I am really really having a hard time not buying the Voigtlander 65mm f/2.0 . I have the Sigma 65mm f/2.0 and love it . I’d like to have the close focusing ability of the Voigt and it’s insane sharpness. With the Sigma I use it for live music and the way it renders background lighting is so nice .
Loved this review. Excellent presentation & comparative analysis. Thanks. 58mm is my fav focal, & next is 65mm. If i had to buy a Sony A7c or A7Siii . . . i would consider one of (or both) these lenses before any other native Sony lens. Yes, i saw that video by Analogue Insights, & remember hearing the correct pronunciation - "Foigtlander". I have the Leica M10-P *white* L.E. + 50mm f/1.4 Summilux. I would like to own at least one Voigtlander lens in this lifetime. This might be it, but i am also looking forward to the prospect of buying M43 Super-Nokton Voigtlander 29mm f/0.8 (58mm f/1.6 in Fx terms) + Olympus EM5iii
Thanks. I re-looked at the full-size CA test images just to be sure I didn't miss anything. To my best judgment, both lenses have no CA to speak of (at 300% you might be able to see a tiny trace with the Sigma wide open but it is really negligible - for all intent and purposes these lenses are clean in our test). Of course, it doesn't mean that against very bright light you will get the same results but in this lab test, this is what we are getting.
Just ordered the 65mm today. Can not wait to test it out. 1:2 is perfect for food, product photography. I did not buy the 110mm f2.5. First 65mm is more useful for food and product to me than 110mm. and 110mm is really aim to small product like jewelry or insect photography.
There are now many macro lenses for E-mount (some are very good) including the aging Sony 90mm, Sigma 70mm, Samyang 100mm, and others. We happened to have the Sigma 65mm and as we do in many other lens reviews we like comparing lenses with similar focal lengths but different apertures and capabilities (macro / non-macro in this case).
@@IddoGenuth If I had to endorse a recommendation for a macro in AF, then it would be the Sigma AF Macro 105mm (you do not mention). All I mean, is, that if (!) someone is about to buy the (excellent) Voight 65 for whatever the specific intended use,, then to just take a moment to first check it against the (cheeper) Laowa 90 f2.8 (2:1 and not as Voight's 1:0.5) Both : APO, flat field focus, nice bokeh, excellent construction. Then, what about the 90 vs 65 in your circumstances. Just saying ! : Know about this one more contender specifically, in order to be sure the 65 is better suited for You.
Voigtlander straight aperture blades are specially used to create amazing solar stars. Round bokeh at full aperture and I can live with geometric bokeh closed down.
Excellent video as always, sir! I'd be curious as to your opinion on whether the Voigtlander Macro APO-LANTHAR 65mm f/2.0 for Nikon Z is any sharper than the stellar Laowa 100 f/2.8 Ultra-Macro for Nikon Z. (I use the latter lens on my Z8 and obtain stunning sharpness and image detail...even more so when focus stacking!) Thank you!
Thank you, Steve :) Since we work with Sony I can't really comment on that. However, even 2 years later the Voigtländer is still our go-to lens for close-ups (together with the Sony 90mm for full macro) and we use it for a lot of commercial work.
Thank you very much for this review of the Voigtländer 65mm 2.0 Macro APO-Lanthar. I will like to see Sony make a 60 or 65mm 2.0 or 2.8 GM Macro Lens !
A Sony 65mm~ is possible, especially since Sony already covered most of the other focal lengths up to 100mm or so. As for it being a macro lens - I don't know - they have a 50mm Macro so I wouldn't bet on it. Personally, I would really see 25mm and 40mm or so Macro lenses from Sony (we mentioned that a set of Voigtländer Macros at these focal lengths can also be amazing).
For autofocus portrait work, I would go with the Sigma 65 or their other excellent 85mm f1.4 Art Lens. For macro work, I would go directly to the Sony 90mm macro which is an insanely sharp lens.
Nice review. I have a Zeiss FE 55mm F1.8, Sony 85 F1.4 GM, SONY FE 50MM F2.8 Macro, and Sony FE 50MM F1.8 lens for my Sony A7III and A7R2 bodies. Would it be better if I sell my Zeiss 55mm F1.8 for a Sigma 65mm F2 lens? I mainly shoot portraits indoors and my kid when outdoors.
