Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Leica & Alternative Gear | Join Upload & Sell

1 2 3

5 … 33 34 end

Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #1 · p.4 #1 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

nehemiahphoto wrote:
Like I said before Fred even had his copy on that other thread (and others have said), I don’t really understand why this is a better option than the 50/1.2.

I will try to answer this one: They are lenses with different maximum apertures, so if one wants a f/0.95-1 lens, the CV 50/1.2 Nokton and Leica 50/1.4 Lux mentioned here are not really in this category. The latter is a full stop slower and that could be significant enough for someone shooting in very low light. One could argue that this is no longer an issue with modern sensors, but that's another discussion.

I own the 50/1.2 Nokton and that's why I compared it to the new f/1. However, it would be more appropriate for me to compare the new Nokton to other brands with the same maximum aperture.

Cosina still offers both f/1 and f/1.2 Nokton lenses so one didn't replace the other. The new Voigtlander 50/1 Nokton is just a faster choice with different optical design compromises. One is more compact and has a great balance between resolution and rendering, but it's slower. The other is faster, sharper at infinity (center) and sharper across the image field at MFD and close distance. However, rendering is not as pleasant...so there you have it in a nutshell.

I have never tested the Leica 50/0.95 Noctilux but this lens seem to be the only direct competition to the new Voigtlander 50/1 Nokton because it shares a modern design and it's also equipped with FLE. I have no clue how they compare optically but I know the Leica is way bigger and heavier.

Personally, I prefer compact lenses for the Leica M, so both Leica 50/0.95 and Voigtlander 50/1 Nokton lenses would not be my first choice. Having said that, the new Voigtlander balances quite nicely on the Leica M10-R.

Feb 04, 2022 at 06:21 PM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #2 · p.4 #2 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Back to Quick Links

Samples 2

Pretty much straight off the camera. (fixed exposure because I didn't have a ND filter)
Not corrected for CA or Vignetting. (Lightroom M10-R color profile)
All at F1.

100% crop from image above

100% crop from image above

100% crop from image above

100% crop from image above

Feb 04, 2022 at 07:18 PM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #3 · p.4 #3 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Back to Quick Links

Field Curvature and Optical vignetting

I did not detect much field curvature at infinity distance but when focusing a subject closer, the Voigtlander 50/1 Nokton shows outwards field curvature where the focal plane bends away from the camera as it gets further off-axis.

When shooting wide open, this field curvature shape combined with the CV 50/1's pronounced optical vignetting, may cause evenness in the background rendering. Optical vignetting amplifies this ill-effect as it deepens DOF towards the corners.

So, when focusing your subject at mid-distance, the out of focus corners in the background may look sharper compared to center, even though they are parallel to the camera sensor.

Here are a few images illustrating this:

Image taken wide open (F1) at subject (grass) focused at mid-distance (3m)

Find edges allow us to see focus curve with better clarity. That's the curvature shape when focusing the subject at this distance. This FC combined with high optical vignetting causes the out of focus corners to appear sharper

Example of optical vignetting where the edges look sharper and specular highlights have pronounced cat-eyes shape

Sample showing how the corners in the out of focus area appear sharper than center

Another example. Same as above

Feb 04, 2022 at 08:27 PM

NJPhotographer
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.4 #4 · p.4 #4 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Corners in the background looking sharper than the center were apparently a characteristic of the old Noctilux 50/1.0 too.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/24635558328/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/38535813561/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/33909963872/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/49190299027/

Feb 04, 2022 at 09:01 PM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #5 · p.4 #5 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

NJPhotographer wrote:
Corners in the background looking sharper than the center were apparently a characteristic of the old Noctilux 50/1.0 too.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/24635558328/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/38535813561/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/33909963872/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/49190299027/

It's very evident on this one:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/moaan/33909963872/

I think the rendering unevenness is even stronger compared to the CV 50/1 Nokton's. Optical vignetting is also very high and it looks like FC has similar shape.

