Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.2 Aspherical Lens (Canon RF)

1 review for Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.2 Aspherical Lens (Canon RF)

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Ormond (verified owner) – 3 July 2024

   I pre ordered this before it hit the shops and after owning it ever since I’m quite impressed. The build and handling are excellent and the aperture and focus rings are superb in use and feel and the lens comes with a nice metal hood which I’d found I don’t really need so it stays at home which is nice as this makes the lens a bit more compact. It doesn’t have an aperture declick option like its bigger 40mm f1.2 brother but that doesn’t bother me. The lens communicated with the body so exif is available and if you select the option the camera will call up the magnified view when you turn the focus ring but personally I prefer to call this up manually if and when I want. Optically I think this FE lens is better in every way than its older Leica mount cousin unless you happen to like the look that lens gives. Bokeh wise the FE mount version is best described as busy and funky at f1.4 although this is scene and background dependant and with the right scene f1.4 can look very nice indeed. Stopping down the funkiness subsides and by f2 I’d say it’s tamed. Sharpness wise I think it’s good at f1.4 anywhere in the frame you’d like to place a main subject, by f2 it’s sharp and by f4 to f5.6 it’s very good indeed (almost) everywhere but note that the extreme corners are never great and always a bit smeared but I’m talking about the extreme corners here when looking very closely and you’d be hard pressed to see this in a whole picture. Sunstars are nice and resistance to flare seems good enough not to need the hood. I think the vignetting is acceptable, ca and flare are not real world issues for me and neither is distortion so all in all the only negatives seem to be the busy bokeh at f1.4 (lessening by f2) which is scene dependant and the relatively poor extreme corners when looking very closely. These negatives may well be a price worth paying for a very well made compact and light 35mm f1.4 and this lens could suit all but those who want pixel peeping sharpness into the extreme corners and smooth bokeh from f1.4 and of course 35mm lenses that can provide these things are rare and expensive and usually big and heavy, ones that are as compact as this Voigtlander are very probably non existent. I’d happily recommend this lens with the caveats that the bokeh can be a bit wild at the widest apertures depending upon the scene and the very extreme corners aren’t going to match a Sigma Art level lens or even the Sony 35mm f1.8 which is sharp everywhere from wide open. However, anyone wanting a very compact and lovely to use manual lens could be very happy especially if they either like the funky bokeh at the widest apertures or ration their use of these apertures to scenes that suit it or light that demands it. I can imagine owning and using and liking this lens for as long as my eyesight lasts. One person found this helpful