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Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review

  
 
Peire
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p.3 #1 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


A7R2+Voigtlander Nokton 35/1.2 SE wide open - for floral closeups too























Jul 04, 2020 at 01:13 PM
ftllens
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p.3 #2 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Got my copy from CameraQuest today. Actually, in terms of CA, stopped down to 3.5, it's fairly close to the 50 APO at f/2. Definitely has the glow until 1.8 though, which I don't mind actually. I actually liked my Zhongyi Mitakon 50mm f/0.95's glow a lot for closer low light casual portraits. This is similar to that, but sharper.

Definitely has the dual-characteristic properties.

Build quality excellent as usually, as are the haptics. Aperture ring feels lighter but clickier. Focus ring design I prefer to the scallop since it's more linear (grip pattern not the actual throw).

I've been looking for a spiritual compact sucessor to my 35 1.4 ZA which actually I enjoyed a lot. The Sigma Art 1.2 AF is unmatched, as was the Samyang 1.2 XP for MF. The Tamron 1.4 SP looked like somewhat in between those two 1.2 lenses, like an upgraded ZA but still huge.

Initial impression is that this 35 SE Nokton is like my Mitakon, ZA, and some good genes of the 50 APO rolled into one.

I'll probably sell it in a week though (I'm just going to list it now and let fate decide).

EDIT: I do a non-scientific thing where I stare at the colors of the reflection stars in the elements and the colors I swear look just like the Otus almost in the same order. I tried to induce flare and it was very well controlled.

Some don't like infinity at hard stop but I do cause I'm lazy and don't do astro. It's super convenient not to back off for earth horizons.

Really like the BW JPGs out of this too.

CV 50 APO f2
ORP06863 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

35 SE f3.5
ORP06879 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

35 SE f1.4 (wb off)
ORP06886 by Visual Novel, on Flickr


Samples here (all SOOC jpg standard color or bw, some with DRO 5 to test for CA or none), I didn't bring ND but you can still see the characteristics WO even tho overexposed:

DRO (always 5, if so)
ORP06901 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP06904 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP06908 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2 (pretty sure I missed focused)
ORP06912 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

3.5
ORP06913 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2 on lamp
ORP06923 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP06936 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP06937 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2 (really like it when lots of textures mixed with the glowy elements)
ORP06941 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP06949 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

2.8
ORP06950 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2 near
ORP06947 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2 far orange
ORP06948 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

flare all WO
ORP06957 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP06959 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP06979 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

Some extreme CA WO (DRO +5 and direct high sun, you can't hide!)
ORP06996 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP06997 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP06998 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP06999 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

looks great BW tho 1.2
ORP07006 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP06962 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP06963 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

2.8
ORP06966 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

5.6
ORP06977 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

Worst case CA and flare 1.2:
ORP07016 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

but 1 degree and BW look great lol
ORP07015 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

5.6 enough resolution (a7r2, dunno about r4)
ORP06982 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

f8
ORP06983 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

CA again (overexposed and not correct at all with DRO 5), but you know it still looks nice, sun was really railing down.
ORP06984 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP06989 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP06994 by Visual Novel, on Flickr



1.2, expected away from center but I like the falloff in these cases:
ORP06986 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP06990 by Visual Novel, on Flickr


11
ORP06993 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP07004 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP07011 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

1.2
ORP07009 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

I'll get some human pictures eventually.

EDIT 2: JK I lied, there's always some crazy concentrated beam of light that hits my house through a window at sunset. I got some crazy, crazy flares and also sunstars lol. These are extreme examples I think.

1.2
ORP07088 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

11
ORP07096 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

22
ORP07097 by Visual Novel, on Flickr


Still I like it, haven't processed any RAWs yet

more jpgs 1.2

ORP07031 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP07040 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP07041 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP07048 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP07049 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP07053 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP07056 by Visual Novel, on Flickr

ORP07025 by Visual Novel, on Flickr


Okay, so the glow can completely be eliminated with about 35-50 setting for structure on C1 (or anything other software)

I added added it BACK in when using Luminar 4 to take some of the edge off or to soften the light real quick.

Processed RAWs all WO at f/1.2:
ORP06949 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP06958 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP06984 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP06986 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP06994 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP06998 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP07004 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP07009 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP07035 by A V N, on Flickr

ORP07258 by A V N, on Flickr

Edited on Aug 15, 2022 at 11:25 AM · View previous versions



Jul 07, 2020 at 05:06 PM
graytrekker
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p.3 #3 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


any feelings on how this lens compares to an average Loxia 35?


Jul 08, 2020 at 10:34 AM
letchhausen
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p.3 #4 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


I would be interested to hear about focus shift and focusing issues. Those sorts of things I read which kept me from buying the 40mm. But yes, a comparison between the 35 and 40 in that regard. I have the 65mm Apo Lanther and am looking at the 110mm for telephoto and would like some thing wider.