This made me curious and I may grab a Leica 50/0.95 for a side by side comparison. No promises though.

Feb 04, 2022 at 09:08 PM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #6 · p.4 #6 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Back to Quick Links

Color Aberration:

Because the Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton is such a fast lens, I was expecting color error to be on the high side. To my surprise, lateral CA is low but axial CA is noticeable, especially under high contrast lighting. Still, I find it well controlled for such fast lens.

When shooting wide open, I see purple fringing on the focus plane in areas of high contrast. Stopping down to f/1.4 mitigates it and f/2 removes it.

Here is a few samples demonstrating this:

Image showing high contrast

100% crop from image above showing purple fringing. Most images at f1 won't show purple fringing, so expect this to be the worse case scenario

Image showing axial CA

100% crop from image above: purple fringing on the focus area

100% crop from image above: Green fringing on the background. I find this well controlled for a f/1 lens wide open under high contrast light

Image showing axial CA

100% crop from image above: Green fringing. Well controlled for f/1

Extreme corner showing Lateral CA (very low). Note DNG didn't have any in camera profile and was cleaned using DNG cleaner

Lateral CA corrected in Lightroom

Feb 04, 2022 at 09:15 PM

highdesertmesa
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #7 · p.4 #7 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Fred Miranda wrote:
Samples 2

Pretty much straight off the camera. (fixed exposure because I didn't have a ND filter)
Not corrected for CA or Vignetting. (Lightroom M10-R color profile)
All at F1.

I really like these a lot. Reminds me of the CV 40 1.2 thread that started off with all the technical imperfections and ended up on a high of all the beautiful photos everyone was taking with it.

The price is what has me thinking twice, though. Almost $2K makes me think of putting that toward a vintage Leica f/1 Noct instead — or waiting to see if the f/1 Noct reissue that was pictured with the M11 promo materials ever materializes.

Feb 04, 2022 at 09:24 PM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #8 · p.4 #8 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

highdesertmesa wrote:
I really like these a lot. Reminds me of the CV 40 1.2 thread that started off with all the technical imperfections and ended up on a high of all the beautiful photos everyone was taking with it.

The price is what has me thinking twice, though. Almost $2K makes me think of putting that toward a vintage Leica f/1 Noct instead — or waiting to see if the f/1 Noct reissue that was pictured with the M11 promo materials ever materializes.

Nothing against the Leica 50/1 but you won't get this level of performance with a vintage design. It's just a matter of preference.

From the walk-around this morning I was able to shoot with the M10-R + CV 50/1 @F1 under harsh light without NDs.
I thought some highlight detail would be lost but although most images were over-exposed, the highlights were recovered in post without serious issues. Sometimes 2 stops.

That shows how the M10-R sensor does a phenomenal job recovering highlights. The new M11 can do this as well with the benefit of shooting at ISO 64.

Feb 04, 2022 at 10:27 PM

Edward Teller
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #9 · p.4 #9 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

I only just now realized that I had accidentally posted the above photos from the Nokton and the Noctilux to this thread. I was intending to post them to the other Nokton 50/1 thread, not the official FM review thread. Sorry.
I should start over, over there, right? Or, can my post above just be moved over to the other thread, and I can follow it up there? There are more to post, but this thread seems like the wrong place to put them.
Apologies.

Feb 04, 2022 at 10:31 PM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #10 · p.4 #10 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Back to Quick Links

Samples 3

Pretty much straight off the camera. (fixed exposure because I didn't have a ND filter)
Not corrected for CA or Vignetting. (Lightroom M10-R color profile)
All at F1.

100% crop from image above

100% crop from image above

100% crop from image above

100% crop from image above

100% crop from image above

Feb 04, 2022 at 10:40 PM

LarsHP
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.4 #11 · p.4 #11 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Sometimes the reverse field curvature will beneficial, like the last one just above, where the point of focus is well outside the center on a close subject while the background is in the center, but generally that's not the case.

