I've no experience of the 0.9 but own the 1.2. I think the Nokton 1.2 is similar to the Nokton Classic 35/1.4 I have in E-mount, in rendering characteristics. There's a deliberately "vintage" vibe to it, where it's soft wide open, with coma and fairly rough/structured looking bokeh (the way I like it), but cleans up well stopped down. Love my copy.
I have no experience with the the 0.9, but own the 23, 35 and 50 1.2 lenses and they can be slightly soft at 1.2 but once stopped down a little they are sharp. Out of the three the 35mm is my favorite this focal length works for me. To me the all produce a classic film look to the images. I thought about the 0.9 before getting the 35mm 1.2 but asked my self how often do I need a super shallow depth of field, and currently if I want that look I will go with the 50mm 1.2.
For me my X-T5 kit is with the Voigtlander 18mm, 23mm, 35mm and 50mm. This is my old school film like kit.
rjn_design wrote:
I thought about the 0.9 before getting the 35mm 1.2 but asked my self how often do I need a super shallow depth of field, and currently if I want that look I will go with the 50mm 1.2
I would be after the 0.9 primarily for the rendering differences. I'm guessing there's a lot less aberrations!
Looking at the Cosina website, the 50mm f1 looks to be roughly the same design (albeit one more element on APS-C... Perhaps its a good analogue?
I used to have the 35/1.2 and it has a classic rendering as others noted. I have the 35/0.9 and it’s indeed like the 50/1 on full frame. Very sharp, nice bokeh, more modern rendering—even fully open. It is a bigger lens but it doesn’t feel too bulky.
Any chance to see any samples taken with your lens? It's a really expensive lens and there's very little samples online. So far it looks to render really lovely and smooth backgrounds with decent sharpness.
Could be my holy grail lens, as the one lens I miss from Sony, after switching back to all-Fuji is the 40mm f/1.2 Nokton and this 35mm f/0.9 is the closest thing there is for Fuji.
Overall, what is your opinion now after few weeks? 😅
snappy_happy wrote:
Thanks all for your feedback.
I took the plunge... my copy of the 35 f/0.9 arrived today.
I now own every CV X-Mount lens, except for the 23...!
Tonzah78 wrote:
Any chance to see any samples taken with your lens? I
Apologies for the slow response... I'll post some samples when I get time.
Quick feedback - Its a beautiful lens with a wonderful modern rendering. The Achilles heel is visible longitudinal chromatic aberration and a softer center at <f1.2.
Its difficult to compare to the Nokton F1.2 as that lens purposely introduces aberrations beneath f2.8 as part of its "dual character" design (like a Leica Steel Rim). If you need / want the speed, there's likely no other alternatives. If you're happy with F2.0 and above - go for the APO Ultron as that has a similar rendering, macro capabilities, smaller size and costs less!
I've not used the FF equivalent lenses you quote, however my guess is they will be slightly better performers given there's more glass & light to work with. The design of this lens (per the general drawings posted) seems similar to the 50mm F1 on full frame - perhaps use that to set your expectations.
I got a good deal on the lens - brand new for 900 EUR / 1050 USD / 1500 AUD... I think the RRP is hard to swallow.
