A review and sample photos taken using the Apolanthar L 90mm F3.5 with the EPSON R-D1.
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Table of contents
Gallery
The photo examples were taken with EPSON R-D1.
Review
1．Overview
The Voigtlander APO LANTHAR L 90mm f/3.5 is a Voigtlander-branded L39 screw-mount telephoto lens released by Cosina in 2001.
Main specifications are as follows; details are listed in the specifications section.
- Aperture: F3.5
- Lens Construction: 6 elements in 5 groups
- Aperture Blades: 10
- Minimum Focus: 1.0m
- Leica M Rangefinder Camera Rangefinder Coupling: 1.0m
- Hood: Dedicated screw-on hood
- Lens Color Options: Silver and Black
2．Usability
The Voigtlander APO LANTHAR L 90mm f/3.5 offers just the right amount of performance for a telephoto lens, delivering crisp, sharp images in focus. As the “apo” in the name suggests, it’s an apochromat lens that corrects chromatic aberration across three wavelengths: red, blue, and green, resulting in minimal color bleeding.
I used this lens with the Epson R-D1, and as you can see from the cat’s fur, the image quality is sharp and sufficient for the R-D1’s 6 megapixels. There’s also no unpleasant roughness in the background bokeh, and even at the maximum aperture of f/3.5, beautiful bokeh can be enjoyed.
The Epson R-D1’s 1:1 viewfinder is extremely effective at focusing this long-focal-length lens. Focusing is virtually painless up to about 3m, but at the minimum focusing distance of 1m, parallax, which arises from the difference between the lens and viewfinder positions, can cause the subject to shift. The photographer must preview the shot, understand the extent of the shift, and correct it accordingly. Once you get used to it, you’ll be able to bring the subject to the intended position.
This is an early Voigtländer L39 screw-mount lens with a slim aperture of f/3.5. It has a wide focus ring at the front and an aperture ring at the front of the lens, making it easy to use. The standard screw-on lens hood is deep and practical.
Medium telephoto lenses for rangefinder cameras are generally unpopular, and the used price of this lens is low. Medium telephoto lenses for rangefinder cameras have a minimum focusing distance of 1m, making them inferior to those for close-up photography. However, some mount adapters for mirrorless cameras are equipped with an auxiliary helicoid, which can compensate for the lack of a minimum focusing distance.
3．Summary
To summarize the Voigtlander APO LANTHAR L 90mm F3.5, there are generally no issues with focusing when using the Epson R-D1’s 1:1 viewfinder. The focal length is 135mm (35mm equivalent), which makes close-up shooting difficult due to the significant effects of parallax.
When used with a mirrorless camera, the electronic viewfinder can be used, eliminating two issues that arise with medium-telephoto lenses: parallax, which is a problem with rangefinder cameras, and unstable focus due to a shallow depth of field. The lack of a minimum focusing distance can also be resolved by using a mount adapter equipped with an auxiliary helicoid.
Specifications, considerations, etc.
What’s interesting about this lens is that the S APO LANTHAR 85mm was released for the Nikon S mount in 2003, and while the two lenses are undoubtedly siblings, I’ve seen descriptions that claim they’re identical, with a focal length of 90mm. However, when comparing the lens construction diagrams in the lens introduction PDF distributed by Cosina, all aligned to the same size, it appears that while the construction is the same, the lens thickness is different, with the ApoLanther having a focal length of 90mm and the S ApoLanther having an 85mm focal length.
I’d like to get my hands on both and test them to see if the shooting range or image quality changes, but as mentioned above, I’ve already sold my ApoLanther 90mm, and even if I were to get new lenses, many of them are cloudy, so I haven’t yet purchased them. I’d like to test them if I have the opportunity.
The focal length of the Nikon S’s medium telephoto lenses is 85mm because the Nikon-S’s viewfinder frame uses an 85mm lens.
After the Apolanther 90mm, telephoto lenses became a focal length for SLR cameras, and no products were made for rangefinder cameras. However, in 2021, the Voigtlander APO SKOPAR 90mm was released, marking the return of the Voigtlander brand to a 90mm focal length lens for rangefinder cameras for the first time in a long time.
| 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) |
Reference links
- COSINA PDF(Apo-lanthar 90mm)
- Leica lenses around the world Part 3・amazon affiliate link
- EPSON R-D1・Shige’s hobby
- EPSON R-D1x・Shige’s hobby
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Update
- 2026.2.11
- 2024.04.22
- 2023.10.31
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