APO LANTHAR SL 125mm F2.5
Large aperture medium telephoto macro lens
A review and Photo example of the Voigtlander APO LANTHAR SL 125mm F2.5.
Table of contents
Gallery
- The examples were taken with the HASSELBLAD X2D-100C and SONY α7(Mirrorless digital camera).
Review
1．Overview
The MACRO APO LANTHAR SL 125mm F2.5 is a 1:1 medium telephoto macro lens with a minimum focusing distance of 18cm.
The exterior is designed to be completed with a hood, which also hides the 58mm filter attached to protect the front lens.
However, the M42 screw mount format has the disadvantage that the position of the square hood can shift because there is no mechanism to adjust the lens position.
Lens mounts have been released in many mount formats, including Nikon Ai-S, Pentax K, M42, Canon EF, Minolta A mount, Olympus OM, and Yashica Contax.
All versions except the latest Canon EF version do not have electronic contacts and only the mount shape has been changed. The Nikon Ai-S is the one that is often seen on the used market, and I think there are not many other mounts.
- There is a lot of information on the difference between 1:1 macro and half macro if you search online. To summarize, when you photograph an object and the image on the film or sensor appears to be the same size as the actual object, it is called life-size (1:1), and when it appears to be half the size, it is called half (1:2).
- With digital cameras, the image on the sensor is viewed on a monitor, so it is difficult to compare the actual size of the object with the size of the photographed object, so the terms life-size and half-size are difficult to understand with digital cameras.
2．Usability
The MACRO APO LANTHAR SL 125mm F2.5 has a wide image circle that can be used with medium-format digital sensors, and when shooting close up at a focal length of 125mm, the subject can be made to stand out. It is an easy-to-use lens with no quirks in bokeh.
In terms of operability, the maximum diameter of the lens barrel is 9cm, and the lens barrel can be extended in two stages, and the lens length is about twice as long when in the maximum macro position. The helicoid rotates smoothly and comfortably, allowing you to adjust the focus position.
However, since the focus ring is at the base of the barrel, the closer you get to the subject, the more difficult it becomes to operate the focus.
This lens is about 90mm in length and weighs 690g, making it the largest and heaviest of the Voigtlander brand’s SLR lenses.
When you attach it to your camera and get ready to shoot, you can feel the sense of a mass of iron and glass.
It is a very good macro lens, with a good balance of bokeh and resolution, and it is a difficult choice between the APO Macro and the Elmarit 100mm among medium telephoto macro lenses. There are many other unique lenses for medium telephoto macro, such as Minolta’s 100mm and Tamron’s 90mm, so you’ll just have to try as many as possible and choose the lens that best suits your expression.
I’ve purchased this lens three times, first using the M42 mount version with SIGMA SD10 and SONY α900.
In 2014, I found a used OM mount version at a low price, so I bought it and used it with SONY α7 (ILCE-7).
In 2023, I purchased the EF mount version and used it with HASSELBLAD X2D.
I purchased the EF mount version because I had the Hasselblad X and the EF mount adapter TECHART TCX-01. Since the lens is an MF lens, I knew that the AF would not work when I started using it, but the lens was detected as XCD125mm by the X2D, and the IBIS (in-body image stabilization) seemed to be working, and some signals were transmitted from the lens to the camera, but the aperture did not move.
It seems that some information was not converted correctly into signals with the X2D and TCX-01 that I owned at the time. As of 2024, the TCX-01 firmware has been updated to 7.0, so it may work, but we cannot guarantee it.
I didn’t want to sell it as it was, so I used it to take example photos, insulating the electronic contacts with masking tape. Since I don’t know when the TCX-01 firmware will be updated, I finally gave up on this combination and let it go.
I only used the X2D for a short period of time, and there was no problem with focusing when using the EVF magnification function, but the focus position at full aperture was strict and the focus would go out of focus if I moved the focus ring even a little, so I had to look at the EVF for a long time, which made shooting difficult.
Some Canon EOS users have said that focusing is difficult with SLR-type EOS, but I didn’t have any problems with focusing with the cameras I used, the Sony α900 and the SIGMA SDxx series.
3．Summary
In conclusion, to sum up the MACRO APO LANTHAR SL 125mm F2.5, if you can tolerate the size and ease of use of the focus ring, it is a satisfactory and excellent 1:1 macro lens.
Of the Cosina Voigtlander SL lenses, this lens has no successor and can only be purchased second-hand.
Specification , Study and more
As mentioned in the summary, the MACRO APO LANTHAR SL 125mm F2.5 is one of the Cosina Voigtlander SL lenses that has no successor lens. The Carl Zeiss brand APO-SONNAR 135 / 2 has a lens configuration that is relatively similar to this lens, but the focal length, minimum shooting distance, and F-number are different, so it is assumed that the lens’s usability is significantly different.
I don’t know why, perhaps because of manufacturing costs or the lack of lens glass material, but I think this lens is still usable, so it’s a shame that a renewed version is not sold.
Other than this lens, the only Voigtlander SL lenses with no successors are the COLOR HELIAR 75mm and APO LANTHER 180mm, and the ULTRON 40mm and APO LANTHER 90mm have had successors for several generations.
The only prime lens with a focal length of 125mm that I have is the LEICA HEKTOR 12.5cm for the VISOFLEX, so I compared the specs.
As you can see from the diagram below, the two lenses have the same specifications but the lens configuration is significantly different: Macro APO LANTHAR has 10 elements in 9 groups, while HEKTOR has 4 elements in 3 groups.
This is because the HEKTOR 12.5cm is an old lens from the mid-1900s, which means there is a manufacturing year difference of about 50 years from the Macro APO LANTHAR. Another reason is that HEKTOR was originally a lens for projectors, and was not designed for general photography.
| Lens name | Macro APO-LANTER | HEKTOR |
| Local length(mm) | 125 | 125 |
| Max aperture | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Min aperture | 22 | 22 |
| Leaf blade | 9 | 20 |
| Lens Construction | 10elements in 9group | 4elements in 3group |
| Min distance(m) | 0.18 | 1.2 |
| Lens length(mm) | 76 | 77(VISO-M) |
| Lens Max diameter(mm) | 82 | 63 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 58 | 58 |
| Weight(g) | 690 | 726(VISO-M) |
| Release date | 2000〜2003 | 1949〜1960 |
| Price | ¥95,000 | – |
The following seven SL lenses were released at the same time as this lens.
The 12mm and 15mm lenses are used with the mirror up, so are not suitable for general photography. In effect, the lens series starts at 40mm. The later SL II series added the COLOR SKOPAR 20mm, COLOR SKOPAR 28mm, NOKTON 55mm, and NOKTON 58mm, a modified version of the Auto Topkor 58mm, increasing the variety of focal lengths.
- Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm (for mirror-up use only)
- Super Wide Heliar 15mm (for mirror-up use only)
- Ultron 40mm
- COLOR HELIAR 75mm
- APO LANTHAR 90mm
- Macro APO LANTHAR 125mm
- APO LANTHAR 180mm
All of the lens designs are consistent except for the two that are designed specifically for mirror up. The black lens barrel with a silver accent on the focus ring is a pleasing combination of classic a
| Items | ULTRON | COLOR HELIAR | APO LANTHAR | Macro APO LANTHAR | APO LANTHAR |
| Focal length(mm) | 40 | 75 | 90 | 125 | 180 |
| Max aperture | 2 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Min aperture | 16 | 22 | ← | ← | ← |
| Leaf blade | 9 | ← | ← | ← | ← |
| Lens Construction | 5群6枚 | ← | ← | 9群11枚 | 7群9枚 |
| Min distance(m) | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.38 | 1.2 |
| Lens length(mm) | 29.5(Ais) | 40.2(Ais) | 57.6(Ais) | 88.2(Ais) | 79(Ais) |
| Max diameter(mm) | 63.5 | ← | ← | 76 | 65.6 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 52 | 49 | ← | 58 | 49 |
| Weight(g) | 255 | 250 | 390 | 690 | 485 |
| Release date | 2002.05 | 2000.07 | 2002.03 | 2001.06 | 2003.08 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | ¥45,000 | ¥50,000 | ¥55,000 | ¥95,000 | ¥65,000 |
- The following is a list of early COSINA / Voigtlander brand lenses for SLR cameras. Two lenses, 15mm and 12mm, are excluded from the table below because they are special lenses that are used with the mirror up.
Reference links
- OpticaLimits /Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 125mm f/2.5 SL – Review / Test Report
- HEKTOR 125mm LEICA WIKI
- Voigtlander SLレンズ製品情報PDF・COSINA Official page
- HEKTOR 12.5cm F2.5・Shige’s hobby
Update history
- 2025.7.8
- 2024.03.28:modified article
- 2023.06.08:firest post
Afiliate Link
- Some external links are advertisements, and clicking them may generate income for the site administrator. I would appreciate your understanding and cooperation in maintaining my page.
- Voigtlander Lens・Ads by Amazon
- Voigtlander Books・Ads by Amazon
Leave a Reply