I have been on the lookout for an f/0.95 or f/1 50mm lens with smooth bokeh and proper sharpness in the mid-frame (at a sensible price, which excludes the Noctilux and Z Noct Nikkor) for the last several years, and really thought the Nokton f/1 would be THE lens. Before it was released, I said to myself that the only thing that possibly could make me _not_ buy it would be the "unlikely" case that Cosina Voigtländer designed the lens with reverse field curvature even on digital Leica M sensors. As we know now, this was unfortunately exactly the case, and I am really sorry the lens designers made this compromise.

If the lens had _regular_ field curvature, even a quite strong one, I would happily buy it, because that would counteract the effect that optical vignetting has on background blur towards the sides and corners.

Feb 05, 2022 at 03:32 AM

KLaban
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.4 #12 · p.4 #12 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

LarsHP wrote:
Sometimes the reverse field curvature will beneficial, like the last one just above, where the point of focus is well outside the center on a close subject while the background is in the center, but generally that's not the case.

I have been on the lookout for an f/0.95 or f/1 50mm lens with smooth bokeh and proper sharpness in the mid-frame (at a sensible price, which excludes the Noctilux and Z Noct Nikkor) for the last several years, and really thought the Nokton f/1 would be THE lens. Before it was released, I said to myself that the only thing...Show more →

I too have been on the lookout for the last several years, but for a fast lens which delivers beautiful creamy bokeh without the obvious sharpening at the edges we see here in the Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton and also to some degree in the Voigtlander 50mm f/1.2 Nokton ASPH. My requirements mean bokeh needs to take priority at the possible expense of central or indeed general sharpness. I'm looking to use the lens on my Nikon Z bodies, already have a number of optically excellent Z lenses and so I'm looking for a lens with different qualities.

I've ordered a Syoptic 50mm 1.2 in Z mount - was particularly taken with the 0.35m close focussing distance - and the bokeh would seem to be rather impressive. Can a lens costing 139 GBP really meet my requirements and expectations? Will there be sample variation? Well, time will tell. Fingers crossed.

Feb 05, 2022 at 05:23 AM

genji
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.4 #13 · p.4 #13 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Feb 05, 2022 at 05:31 AM

mapgraphs
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.4 #14 · p.4 #14 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Fred Miranda wrote:
...
I did not detect much field curvature at infinity distance but when focusing a subject closer, the Voigtlander 50/1 Nokton shows outwards field curvature where the focal plane bends away from the camera as it gets further off-axis.

...

The new 2/28 Ultron II exhibits the same effect on an M-240...

Note distant center (near focus is about 3-4m) versus upper left corner.

****

Would the 28 Ultron also fall into the failed category per the local lens cognoscenti?

Feb 05, 2022 at 07:47 AM

Steve Spencer
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.4 #15 · p.4 #15 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

mapgraphs wrote:
The new 2/28 Ultron II exhibits the same effect on an M-240...

Note distant center (near focus is about 3-4m) versus upper left corner.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51740034020_48119a0bf6_b.jpg
****

Would the 28 Ultron also fall into the failed category per the local lens cognoscenti?

I am pretty sure the new 28 ultron doesn't have reverse field curvature but rather what you are seeing is the result of vignetting and can easily be cured by stopping down in such an instance or if you really want that wide an aperture cropping the sides and in my experience with this lens a 4 X 3 aspect ratio cures the issue even wide open. So it isn't the same thing at all, IMO, and easy to compensate for this effect with the new 28 ultron.

The 50 f/1.0 in contrast I believe samples have shown has real reverse field curvature that exacerbates the effects of vignetting which is also especially high on this lens and if you put that together with one of the primary purposes of the lens is to shoot it wide open or at least close to wide open then you have what to me is a very meaningful problem, whereas the issue for the 28 is not nearly as big of a problem.

Feb 05, 2022 at 08:13 AM

LarsHP
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.4 #16 · p.4 #16 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

I own that lens myself, and on my Nikon Z6 (w/ Kolari ultra-thin mod), there is a very, very slight regular field curvature.

mapgraphs wrote:
The new 2/28 Ultron II exhibits the same effect on an M-240...

