New Voigtländer Nokton review (in Stock for the normal price on eBay!!!)
It’s still quite difficult to find the Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 lens in Stock. Request have been much higher than Cosina expected and there are still consistent supply shortages. Also eBay resellers do often sell the lens without having them in Stock (and when they are in Stock they are usually very expensive). But there are two exceptions:
The german shop Deutscher Digitalhandel is selling five Nokton lenses (Click here) for the normal European price (899 Euro). They are all in Stock (“sofort lieferbar”). They ship worldwide.
The less known thai shop Rangefinder2008 (from where the picture on top comes from) is selling four Nokton lenses for the same price as the German shop (Click here).
We posted many Nokton reviews on 43rumors but today we can add a new one, the first Spanish review made by DSLRmagazine (Click here to read the google english translation). They posted many graphs showing the Center and Border Resolution, Vignetting, Chromatic Aberration and Distortion. The conclusions is not different from the one made by other reviewers: “it is one of the best options in this range, especially if we consider the peculiar aesthetics of the image – more than interesting for pure photographic purpose – or their value standard for video and optical for its luminosity and comprehensive manual focus.”
Bob B.
3 years ago |Isn’t the retail price supposed to be $900? Which I feel is very pricey for a manual focus lens for Micro 4/3. Maybe in a year the lens will be available at a reasonable price?
Tobias W.
3 years ago |The magic 8-ball says: “Don’t count on it”.
Mr. Reeee
3 years ago |The US retail price went up to $1099 recently.
If you put down a deposit, the price at the time was locked in. I reserved one in early February.
@Bob B….. ANY manual lens works perfectly with manual focus assist. It’s great having a real aperture ring instead of using menus! If you’re looking for aperture coupling and EXIF data, you’re out of luck.
Bob B.
3 years ago |Mr. Reese….
Wait..wait..are you telling me that if I use a Nokton on my GF1 that the optional Zoom-Focus feature (hope that is the right name…it is the camera feature that enlarges a small area of the frame when you start to focus so that you can focus more critically…), will engage and assist me with critical focusing if I choose to turn that feature on in the camera. I thought that the camera needed electronic feedback in the lens for that to work???????
Laurent
3 years ago |It will not be automatic, you will have to press the wheel on the back to zoom, but I use it a lot and it is absolutely not a problem
Mr. Reeee
3 years ago |Uh, yeah. Laurent is correct.
I have two Nikon manual lenses I bought in 1989 (20mm f2.8 and 35-135mm macro zoom) and I just bought a used Nikon 60mm f2.8D macro lens. They work great. For me, this was a HUGE reason for going to M4/3!!!
So, get a Fotodiox adaptor from Amazon and use your Canon lenses!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=canon+to+MFT+adaptor&x=0&y=0
Bob B.
3 years ago |OK…call me stupid….but if I am going to use me big Canon 85mm f/1.2….why wouldn’t I just use it on my 5D Mark II ..get auto focus, full frame bokeh AND the giant file off of my Canon????? LOL.
Bob B.
3 years ago |Hey…it would be one thing if the Nokton had electronics in it that would give me Zoom-Focus feedback (on my GF1), which would be invaluable for a manual-focus, low-depth-of-field lens like this, (kind of like the Zeiss EF lenses for Canon…the electronics give you in-camera positive focus indication). Then I think it would be worth $900…but $1300+?????The world of cameras is a strange and wonderful place, sometimes…kind of like a David Lynch movie…. LOL!!!!
Laurent
3 years ago |This has sadly been the rule for years now, $1 = 1€ for the high tech products… this is partly compensated by the fact that retail price in Europe includes the taxes, but it is clearly not interesting for someone outside Europe to purchase in Euro.
Welcome to our world of high prices !
Reggieandtfe
3 years ago |The official price in the US has actually risen to $1099. Check out Cameraquest.com, an official Cosina dealer. I placed a deposit early in March, but did not receive a lens in the recent April shipment, as every lens was sold before it hit the store.
DonTom
3 years ago |Easy to miss the point of this lens by looking at the price and lack of AF, EXIF etc. Better to compare it with the Leica Noctilux 50mm, and realize you are in fact saving $9,000 over the nearest competition…….
Bob B.
3 years ago |Sorry DonTom…IMO the Nokton, while definitely an intriguing lens with very special qualities, in no way compares to a Leica Noctilux 50mm, (nor does a Micro 4/3 sensor compare to an M9 sensor). The Leica is in its own stratosphere. To get that kind of WOW factor (sharpness alone, wide open) you HAVE to pony up $7000 for an M9 and over $10,000 for the lens. No substitutes.
Although the Nokton gets its feet wet in that realm…if you want to go swimming…….
DonTom
3 years ago |OK Bob, point me in the direction of another F0.95 lens that is currently available with full coverage on the m43 sensor……without having to sell my car to buy it!
Ulli
3 years ago |You shouldn’t compare the nokton 25 mm with the noctilux 50 mm.
