The matte black APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/3.5 Type I VM, by Voigtlander, is a normal-length, manual-focus lens designed to take advantage of the inherent strengths of a rangefinder camera system, including an especially small, inconspicuous design, intuitive operation, and sharp, high-contrast rendering. This lens also holds the elite distinction of being part of the APO-LANTHAR series of optically-refined, apochromatic lenses that use anomalous partial dispersion glass to virtually eliminate chromatic aberrations and produce clear, color-accurate imagery.
Type I Highlights
- Apochromatic design includes ight elements in six groups, four of which are made of anomalous partial-dispersion glass to achieve uncompromising optical performance.
- Manual focus design with a high-accuracy, all-metal helicoid for high-precision control.
- Close-up minimum focusing distance of 1.5'; there is a tactile "bump" when focusing the lens closer than 2.3', signaling the limit of the rangefinder system's focusing range and that live view or scale-based focusing should be used.
- Despite being styled after vintage collapsible rangefinder lenses, this lens has a rigid, non-collapsing lens barrel.
- The aluminum build provides the user with a lighter feel.
- Optimized for either film or digital M-mount rangefinder cameras and mirrorless cameras.