Ongoing Review of the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 Nokton
Fred Miranda wrote:
I like this lens but it’s not for everyone
From what I've seen so far, the CV 40/1.2 is a lens with distinctive character at wider apertures. There is residual spherical aberration and below average color correction for both lateral and axial CA. There is some field curvature and focus shift is definitely an issue if not shooting at working aperture.
It's sharp enough in the center at f/1.4 but not as much towards the mid-field until about f/2.8. This was a disappointment to me as I expected better mid-zone resolution when shooting wide-open or at least at one step down. This means that subjects placed off-axis won't be very sharp when shooting at wide apertures.
Coma is not well controlled at wider apertures but that's expected. It's great at f/2.5 and outstanding at f/2.8 though.
Specular highlights are not super clean and I see noticeable onion patterns in some images but not all. As expected, cat-eyes will be present from mid-field to edges until about f/2.
Voigtlander designed two lenses in one. The CV 40/1.2 Nokton is a character lens with distinctive flaws from f/1.2 until about f/2 and a modern lens when shooting at f/2.8 or smaller apertures. By f/4, it's as good as it's going to get across the field. Stepping down further does not significantly improve resolution except for the very corners which still benefit for f/5.6. (optimum). The very corners are never super sharp because lateral CA is still present but it's capable of high frequency resolution. I would not hesitate using this lens for landscapes starting at f/5.6.
On the positive side, it is capable of smooth rendering even at mid-distances and that's rare for a small fast lens. It also focuses very close and that combined with f/1.2 aperture just melts the background away.
The 40mm is a very practical focal length. Basically, it’s a normal lens that allows the environment to interact a bit more with the subject, just like when you’re shooting with a 35mm lens. Which makes this a great one-lens solution.
Just like with other Voigtlander lenses, the 10-straight aperture blades yield beautiful sunstar rendering. It’s possible to get defined 10-point sunstars starting at f/2.8!
Flare is also well-controlled even though I still see minor ghosting and veiling in some of my images. I’d say flare resistance is actually quite good on this Nokton.
Finally, the biggest plus: Size. There were optical compromises to develop a small and light f/1.2 lens. Voigtlander succeeded. It's also an E-mount native lens so expect to see all the bells and whistles like EXIF transmission, focusing auto-magnification, auto-IBIS as well as aperture de-clicking for video work.
Great summary Fred, and pretty much my take on this too. You may have a slightly better copy than me, though, as mine takes f5.6 to get close to it's best in the corners, and improves slightly around f6.7-8 (that's focussing in the outer midfield for overall resolution - f4 or so is about peak for corners focussed on corners, and centre focussed on centre)
Oct 15, 2017 at 03:59 PM
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Re: Ongoing Review of the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 Nokton
Fred Miranda wrote:
I like this lens but it’s not for everyone
From what I've seen so far, the CV 40/1.2 is a lens with distinctive character at wider apertures. There is residual spherical aberration and below average color correction for both lateral and axial CA. Field curvature is rather pronounced and focus shift is definitely an issue if not shooting at working aperture.
It's sharp enough in the center at f/1.4 but it's soft towards the mid-field until about f/2.8. This was a disappointment to me as I expected better mid-zone resolution when shooting wide-open or at least at one step down. This means that subjects placed off-axis are rather soft when shooting at wide apertures. In comparison, the 35/1.7 Ultron has much stronger resolution at mid-field from wide-open.
Coma is not well controlled either, especially at wider apertures. It's acceptable at f/2.5 and great at f/2.8 though.
Specular highlights are not very clean and I see noticeable onion patterns in them. As expected, cat-eyes will be present from mid-field to edges until about f/2.
Voigtlander designed two lenses in one. The CV 40/1.2 Nokton is a character lens with distinctive flaws from f/1.2 until about f/2.5 and a modern lens when shooting at f/2.8 or smaller apertures. By f/4, it's as good as it's going to get across the field. Stepping down further does not significantly improve resolution even towards the corners. Unfortunately, I'd say edge resolution is only average even at small apertures which makes this lens good but not great for landscapes.
On the positive side, it is capable of smooth rendering even at mid-distances and that's rare for a small fast lens. It also focuses very close and that combined with f/1.2 aperture just melts the background away.
The 40mm is a very practical focal length. Basically, it’s a normal lens that allows the environment to interact a bit more with the subject, just like when you’re shooting with a 35mm lens. Which makes this a great one-lens solution.
Just like with other Voigtlander lenses, the 10-straight aperture blades yield beautiful sunstar rendering. It’s possible to get defined 10-point sunstars starting at f/2.8!
Flare is also well-controlled even though I still see minor ghosting and veiling in some of my images. I’d say flare resistance is actually quite good on this Nokton.
Finally, the biggest plus: Size. There were optical compromises to develop a small and light f/1.2 lens. Voigtlander succeeded. It's also an E-mount native lens so expect to see all the bells and whistles like EXIF transmission, focusing auto-magnification, auto-IBIS as well as aperture de-clicking for video work.
Great summary Fred, and pretty much my take on this too. You may have a slightly better copy than me, though, as mine takes f5.6 to get close to it's best in the corners, and improves slightly around f6.7-8 (that's focussing in the outer midfield for overall resolution - f4 or so is about peak for corners focussed on corners, and centre focussed on centre)
