Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 Lanthar does Macro

[fWord]

Macro has turned me into a child once again. It makes me look underneath every leaf, examine the weeds and grass beneath my feet and it has turned me into a bug hunter once again. As a child I used to scour the vegetation for interesting insects, seal them in bottles and collect them. Today I gaze through the leaves with the intention of capturing them only on an image in the camera.

While macro has opened up an infinite number of possibilities in my little garden, it has also turned out to be an exhausting branch of photography, testing patience to its upper limits. Breaking a sweat while trying to photograph minute objects is becoming the norm for me.

So far I've only a few shots to share. I'm sure they don't do justice to this little-known macro lens, described by users as being remarkably crisp while producing buttery-smooth bokeh. I can only hope to improve. Meanwhile, hope you enjoy the following photos, and hope to hear from you!

All photos shot in RAW and converted to JPEG with Canon's DPP. Lots of dust spots have yet to be removed. Cropping was not attempted.

[LordV]

Wonderful series of shots
esp like #1,3,4 &6 - lovely light and good compositions. You are right about macro opening up jaded eyes to the child like discovery of the beauty/ wonder everywhere
Brian V.

[dpastern]

I'll 2nd what Brian has said. Macro is one of those enjoyable pursuits that really does open your eyes up. And what a lovely series of images. That's a fine lens, Voigtlander lenses are exceptionally good I'm thinking of getting a Bessa R3 or similar one day, or maybe even a Leica IIIf. Probably will stick with the newer Bessa's.

Dave

[fWord]

LordV- Thanks, glad you like them. Having the 'eyes of a child' does have further implications though...like crawling around at child height and engaging in other activities that draw curious gazes from others. Thus far I've only been photographing at a home garden but have already amused my parents with my plastic bag flash diffuser, and by waiting endlessly at a tripod-mounted camera for a breeze to stop.

dpastern- Thank you...great that you enjoyed this first attempt at macro. During the shopping phase I was originally looking at a Sigma 150mm f/2.8. The Voigtlander lens had been selling at the forum for weeks by then and a few copies had already found new homes. Fortunately I was lucky enough to nab one of the last few pieces. I'm waiting in anticipation for Photozone's review of this lens.

If I remember correctly the Bessa R3 is a rangefinder and not an SLR camera. It's one of those things my friend is trying to get his hands on but cannot yet afford it. From the looks of the pricelist at Cameraquest even the new Voigtlander SLR lenses are not cheap. Among those are supposedly gems such as the 40mm f/2 Ultron and of course, the 125mm f/2.5 Lanthar.

[Stefano]

Very nice series!

[fWord]

Originally Posted by Stefano

Very nice series!

Thank you. I still find myself wanting more magnification sometimes. Perhaps I should push for a TC or extension tubes sometime down the track.

[Jamdiver]

Lovely shots fWord, could you tell me a bit more about this lens.

It seems positively exotic, seems to have a rather different type of bokeh and image quality as compared to my Canon EF-S 60mm macro..

[hidden forms]

Wonderful series of pics, love the colours, enjoy the macro world, and have fun

[Bald Eagle]

Excellent start with the new lens. I too have felt the Bite of Macro. It is very Addicting. Friends and Family just shake their heads at the "Bug Phottographer"

[fWord]

Jamdiver- Thanks. This is quite an unusual lens, known better by Nikon users rather than Canon users. That said, the EF version supposedly has a bundle of advantages to it.

The lens is manual-focus only. But in every other sense it functions like a modern EF lens. It allows for full-aperture TTL metering, electronic aperture control (ie. aperture is controlled by the camera) and focus confirmation. In the latter case this means that the green round light in the viewfinder will light up when focus is achieved. An audible beep can also be heard if you have not switched it off in camera.

It also works with one of the personal functions on 1-series cameras, whereby the camera shoots automatically when a subject comes into the preset focusing distance. This naturally works better on higher contrast subjects. For macro work this means it's possible to depress the shutter button fully and then rock back and forth from the subject, allowing the camera to shoot automatically when the object is in focus.

