After trying several flavors of Nokton and Lanthar, I ultimately decided to keep the 35 2 Lanthar despite the front-heavy imbalance I noticed on the Zf.
Coming from the Nikkor 40 2, I initially found the Lanthar’s size, weight, and balance difficult to overlook. The issue was not really its size or weight in isolation, but how far forward it seemed to carry that weight on the Zf. I use a leather half-case rather than an attachable grip, which likely accentuates the problem.
After spending more time with both the 40 1.2 Nokton and the 35 2 Lanthar, though, I realized their respective trade-offs are not entirely unlike those found throughout photography. The Nokton offers speed, character, compactness, and a particularly natural fit on the Zf. The Lanthar gives up some of that handling ease and low-light capability in exchange for rendering and optical correction that are better suited to my style and intended use.
Ultimately, I decided I was more willing to accept the Lanthar’s handling compromises than the Nokton’s optical trade-offs. That is not a criticism of the Nokton. They are distinct tools with different strengths, and in an ideal world, I would keep both for different jobs.
Different strokes for different folks, as with nearly every other choice in photography. For now, the Lanthar’s particular set of trade-offs makes more sense for me, even if it remains mildly awkward on the Zf without a grip.
burningheart
R5 + Voigtlander RF 35/1.4
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Great combination of R5 and 35/1,4 Nokton
wish more images
Voigtlander has always made handsome well designed lenses for as long as I can recall Fred. In fact, I never owned a Leica RF lens for any of the 10+ Leica/Epson rangefinder bodies I've owned over the last decade or so.
This lens looks like a charm, handsomely designed (straight symmetrical lines) with the right sized focus ring and aperture ring. My only nitpick would be that the aperture value should start bright on the left side of the dial and work smaller as you click it counter-clockwise. Small nitpick but it's my preference.
Voigtlander have always made excellent lenses that have incredible value. There's plenty of character to be found with many of their models, even the older ones.
I wish they made a 40mm version exactly like this one. Yep I'm one of those weird 40mm devotees. I'm a big fan of the older 40mm f/1.4 SC RF lens. Single coating makes things interesting, a modern body like this one in 40 with single coating- take my money.
