Voigtländer 35mm Shootout for Sony E-Mount Users
p.1 #1Voigtländer 35mm Shootout for Sony E-Mount Users
I'm curious to hear from those of you shooting Sony and using Voigtländer 35mm lenses.
Over the years, Voigtländer has given us several very different interpretations of a 35mm lens. Some chase absolute optical perfection, while others embrace character, rendering, and a little bit of old-school imperfection. The current standout in native E-mount is the APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2, which was designed as a highly corrected apochromatic lens with a reputation for exceptional sharpness, contrast, and color fidelity.
For those of you shooting Sony, which 35mm Voigtländer are you using?
APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2
Nokton 35mm f/1.2
Nokton 35mm f/1.4
Nokton 35mm f/1.5
Any adapted M-mount Voigtländer 35mm on Sony
Something else entirely
More importantly:
Why did you choose it?
What do you like about its rendering?
Do you prefer technical perfection or character?
If you own more than one 35mm Voigtländer, which gets the most use and why?
If you could only keep one, which would survive the purge?
I recently found myself thinking about the different philosophies behind these lenses. The APO seems to represent the "maximum image quality" approach, while the various Noktons often seem to be chosen because photographers actually enjoy the way they draw, flaws and all. Even among Voigtländer users, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on which is the "best" 35mm.
Let's hear some real-world experiences, sample images if you've got them, and which Voigtländer 35mm has earned a permanent place in your bag.
Over the years, Voigtländer has given us several very different interpretations of a 35mm lens. Some chase absolute optical perfection, while others embrace character, rendering, and a little bit of old-school imperfection. The current standout in native E-mount is the APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2, which was designed as a highly corrected apochromatic lens with a reputation for exceptional sharpness, contrast, and color fidelity.
For those of you shooting Sony, which 35mm Voigtländer are you using?
APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2
Nokton 35mm f/1.2
Nokton 35mm f/1.4
Nokton 35mm f/1.5
Any adapted M-mount Voigtländer 35mm on Sony
Something else entirely
More importantly:
Why did you choose it?
What do you like about its rendering?
Do you prefer technical perfection or character?
If you own more than one 35mm Voigtländer, which gets the most use and why?
If you could only keep one, which would survive the purge?
I recently found myself thinking about the different philosophies behind these lenses. The APO seems to represent the "maximum image quality" approach, while the various Noktons often seem to be chosen because photographers actually enjoy the way they draw, flaws and all. Even among Voigtländer users, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on which is the "best" 35mm.
Let's hear some real-world experiences, sample images if you've got them, and which Voigtländer 35mm has earned a permanent place in your bag.
Jun 19, 2026 at 05:10 AM
p.1 #2Voigtländer 35mm Shootout for Sony E-Mount Users
APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2
Why did you choose it?
- Best performance wide open
- due to weight considerations I decided against an f1.4 lens (my comfort zone is maximum 400g)
What do you like about its rendering?
- The Noctons are better, but rendering is reasonable and not really bad.
Do you prefer technical perfection or character?
- To considerable extent I can ad chatacter in post. Lack of resolution and clarity cannot be added in post.
If you own more than one 35mm Voigtländer, which gets the most use and why?
- From Voigtländer I only own the Apo Lanthar
- As character lens I have adapted a Pentax 31mm/f1.8 Limited, very nice!
If you could only keep one, which would survive the purge?
- 35mm/f2.0 Apo Lanthar
Why did you choose it?
- Best performance wide open
- due to weight considerations I decided against an f1.4 lens (my comfort zone is maximum 400g)
What do you like about its rendering?
- The Noctons are better, but rendering is reasonable and not really bad.
Do you prefer technical perfection or character?
- To considerable extent I can ad chatacter in post. Lack of resolution and clarity cannot be added in post.
If you own more than one 35mm Voigtländer, which gets the most use and why?
- From Voigtländer I only own the Apo Lanthar
- As character lens I have adapted a Pentax 31mm/f1.8 Limited, very nice!
If you could only keep one, which would survive the purge?
- 35mm/f2.0 Apo Lanthar
Jun 19, 2026 at 06:27 AM
p.1 #3Voigtländer 35mm Shootout for Sony E-Mount Users
APO-Lanthar 35mm f/2
Why diid I choose it?
