| Author: | | New Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: April 22, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $2,000.00
| 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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 | | | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2014 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 5 | | Review Date: February 24, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $900.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Super Sharp well built.metal | | Cons: | Price.. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K5IIs
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Got this off of Ebay ..........great Macro if you got the cash get it............. | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: November, 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 4,002
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 21, 2011 | Recommended | Price: $1,400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Macro, IQ, bokeh, focus ring, built quality | | Cons: | Price, Availability, Weight | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-3, K-7
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I believe that the lens outshines all other macro lenses. The focus distance can as small as 0.2 m. The colours, bokeh and IQ are very superb. This lens is super-sharp. The focus ring is a beauty. It rotates 1.5 full turns (540 deg.) and its accuracy is astonishing. This adds to the pleasure to use the lens for macro. In other usages, the lens is sharp with nice IQ and colours.
The built quality is outstanding. The lens is all metal: a masterpiece. As a result, the lens is heavy.
The lens is somehow unusual. The focal length (125mm) and large aperture (f2.5) do not fit with more 'traditional' lenses. The lens is no longer manufactured and it becomes a vintage. It is a pity because the lens is truly outstanding.
The level of details with this lens (on a K-3) is amazing and truly fascinating. While expensive, this lens is worth its penny and more.
I can recommend very, very strongly the lens... if you can find one. I can only agree with the previous reviews: 10/10.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2008 Location: Holy Land Posts: 1,165
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 19, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $1,200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Wonderful rendering, IQ and bokeh, absolutely no CA, 1:1 macro ability, build quality. | | Cons: | None | |
In my opinion it is THE BEST short telephoto (macro) lens ever made. It has wonderful rendering and truly an apochromatic design for better CA correction. IQ and bokeh are amazing, as well as the ability to get to 1:1 for macro work.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 2 | | Review Date: February 27, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $1,150.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | 1:1 and f2.5 | | Cons: | out of production | |
I own this lens now for almost half a year, found it on Ebay in Taiwan  . And looking out for spring to take some nice macro pics in our garden.
Of course I've tried portraits, macro's and tele pics and I have to say that I'm really, really glad to own this lens. Be sure I will be very careful with it, I will not damage this lens, now way!
Highly recommend
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2007 Location: 40°-55'-44" N / 73°-24'-07" W [on LI] Posts: 3,092 | | Review Date: November 15, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $689.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | The nearest to a perfect projected image onto the sensor of any lens I own. | | Cons: | Hard to fault near perfect projection of the image onto the sensor. Well, I need to use the Pentax 1.7x AF TC to AF with it . :) | |
ibidem, aka idem ...or, "what they said"! 
For some fun with action, couple it to a Pentax 1.7x AF TC making for a really nice quality AF 212mm f/4.25 lens. | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Location: in a house in Armidale, Australia Posts: 472 | | Review Date: April 10, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $650.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | everything | | Cons: | none, its perfect | |
6 months later its still my favourite lens. It still makes me want to go out and use it. (I'd give it 11 if I could). I paid around US$650 Camerasharp has a few (april 08) ex demo selling for US$1000 and I wouldn't have an issue paying that much for it.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: January, 2007 Location: Warsaw Posts: 338
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 24, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $600.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | all metal, precise focus ring | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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I have FA 100/2.8 Macro which is great macro lens. After I started use VL 125 I stopped using FA 100. Voigtlander is better. Difference is not big - but bokeh and color are better.
[added 1.12.2012] After few years of experience I can confirm all positive opinions about this lens. Sharp, great color and contrast rendition, excellent bokeh. Works great at any distance. Very good as macro, portrait or landscape lens.
This is great macro lens
as portrait lens:
More samples from this lens here | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: March, 2007 Posts: 2,476
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 20, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $600.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Superb optical performance with no weaknesses, just as good as a tele as a 1:1 macro, a joy to use, great MF ring feel, build | | Cons: | none | |
This lens is just amazing, the optical performance is unbeatable: its amazingly sharp at all apertures, extremely low ca/pf/vignetting, even sharpness (good border performance) and amzing bokeh. What more can you wish for?
Its also such a joy to use! I just love the feel of the MF ring, the damping is pefect for me, not too loose, not too stiff, with plenty of travel. People may be put off by the 540 degree travel but normally you dont use it much in the middle of that, either you are at tele, in which the travel is not that long, or you focus it all the way in and use it around 1:1 for macro. The fast aperture also means its easier to see if something is in focus imo. I can focus very fast and accurately with this lens compared to my other lenses including the FA limiteds, because its easier to tell when I have focus with this one.
The crispness and bokeh of this lens creates a look that will make anyone drool if you look through some of the better sample pictures from it. I wish cosina could just duplicate this exact same lens in different FL's, then I could have a whole linup of variants of this lens
It comes with a nice, cool square hood with a plastic cap. The lens itself has a metal screw on cap, I dont care for screw on caps, but its ok for transport/storage and when I use the lens I keep the hood permanently on and put the plastic push on hood on and off between shots.
This is a clear 10 from me, there are just no weak points and the optics are as good as they can get. very highly recommended.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: October, 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 11,783 | | Review Date: March 17, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $550.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fully metal, fine manual focusing, smooth creamy bokeh, sharp from corner to corner | | Cons: | Nil | |
A wonderful to own. Not only great for macro, but also great for medium telephoto photography.
No change in sharpness from f2.5 stopping down to f8. A tad heavy but not a concern to me at all.
Great lens to own.
Want autofocusing? Not a concern with macro photography. Manual focusing ring in this lens is very fine and easy to do.
Example shots
Voigtlander 125mm f2.5 macro images | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: March, 2007 Posts: 3,675 | | Review Date: March 15, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $740.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | 1:1 macro; all metal | | Cons: | none | |
What a beautiful chunk of metal and glass! It produces razor sharp macro images with a creamy bokeh. Just what a macro lens ought to do! Although it is manual focus I find it easier taking macro images this way. It's weight demands you use a tripod to ensure crisp in-focus shots.It is quickly becoming a cult classic lens as it is no longer in production. Canon mount versions are selling for 2X's what I paid for this lens only a few months ago.
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