Note distant center (near focus is about 3-4m) versus upper left corner.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51740034020_48119a0bf6_b.jpg
****

Would the 28 Ultron also fall into the failed category per the local lens cognoscenti?

Feb 05, 2022 at 09:04 AM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #17 · p.4 #17 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Well, I just got one coming and should compare it to the Voigtlander 50/1 Nokton next week. Got a Leica 50/1 as well, to make these resolution and rendering comparisons more fair.

From your posts, it looks like your main priority is rendering evenness, so the Syoptic 50MM 1.1 reviewed by Bastian seems to be a great choice but the compromise will be craftsmanship and lower resolution/contrast at any distance.

I'm afraid that a well-built and compact 50mm f/1 lens with "optimal" field curvature, low optical vignetting and sharp at any distance does not exist at any price...

Feb 05, 2022 at 09:13 AM

LarsHP
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.4 #18 · p.4 #18 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

I remember reading that the Noctilux f/0.95 has quite strong field curvature, but I thought it was of the regular type until I google'd it just now. It also has reverse field curvature!

Quote:
"The 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux-M ASPH has very substantial field curvature at close range in particular, and it lingers at medium and far distance."
https://diglloyd.com/prem/s/LEICA/LeicaM/lens-LeicaNoctilux-field-curvature.html

... with lots of chromatic aberrations on top of that.
https://diglloyd.com/prem/s/MSI/publish/CaseStudy-LeicaNoctilux.html

To be honest, I expect the Nokton f/1 to whip and beat the Noctilux regarding sharpness across the frame (both wide open). I judge this by looking at the official MTF graphs from Leica and the sample shots I have seen, including the RAW file I downloaded. I also anticipate the Nokton to have less CA's. In fact, I think it will be a better lens overall.

I thought field curvature was the advantage of the Noctilux Asph (compared to the Nokton f/1), but when both have the reverse type, I don't see why anyone would buy the Leica lens (except for those who want "a real Leica lens", which nowadays means brand name, not optical quality).

Regarding the SYoptic 50mm f/1.1, I might buy it just for the fun of it. I expect any difference between my Nokton f/1.2 and the SYoptic in favor of the latter will mostly be the degree of blur outside the central area.

Fred Miranda wrote:
Yes, depending on subject distance, the field curvature shape going the other way + strong optical vignetting makes rendering distracting and therefore this lens may not be for you and many others including myself. You mentioned the Leica 50/0.95 Noctilux perhaps being superior in this regard. It must be for $13K, right?
Well, I just got one coming and should compare it to the Voigtlander 50/1 Nokton next week. Got a Leica 50/1 as well, to make these resolution and rendering comparisons more fair.

From your posts, it looks like your main priority is rendering evenness, so the Syoptic 50MM...Show more →

Feb 05, 2022 at 10:02 AM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #19 · p.4 #19 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

Here is the field curvature shape between Leica 50/1.4 Lux, Voigtlander 50/1 Nokton and Voigtlander 50/1.2 Nokton.
(In this order)

Grass focused at 4m distance with all lenses wide open. This effect can be seeing running 'find edges' in PS or by just moving the sharpening 'masking' slider to 90 or 100 in LR.

Field curvature: Outwards

Field curvature: A bit more pronounced outwards

Field curvature: Slightly wavy

Feb 05, 2022 at 10:03 AM

Fred Miranda
Offline
Admin
Upload & Sell: On

p.4 #20 · p.4 #20 · Voigtlander 50mm f/1 Nokton Review

LarsHP wrote:
I remember reading that the Noctilux f/0.95 has quite strong field curvature, but I thought it was of the regular type until I google'd it just now. It also has reverse field curvature!

Feb 05, 2022 at 10:07 AM

1 2 3 4 5 … 33 34 end
FM Forums \| Leica & Alternative Gear \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 3 4 5 … 33 34 end

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.