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Review - Fuji X mount Voigtlander 35mm F0.9 Nokton lens
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2023 7:22 am    Post subject: Review - Fuji X mount Voigtlander 35mm F0.9 Nokton lens Reply with quote

About 8 years ago exotic F0.95 lenses for APS-C mirrorless cameras were quite a high rarity and very pricy. Voigtlander did a great job starting fast aperture lenses trend even earlier by producing their MFT F0.95 lenses.
Early 2016 was a revolutionary event for Fuji X mount - release of manual focus ZhongYI Mitakon 35mm F0.95 Mark II lens in more compact body and advanced optical formula - lens that can easily compete with "magical" XF 35mm F1.4.
I was very curious and purchased Mitakon 35mm F0.95 Mk II in March 2016, and by accident happened to be one of first who wrote a review on numerous forums ( later moved to this blog ).
It took years though for Mitakon to become fully recognized mostly by well skilled manual focusing photographers for its unique performance and rendering.

These days F0.95 aperture is not surprising anyone, though may still sound a bit intimidating in case of quick manual focusing is needed wide open - it's actually not as hard as it sounds with a little practice and using advantage of modern cameras focus assist.

Yesterday I received a new interesting fast aperture mini-beast made by Cosina - their newest Fuji X mount Voigtlander 35mm F0.9 Nokton Aspherical lens.
You can read more details in lens review in this article, which is quite short for now, but will continue growing with more test samples and perhaps more details on lens internals.

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2023 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for sharing, seems to be a very nice lens 👍


PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2023 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I shall give it a read..

Quote:
Further measurements of aperture size visible from the front are:


I'm guessing you're taking a photo of the lens from the front to decide this, rather than measure just front element?


This Nokton 35mm f0.9 is similar in design to Voigtlander's other fast normal Double-Gauss lenses, with a bit more split intermediate elements of the rear group.



The TTArtisan 35mm f0.95 an interesting one too, relative to other superfast APS-C lenses:



PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2023 6:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's hard to measure visible size of aperture due to front glass curvature. I'm using method which I think is closer by precision - locating position where visible edge of aperture is merging with edge of entrance pupil on the left side, then doing same on the right side. It's partially addressing measurement error introduced by looking at lens front from different distances.


PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2023 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

yukosteel wrote:
It's hard to measure visible size of aperture due to front glass curvature. I'm using method which I think is closer by precision - locating position where visible edge of aperture is merging with edge of entrance pupil on the left side, then doing same on the right side. It's partially addressing measurement error introduced by looking at lens front from different distances.


That make sense, but how do you measure it then? Take a picture or physical? Sorry for silly questions, quite rusty..


PostPosted: Sun Sep 10, 2023 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Putting ruler as close as possible to the front lens orthogonally to the optical axis, then measuring start and end point of visible aperture diameter edge when looking orthogonally at each (start/end) point separately - that's quite accurate in case of classic double Gauss design.
I'd recommend to check this OpticsRealm video lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZPDX2JEIPk


PostPosted: Mon Sep 11, 2023 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

just checked the price of that lens: $1,499.00 !!!

I think you should have the latest Fuji (t5 or h2*) model to match it


PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2023 12:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, new Voigtlander lenses are very expensive, especially fast aperture options. They tend to noticeably drop in cost at used market though over time, e.g. I purchased my copy lightly used for 1299. It pairs great with X-T5 and also works excellent with older X-E2s camera.
CameraQuest even have separate used section for discounted lenses, I've purchased form them few times and mostly lenses are kind of open box, hard to say they were ever used: https://shop.cameraquest.com/voigtlander-used/


PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2023 1:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The ground aspherical is what is probably spiking the price on this lens. That’s expensive to manufacture.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2023 4:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Yeah, new Voigtlander lenses are very expensive, especially fast aperture options. They tend to noticeably drop in cost at used market though over time, e.g. I purchased my copy lightly used for 1299. It pairs great with X-T5 and also works excellent with older X-E2s camera.
CameraQuest even have separate used section for discounted lenses, I've purchased form them few times and mostly lenses are kind of open box, hard to say they were ever used: https://shop.cameraquest.com/voigtlander-used/


well, i wonder how it compares to samyang 35/1.2 for aps-c (fuji!)
That lens is on my list. already have more samies and i think they outperform old stuff:
in size, weight, pic quality, handling, usability, price ..
however some could have a bit too smooth focus throw for my liking.
and yes, not much 'special character', thats true.
wat gives me more stimulans to do better photos


PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2023 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Obviously we need a shootout between this new VC lens and the ZY Speedmaster...


PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2023 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cbass wrote:
The ground aspherical is what is probably spiking the price on this lens. That’s expensive to manufacture.


If you see the production process of Voigtländer lenses, it may also explain the high costs. https://youtu.be/Voo3pCvYODI?si=PxGF1o0RKL0e9gM6


PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2023 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cosina's MARKETING team is the one to learn from ..

*edit ...


Last edited by alex_d on Sat Sep 16, 2023 9:30 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2023 12:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Samyang 35mm F1.2 is a great lens, similar to 50mm F1.2 - well designed with good smooth rendering. Voigtlander 35mm F1.2 rendering is more interesting, and that lens often comes down to $480 on used market.

I'd recommend to check FredMiranda few images samples comparison of Voigtlander 35mm F1.2 vs Voigtlander 35mm F0.9
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1816640/1

I've also posted few image pairs comparison for TTArtisan 35mm F0.95 and Voigtlander 35mm F0.9 here:
https://www.yukosteel.com/2023/09/comparison-voigtlander-35mm-f09-vs.html

Regarding Mitakon 35mm Speedmaster - that lens served me well for 5 years, but at some point I shifted to wider lenses and sold it. It's performance is overall better than TTArtisan 35mm F0.95, but build is much larger and heavier so TTArtisan is my new favorite lens and it renders in more classic way which I like more now.


PostPosted: Sat Sep 16, 2023 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@yukosteel

thanx for the links.

from my reaserch, the samyang 35 would be the best all round option.

i would like to see somewhere a comparison to an ar 40/1.8.
it's just a bit longer and a bit slower and holla-lotta affordable.