Instead take the nokton 50 mm f/1.1 ….as far as ik know/have read, the noctilux strenght is the way it renders out of focus area, its not really higher resolving then the nokton 50 f/1.1
Bob B.
3 years ago |There isn’t one with any cred.. other than the Voigtlander.
Mr. Reeee
3 years ago |Or a kidney!
DSLR Magazine
3 years ago |Bob B.: the focus assist by image magnifying works, perfect. You just have to push a button!
And it is a joy to focus at f/0,95 with a 270º arc ring..
Best regards.
And yes… regretfully for us, europeans, the lens has a quite higher price at our shores.
Valentin/DSLR Magazine
MikeS
3 years ago |You’re supporting DonTom’s point with your argument: the M9 and Noctilux can command such high prices precisely because there’s no other products that come close to approaching what they offer in terms of uniqueness and build/image quality.
Since the Nokton, as you say, is at least in the realm of what the Noctilux offers, it’s not unreasonable to ask around 1/10 of its price, especially given a complete lack of a other options (unless you count C-mount f/0.95 lenses that have similarly high prices on eBay – there’s currently an Angenieux with a $1700 price tag).
That said, to your original point, in a world where some consider $200 to be too much to pay for a lens, it is definitely strange what some of us consider to be a reasonable price for camera gear. Maybe not Twin Peaks strange…
DonTom
3 years ago |Really fast lenses are never going to be cheap. A 30 year old OM 55/F1.2 will still cost $400 unless you are really lucky.
I had the money put aside for a Nokton, but decided to get the 20/F1.7 from Panasonic when I tried them both out in a store. I couldn’t bring myself to spend the extra, but I regret it now. There have been plenty of situations where the 20/F1.7 has struggled with the light in a restaurant or street scene. Of course there are other family shots I would have missed without AF.
Another point to consider is weight. The Nokton isn’t light at 410g, but the Noctilux weighs 700g. A Nokton could be an everday lens on an E-PL1, but if you had a Noctilux on an M9, you would need a slower lens to be your everday 50mm as well. There goes another $2000!
Everything in the camera world is about compromise, but I think the price/performance ratio of the Nokton is pretty fair. Especially given the alternatives.
pdc
3 years ago |Start saving again. I use the Nokton on my GH2 more than any other lens.
DonTom
3 years ago |Researching on eBay the closest FL alternative to the Nokton, in MF legacy glass.
28mm F1.9:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140534490600&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en
($79 with 5 days to go, Series 1 Vivitar made by Tokina)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Voigtlander-28mm-f-1-9-Wide-Ultron-Asph-SILVER-CHROME-/360354819873?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item53e6d22f21
($549 new …..from Cosina)
Anyone know of a faster legacy lens in the 24 to 28mm range?
Bob B.
3 years ago |Thanks for the help, everybody…I thought I needed electronic coupling for the focus assist to work on my GF1. You have all set me straight!!!!
DonTom
3 years ago |Glad that is sorted Bob. In response to your comment about using your 5D Mk11 with 85/F1.2: I would call you stupid if you didn’t use that for portraits! Not many of us have such a lens, or would want to carry one around. More than twice the weight of the Nokton. I don’t think it will even work on a m43 body, because it doesn’t have a mechanical focus ring, it needs power. The attraction of the Nokton for me is low light ability more than bokeh anyway….
m43 isn’t a answer for everybody. For some it is an upgrade from a P&S, others don’t need all the capabilities of a DSLR, so “downgrade”. Many others own all three types of camera, happily. I have never owned an SLR (film or digital), so belong to the first group. I looked hard at getting a FF DSLR for the bokeh, decided I would be satisfied with m43 and happier with the weight (camera is with me more). If I was to get a DSLR (thinking of it), it would be for the better AF on fast action, but that is really the only reason, for me.
I think most people who do their homework realise that:
-DSLR has faster AF for action, better dynamic range, shallower DOF at given F-stop
-M43 is smaller (especially for telephoto), has live view as standard, cheaper, can use plentiful MF legacy lenses, and has a shallower DOF than a P&S
-P&S is smaller again, cheaper again, also has live view, and has great DOF, which is a bonus for landscapes and snapshots
None of the above is bad! Having so much choice is great.
Max
3 years ago |I think the cameramakers logic is good lenses are expensive. But don’t need to be replaced once you buy them.In a year you may upgrade to a GH-3, or a GH-4 in two years. You 20mm 1.7 will be just as good in 10 years.
zebarnabe
3 years ago |There are only 4 in stock noew (no I didn’t order one)
cL
3 years ago |I think the photo shows the world supply of Nokton…. ;-p (just kidding)
sebfarges
3 years ago |The official price in France is 749€, not 850€.
http://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0046EC1OE/ref=asc_df_B0046EC1OE2684955/?tag=clubic-rt-ce-21&creative=22686&creativeASIN=B0046EC1OE&linkCode=asn