Jul 14, 2020 at 04:53 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #5 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review









Voigtlander 35/1.2 SE vs Voigtlander 35/1.2 III VM vs Voigtlander 40/1.2 SE





Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 SE vs 40mm f/1.2 SE: Infinity Distance test for Resolution and Contrast

Here is the full image thumbnail showing the areas demonstrated at 1:1 magnification.








  1. Distance: Infinity
  2. Focus: Center - Best of three @ 12.4x magnification
  3. WB: Daylight
  4. Lens perfectly centered using my decentering test
  5. Software: Lightroom with my default landscape sharpening. All other settings set to default
PS: Vignetting and distortion were NOT corrected. All in-camera corrections turned 'off'.


Center Area





Center at f/1.2: Very similar performance with the CV 40/1.2 SE very slightly ahead. Similar purple fringing level as well.







Center at f/1.4: The 35/1.2 SE improves more than the CV 40/1.2 and they are equal now







Center at f/2: Both lenses improve at f/2 due to reduced color aberration







Center at f/2.8: Perhaps the optimal aperture for both lenses. Purple fringing is gone







Center at f/4: very small improvement. Similar to f/2.8







Center at f/5.6: Very small improvement.







f/8: Diffraction gets more noticeable for both lenses but still high resolution and contrast




Jul 25, 2020 at 02:05 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #6 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 SE vs 40mm f/1.2 SE: Infinity Distance test for Resolution and Contrast

Mid-zone area





Mid-zone at f/1.2: Similar performance.







Mid-zone at f/1.4: Small improvement for both lenses







Mid-zone at f/2: Higher contrast and better resolution for both lenses. Similar performance







Mid-zone at f/2.8: Big jump in contrast and resolution. Both lenses still similar







Mid-zone at f/4: Both lenses improve slightly







Mid-zone at f/5.6: Perhaps the optimal aperture for this area.







Mid-zone at f/8: Small improvement from f/5.6 (both lenses)




Jul 25, 2020 at 02:05 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #7 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 SE vs 40mm f/1.2 SE: Infinity Distance test for Resolution and Contrast

Extreme corner area










Extreme corner at f/1.4: The CV 35/1.2 SE improves at f/1.4 while the CV 40/1.2 SE not much







Extreme corner at f/2: Vignetting and contrast improve for both lenses







Extreme corner at f/2.8: Jump in contrast and resolution for both lenses. The CV 35/1.2 SE is still performing better







Extreme corner at f/4: Both improve at f/4 and the 35/1.2 SE is still better







Extreme corner at f/5.6: Both lenses improved a little. (Optimal aperture for 35/1.2 SE)







Extreme corner at f/8: The CV 40/1.2 SE finally catches up to the 35/1.2 SE. This is the optimal aperture for the CV 40/1.2 SE at this area




Jul 25, 2020 at 02:05 PM
hesb
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p.3 #8 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Interesting comparison, the lenses behaves really closely. But I'm really impressed by the 40mm mid frame performance!


Jul 25, 2020 at 02:14 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #9 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 SE vs 35mm f/1.2 III VM + Adapter: Infinity Distance test for Resolution and Contrast

Here is the full image thumbnail showing the areas demonstrated at 1:1 magnification.








  1. Distance: Infinity
  2. Focus: Center - Best of three @ 12.4x magnification
  3. WB: Daylight
  4. Lens perfectly centered using my decentering test
  5. Software: Lightroom with my default landscape sharpening. All other settings set to default
PS: Vignetting and distortion were NOT corrected. All in-camera corrections turned 'off'.




Center Area





Center at f/1.2: Similar performance. The SE has better CA performance because correction is not automatic







Center at f/1.4: Similar performance







Center at f/2: Similar performance







Center at f/2.8 Similar performance (No more CA) - optimal aperture for both lenses







Center at f/4: Similar performance







Center at f/5.6: Similar performance







Center at f/8: Similar performance




Jul 25, 2020 at 02:20 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #10 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 SE vs 35mm f/1.2 III VM: Infinity Distance test for Resolution and Contrast

Mid-zone area





Mid-zone at f/1.2: The SE version shows less field curvature at mid-distance and therefore performs better







Mid-zone at f/1.4: The SE version shows less field curvature at mid-distance and therefore performs better







Mid-zone at f/2: The SE is still better but starting at f/2, the VM version starts to catch up with the SE because of the broader DOF masking the induced field curvature







Mid-zone at f/2.8: They start to perform similarly but the SE still ahead







Mid-zone at f/4: SE still ahead of the VM + adapter







Mid-zone at f/5.6: Similar resolutions for both lenses. Induced field curvature is pretty much masked for the VM + adapter







Mid-zone at f/8: Similar performance




Jul 25, 2020 at 02:20 PM
 


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p.3 #11 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 SE vs 35mm f/1.2 III VM: Infinity Distance test for Resolution and Contrast

Extreme corner area





Extreme corner at f/1.2: The VM + adapter performs slightly worse due to induced field curvature







Extreme corner at f/1.4: Slight improvement for both lenses. LaCA is more visible for the VM + adapter crop because the SE has an automatic RAW correction. When both corrected in LR, they have equal LaCA performance.







