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Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review

  
 
Fred Miranda
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Jul 26, 2019 at 02:43 PM
Uncle Chip
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p.14 #2Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
I need to Stop looking at this thread, I have no money, I have enough Voigtlanders, need to resist the urge
Jul 26, 2019 at 03:34 PM
nehemiahphoto
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p.14 #3Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
Slight aside, any CV enthusiasts on this thread try the new 35/2? Hard to find any info...this new 21/3.5 and 21/1.4 look great, and I have the 35 1.7. Looking for crops and impressions
Jul 26, 2019 at 04:03 PM
abase21
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p.14 #4Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
..pond in the morning with the 21mm 1.4

Pond in the morning by H. Wiedow, auf Flickr
Jul 27, 2019 at 01:15 AM
rvh23
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p.14 #5Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
In addition to flatter field curvature, one thing that may yet tempt me to try this in place of my Loxia is the fact that (apparently) you get focal distance read out in-camera, which is an unfortunate omission with the Loxias.

Can someone please confirm that is the case, and also if so, whether it is however rather coarse (e.g. skipping from 1m to 2m) as has been the case with other lenses I have tried that offered this (Batis 18 and Sony zooms). Still, might be helpful for quicker focus stacks in low light.
Jul 27, 2019 at 01:34 AM
Douglas L
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p.14 #6Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
Fred Miranda wrote:
kdrk888 wroteGot my CV 21 last Friday, took a couple shots. Will play with it more this weekend.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2gGryGR]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48371691721_877bed0432_h.jpgLake Elkhorn by Douglas Liu, on Flickr[/url]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2gG5PMd]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48367645082_71c7befbfd_h.jpgF1.4 by Douglas Liu, on Flickr[/url]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2gG5QN6]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48367648497_e7f322847e_h.jpg_CDL5263 by Douglas Liu, on Flickr[/url]
Nice samples Douglas!


Thank you Fred! A couple shots with the CV 21 from this morning:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2gHNChK]Washington at Dawn by Douglas Liu, on Flickr[/url]



[url=https://flic.kr/p/2gHNN4o]_CDL5283 by Douglas Liu, on Flickr[/url]
Jul 27, 2019 at 07:01 AM
AdaptedLenses
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p.14 #7Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
How does the CV 21 do at close distances? I know the 40 struggled a bit. Starting to think about replacing the Loxia 25 for a bit more character, but I really like the Lox’s close up rendering.
Jul 27, 2019 at 03:13 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.14 #8Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
Mathieu18 wrote:
How does the CV 21 do at close distances? I know the 40 struggled a bit. Starting to think about replacing the Loxia 25 for a bit more character, but I really like the Lox’s close up rendering.


Excellent performance at MFD thanks to its floating element system. (Something the 40/1.2 lacks)
Jul 27, 2019 at 03:14 PM
AdaptedLenses
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p.14 #9Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
Damn you Fred. Stop eroding my will power.

Fred Miranda wrote:
Mathieu18 wroteHow does the CV 21 do at close distances? I know the 40 struggled a bit. Starting to think about replacing the Loxia 25 for a bit more character, but I really like the Lox’s close up rendering.
Excellent performance at MFD thanks to its floating element system. (Something the 40/1.2 lacks)

Jul 27, 2019 at 04:24 PM
rps_23
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p.14 #10Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
I doubt you'd regret the swap.
Personally, I feel like the Voigtlander takes all the good stuff that the Lox 25 gives you, and gives you more.

Mathieu18 wrote:
Damn you Fred. Stop eroding my will power.

Fred Miranda wrote
Mathieu18 wroteHow does the CV 21 do at close distances? I know the 40 struggled a bit. Starting to think about replacing the Loxia 25 for a bit more character, but I really like the Lox’s close up rendering.
Excellent performance at MFD thanks to its floating element system. (Something the 40/1.2 lacks)

Jul 27, 2019 at 05:09 PM
 


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AdaptedLenses
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p.14 #11Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
I could see it. I never compared them closely before though I’ve owned both but the CV 40 is right there with the stopped down Loxia 35, which got me wondering. Only part holding me back is I don’t really care to go as wide as 21 though it doesn’t bug me either, and I like a smaller gap than 2x. With the 40 being a little g 40... guess I want the CV 28 like Fred and others.

rps_23 wrote:
I doubt you'd regret the swap.
Personally, I feel like the Voigtlander takes all the good stuff that the Lox 25 gives you, and gives you more.

Mathieu18 wroteDamn you Fred. Stop eroding my will power.