- Completing APO-Lanthar line up
- Performance for architectural subjects
What do I like about its rendering?
- lack of distortion, acuity, and color fidelity.
Do you prefer technical perfection or character?
- depends, for the work I do with the APO-Lanthar I prefer technical perfection.
If you own more than one Voigtlander 35mm, which one gets the most use and why?
- From Voigtlander only the APO-Lanthar. I do own several other 35mm's both vintage and modern. The one that gets the most use of those is the Laowa 35mm f0.95 Argus
If you could only keep one, which would survive the purge?
- Lanthar. (But really all of them)
Why diid I choose it?
- Completing APO-Lanthar line up
- Performance for architectural subjects
What do I like about its rendering?
- lack of distortion, acuity, and color fidelity.
Do you prefer technical perfection or character?
- depends, for the work I do with the APO-Lanthar I prefer technical perfection.
If you own more than one Voigtlander 35mm, which one gets the most use and why?
- From Voigtlander only the APO-Lanthar. I do own several other 35mm's both vintage and modern. The one that gets the most use of those is the Laowa 35mm f0.95 Argus
If you could only keep one, which would survive the purge?
- Lanthar. (But really all of them)
Jun 19, 2026 at 09:37 AM
p.1 #4Voigtländer 35mm Shootout for Sony E-Mount Users
I have all 3 native E-mount Voigtländer 35mm lenses: Nokton 35/1.2 SE (discontinued), Nokton 35/1.4 classic, APO-Lanthar 35/2. Also have the recently released Zeiss Otus ML 35/1.4 which is also produced by Cosina although it's a Zeiss design.
In the past I have also owned a number of M-mount (and LTM) Voigtländers: Nokton 35/1.2 v1 and III, Nokton 35/1.5, Ultron 35/1.7 VM. Ultron 35/1.7 LTM, Ultron 35/2, Color-Skopar 35/2.5 LTM. I also have a bunch of other 35mm lenses but will not list them here.
From the Voigtländer options I have kept all the native E-mount lenses since the VMs and LTM are not optimized for Sony sensor stack and it's always noticeable to some extent, especially when comparing to E-mount native versions. I think the 35/1.2 III and 35/1.5 VMs worked fairly nicely on Sony but native version of 35/1.2 is still better on Sony when compared closely.
I like both character lenses and technical perfection lenses but for my typical weekend / walkaround shooting in Tokyo I often prefer something with character that can also be a strong corner-to-corner performer when stopped down to f5.6 - f8.
From the 3 native CV 35mm options, Nokton 35/1.4 classic came out in February 2018 and I used it a more in the early years when it was rather new. I enjoy the character that it produces but it's also quite competent for corner-to-corner sharpness by f8 (extreme corners keep improving until f8). It's one of the smallest E-mount CV options which makes it a nice walk-around lens. I'm always happy with the results I get with the lens on my casual outings and it has relatively light focus movement which I like in this type of a lens. Some sample albums taken over the years with this lens with 3 different cameras:
A9 (2018/2/15): https://photos.app.goo.gl/13tYZiSDHwQrrCCc8
A9 (2018/6/27): https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y6QwCYQRdPEDURGD6
A9 (2018/10/1): https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ew4ESwUZKitN6cUm6
A7C (2021/2/12): https://photos.app.goo.gl/h6hpFU2KEmGeCEem8
A7CII (2023/11/2): https://photos.app.goo.gl/WmpHBw7RQb8UXonJ9
35/1.2 SE was released on 2020/5/27 and I also got that one on release day. I really like it as a good general purpose walk-around lens that combines a nice amount of character with being competent for corner-to-corner sharp stopped down shooting at somewhat wider apertures than 35/1.4 classic. I never stop this lens down further than f5.6 in general. The main reason why this lens might not get as much use as it could is that it's very similar to 40/1.2 SE that is slightly smaller and lighter, and 40/1.2 SE is one of my go-to lenses for travel.
