Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

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Mozbee
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p.1 #1 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

New review at Photozone:
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Nikkor%20/%20Nikon%20Lens%20Tests/46-nikon--nikkor-aps-c/360-voigtlander-nokton-58mm-f14-sl-ii

It seems to be a good alternative!

Jan 24, 2008 at 04:16 PM

Jammy Straub
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p.1 #2 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Indeed it does. I've been eye balling one for a week or two now. The whole 2/3's of a stop exposure error is kind of annoying, but if it's truly consistent it'd be ok I suppose.

There are some really beautiful boke examples in this thread:

http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=395234

The boke is really what's drawing me to the lens, it's not perfect, but it is very nice. I almost like the way the 40 f/2 draws a little more, but I think I'd rather have f/1.4 and a little better boke.

There's much less bright ring effect in OOF highlights than the Nikon or Zeiss equivalents from what I've seen and it's pretty rare to see an area that looks particularly nissen, or busy and icky.

Edited by Jammy Straub on Jan 26, 2008 at 04:52 PM GMT

Edited on Jan 26, 2008 at 04:52 PM

Jan 24, 2008 at 09:17 PM

Robbie J
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p.1 #3 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Yes, the +2/3 stop overexposure is consistent. I noticed it as soon as I took the first series of shots. It's a tiny bit annoying but I can live with it.

Jan 25, 2008 at 12:49 AM

Elan II
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p.1 #4 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

I don't understand why Klaus is presenting the 2/3 stop overexposure as such a negative. For the small effort of setting the camera to -2/3 EV, you get the metering equivalent of an ~f/1.1 lens. That could save a few shots that would otherwise fall short on shutter speed.

This could be a nice lens for the D40, because it's chipped. I'd sure like to see it reviewed head-to-head with the Nikon 55/1.2. They cost about the same.

Jan 25, 2008 at 02:30 AM

Mozbee
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p.1 #5 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Jammy:
Thank you for the link; there are some nice pictures on the site!

Robbie and Elan:
Thank you for posting!

It's the first time I see a lens that overexpose like this one. Why it does that?

Edited on Jan 25, 2008 at 03:37 AM

Jan 25, 2008 at 03:33 AM

Elan II
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p.1 #6 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Well, it's not the first time I've seen a lens overexpose. I have a manual-focus Tokina 90/2.5 macro, one of my favorite and most used lenses. I noticed it was overexposing the natural light shots, so I tried setting the non-CPU lens data to 2.0. It still overexposed. At 1.8, it exposes perfectly at all apertures. So here I gained a full stop. I have two others that gain 1/3 stop and several that lose 1/3-2/3.

I have a couple of AF lenses that underexpose. With those, I just set the exposure compensation up 1/3 stop. I have one that exposes properly in natural light, but needs a full +1 flash compensation. It's kind of a pain not to forget to change the setting before and after using the lens. Especially after.

The reason for all of this is simple. The lens gathers more or less light than it's rated for. If you're looking for a pattern, my lenses that overexpose all have larger than usual front (and rear) elements, and those that underexpose smaller. If you look at the front element of the Voigtlander, it's about 50mm in size (glass, not filter size). That's about the same as the Nikon 55/1.2 and much larger than the Nikon or Canon 50/1.4. I can't say for sure that this is the reason, but it fits the pattern.

Jan 25, 2008 at 04:24 AM

Jammy Straub
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p.1 #7 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Thanks for the front element size comparison Elan II, that helps clear things up a bit.

I'd bet in all reality the lens is closer to a ~f/1.3 lens, but they just rounded rather than use a less common partial f-stop labeling. They should have known better, people would pay more for a f/1.298 lens.

Jan 25, 2008 at 05:08 AM

Conner999
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p.1 #8 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Interesting - thanks Elan

Jan 26, 2008 at 01:35 PM

selma-1
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p.1 #9 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

After extensive testing I have found that my Voigtlander 58mm F1.4 SL11 is also off by 2/3 of a stop. This was suppose to be the corrected lens, late model. I sent it back. The second one arrived and was exactly the same as the first. The problem is the setting of the lens diaphram in relation the the diaphram lever. or if you were to set the lens stop at say F16 the lens diaphram is not at F16 but slightly off by 2/3 of a stop. This is consistant and can be corrected by setting you meter at -.07.

