Voigtländer has announced the APO-Lanthar 90mm F4 Close Focus VM, a compact medium-telephoto prime lens designed for full-frame M-mount rangefinder cameras.
Scheduled to arrive in August 2026, the new manual-focus lens promises premium optical performance without the size and weight normally associated with highly corrected telephoto glass.
The APO-Lanthar name is reserved for some of Voigtländer’s most ambitious lenses, and this latest model uses an apochromatic optical design to suppress axial chromatic aberration and other unwanted color fringing.
Its construction includes eight elements arranged in seven groups, with six elements made from anomalous partial dispersion glass to deliver high resolution, strong contrast, and consistent performance across the frame.
Despite its advanced optical design, the lens measures just 54.8mm from the mount surface and weighs only 235g. The relatively modest maximum aperture of F4 helps keep the body impressively compact, while also reducing viewfinder blockage when the lens is used with an optical rangefinder. It will be available in both silver and black finishes, with each version featuring a durable all-metal barrel.
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Close-focusing performance is another major part of the lens’s appeal. The APO-Lanthar 90mm F4 Close Focus VM can focus down to 0.5m, extending beyond the typical 0.7m limit for rangefinder-coupled lenses.
At its closest setting, it offers a maximum magnification of 0.28x, while Voigtländer says the apochromatic correction helps maintain image quality even when photographing subjects up close.
The lens also includes a high-precision rangefinder coupling mechanism, an all-metal helicoid for smooth focusing, and a click that identifies the point where focusing moves beyond the coupled range.
A compact dedicated metal hood is included, extending by only around 9mm to reduce flare without significantly interfering with the camera’s framelines. The Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 90mm F4 Close Focus VM will carry a suggested retail price of ¥121,000 ($759 / £550 approximately) when it launches in August.
