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2.8 APO Elmarit-R

After shooting the lenses discussed here, a number of readers emailed to inquire about the Voigtlander 180mm f/4 APO. The Voigtlander 180/4 is about half the volume and half the weight of the Leica 180/2.8 APO, but f/4 may give pause to some. I like the Voigtlander 180/4 because it’s so compact and lightweight compared to the Leica or Nikon 180 offerings. It fits into a jacket pocket easily, a big plus under some circumstances. It’s also hard to find, having been discontinued a year or so ago. At f/4, it can be more difficult to focus than its peers, but the D3x examples at the beach gave me no trouble focusing in flat light.

The Voigtlander 180/4 is a strong performer in terms of resolution. It would be exciting to see if offered in the new SL II design, with improved coatings. If you can find one in top condition on the used market, it’s well worth considering: its compact size and high performance will never go out of style.

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Diglloyd DAP is DSLR-oriented, but also contains workflow and other topics. Much of the focus is on Canon and Nikon but also Pentax and Pentax medium format.

Special emphasis is placed on lens evaluation, focusing on Canon and Nikon and Sigma lenses, but with a few others like Rokinon/Samyang.

Make better images by learning how to get the best results right away.
Save money by choosing the right lens for your needs the first time, particularly some of the new Sigma Art lenses vs Nikon and Canon.
Workflow discusses image organization, raw conversion and post processing. Many examples show processing parameters for direct insight into how the image was converted.
Jaw-dropping image quality found nowhere else utilizing Retina-grade images up to full camera resolution, plus large crops [past 2 years or so].
Real world examples with insights found nowhere else. Make sharper images just by understanding lens behavior you won’t read about elsewhere.
Aperture series from wide open through stopped down, showing the full range of lens performance and bokeh.
Optical quality analysis of field curvature, focus shift, sharpness, flare, distortion, and performance in the field.

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