Voigtlander APO LANTHAR 90 L 90mm F3.5

Review and photo examples of the Voigtlander APO LANTHAR 90 L 90mm F3.5.

Gallery

The photo examples were taken with EPSON R-D1.

Review

Apo lanthar L 90mm F3.5 is a Voigtlander brand L39 screw mount standard lens leased from Cosina in 2001.

This lens is a 90mm telephoto lens with Voigtlander’s early L39 screw mount, and is slim with an aperture of F3.5. There is a wide focus ring in the front and an aperture ring in the front of the lens, so there are no problems with operability. The standard screw-in lens hood is deep and practical.

The image performance is just right for a telephoto lens, and the focus is sharp. As the name APO suggests, it is an apochromat lens that corrects chromatic aberration in the three wavelengths of red, blue, and green, and is characterized by less color bleeding.

This is the lens I used when I was using the Epson R-D1, and only examples of the APS-C size sensor remain. As for the 90mm, I owned a Sonnar 90mm for CONTAX G and an Apolancer 90mm for SLR, so this lens was rarely used and I used it for a while and then sold it.

What’s interesting about this lens is that the S Apo lanthar 85mm was released in 2003 for the Nikon S mount, so these two lenses are definitely brother lenses. I have also seen descriptions that both lenses are the same lens with a focal length of 90mm. However, if you compare the lens configuration diagrams in the lens introduction PDF distributed by Cosina to the same size, the lens configurations are the same, but the lens thicknesses appear to be different.
I think the Apo lanthar is made with a focal length of 90mm and the S Apo lanthar with a focal length of 85mm.

I would like to get both lenses and test whether the shooting range changes or the depiction changes, but as mentioned above, I have already given up on the Apo lanthar 90mm, and even if I get a new one, there are many cases where both lenses are cloudy. I haven’t made a purchase yet. I would like to test it if I have a chance.

After this Apo lanthar 90mm, telephoto lenses became the focal length of lenses for single-lens reflex cameras, and products for rangefinder cameras were discontinued, but in 2021, the Apo skopar 90mm was released, and the focal length of 90mm is now available for rangefinder cameras. It is being revived.

Apo lanthar 90mm
Lens configuration diagram is quoted from Cosina official PDF

S Apo lanthar 85mm
Lens configuration diagram is quoted from Cosina official PDF

Specification

Items	APO LANTHAR	S APO LANTHAR	APO SKOPAR
Focal length(mm)	90	85	90
Max aperture	3.5	←	2.8
Min aperture	22	←	←
Leaf blade	10	←	←
Lens Construction	6elements in 5groups	←	7 elements in 7groups
Min distance(m)	1.0	←	0.9
Lens length(mm)	90 with hood	83.9 ←	60 no hood
Max diameter(mm)	51	55.8	53
Filter Size(mm)	39	←	←
Hood	Special hood	←	←
Weight(g)	260	262	250
Mount	L39	S	VM
Release date	2001.02	2003.03	2021.11.30
Price(Yen/No-tax)	55,000(Silver) 58,000(Black)	65,000(Silver)	90,000(Silver and Black)