Extreme corner at f/2: Both lenses improve. The SE still slightly ahead







Extreme corner at f/2.8: Jump in contrast and resolution for both lenses. At f/2.8, they are very similar (disregard the higher LaCA for the VM since it has no automatic correction)







Extreme corner at f/4: Perhaps optimal aperture for both lenses. The VM is actually slightly ahead here!







Extreme corner at f/5.6: Surprisingly the VM is still slightly ahead (Optimal aperture for both lenses)







Extreme corner at f/8: Similar performance.




Jul 25, 2020 at 02:20 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #12 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Chromatic Aberration (Lateral CA)

Lateral chromatic aberration is not well corrected which I consider normal for a small fast lens. Curiously, Lightroom does not apply a profile correction for this lens automatically as it does with other native lenses. When applying auto CA correction in post, this color aberration is not longer a big issue.

Here are is an example of CA at f/4 at the edge of the frame.

Left: Voigtlander 35/1.2 SE (with automatic RAW LaCA correction)
Right: Voigtlander 35/1.2 III VM (without any LaCA correction)





Lateral CA at f/4 (it does not go away even at smaller apertures)




Jul 25, 2020 at 03:55 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #13 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Sample images:

(All wide open at f/1.2)



























Jul 25, 2020 at 04:02 PM
Chris_88
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p.3 #14 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Thanks for updating this review, Fred. My SE arrived the other day. Work, corona, the rainy season have prevented me from using this on any photo shooting trips, but my initial infinity tests came back with results similar to yours: For my copy too across the frame sharpness get optimal by f5.6. I don't have my Loxia with me anymore, but I think this performance is clearly better than my Loxia's, which needed f8 or f9 for the corners to sharpen up.


Jul 25, 2020 at 07:17 PM
trstahly
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p.3 #15 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


So my take is you want to use this lens at F5.6/F8 is that correct?


Jul 25, 2020 at 08:38 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #16 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


trstahly wrote:
So my take is you want to use this lens at F5.6/F8 is that correct?


For landscapes, f/5.6 is 'great' but great is relative. It should perform better than the Loxia 35/2 but I just tested my FE 35/2.8 ZA against it and the Sony prime performed slightly better off-axis at f/5.6.

If you want to use the CV 35/1.2 VM + adapter, it's also great at these small apertures for landscapes. The advantage of the SE version is at wider apertures due to the lower FC.



Jul 25, 2020 at 08:49 PM
Chris_88
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p.3 #17 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


trstahly wrote:
So my take is you want to use this lens at F5.6/F8 is that correct?


Well, I suppose that depends on your subject. That undercorrected, slightly soft look wide open and lower sharpness as you get close to MFD might be nice for portraits. I know it's kinda dumb to buy a f1.2 lens to use it stopped down, but other than an occassional low light shot, I envision this lens as landscape lens. The CV flare resistance and sunstars come in handy for that purpose. Also, this lens, the Loxia 21 and the 75 1.5 might make for a competent and compact landscape kit.



Jul 25, 2020 at 08:54 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #18 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Here is the Voigtlander 35/1.2 vs FE 35/2.8 ZA (both at f/5.6)





Center at f/5.6: Similar performance







Mid-zone at f/5.6







Extreme corner at f/5.6




Jul 25, 2020 at 08:58 PM
Chris_88
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p.3 #19 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


I remember the Sony 35 2.8 being sharp, but I didn't remember it being that impressive across the frame, Fred.


Jul 25, 2020 at 09:04 PM
Fred Miranda
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p.3 #20 · Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton Aspherical Review


Chris_88 wrote:
Well, I suppose that depends on your subject. That undercorrected, slightly soft look wide open and lower sharpness as you get close to MFD might be nice for portraits. I know it's kinda dumb to buy a f1.2 lens to use it stopped down, but other than an occassional low light shot, I envision this lens as landscape lens. The CV flare resistance and sunstars come in handy for that purpose. Also, this lens, the Loxia 21 and the 75 1.5 might make for a competent and compact landscape kit.


I consider the Voigtlander 35, 40 and 50mm f/1.2 character lenses with pleasant rendering. They are very similar in terms of color aberration correction and resolution/contrast across the field. (The 50mm performs slightly better though)

Without any floating element, they are not capable of high resolution at close distance but starting at 1.5m, they are relatively sharp at center even at f/1.2. However, f/2 or f/2.8 is needed to achieve similar sharpness away from the center area.

I've compared the Zeiss 35/1.4 ZM vs the Voigtlander 35/1.2 VM on the Leica and the former did way better in regards to resolution (especially at wider apertures) but rendering was much harsher in comparison. This is very subjective.



Jul 25, 2020 at 09:07 PM
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