Following its initial announcement back in July, Voigtländer’s highly anticipated APO-Lanthar 90mm F4 Close Focus VM lens is officially shipping and available for purchase. Originally slated to arrive on store shelves in August, the compact medium-telephoto prime lens experienced a brief scheduling adjustment before finally clearing distribution channels. Photographers and rangefinder enthusiasts looking to expand their kit can now secure the lens through major retailers, including B&H in the United States and Wex Photo Video in the UK.
The lens is offered in both classic black and sleek silver finishes, giving shooters aesthetic options that complement the timeless design of modern and vintage Leica M-mount rangefinder bodies. Regardless of the chosen finish, the pricing is set at an accessible $749 in the US and £599 in the UK, positioning it as an intriguing alternative for photographers seeking apochromatic performance without stepping into the often prohibitive price bracket of native Leica-branded glass.
Understanding the Apochromatic Legacy
The inclusion of the APO-Lanthar designation in the lens’s formal title is no mere marketing flourish; it signifies a commitment to high-end optical engineering rooted in apochromatic design principles. Originally formulated during the era of film photography, the apochromat manufacturing process was engineered to bring three wavelengths of light—red, green, and blue—into focus at the exact same focal plane. This precise alignment drastically minimizes chromatic aberration, preventing the distracting color fringing that often plagues high-contrast edges in photographs.
While the apochromat concept has decades of history behind it, Voigtländer maintains that the advanced technology remains exceptionally relevant and effective for suppressing purple fringing and chromatic artifacts in modern digital photography. As sensor resolutions continue to climb and expose even the most minor optical imperfections, the demand for rigorously corrected lenses has only intensified, making the arrival of this apochromatic medium-telephoto a notable development for system users.
Advanced Optical Construction and Compact Form Factor
Beneath the sleek exterior of the APO-Lanthar 90mm F4 Close Focus VM lies a sophisticated optical formula comprising eight distinct elements arranged in seven groups. To achieve the rigorous performance standards demanded by the APO-Lanthar moniker, six of these elements are manufactured from anomalous partial dispersion glass. According to the manufacturer, this specialized glass composition is instrumental in delivering exceptionally high resolution, strong overall contrast, and edge-to-edge optical consistency across the entire full-frame image circle.
Despite packing such advanced glass elements into the barrel, the lens remains remarkably diminutive. It measures just 54.8mm in length and tips the scales at a mere 235 grams. This high degree of physical compactness is largely attributable to the modest f/4 maximum aperture. By opting for an f/4 design rather than a faster f/2.8 or f/1.4 configuration, Voigtländer successfully bypassed the need for the large, heavy glass elements that faster medium-telephoto optics invariably require.
For rangefinder users, this restrained physical footprint brings a secondary, highly practical benefit: it significantly reduces viewfinder blockage. When longer lenses are mounted to optical rangefinder cameras, the physical barrel often intrudes visibly into the corner of the photographer’s frame, obstructing the view. The slim profile of the 90mm F4 keeps this obstruction to a minimum, ensuring a clearer, more unobstructed composition experience when utilizing the optical viewfinder.
Enhanced Close-Focusing Capabilities for Rangefinders
One of the standout characteristics that separates this lens from traditional rangefinder-coupled optics is its enhanced close-focusing performance. Traditional Leica M-mount rangefinder mechanisms are mechanically limited, generally preventing accurate focusing closer than 0.7 meters due to the physical limitations of the rangefinder cam patch inside the camera body.
The APO-Lanthar 90mm F4 Close Focus VM shatters this conventional boundary by engineering a mechanism that allows the lens to focus down to just 0.5 meters. When pushed to its absolute closest setting, the lens delivers a maximum magnification of 0.28x. To ensure that image fidelity does not degrade when working at such close quarters, Voigtländer notes that the integrated apochromatic optical correction works continuously to maintain crisp, high-quality results even when framing subjects up close.
To bridge the mechanical gap between standard rangefinder coupling and close-focusing performance, the lens incorporates a high-precision rangefinder coupling mechanism paired with an all-metal helicoid designed for smooth, fluid manual focusing. When the photographer rotates the focus ring past the standard 0.7-meter rangefinder-coupled limit and into the dedicated close-focus zone, a tactile click identifies the exact transition point, providing physical feedback while working in the field.
Complementing the optical package is a compact, dedicated metal lens hood. Designed to integrate seamlessly with the barrel, the hood extends by only about 9mm, providing effective protection against stray light and lens flare without unnecessarily interfering with the camera’s internal or external framelines. With availability now confirmed across major international markets, the Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 90mm F4 Close Focus VM stands ready to offer full-frame rangefinder shooters a lightweight, highly corrected medium-telephoto option.
