APO Lanthar 125mm Macro

[vince-p]

<p>Hi all -- seeking opinions and experiences with this lens. I just saw one on the auction site go for what I thought a very startling sum -- I know it's supposed to be good but how good is good? It seems to me 125mm is a perfect length for a wide variety of macro uses and apparently too this lens has other great qualities but only Bjorn R. has written about owning one, from what I have seen. For some reason, it has captured my imagination and I'd love to know more about it.</p>

[Dieter Schaefer]

<p>photozone.de has a test of it - albeit on a Canon: http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/267-voigtlander-sl-125mm-f25-apo-lanthar-test-report--review</p>

<p>Here is another: http://slrlensreview.com/web/voigtlander-slr-lenses-132/macro-slr-lenses-137/367-voigtlander-apo-lanthar-macro-125mm-f25-sl-lens-review.html</p>

<p>Street price for a new one before it was discontinued was something like $600 - now people are paying up to 5x that amount for one used...</p>

<p>Voigtlander should re-issue the lens - they could make a fortune...</p>

[tommyinca]

<p>First, FWIW, YMMV, IMHO, what you pay extra is never linear to what you get and etc.</p>

<p>The good, why it is $3000 for a F-mount</p>

<p>It is a true APO lens meaning it is better color corrected than other most you cab buy.<br>

It is a top performer (sharpness, contrast) better than most you can buy.<br>

It is a f2.5 and 125mm and background bokeh reflect that.<br>

Well made and fine workmanship.</p>

<p>The bad</p>

<p>No Autofocus and CPU<br>

It is not a small lens<br>

Impossible to find one at reasonable price.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>If all you want it for is macro work, then a more cost-effective solution would be to buy some bellows and an Apo-Rodagon 135mm enlarging lens. In fact this combo will probably focus to infinity as well, but I can't vouch for that since it would depend on the particular model of bellows. In any case a bellows will be more versatile and would allow a wide range of cheap used enlarging or copy lenses (the market is flooded now that no-one uses darkrooms) to be used as excellent quality macro lenses.</p>

[bjørn rørslett]

<p>A CPU can be inserted into the 125 APO. I've done a number of them. No AF is actually a benefit for a lens doing close-ups. The APO-Lanthar has an extraordinary long focus travel, about 630 degrees, which enables an extremely precise focus.</p>

<p>Purchased my sample of the 125 a couple of years ago at 1/10 of the asking price one sees these days. Strange world.</p>