Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 28mm f/2 Aspherical VM lens for Leica M-mount review

Fred Miranda published his review of the new Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 28mm f/2 Aspherical VM lens for Leica M-mount (now available for order at B&H Photo | Foto Erhardt | Red Dot Cameras | Jo Geier).

Here is the summary:

The Voigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar is the best 28mm lens ever produced for the M-mount.

The Voigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar may not have been widely expected, but it arrives as a pleasant surprise, carrying forward the excellence of its 35mm and 50mm APO-Lanthar siblings and delivering another win for Leica shooters.

After extensive testing on a 60MP sensor, I can confidently say this lens excels in every critical area: resolution, contrast, flare resistance, rendering, and CA correction. At infinity and wide open, it is already outstanding across the entire image field and reaches near perfection by f/2.8. There is nothing else ever produced for the M-mount that matches this level of performance, though the Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II and Leica 28mm f/2 Summicron also perform at a very high level, particularly when stopped down.

Its rendering is neutral and refined, closer to the Voigtlander 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar than the slightly more structured 35mm f/2 APO-Lanthar, and it produces the most rounded specular highlights off-center. Thanks to the floating element (FLE) mechanism, performance at the minimum focusing distance is outstanding even wide open. Focus transitions are smooth and predictable, field curvature is neutral, and the lens avoids distracting aberrations such as swirling or busy bokeh outlining. Combined with its impressive resolution and excellent micro-contrast, subjects stand out beautifully with bold color and clarity.

There are a couple of minor downsides. Vignetting is noticeable at f/2 and f/2.8, though it is on par with other compact 28mm f/2 lenses and therefore expected. The lens is also slightly longer than the Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron II due to the added elements required for its APO correction, which can cause a bit more frameline blockage when focusing with the rangefinder. Still, Cosina deserves credit for delivering a true APO lens of this caliber in such a compact package.

With its lack of color aberration, exceptional resolution and contrast, and versatile wide-angle field of view, the Voigtlander 28mm f/2 APO-Lanthar is a fantastic all-around option. Whether for landscapes, architecture, or street photography, Leica shooters will find it to be a reliable and inspiring companion.

Pros:

  1. Outstanding resolution wide open, with peak performance at f/2.8 and only slight gains over f/2.
  2. 12-blade aperture design creates round bokeh highlights with a clean inner structure.
  3. Excellent performance at the minimum focus distance (0.5m): the floating group design delivers exceptional image quality from MFD to infinity.
  4. Well corrected for both axial and lateral chromatic aberration — the best I have seen in any 28mm lens.
  5. Compact and lightweight for a 28mm f/2 APO lens.
  6. Excellent build quality with precise, tight-tolerance construction.
  7. Distortion is very well controlled and essentially negligible.
  8. Virtually no focus shift.
  9. Flat-field design with neutral field curvature.
  10. Produces sharp, well-defined 12-point sunstars as early as f/2.4.
  11. Manual focus is precise with a perfectly damped focusing ring — Cosina continues to set the standard in this regard compared to other third-party lenses.
  12. Surprisingly low optical vignetting for this class, resulting in rounder bokeh highlights toward the edges.
  13. Excellent resistance to flare.

Cons:

  1. Vignetting is visible at wider apertures.
  2. Partially obstructs the Leica 28mm framelines.
  3. Some may miss the focusing tab found on the 28/2 Ultron.
  4. The included metal petal-style hood is not my favorite, even though it is reversible. A ventilated hood would have been preferable.

Read the full review here.

Previous Fred Miranda reviews can be found here.

Additional information on the Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 28mm f/2 Aspherical VM lens for Leica M-mount can be found here:

Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 28mm f/2 Aspherical VM lens officially announced (Leica M-mount)

Related posts:

  1. Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 28mm f/2 Aspherical VM lens officially announced (Leica M-mount)