Fred Miranda wrote
Mathieu18 wroteHow does the CV 21 do at close distances? I know the 40 struggled a bit. Starting to think about replacing the Loxia 25 for a bit more character, but I really like the Lox’s close up rendering.
Excellent performance at MFD thanks to its floating element system. (Something the 40/1.2 lacks)

Jul 27, 2019 at 06:27 PM
Aztatlan
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p.14 #12Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
How’s the focus breathing on this compare to the Loxia?
Jul 27, 2019 at 06:42 PM
rvh23
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p.14 #13Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
Aztatlan wrote:
How’s the focus breathing on this compare to the Loxia?


I'm interested to hear about the focus breathing too. If it breathes less, then combined with (approximate) in-camera focus distance readout and flatter field curvature, it may be a worthwhile changeover for me after all because those things all make focus stacking easier.
Jul 27, 2019 at 07:51 PM
bjornthun
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p.14 #14Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
Fred Miranda wrote:
Mathieu18 wroteHow does the CV 21 do at close distances? I know the 40 struggled a bit. Starting to think about replacing the Loxia 25 for a bit more character, but I really like the Lox’s close up rendering.
Excellent performance at MFD thanks to its floating element system. (Something the 40/1.2 lacks)


I had to double check, and you’re of course right, the Voigtländer 21/1.4 does indeed have a floating element design. Good catch Fred, you’re eroding my will power as well.

/dream on
Now, if Cosina makes a Nokton 75/1.5 FE version of their M-lens and a 28/1.4 with floating elements, we could have
Voigtländer 21/1.4, 28/1.4, 40/1.2, 50/1.2 and 75/1.5
/dream off

These lenses aren’t overly heavy, so they are realistic to carry.
Jul 27, 2019 at 08:08 PM
Aztatlan
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p.14 #15Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
rvh23 wrote:
Aztatlan wroteHow’s the focus breathing on this compare to the Loxia?
I'm interested to hear about the focus breathing too. If it breathes less, then combined with (approximate) in-camera focus distance readout and flatter field curvature, it may be a worthwhile changeover for me after all because those things all make focus stacking easier.


The Loxia does breathe quite a bit, although I have not found it too troublesome for focus stacking (usually in Zerene.) But less is always better! I don't think I'd use the digital scale though, far too imprecise to rely on for focus stacking IMO.
Jul 27, 2019 at 08:12 PM
rvh23
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p.14 #16Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
Aztatlan wrote:
I don't think I'd use the digital scale though, far too imprecise to rely on for focus stacking IMO.


Yes, but you can improve accuracy quite a lot by looking at how many increments the distance-slider 'rectangle' moves at each indicated distance. E.g. on my CV12, there are about 5 or 6 slider steps in the "2m" range. Not as nice as having an actual number, but workable at a pinch.

Where I really appreciate in-camera distance readings is when I have the camera positioned in places where seeing the lens is difficult or precarious.

Does anyone know whether this coarseness of the distance readings is due to lens or camera limitations?
Jul 27, 2019 at 09:01 PM
Aztatlan
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p.14 #17Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
rvh23 wrote:
Aztatlan wroteI don't think I'd use the digital scale though, far too imprecise to rely on for focus stacking IMO.
Yes, but you can improve accuracy quite a lot by looking at how many increments the distance-slider 'rectangle' moves at each indicated distance. E.g. on my CV12, there are about 5 or 6 slider steps in the "2m" range. Not as nice as having an actual number, but workable at a pinch.

Where I really appreciate in-camera distance readings is when I have the camera positioned in places where seeing the lens is difficult or precarious.

Does anyone know whether this coarseness of the distance readings is due to lens or camera limitations?


For me, steps like you describe are perhaps a necessary evil when using FBW lenses (which is why I try and avoid them for landscape) but for a lens with a mechanical distance scale I’ll take that any day. Yeah sometimes it can be hard to read the scale (light or precarious positioning) but I’ve always made do. That’s also why I like hard stops, ideally if it’s calibrated accurately you can always nail infinity and then just blindly bracket the rest of the shots to get close enough.

I’d love a digital distance scale that was actually precise and repeatable but sadly that doesn’t seem likely on Sony.
Jul 27, 2019 at 10:01 PM
GMPhotography
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p.14 #18Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
Finally im now set up back at home and can get to some images. I got the lens about 3 weeks ago but too busy with a show to really post anything. Right out of the gate , im in love



















Jul 28, 2019 at 09:40 PM
GMPhotography
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p.14 #19Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
few more all handheld









Jul 28, 2019 at 09:42 PM
GMPhotography
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p.14 #20Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 Nokton Review
All but the first one where with a CPL filter
Jul 28, 2019 at 09:43 PM


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