Some sample albums with 35/1.2 SE:
A9 (2020/8/5-6): https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wy7uH6uxw9sv7mJv8
A7C (2021/10/30): https://photos.app.goo.gl/TDoWN69rEDirw95u6
A7CII (2023/11/18): https://photos.app.goo.gl/rLq6KKnMiMAhVF6x6
A7CII (2024/6/19-20): https://photos.app.goo.gl/fRN4vr99zMvSR64M6
A7CII (2025/1/2): https://photos.app.goo.gl/X2fKjg2KmgzAnPtq5
I also got 35/2 APO-Lanthar as soon as it was released in 2021/4/9. It's the best of the trio when it comes to corner-to-corner sharp cityscapes or landscapes and I basically never stop it down further than f4. The bokeh on it is a bit structured and not always the most pleasing, although it can also work nicely depending on the scene. 35/2 AL impressed me more than 50/2 and I've really liked it for it's strengths. From characterful rendering perspective the 2 other native 35mm CV options can be more exciting but this one is definitely the best for cityscape/landscape shooting.
Some samples:
A7C (2021/4/10): https://photos.app.goo.gl/c3ibJ4rssz45Hefb6
A7C (2022/1/4): https://photos.app.goo.gl/pAkuUgx6T5ZyFn6B7
A7C (2022/3/12): https://photos.app.goo.gl/nDHMPxqm1bXs5phNA
A7C (2022/7/9): https://photos.app.goo.gl/e62jqGgz7jo5qm3X9
A7CII (2025/11/19-20): https://photos.app.goo.gl/hXh8s2xDuXavAUMx9
I like all 3 a lot. Hard to say which one I would keep if I could keep only one, but 35/2 APO might be a strong candidate to keep as it has always been a very impressive lens to me and I think I have other lenses that could take the role of 35/1.2 SE and 35/1.4 Nokton classic a bit more easily. 35/1.4 Otus ML could take the role of 35/2 APO but it's rather bigger and heavier.
All the samples in those albums were exported from RAW with C1 Pro and I applied a preset on all of them (usually the same one, K100-I from "Beyond Film" set, but I used some different ones especially on the older albums). Typically there was no other processing done (default sharpening, all noise reduction turned off, might have adjusted exposure if it wasn't optimal).
In the past I have also owned a number of M-mount (and LTM) Voigtländers: Nokton 35/1.2 v1 and III, Nokton 35/1.5, Ultron 35/1.7 VM. Ultron 35/1.7 LTM, Ultron 35/2, Color-Skopar 35/2.5 LTM. I also have a bunch of other 35mm lenses but will not list them here.
From the Voigtländer options I have kept all the native E-mount lenses since the VMs and LTM are not optimized for Sony sensor stack and it's always noticeable to some extent, especially when comparing to E-mount native versions. I think the 35/1.2 III and 35/1.5 VMs worked fairly nicely on Sony but native version of 35/1.2 is still better on Sony when compared closely.
I like both character lenses and technical perfection lenses but for my typical weekend / walkaround shooting in Tokyo I often prefer something with character that can also be a strong corner-to-corner performer when stopped down to f5.6 - f8.
From the 3 native CV 35mm options, Nokton 35/1.4 classic came out in February 2018 and I used it a more in the early years when it was rather new. I enjoy the character that it produces but it's also quite competent for corner-to-corner sharpness by f8 (extreme corners keep improving until f8). It's one of the smallest E-mount CV options which makes it a nice walk-around lens. I'm always happy with the results I get with the lens on my casual outings and it has relatively light focus movement which I like in this type of a lens. Some sample albums taken over the years with this lens with 3 different cameras:
A9 (2018/2/15): https://photos.app.goo.gl/13tYZiSDHwQrrCCc8
A9 (2018/6/27): https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y6QwCYQRdPEDURGD6
A9 (2018/10/1): https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ew4ESwUZKitN6cUm6
A7C (2021/2/12): https://photos.app.goo.gl/h6hpFU2KEmGeCEem8
A7CII (2023/11/2): https://photos.app.goo.gl/WmpHBw7RQb8UXonJ9
35/1.2 SE was released on 2020/5/27 and I also got that one on release day. I really like it as a good general purpose walk-around lens that combines a nice amount of character with being competent for corner-to-corner sharp stopped down shooting at somewhat wider apertures than 35/1.4 classic. I never stop this lens down further than f5.6 in general. The main reason why this lens might not get as much use as it could is that it's very similar to 40/1.2 SE that is slightly smaller and lighter, and 40/1.2 SE is one of my go-to lenses for travel.