Sep 21, 2008 at 02:02 AM

galenapass
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p.1 #10 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

So...those of you with the lens how do you like it? IQ? Bokeh? I have also been looking at this one with interest.

Sep 21, 2008 at 03:28 AM

Kuan
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p.1 #11 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Awesome Lens. No formal testing but I found it created very pleasing results:

http://www.fooelse.com/index.php?showimage=236

http://www.fooelse.com/index.php?showimage=241

http://www.fooelse.com/index.php?showimage=250

Sep 21, 2008 at 07:41 AM

geniousc
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p.1 #12 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Supposedly the exposure problem has been corrected. Go to the bottom of this page.

http://www.cameraquest.com/Voigt_SL2.htm

Sep 21, 2008 at 06:55 PM

genji
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p.1 #13 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

geniousc wrote:
Supposedly the exposure problem has been corrected. Go to the bottom of this page.

http://www.cameraquest.com/Voigt_SL2.htm

I have a Voigtlander 58/1.4, purchased in May 2008, and it's perfectly fine. No overexposure problem at all.

Sep 21, 2008 at 07:57 PM

papageno
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p.1 #14 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

It's a tiny bit annoying

Over exposing by 2/3 of a stop is a major, fundamental error and calls into question everything the builder has done with this lens.

Sep 21, 2008 at 08:18 PM

Elan II
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p.1 #15 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

papageno wrote:
It's a tiny bit annoying

Over exposing by 2/3 of a stop is a major, fundamental error and calls into question everything the builder has done with this lens.

I agree.

Does the lens over-expose by the same amount wide open? If not, it could be slow aperture blades. That would be a major defect.

I doubt seriously that the issue is the amount of aperture opening being off. It's like saying the engineers at Cosina don't even have a calculator. In fact, if they were to miscalculate, the CAD would have corrected it right up front anyway. I still think that the glass is capturing more light than expected for some reason. I'm not sure though and could be wrong. Regardless of the reason, it's inexcusable by today's standards.

Sep 21, 2008 at 09:21 PM

Elan II
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p.1 #16 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

geniousc wrote:
I'm not sure if that's correct.

The diaphram opening size which is a simple ratio between focal length and opening controls the light hitting the film or sensor. Lenses with equal openings (F stop) should let in the same amount of light if calibrated properly. In other words F8 on one lens should be the same as F8 on another lens. This is the founding principle of external light meters, they would never work if it wasn't this way. When film was used before digital, the roll would always come with an exposure guide. If lenses let in different amounts of light when set a specific F stop, the whole system would have been useless. So, I say the lenses that over/under expose have improperly calibrated diaphrams. Larger diameter glass in a lens will get you less vignetting though. In a link above from cameraquest, the owner mentions that if you bought a Voightlander from him that doesn't expose properly, send it in for adjustment. They are adjusting the chip or diaphram.

I too am not sure it's correct, but nothing you wrote truly contradicts it either. The light entering the lens contracts and then expends again in an hourglass shape. A wider front element probably expends both ends of the hourglass. The added light will fall outside of the frame into the light-absorbing coating inside the lens and body, but it's still more light and might have some effect.

After the fact, the only repair possible (other than black paint) is to contract the aperture a corresponding amount to the excess light. A cheat of sorts. But you have to believe that the ratio was right on the dot from day one. It's too simple and too basic for anyone to miscalculate. Btw, the chip doesn't control the aperture opening, the body linkage does that. So if they are adjusting the chip, they're not even changing the aperture, only the setting reported to the body. That's a quick and dirty fix. It also raises the possibility that the chip is somehow inconsistent in the way it reports the aperture opening to the body and thereby causing these exposure errors. So there are other possibilities and I'm open to those.

