Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 90mm f/4 Close Focus

The Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 90mm f/4 Close Focus is a compact manual focus telephoto for Leica M and other VM mount cameras. As the name says, its special feature is a close focus limit of 0.5 m, which goes beyond the rangefinder coupling range of 0.7 m.

Optical design

Cosina lists 8 elements in 7 groups for this lens. The apochromatic design aims to reduce axial chromatic aberration to near zero, and Cosina says that anomalous partial dispersion glass is used for 6 of the 8 elements. The aperture has 10 blades and runs from f/4 to f/22. The angle of view is 27.5 degrees, and the image circle covers full frame.

Focusing and handling

Focusing is manual with an all-metal helicoid. The rangefinder coupling works from infinity down to 0.7 m. At 0.7 m the focus ring has a click, so the end of the coupled range can be felt without looking. Beyond that the lens focuses down to 0.5 m using live view. There is no autofocus and, as with other VM lenses, no electronic communication with the camera is listed.

Build and size

The lens weighs 235 g and measures 53.0 mm in diameter by 54.8 mm in length. The filter thread is 43 mm. A dedicated metal hood and a hood cap are included. Cosina says the hood protrudes only about 9 mm from the filter ring so that it blocks as little of the frameline view as possible. The lens is offered in silver and black.

Where it fits

Leica's own comparison is the Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f/4, which is also an f/4 lens at 90mm. Faster options for Leica M include the Summarit-M 90mm f/2.5 and f/2.4 ASPH, the Summilux-M 90mm F1.5 ASPH and the APO-Summicron-M 90mm f/2 ASPH. The Kipon Iberit 90mm f/2.4 is another 90mm lens for M. Compared with the faster lenses, the Voigtländer gives up aperture.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Close focus to 0.5 m, with a click at the 0.7 m rangefinder limit
• Apochromatic design with special dispersion glass
• Light at 235 g and only 54.8 mm long
• Metal hood included, 43 mm filters

Cons

• Maximum aperture of f/4 is slow for a 90mm lens
• Manual focus only
• Focusing below 0.7 m is not rangefinder coupled
• No stabilization

Verdict

The APO-Lanthar 90mm f/4 Close Focus is aimed at Leica M photographers who want a small, color-corrected telephoto that can also work at close range. It gives up speed for size and for that extra close focus distance.