by the sharpness of the lens,
but inhibited by the modest maximum aperture. In comparison with the ZK 85/1.4,
like the Apo-Lanthar also made by Cosina, the Apo-Lanthar is harder to focus,
better in the close range, and weaker at long range.
The outstanding feature of the Apo-Lanthar is the purity of the colors it produces,
giving a gentle quality to the image (unless changes are made in post-processing).
The Apo-Lanthar 90/3.5 is sometimes typecast as a "flower lens,"
but in fact I have found it to be extremely versatile.
It also does well with the Pentax adapter on the Q,
making a small package that can be used handheld.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2012 Location: NE, USA Posts: 1,302
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 16, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $530.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | One of the finest lenses I've ever used. | | Cons: | Going extinct. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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I came to the party late. I can not find an Voigtlander 125mm APO to save my life. Also wanted some Zeiss lenses. But same deal- nothing for the couple of lenses I liked.
But...there still are a few Voigtlander 90mm F/3.5 SL II APO-Lanthar close focus lenses to be had.
B&H and HKBS were the 2 companies
I looked at for my purchase. I buy most of my new equipment from B & H, but decided to give HKBS a crack at this one.
This report is on the Voigtlander 90mm F/3.5 SL II APO-Lanthar i bought from HKBS.
The model I have is a little different than the one shown at the beginning of the thread. The lens I have is:
http://kenrockwell.com/voigtlander/images/90mm-f35/D3S_7038-ensemble-1200.jpg
HKBS's service was outstanding. I bought the lens from Hong Kong on Monday. Had the lens in my hand on Thursday morning. Lens was perfect. No duties, although customs had inspected the package. (Thoroughly)
It is raining outside so could not get an outdoor sample photos. I shot a few indoors with the max close up capability of the lens and with the supplied close up filter in max focus mode.
In short...one of the finest lenses I've ever used. Buy them while you still can. (I may buy a 2nd one as back up.)
Note: Lens cap in the photos is not a large cap. It is in the mid 30mm range. It fits on the lens hood where the closeup filter is mounted. If the hood is removed, the lens accepts a 52mm filter.
Max close up with no filter
Max close up with filter (Tried to split focus.)
Max close up with filter (Photo is not perfect with camera to resolution chart focus plane. Do not have a copy stand and cheap tripod alignment is poor.)
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 348
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 14, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | superb IQ - sharp and great bokeh, close focus ability | | Cons: | modest max aperture at f3.5 | |
This was the first voigtlander I got, and started me off a love affair with voigtlanders - due to this i wound up with the 75mm, 125mm, 180mm, 58mm SL II. Over time I've pared down my collection (including selling the excellent 75mm), but this was one lens I don't think I will let go.
Its key strengths are simple - very sharp wide open, excellent bokeh. That's all, but these two attributes really blow you away. Wide open, the lens renders the subject with a 3d quality - add in the correct lighting and the subject becomes luminous:
I have the SL1 version, with the more retro look with its chrome ring. Focusing is smooth and nice, though a tad loose for my taste. A joy to use and handle. Get one if you can!
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: April, 2010 Location: SF, CA Posts: 78 | | Review Date: September 28, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Quality build, tight tolerance, diminutive size, SMOOTH | | Cons: | errr... makes me want more lens like this | |
Beautiful lens. Quality build and surprisingly heavy for it's size. Tight tolerance and perfect damping make it a real pleasure to use. Very flare resistant, even without the optional hood. Slightly soft wide open, then very sharp from 5.6 on. Produces nice bokeh, good color and contrast. Great lens if you love manual focus.
Using the older SL I (non chipped) version with M42 mount on mt K7s. Would love the newer SL II chipped version with KA mount, but found a super deal on the older model.
Will post examples soon.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2008 Location: Holy Land Posts: 1,165 | | Review Date: May 31, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Very sharp, beautiful bokeh, great colors rendition | | Cons: | | |
This is one of my favorite lenses.
Extremely sharp lens with beautiful colors, contrast and bokeh, almost no CA.
The close-focus ability is very useful, light, full metal construction.
Highly recommend !!!
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: October, 2009 Location: ita/swiss Posts: 267 | | Review Date: March 13, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | metal body, resolution, warm colors | | Cons: | no AF | |
Optics magnificent, well assembled, constructed with care.
Nice to see, and use, excellent color rendition, image clean, and very definite
Only problem is not autofocus.
The fact that it is only, f/3.5, leaves a little bitter.
But it is a lens knows how to surprise, offering unique photos.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2008 Location: Grand Rapids, MI. USA. Earth. Posts: 139 | | Review Date: March 27, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharp, nice apochromatic colors, build qualtiy | | Cons: | not chipped, manual focus | |
the lens has a wonderful build quality, and shines with quality workmanship. Optional lens hood is metal and has a secondary lens cap that fits over the hood while it is attached. The lens is incredibly sharp, and has nice color rendering (slightly more luminant, less saturated, than the general Pentax SMC look). The apochromatic element means that CA is hard to find in your pictures, though it's by no means completely eradicated.
This lens is manual focus only, and has a very well damped, wide metal focus ring with good grip. Auto aperture means you can use the green button to set shutter speed in Av or Manual modes, but it would be nice if it were chipped like the newer Voigtlanders. A small complaint.
My photos using the lens: http://www.flickr.com/photos/iloveverdi/tags/voigtlanderapolanthar90mmf35sl/ | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2007 Location: Warsaw Posts: 338 | | |
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