Finally got mine today in Singapore 🇸🇬! Love it so much, I have the TTArtisa 0.95, the Noctilux 0.95, they all different, the voigtlander has its own character! I will have a lot of fun with this lens 👍🏻
As David says below : I think 'grounded asphere' is a mis-translation by Voigtlander. My understanding is that they make some asphere elements by precision moulding of glass, while others are made by CNC diamond grinding followed by CNC polishing, which can ultimately be more accurate, but also more expensive. Also the moulding process has some limits to the range of glass types that can be used. I was looking at their current catalogue in the last few days - it's very impressive ( I am a lens designer myself, been doing it for 33 years ! )
Thanks Mark for this. Makes sense and based on your knowledge and expertise, this will be how I explain it in the future. Thanks for watching and commenting
The big question, especially for those of us who already own one , is how it compares to the Noctilux F0.95. Comparing Voigtlander’s modern aspherical lens with an antique spherical design from the 1970s (almost 50 years ago) does not tell us what we need to know: would you sell your Noctilux F 0.95 and buy this lens instead?
Good question. Didn’t have a .95 to compare it to for the review but from what I’ve seen I think both are prob more comparable to each other vs the Noct f1 where the Voigtlander is sharper. Would I sell a 50 Noct for this? That depends entirely on how one takes to third party lenses. First, the .95 is a lens that’s been out for a number of years and never updated, so it makes sense lens manufacturers can replicate or best the performance with today’s manufacturing techniques. Also Some users want Leica only glass and that’s it, others are more open to exploring and aren’t so brand conscious. Difficult to say one way or the other
I'm glad they made this lens, but I'm the person in your final thoughts who prefers to shoot stopped down and will be sticking with my 50 APO for now. Thanks for the review!
Can't wait for the RF mount version. They already confirmed that in addition to focus peaking the actual focus guide will work. That's a pretty big upside on a manual focus lens.
I'm one of the photographers that dislike the bokeh in the image corners. Therefore I think the Nokton 50mm f1.2 has the better image quality and is an overall better lens than the Nokton f1. Unfortunately it does not seem to be available for Nikon Z mount (yet?) - especially because it's also a lot more affordable than the 50mm f1.
Understand your viewpoint and perhaps when they or if they come out with a version 2 of the 50mm f1.2 we may see something for the Z mount. Let’s see what happens
That was very informative Bobby! My eyes have been on this new lens for quite a while now. From your separate videos I would say the F1 wide open is a little more corrected optically than your own F1.2? I seriously consider this as a low light king for my analog M’s, but guess I need to calibrate the rangefinder pretty darn accurate beforehand lol.
Thanks for watching. Yes more corrected than the 1.2 I feel and yes may need some calibration with the rangefinder. Just depends really but this happens with M Mount lenses at times
Did you leave the other channel? Anways, happy to support you here too. Lovely reviews, keep them coming! I have no doubts that you'll get this channel growing quick! All the best from Scotland!
Hi Kevin thanks for watching. Left Tech360 but still with Geek Culture. Wanted to kick off my own channel on gear that I’m also interested in that doesn’t necessarily fit with Geek Cultures audience. Yeah looking forward to growing the channel here but will take some time
A ground aspherical element s more accurate than a cheaper moulded one. Smooth internal glass structure and a more accurate external shape. So Voigtlander-Cosina is correct in that. Leica Noctilux has the same thing.
Quite a few of the M mount Voigtlanders have had black finishing on the bayonet besides the 50mm F1 like 90 F2.8 and Heliar 50 F1.5. Hopefully it becomes a habit for Voigtlander.
This looks like just my sort of lens having good bokeh. I enjoy manual focus because it slows me down and I feel much more involved in the shooting process. It also increases my satisfaction with the final outcome. I have a Nikon Z7 and have just ordered a used Nikon Z 50mm f1.8 autofocus lens because experts show is crackingly sharp right to the edges and has great bokeh too. It has a large manual focus ring so I intend to use it only in manual focus. If by chance it doesn’t live up to my expectations a Voightlander 50 f1.2 will be on my shopping list as the bokeh of both lenses stopped are strikingly similar but the f1.2 is half the price 40% less weight and its depth of field stopped down not so paper thin. Thanks for the video.
Nice review, i was looking for a lens like this for my Sony Alpha 7rV , but the 50 f2 Apo Lanthar is good too, which one gives you a better Leica look ? I mean the colors ..