Some sample albums with 35/1.2 SE:
A9 (2020/8/5-6): https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wy7uH6uxw9sv7mJv8
A7C (2021/10/30): https://photos.app.goo.gl/TDoWN69rEDirw95u6
A7CII (2023/11/18): https://photos.app.goo.gl/rLq6KKnMiMAhVF6x6
A7CII (2024/6/19-20): https://photos.app.goo.gl/fRN4vr99zMvSR64M6
A7CII (2025/1/2): https://photos.app.goo.gl/X2fKjg2KmgzAnPtq5
I also got 35/2 APO-Lanthar as soon as it was released in 2021/4/9. It's the best of the trio when it comes to corner-to-corner sharp cityscapes or landscapes and I basically never stop it down further than f4. The bokeh on it is a bit structured and not always the most pleasing, although it can also work nicely depending on the scene. 35/2 AL impressed me more than 50/2 and I've really liked it for it's strengths. From characterful rendering perspective the 2 other native 35mm CV options can be more exciting but this one is definitely the best for cityscape/landscape shooting.
Some samples:
A7C (2021/4/10): https://photos.app.goo.gl/c3ibJ4rssz45Hefb6
A7C (2022/1/4): https://photos.app.goo.gl/pAkuUgx6T5ZyFn6B7
A7C (2022/3/12): https://photos.app.goo.gl/nDHMPxqm1bXs5phNA
A7C (2022/7/9): https://photos.app.goo.gl/e62jqGgz7jo5qm3X9
A7CII (2025/11/19-20): https://photos.app.goo.gl/hXh8s2xDuXavAUMx9
I like all 3 a lot. Hard to say which one I would keep if I could keep only one, but 35/2 APO might be a strong candidate to keep as it has always been a very impressive lens to me and I think I have other lenses that could take the role of 35/1.2 SE and 35/1.4 Nokton classic a bit more easily. 35/1.4 Otus ML could take the role of 35/2 APO but it's rather bigger and heavier.
All the samples in those albums were exported from RAW with C1 Pro and I applied a preset on all of them (usually the same one, K100-I from "Beyond Film" set, but I used some different ones especially on the older albums). Typically there was no other processing done (default sharpening, all noise reduction turned off, might have adjusted exposure if it wasn't optimal).
Jun 20, 2026 at 08:10 AM
p.1 #5Voigtländer 35mm Shootout for Sony E-Mount Users
I have just one CV 35mm, the Nokton F1.2 SE
Why did you choose it?
No real reason, I didn't do a lot of research but I was looking for a MF lens and I figure I don't have a 35mm so that would be a good lens to add. Bigger aperture the better right
? So I got the f1.2 version.
What do you like about its rendering?
Seems sharp enough with a couple step of stopped down. The 3D rendering seems quite apparent to me. I like using it with mist filter and the combination makes for some dreamy quality in the pictures I find.
Do you prefer technical perfection or character?
Not sure if I have a general preference. I think in most of my MF lenses I do prefer to have "interesting looking" image than just pure good sharp rendering. Though this lens seems just fine at delivering sharp images.
If you own more than one 35mm Voigtländer, which gets the most use and why?
N/A
If you could only keep one, which would survive the purge?
N/A
Posted some samples in the lens thread:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1649771/9#16965531
Why did you choose it?
No real reason, I didn't do a lot of research but I was looking for a MF lens and I figure I don't have a 35mm so that would be a good lens to add. Bigger aperture the better right
? So I got the f1.2 version.What do you like about its rendering?
Seems sharp enough with a couple step of stopped down. The 3D rendering seems quite apparent to me. I like using it with mist filter and the combination makes for some dreamy quality in the pictures I find.
Do you prefer technical perfection or character?
Not sure if I have a general preference. I think in most of my MF lenses I do prefer to have "interesting looking" image than just pure good sharp rendering. Though this lens seems just fine at delivering sharp images.
If you own more than one 35mm Voigtländer, which gets the most use and why?
N/A
If you could only keep one, which would survive the purge?
N/A
Posted some samples in the lens thread:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1649771/9#16965531
Jun 21, 2026 at 02:45 PM