APO-Lanthar

[Maretzo]

I am watching a Voigtlander APO-Lanhar 5.6/150 reaching $460 :eek: on ebay (250202440055), with a recommendation to equip it with a new shutter. Are the APO-Lanthar so good? Or is it another ebay folly?

[Ted Harris]

Others will likely disagree but it is neither so good nor an eBay folly. Rather, it is a cult lens and, along with a few other cult lenses, often sell for prices far beyond its true value for actual use on a camera.

[Steve Hamley]

Here's one for about $3,375

http://foto.search.ebay.de/lanthar_Grossbildformat_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQdfspZ1QQfclZ3QQfgtpZQQfposZPostleitzaQQfromZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQga10244Z10425QQlopgZQQsabfmtsZ1QQsacatZ8277QQsadisZ200QQsaobfmtsZinsifQQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ3QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZbs

I'll sell you mine for $2500! And they are f:4.5, not f:5.6.

Cheers,

Steve

[Jim Galli]

I have the poor man's APO Lanthar, the f9 APO Skopar in 300, 450, and 600mm. I can tell you they are remarkable lenses. Sometimes I think mentioning the shutter is broken will get the bargain hunters breathing so heavy they end up paying more than if the shutter was perfect. I've had one of just about everything but I've never had a Lanthar.

[Vick Ko]

Yes, it is a legendary lens.

If the shutter were good, I'd guess it should hit $750.

...Vick

[Ole Tjugen]

I happen to own one, and I can understand why it's legendary. It's my most used 150mm lens.

The Apo-Skopar is a repro lens, and a completely different thing from the Apo-Lanthar.

[Maretzo]

I have two Voigtlander for Nikon, they are effectively good, brand new there were cheaper than the present lens on ebay (610$)
Who else is bidding?;)

[Ole Tjugen]

The one on ebay now will go for well over $1000 I think, quite a bit more than I paid for mine. But then again I financed my 150mm with the sale of a 210mm Apo-Lanthar - and I bought three other nice lenses too, and still had a little left over. :)

[Joseph O'Neil]

Here's one for about $3,375
http://foto.search.ebay.de/lanthar_Grossbildformat_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQdfspZ1QQfclZ3QQfgtpZQQfposZPostleitzaQQfromZR2QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQga10244Z10425QQlopgZQQsabfmtsZ1QQsacatZ8277QQsadisZ200QQsaobfmtsZinsifQQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ3QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZbs
I'll sell you mine for $2500! And they are f:4.5, not f:5.6.
Steve

-snip-

If I had that kind of money for another LF lens, I think I would be looking at a brand new super symmar xl. No matter how good a lens is, sometimes I think this "cult lens" thing gets a bit out of hand
joe

[Maretzo]

The one on ebay now will go for well over $1000 I think, quite a bit more than I paid for mine. But then again I financed my 150mm with the sale of a 210mm Apo-Lanthar - and I bought three other nice lenses too, and still had a little left over. :)

You were right!

[Vick Ko]

Holy cow - this auction is over $1000, and its shutter is busted. I'm not getting anywhere near this auction.

Is this going to be a great year for selling classical gear?

It certainly isn't a great start for the stock markets so far.



....Vick

[Jim Galli]

I happen to own one, and I can understand why it's legendary. It's my most used 150mm lens.

The Apo-Skopar is a repro lens, and a completely different thing from the Apo-Lanthar.

Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Here's a cross section of both. Not so different and the APO Lanthar catalog portion says it's roots are in the APO process lens. At infinity the Skopar is a stunner.

http://tonopahpictures.0catch.com/Lanthar_Skopar_Crossections.jpg

The non APO Skopar of the 1940's was indeed a tessar type.

[Kevin Crisp]

They're not the same Jim, the bottom one is red.

[Hugo Zhang]

Maretzo,

I have an Apo-Lanthar 30cm lens and I happen to own ssxl 110mm and ssxl 150mm lenses too. Lanthar does not give you the contrast like ssxl lenses, but its definition is indeed superb. The images it makes do have a special and exquisite glow on the 8x10 contact prints.

Hugo

[Jim Galli]

$1300 is completely absurd. I should have bought half a dozen over the years for $600 and less and broken the shutters. Something I am particularly good at.

[Ernest Purdum]

For many years I was a partner in a metal shop and used a 30cm Apo-Lanthar for product photography. The f4.5 aperture made it very easy to use. Could I have gotten equal results with some Tessar type? Probably good enough so that I would never have noticed a difference.

Why did I have an Apo-Lanthar instead of maybe a Wollensak? Because Camera Barn closed them out as distress merchandise after the Voigtlander LF lens line ceased.

[Vick Ko]

Madness. Sold mine for $750 last year. ....sigh....