We also have the Zeiss 55mm - I don't like it actually - I can't put my finger on it but we almost never use it and we might end up selling it. The V 65mm is a very different lens and I don't think it is in the same category. We use it for in-studio close-ups and commercial work. Unless you are very skilled in MF and your kids behave well and don't move much this is not the lens for you.
"Macro"-Lenses, when is a Lens a Macro Lens, it is a Macro Lens when it is optimized for close-up photography !!! The "1:1" Lenses are not the only tru Macro Lenses !!! A "1:2" Lens can do "1:1" with a tube !!! Remember also that a Lens that only can do fx "1:10" can also be a "macro" Lens, it depends on the enlargement of the image !!! If using a 24x36 mm film or digital Camera and a Lens that only can do "1:10", then enlarge the image 10x an voila, you got "1:1" 24x36 cm !!! So be careful, do not only call Lenses that do "1:1" for Macro Lenses, the most important are that the Lenses are designed to do close-up photography and have good sharpness and contrast. (I have done Macro Photography for 42 years).
The British always mispronounce names from other laguages & then think that the original is wrong! V is pronounced f in german & gt is k. I had been loking at the V lens since awhile but when the sigma came I opted for the sigma. The sigma is more ergonomic with great optics & easy to switch from af to dmf or mf. Also better ibis on the sony a7r4. I also have a collection of macro lenses incudng the sony 90 but also the earlier sigma 105/2.8 (500gms) and 180/5.6 apo (500gms) & several in the 50-55 category. I also have the voiglander ultron 50/1.8 (german version - small lightweight beautiful rendering) The later V lenses are often japanese designs and the new lenses are all made in Japan. I have had the sigma since it came out and its an excellent lens - used it for all kinds of work from fine art - architecture - video etc.
Hi Giti, nice to hear from you. Both lenses are very good. You are right the V is made in Japan at the same factory that makes the amazing Zeiss Otus lenses so that should tell you something (at least about the build quality). I am very hopeful that V will make wider macro lenses as we noted at the end of the review - there are not a lot of options (maybe aside from Venus Optics but these are a bit strange).
@@LensVid Yes Cosina has taken it over. But even before some of their lenses (pre digital) was made by them or perhaps other japanese companies. After ww2 the path breaking lens design came from Japan. I chose the sgma 65 as I found it more designed for mirrorless. The V was more to compete against the zeiss & leica. And I have so much very good vintage glass. I have the tamron 24 (also 17-28)because of its 1:2 macro. Its very sharp & distortion is easily correctable. And one can crop on the r4 sensor. Sigma has also come out with a 1;2 24mm. Yes the venus lenses are not really practical though much more magnification.
The Sigma I series is not that heavy (Art is something else). The Voigtländer is a completely different beast (which is truly our favorite and most used MF lens by far).
@@IddoGenuth I mean that lens is designated part of the Sigma "c" series rather then "a" (you can see by the letter in the silver circle) which is meant to be the cheaper lineup, the art series is so heavy like my 24-70 or my 35/85 is like 50% metal and gets tiring after a while, but by all means if that is your favourite lens no problem, I was just making a joke on how heavy sigma lenses are lol
@@imreallydamntired It's a bit more complex Lee. With Sigma you have 3 lines - A, C, and S (sport). Besides that, you have the I series (which in theory can be any of these lenses (but I think all the existing ones are C).
@IddoGenuth The Voigtländer is nearly perfect in every regard, except for its bokeh-ball rendering, which I find a little disappointing. (Maybe the hexagon-shape bokeh is not so bad? The onion rings are another matter.) Its vignetting can be corrected in post if desired, so that's not a major issue.
@@chesslover8829 We own about 30 lenses and test several new ones every month (we are testing 3 new lenses as we speak - reviews coming soon). With all those options at our fingertips, the Voigtländer is still our number 1 go-to lens for any close-up work for any stationary shot and much of the B-roll shots you see in most of our reviews are shot with this lens. One more thing - although we do a vignette test for all lenses - I actually kind of like vignette and typically add it in post anyway so I never saw it as a problem (but of course some people do and it depends on what you are shooting).
