Voigtlander FE 35mm f/2 APO-Lanthar Aspherical—WOW! (plus Tigger)

2021-04-30 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: apochromatic, Tigger the Feral Feline Friend, Voigtlander, Voigtlander FE, Voigtlander FE APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2 Aspherical, Voigtlander Lenses

The Voigtlander FE 35mm f/2 APO-Lanthar is here.

I’ve shot it and I'm impressed. Unless you cannot abide manual focus, this is a MUST HAVE lens. I just love the way it handles—superb haptics, superb focusing throw, fits in my hand just right on the Sony A1. The f/2 performance is jaw-dropping. And the value proposition is unbeatable.

World Class Optics for Sony Mirrorless

Voigtlander for Sony wish list • Deals on Sony

$949 SAVE $200 = 17.0% Voigtlander 35mm f/2 APO-LANTHAR Aspherical IN STOCK in Lenses: Mirrorless

$849 SAVE $200 = 19.0% Voigtlander 50mm f/2 APO-LANTHAR Aspherical IN STOCK in Lenses: Mirrorless

$849 SAVE $150 = 15.0% Voigtlander 65mm f/2 MACRO APO-LANTHAR Aspherical IN STOCK in Lenses: Mirrorless

Tomorrow I’ll start exploring its behaviors.

But tonight I found that the sharpness wide open is so superb that focusing is a joy (and a welcome relief from the crap-gade magnified Live View of the Fujfilm GFX100S, OMG what a difference).

Wildlife with a manual fous 35mm lens is a bit challenging. The main trick is getting Tigger to stay still a few seconds. Which he doesn’t do much. Especially when he’s lusting after his 4th bunny brains feast in 48 hours. Which he obtained an hour after this was taken. A few lizards and a gopher or tided him over between bunny brain breakfasts and dinners. My garden will not have rabbit issues this year.

Lens performance is terrific, even shot into difficult backlighting. I’ll show these in full-res tomorrow in my review.

Tigger Surveying for Prey

f3.2 @ 1/160 sec handheld IBIS=on electronic shutter, ISO 100; 2021-04-30 19:31:44
Sony A1 + Voigtlander FE APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2 Aspherical
RAW: push 1.3 stops, +100 Shadows, +20 Whites, +43 Dehaze, +15 Clarity

[low-res image for bot]

Tigger Surveying for Prey

f3.5 @ 1/160 sec handheld IBIS=on electronic shutter, ISO 100; 2021-04-30 19:32:29
Sony A1 + Voigtlander FE APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2 Aspherical
RAW: push 1.65 stops, +100 Shadows, +20 Whites, +40 Dehaze, +15 Clarity

[low-res image for bot]

Ever more confident in trees, this preposterous leap was followed by a scramble up to a 1/2" branch. Just for fun, the crazy-ass cat does stuff like this every evening.

Tigger Leaping from Branch to Branch

f4 @ 1/50 sec handheld IBIS=on electronic shutter, ISO 100; 2021-04-30 19:25:31
Sony A1 + Voigtlander FE APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2 Aspherical
RAW: push 0.43 stops, +40 Shadows, +20 Whites, +59 Dehaze, +15 Clarity

[low-res image for bot]