I've found very little information online. Most of the sites are in languages other than English, but you can find out more here:

http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/...ead.php?t=7718

This is Camera Quest's page...look up the SL SLR lenses.

http://www.cameraquest.com/inventor.htm

There is also a preview and some sample images on this site under the Canon section:

www.photozone.de

There's some MTF curves here. If there's any truth to it, then it's a solid lens indeed:

http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=405533

I've heard that the EF-S 60mm is a very good lens in itself. Optically excellent and fast focusing. One of the reasons the bokeh may differ from this lens is because of the difference in focal length.

hidden forms- Thank you. Hey, you're from New Zealand? Was there on holidays during December last year. The scenery and views were just tremendous and made me feel close to nature. Over there I had the urge to literally shoot till I dropped. It was just so beautiful...I miss it a lot now that I've left.

Bald Eagle- Indeed, the bug photographer is full of amusing antics for any onlookers. Macro is like a breath of fresh air. Considering I wouldn't have enjoyed photographing in my garden in the past, this genre is an excellent one to get into. Thanks for your comments.

[Birdmanc]

Great shots! I have found that I'm looking down a Lot more when I'm just out walking around. Even when I don't have my camera on me.

[Jamdiver]

Originally Posted by fWord

Jamdiver- Thanks. This is quite an unusual lens, known better by Nikon users rather than Canon users. That said, the EF version supposedly has a bundle of advantages to it.

The lens is manual-focus only. But in every other sense it functions like a modern EF lens. It allows for full-aperture TTL metering, electronic aperture control (ie. aperture is controlled by the camera) and focus confirmation. In the latter case this means that the green round light in the viewfinder will light up when focus is achieved. An audible beep can also be heard if you have not switched it off in camera.

It also works with one of the personal functions on 1-series cameras, whereby the camera shoots automatically when a subject comes into the preset focusing distance. This naturally works better on higher contrast subjects. For macro work this means it's possible to depress the shutter button fully and then rock back and forth from the subject, allowing the camera to shoot automatically when the object is in focus.

I've found very little information online. Most of the sites are in languages other than English, but you can find out more here:

http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/...ead.php?t=7718

This is Camera Quest's page...look up the SL SLR lenses.

http://www.cameraquest.com/inventor.htm

There is also a preview and some sample images on this site under the Canon section:

www.photozone.de

There's some MTF curves here. If there's any truth to it, then it's a solid lens indeed:

http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=405533

I've heard that the EF-S 60mm is a very good lens in itself. Optically excellent and fast focusing. One of the reasons the bokeh may differ from this lens is because of the difference in focal length.

hidden forms- Thank you. Hey, you're from New Zealand? Was there on holidays during December last year. The scenery and views were just tremendous and made me feel close to nature. Over there I had the urge to literally shoot till I dropped. It was just so beautiful...I miss it a lot now that I've left.

Bald Eagle- Indeed, the bug photographer is full of amusing antics for any onlookers. Macro is like a breath of fresh air. Considering I wouldn't have enjoyed photographing in my garden in the past, this genre is an excellent one to get into. Thanks for your comments.

Fword, thanks so much for the detailed response.
I'll definitely have a look at it, be sure to share more of your macro shots with us .

[fWord]

Birdmanc- In my younger days I used to do that a lot...to walk around with the eyes focused on the ground in front of me. Naturally, I lost that with age because there were so many things to see at the horizon and beyond. With the coming of macro, that ground-hunting habit has returned. Reminds me a lot about how I used to spend most of my time at the beach with only my backside showing.

Jamdiver- No problems. Initially I hesitated to buy this lens because it had no ability to AF. That's not awfully important for macro, but it would have been great for other things such as candid portraiture and perhaps slower-moving, tame animals.

[fWord]

Some additional photos taken with this lens in recent days...two closeups and one landscape. Just thought to keep this updated in case people start searching for information on this lens at the forums.

Australian Fuchsia (or Correa 'dusky bells', identified with help from fellow POTN forumers)


Mushrooms at Fitzroy Gardens, Australia


Quiet Spot at the Fitzroy Gardens

[fWord]

Another one...home-grown chillis photographed using late afternoon window light plus bits and pieces as reflectors: