Jump to content

The Batis 18, Loxia 21 or Voigtlander 15


Recommended Posts

Sorry to say that: Beside the obvious ones (fastest f-stop, focus distance, AF/MF), al three are or would be great lenses.

If you care much about CA and corner sharpness, the new native Voigt performs the same as the M-Mount version. So, you will have some issues there.

Information about the Batis are only from people that are suported by Zeiss. Sou you have to wait until you can have final informations.

The loxia is one of the best wide angle lenses ever made. As I perfer 21mm over 18mm or 24mm, I would even say, it's the best. :)Some pics on flickr

 

All in all, ask yourself which FL you want to shoot and take the lens that fits. You would not do something wrong with any of them.

Link to post
Share on other sites

This will be a tough decision for me. I need ultrawide for mountain landscape. My own file analysis indicates that some of my best photographs were in the 16-18mm  range. Therefore the Loxia would not be wide enough for me. 15mm can always be cropped for a longer focal length to 18mm or 21mm. The biggest advantage of the Zeiss 18mm is autofocus. So, I think your question is a good one and the best answer I can give is to go with what focal length serves your purposes. As far as lens quality goes they all seem small, light and good.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Another factor to consider is that it is not clear how a system like the Seven5 could be used with the Voigtlander (fixed pedal hood).  This might guide you towards one of the other choices.  Perhaps there is a solution or adapter but I have not seen one yet.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I love my Loxia 35mm, but my hit rate suffers because of manual focus so I find myself not using that lens as much when I'm going to be shooting moving subjects.  The A7R2's EVF, even when double-zooming and using peaking doesn't quite have the resolution needed to exactly nail focus. At least that's my experience.  Sure, things would be better the wider you get because of increased DOF, but at the same time, we're paying for the complex autofocus system in the camera body, so might as well take advantage of it with AF lenses.  I've got the Batis 18m on preorder. My experience with the other two Batis lenses has been positive.  The shots are beautiful. 

 

The Voigtlander is a bit cheaper, smaller and lighter, and it looks cool.  The Batis will give you arguably better IQ, AF, the OLED display (which I find myself not really even looking at that often), 1.3 stops faster, and a modern as opposed to vintage look.  The Loxia is made specifically for the Sony, is a gem of IQ and build quality, is fun to use, but you're still relying on the resolution of the EVF for focusing, which is problematic in my experience.  My choice is the Batis. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

The field curvature of the two mentioned Zeiss lenses are different, making each slightly more preferential to different subjects.

 

I have the Loxia 21 on order, to go with an existing Loxia 50, they will work well together (same filter size and compact dimension). The Batis 18 is rather interesting too, and if the Loxia 21 does not work well for some kinds of subjects then I would not hesitate to order the Batis 18 in addition to the Loxia 21 - however I suspect that the Loxia 21 will be more than sufficient for my needs and ability.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest Colin Scott Johnson

They are all different.

I own all the current Batis and Loxia lenses and prefer them to any Sony lens.

I have a 18mm on pre-order.

 

Am I considering the Voigtlander? - probably not.

I need an UW to replace the Nikon 14-24 at the widest end, but actually think the Rokinon 14mm F2.8 is better for me...

That or wait for the inevitable Loxia 15mm :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have the Loxia 21mm which I have mainly used for shooting landscapes and architecture, I have been very happy with it. It is my first manual focus lens and my first manual aperture lens but I have been surprised how quick and easy that was to get used to. The other two lenses are on my wish list, I am looking forward to see reviews of those. I doubt that you can make a bad choice when those three are your options.

 

It wasn't on your list, and maybe it is not wide enough for you, but the Batis 25mm has two advantages over any of those lenses, it has a larger aperture (f2) and it has a shorter minimum focusing distance (20cm). I have that one also and it has been my favourite lens since the day I bought it, it is fantastic.

 

In the end I think that the focal lengths are the biggest difference, there is a noticeable difference between 21mm and 15mm, so maybe that would be the place to start in coming to a decision... comparing what you want to shoot to the field of view of the lenses.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have the loxia 21 and the sony zeiss fe 16-35.

 

The loxia is a fantastic lens. Build quality, ergonomics, aesthetics and iq are great. Easy to use. By default, for landscapes,i have the aperture set at f8 and focus set at the hyperfocal distance. So other than composure, iso choice and shifting the histogram to the right, the camera almost becomes point and shoot!,

 

The 16-35 produces beautiful results as well. Very difficult to spot any difference in iq between the two. So don't discount it as an option. I have the flexi focus point set one third of the way up from the bottom of the screen to be as close to the hyperfocal distance as possible and this works very well

Link to post
Share on other sites

As does Colin, I have the two Batis and three Loxia lenses, and I agree they are all superb.  Add the Batis 18mm and you have everything you need for top notch IQ from 18 to 85mm (and you can obviously split the lenses into two sets of three lens kits, a small manual focus kit, and a still reasonably-sized autofocus kit.

 

So there you have it: as others have said, focal length is the key. If you regualrly need 15mm then consider the Voigtlander; if you don't or rarely need 15mm then perhaps an occasional multi-image still will suffice.

Link to post
Share on other sites

"I love my Loxia 35mm, but my hit rate suffers because of manual focus so I find myself not using that lens as much when I'm going to be shooting moving subjects.  The A7R2's EVF, even when double-zooming and using peaking doesn't quite have the resolution needed to exactly nail focus. At least that's my experience.  Sure, things would be better the wider you get because of increased DOF, but at the same time, we're paying for the complex autofocus system in the camera body, so might as well take advantage of it with AF lenses.  I've got the Batis 18m on preorder. My experience with the other two Batis lenses has been positive.  The shots are beautiful. 

 

The Voigtlander is a bit cheaper, smaller and lighter, and it looks cool.  The Batis will give you arguably better IQ, AF, the OLED display (which I find myself not really even looking at that often), 1.3 stops faster, and a modern as opposed to vintage look.  The Loxia is made specifically for the Sony, is a gem of IQ and build quality, is fun to use, but you're still relying on the resolution of the EVF for focusing, which is problematic in my experience.  My choice is the Batis. 

 

I agree with you about the manual focus system on the a7r2. I have also found focus peaking to be useless in my telephoto lens."

Link to post
Share on other sites

I ordered the Voigtländer 15mm. I already have a Batis 25mm and Sony 55mm.

So the Loxia 21 isn't wide enough to make a difference.

The 18mm, honestly, is bigger than what I want...

So the 15mm Voigtländer is perfect. It's also very sharp from what I've seen so far. And I think it looks very cool.

 

If Zeiss brings us a 12 to 15mm Loxia I would not hesitate a second to buy that one. But so far no luck :(

Link to post
Share on other sites

Part of this equation is what field of view do you regularly use? Another component is what lens is actually available for purchase. Zeiss has been awfully slow on distribution for any of the Batis lenses(I wouldn't expect to see the Batis 18mm for at least 9 months), even the loxia 21mm is mostly back ordered(only available for sale by re-sellers who want up to $500 above list price). Normally I am a 21mm shooter, I own the voigtlander cosina 21mm f1.7 plus the zeiss ZE 21mm(currently $400 rebate) to use plus adapters while I wait for the native FE mount loxia 21mm. while the voigtlander cosina 15mm is shipping tomorrow the 27th and is half the price of the loxia 21mm, and is nice and compact so I have after looking at the files posted by Ray Gandy / CameraQuest V/C importer on the Range Finder Forum pre-ordered one. Do not forget that all of the Zeiss lenses are manufactured by Cosina and are Identical mechanically with the house brand Voigtlanders plus the glass used for the lens elements are identical.

Link to post
Share on other sites

 Do not forget that all of the Zeiss lenses are manufactured by Cosina and are Identical mechanically with the house brand Voigtlanders plus the glass used for the lens elements are identical.

 

 

Identical mechanics and glass?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just Got E- mail notice from Camera Quest my lens shipped early today USPS express I should have it tomorrow or Thursday. Yes timde all of the Voightlander and Zeiss M-mount(and e-mount) are made on the same assembly line by the same workers at Cosina, all of the glass blanks used for the lens elements are sourced from 1 mfgr. In point of fact even the Zeiss OTI are manufactured at Cosina (but on their own assembly area with even better glass). The killer is the consumer shipping boxes the same but with different graphics internal boxes the exact same .

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, that is all more or less known, but again, identical mechanics and glass?

 

The glass _might_ all come from Schott AG, and the lens _might_ be assembled on the same line ... but the outcome is entirely different.

Link to post
Share on other sites

We have 15, 18 and 21 mm here.

My first advice would be to consider the main use case and the needed/desired focal length.

 

I am doing mainly landscapes shooting with ultra wide, so I would exclude the Loxia (although I tested it, and found it to be an extraordinary lens) as I was looking for something below 20mm.

Considering my use case including filter system (I am using the Lee 100) I pre-ordered the Batis (received it last Thursday).

 

The Voigtländer is nice and tiny, but I personally don't like the integrated hood.

My Batis has a little bigger diameter and is roughly 3cm longer, but surprisingly lightweighted (just 30g more than the VL).

Although I don't have issues working with manual lenses, I always prefer AF over MF if I have the choice.

 

So I would recommend the Batis.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I ordered the Voigtländer 15mm. I already have a Batis 25mm and Sony 55mm.

So the Loxia 21 isn't wide enough to make a difference.

The 18mm, honestly, is bigger than what I want...

So the 15mm Voigtländer is perfect. It's also very sharp from what I've seen so far. And I think it looks very cool.

 

If Zeiss brings us a 12 to 15mm Loxia I would not hesitate a second to buy that one. But so far no luck :(

I've made the exact same lens choices plus the Sony 70-200 f4 for the extra reach. I was lucky enough to get the Batis 25mm pretty early after it's release and got the Voigtländer 10 days ago. After already owning the Batis, the choice to go for the VL was mainly about focal length and size, although I wouldn't have pre-ordered it, if any of the reviews (the nearly identical m-mount version included) had raised any concerns about image quality. So far I love the beautiful little Voigtländer. Not that it matters to me at all ;-), but the lens just looks absolutely gorgeous and fits the a7r II perfectly. It's fun to use and manual focus is very easy and precise, although you really shouldn't rely on the DOF marks on the lens for your hyperfocal distance (minus 2 or even 3 stops would be more accurate - I put the focus 2m at f11, when I have a close foreground object and don't want to focus stack in post) when using it with a 42 my sensor. Contrary I found the OLED indications on the Batis rather accurate. IQ quality of the VL is fantastic at the center and still very nice, but obviously not perfect overall. The sweetspot, as with most other lenses, is between f5,6-f8. Vignetting is pretty obvious at f4,5. CA can be pretty heavy on strong contrast edges. But both of these issues can be easily corrected in post, so not a big deal for me. Distortion isn't to strong for such a wide field of view. Great for architecture for example. But obviously you still shouldn't put people at the very edges. I guess, that in terms sheer maximum IQ both the Batis and the Loxia may be a notch better. Side by side comparisons will tell us in the near future. But like others have said before, differences are probably so minor that in the end it comes down to which focal length you prefer. I find the combination of 15 + 25mm great, because it makes it easier and more obvious to choose the appropriate lens for any given situation. If you only want one lens on the "wide end", then imho 21mm at f2,8 probably is the best choice. But what I love about the Batis, as an addition to the VL is its incredible versatility. It's not to wide to use it for street and sometimes even portrait photography. And with f2 maximum aperture it's also great for low light/night photography. And for landscapes it's great, to have the choice whether to put more emphasis on the fore- or the background. And with todays high resolution image sensors, you can always "convert" a 15 to a 18/21mm field of view without to much compromise.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Have the Samyang / Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 and also the Voigtlander 15mm III (CVIII). Since I bought the CVIII I've simply not used the Samyang at all, as good as it is. The CVIII is just so handy, small, optically excellent, with good distortion correction and is easy to take anywhere. Integrated hood is a bit 'marmite', if you're used to using Lee style filters then its not for you, I have a range of Hoya filters that easily screw on for any long exposure work. Would love to own the 21mm too, however the brighter Voigtlander 21mm F/1.8 while not being quite as optically spectacular as the Loxia offers interesting creative options with depth of field.

Link to post
Share on other sites

When you only want to buy ONE lens I would take the 18mm. 21 would be not wide enough for quite some situations.

But if you want to cover the whole area I would prefer the 21mm loxia and the 15mm as a package.

 

And if you shoot stopped down anyway the Seiss 1635 is not bad at all.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

A plea into the cosmos - please let the comparison photo postings from non-Zeiss reviewers of batis 18 vs. loxia 21 begin to flow, and let them be skilled and plentiful!

 

 

I  have both, the biggest difference, apart from the obvious, is that the Batis 18 has a reasonable amount of distortion which, with Capture One, is automatically corrected (perhaps this can be turned off). This results in some cropping of the image, so, if you want the use the corrected image, you have to frame a little extra space into the edges.

 

Oh, and for the Batis 18, you can use this one wide open most of the time, the images are nice and clean. I only stop down for absolute near-far sharpness or when close focusing. A little bit less vignetting than the Loxia 21, however this is easily corrected in both cases using Capture One so that is not a problem.

 

I'm not particularly skilled, however its clear that the Batis 18 is a great lens, and the Loxia 21 is also special (also f2.8!) and compact.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...