These are the best Voigtländer “zoom solutions” when you want flexible framing, gorgeous micro-contrast, low breathing, and compact, all-metal builds for travel, doc, weddings, and narrative—and here’s the honest reality: Voigtländer doesn’t make modern zooms, so the winning strategy is (1) build a fast, color-consistent prime spine that behaves like a zoom in practice and (2) add a third-party zoom only when the job truly needs one; prioritize APO-Lanthar primes for reference-grade sharpness and neutral color, Noktons/Ultrons for speed and character, de-clickable apertures (native E/Z), long silky focus throws with hard stops, modest breathing if you film, and shared step-up fronts (e.g., to 77/82/95 mm) so one high-quality VND (and a mild 1/8 diffusion if you like halation) covers the kit; pair unstabilized glass with strong IBIS/Active and keep weights similar across lenses for quick gimbal swaps. Full-frame “zoom-coverage” prime set A (reference look): APO-Lanthar 35mm ƒ2 + 50mm ƒ2 + 65mm ƒ2 Macro 1:2 (add 110mm ƒ2.5 1:1 for tele/beauty)—clinical-clean color, near-zero LoCA, and macro versatility that replaces a 24–105 style mid-zoom. Set B (speed + mood): 21mm ƒ1.4 Nokton + 35mm ƒ1.2 Nokton + 50mm ƒ1.0 Nokton (add 75mm ƒ1.9 or 90mm ƒ2.8 APO-Skopar for portraits)—prime-fast coverage that stands in for a 16–35/24–70 on night streets and receptions. Ultra-wide anchor options: 10mm ƒ5.6, 12mm ƒ5.6, or 15mm ƒ4.5 Heliar for establishing shots and tight interiors; the 21mm ƒ3.5 Color-Skopar and 28mm ƒ2/ƒ1.5 Ultron bridge into a “wide zoom” feel with pocketable size. Travel-light trio: 15mm ƒ4.5 + 40mm ƒ1.2 + 75mm ƒ1.9—covers wide/normal/tele with tiny swaps and cinematic falloff. APS-C/open-gate users can run the same primes for compact rigs (e.g., 15≈22–23-eq, 21≈31-eq, 35≈52-eq) with instant gimbal balance. Practical buyer tips: pick two or three primes that map to your usual “wide → medium → tight” beats, standardize to one front diameter so filtration is painless, add 0.8 focus gears and use the declick switch for cine exposure, and keep a rigid adapter if you mix VM/SL with E/Z; if you truly need a zoom for crash cam or servo moves, rent a matched third-party zoom and let the Voigtländers cover hero shots to maintain the look. “Zoom-with-primes” shooting tips: pre-visualize sequences (wide establishing → medium action → tight detail), move your feet to control compression, run Aperture Priority near wide open and stop 1/3–2/3 stop for eyelash-sharp portraits, set a minimum shutter (~1/160–1/250 s for people; 1/500 s+ for motion) with Auto-ISO, and shade the front element for cleaner sunstars; for video, lock a 180° shutter with a quality VND, enable IBIS but disable stabilization on sticks to avoid micro-jitter, use peaking/magnification and tape marks for repeatable racks, and favor lighter lenses (21/3.5, 28/2, 35/2 APO) for fast gimbal rebalance—whether you’re covering a wedding day, shooting handheld doc, or crafting night-city narratives, the best Voigtländer “zoom” approach is a pragmatic prime toolkit: APO discipline or Nokton character, unified handling, and fast swaps—so your footage looks polished, your colors stay true, and your storytelling flows like a smooth parfocal move.