Edited on Sep 21, 2008 at 11:13 PM · View previous versions

Sep 21, 2008 at 11:03 PM

Elan II
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p.1 #17 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Huh? Did someone delete the post by geniousc while I was replying? Strange..

Sep 21, 2008 at 11:05 PM

selma-1
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p.1 #18 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Both of the lenses I have received have been from Camera Quest. Last one received Sept. 15, 2008. The CPU problem has been corrected but not the over exposure problem. I sent one lens back and the next one I received is exactly the same as the other one. It is consistantly off by 2/3 of a stop at all apertures. The problem is with the position of the diaphram lug. Example F16 if not F16 but off by 2/3 of a stop. If I set the exposure comp. at -07 the lens works fine.

Sep 22, 2008 at 02:36 AM

Elan II
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p.1 #19 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

selma-1 wrote:
Both of the lenses I have received have been from Camera Quest. Last one received Sept. 15, 2008. The CPU problem has been corrected but not the over exposure problem. I sent one lens back and the next one I received is exactly the same as the other one. It is consistantly off by 2/3 of a stop at all apertures. The problem is with the position of the diaphram lug. Example F16 if not F16 but off by 2/3 of a stop. If I set the exposure comp. at -07 the lens works fine.

The wide-open overexposure (meaning the iris is fully retracted) eliminates the following:

Slow moving aperture: It's not moving.
Chip sending the wrong info: The aperture is wide-open and reported to be wide-open.
Misaligned aperture linkage (is that what you mean by lug?): Again, it's wide-open. The linkage cannot open it further to cause the overexposure.

Really, if you think about it, with the iris fully retracted, the aperture serves no function at all. The presence of the same problem in this state eliminates the potential for any mechanical or electronic malfunction to be the cause and leaves only the physical properties of the lens as the culprit.

Sep 22, 2008 at 02:25 PM

prashant
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p.1 #20 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

i got mine yesterday and made a test shot wide open. The lens is atleast 10 times sharper at 1.4 and 1.8 than the 50mm/1.8D. I found no problems with the exposure, but I own D80 so it perhaps compensates.

Sep 22, 2008 at 02:42 PM

G-W-N
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p.1 #21 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Purchased mine in Feb 2008. Exposure is spot on with both my D40x and D300.

Sep 22, 2008 at 02:48 PM

selma-1
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p.1 #22 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

Elan 11 Hmmmm Voigtlander 58mm F1.4 SL11 Lens. I don't usually shoot wide open. The 2/3 of a stop off is stopped down. I will do further testing on the lens and reply back. It is annoying on two lenses to say the least.

Sep 24, 2008 at 01:05 AM

Elan II
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p.1 #23 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

selma-1 wrote:
Elan 11 Hmmmm Voigtlander 58mm F1.4 SL11 Lens. I don't usually shoot wide open. The 2/3 of a stop off is stopped down. I will do further testing on the lens and reply back. It is annoying on two lenses to say the least.

Yes, do that, it'll answer a few questions. Btw, what is Cosina saying about all of this, have they offered a specific explanation?

Sep 24, 2008 at 12:29 PM

selma-1
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p.1 #24 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

The Voigtlander 58mm F1.4 SL11 works fine in manual mode at all F stops on both my D200 and F100. The 2/3 of a stop problem are related to the built in CPU in the lens which causes the lens to be off 2/3 of a stop, a problem that was suppose to be corrected on the SL11 lenses. Since I have had two of these now that are the same, I would say that the problem still exists.

Oct 02, 2008 at 02:37 AM

Lotusm50
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p.1 #25 · Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 II Review

My Voigtlander 58mm F1.4 SLll seems fine with respect to exposure (on a Kodak SLR/n). However, i got some truly nasty CA/purple fringing wide open around water puddles and reflections. It's noticeably worse than the Zeiss ZF 50/1.4 in this regard (I have both), in spite of what photozone seems to suggest. The ZF is also a bit sharper and more contrasty from f1.4 on. Bokeh with the Zeiss is marginally better, but really quite similar in nature. The CV 58 overall, however, does have a nice look and can be used quite successfully.

Oct 02, 2008 at 02:57 AM


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