APO lenses tend to give a more modern rendering. They are fantastic lenses but at the point of their almost perfect look, you would be better to go with a Sony 50 1.2 GM or 1.4GM. The leica look is that 3D pop with beautiful bokeh and fall off. That comes a lot from the older Mandler design lenses. The 50 f1 to me gives you a good combination of modern yet unique rendering especially wide open
@@btonelli Thanks for the answer, it's true but the 50 f1 is just impossible to find, I live in Switzerland and there are nowhere to try them. I just bought a Sony Alpha 7 RV with a 24-70 2.8 GM II. It's great but a little heavy, I would like a lens for everyday use, but since I had Leica before I try to twick the colors of the camera a little to try to obtain the "colors Leica" but it's hard :-). That's why I thought that the optics from Voigtlander, especially the Apo Lanthar, the 35 or the 50 could help... But the 50 1.2 Sony GM or the 1.4 is still expensive...
I actually liked the chrome nose lenses because my cameras and most of my lenses have silver on them. A shame, hope they come up with alternatives like the 58mm or 28mm SL II lenses
Do you have any experience with the Fujifilm 50mm f1? How does this compare to that? I know the sensor size is different, but it would still be fun to see a comparison.
Hi Eirik, Yes I do have experience with that lens. The Voigtländer is slightly different. The Bokeh and look of the fujifilm is more like 75mm 1.4 and it’s more corrected wide open. Less green and purple fringing. The Voigtländer bokeh is more intense but also more CA wide open.
I probably go for the apo 50mm, this lens does have that nice voigtlander character, nice, rich and well saturated color. I may use the price difference between the two 50s for the 35mm f1.2 iii.
Just too bad about most review videos now that 95% of the video is looking at the guy making the videos rather than looking at the actual lens itself. In the “build quality” portion of example; the section is about 2 minutes and we see the lens a total of about 10 seconds or so from a far. The rest is looking at you talking into a microphone. It’s the same with all the videos. Most of it is you and not the thing you’re talking about. You can save time getting pretty for the videos and just show us the gear. Anyway. The king of 50s for me is a 50f2. It is small. It is light. It has enough separation. They are excellent at f8 and even f11, and now with digital you can literally shoot in any light. A lens that is huge and heavy will just stay in the closet. I have a better chance taking a good photo with a light and small 50mm that can stay on my camera rather than in my closet. For some reason people are obsessed with f1 and f0.95 lenses. But the fact is they are very niche special use lenses. The best most practical lens is the f2. If you really need more light, the tiny f1.5 Nokton is more than most people will ever need.
Thanks for watching and the reply. To the point of it’s mainly me on camera, well my videos are based on my opinion and experience. Some will just show product shot after product shot but after a while that also gets boring. Everyone has their preference in video and that’s the great thing about RU-vid. In regards to the 50 f2 I agree with you and also prefer this size and aperture. F1 for me is nice but I won’t use it that much.
Thank you for the kind words. I used to do radio here in Singapore for a number of years but unfortunately our market is small and the remuneration of radio personalities isn’t what it is in other countries
How does it perform when focusing on long distances at maximum aperture? I’m considering between this Voigtlander and Sony 50mm 1.2 GM (I have an autofocus adapter so AF is not a problem).
Great review with nice samples. Although this lens is M Mount it’s was really design more for adapted use. On mirrorless it’s great on M camera it’s a pain in terms of viewing and focusing.
Why do people keep talking about bokeh in modern, well-corrected lenses? There's almost no bokeh there. There's blur. The last ultra-bright 50 for Leicas that had actual bokeh was the Noctilux 50/1.0, then they went and ruined it completely for the sake of having the record-breaking f/0.95. It's sharper, better corrected, but lost the last bit of bokeh it had and only has clinical blur with no character. Waiting for Voigtlander to make a "Classic" version of this with 6 elements and a traditional double-gauss design with some actual character.
Interesting theory. When I was testing this lens I found the bokeh to be similar to the f1 but a bit more corrected. Less green rings around the light sources etc etc.
@@btonelli This has been very useful for me.I`ve been looking a fast fifty . I`ve used a summicron for 20 years . Bodies are M`s ,CL and an sl2s. Can`t really justify the .95 (I`m just a happy snapper). This seems very much worth a look .Thanks .
Hmm this is an unfair comparison of the Noctilux 0.95. I shoot it primarily on the SL2-S or the M10R and I get much better sharpness than the samples you show. I personally found that M lenses perform better on Leica bodies than my Sony FF bodies. You should redo this video and comparison on a M or SL bodies
@@btonelli Well, plenty of info on environments conducive to lense fungus out there, and leather is just ideal, but feel free to ignore it. It is your video and your comments section after all.
@@yxx_chris_xxy I live in a hot and humid climate year round so used to mold and fungus. These leather cases are treated and inside are usually foam or another material to protect the lens. Anyways all good, we have our opinions and no one is right or wrong. Just our thoughts.
I have no skin in this game, I’m just relating what I’ve been told about allocation. It’s not about making everyone run out and buy anything, and as I clearly stated at the end of the video, this lens isn’t for everyone and gave reasons why one should consider or not.
