Panasonic G3 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton review - Conclusion

Sony NEX-5n Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton

Panasonic G3 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton

My tests and use of this lens have proved to me that it is a very good lens indeed. Its very fast and very useable at f/1.2, and as such is incredibly useful in low light situations. However I have mixed feelings about its use as an all-round lens on the systems I tested it with. For my NEX-5n, it is quite simply stunning and in combination with that camera provides a top quality standard lens capable of extraordinary results at all apertures. It is also simple to use. However it must be remembered that this is an expensive lens, and that expenditure has to be justified.

Because of the limited nature of the NEX lens range at the moment, it will fill in a gap for me. A very fast standard lens is something that I will find a lot of uses for, especially since it also produces such sharp results at f/5.6 > f/11, the apertures I use the most. On m4/3 its not so useful for me. Partly because of the focal length it gives on that system and partly because there is already a top-class lens that fulfills the "fast standard lens" function on that system. Namely the 25mm f/1.4 Panasonic Leica, which of course has AF and is about half the price of the Voigtlander.

For my review of that lens see:- http://soundimageplus.blogspot.com/search/label/Panasonic%2025mm%20f%2F1.4%20m4%2F3%20lens%20review

As I said at the beginning, I am unable to give any opinion as to how this lens might perform on a Leica, since I no longer have my M9. I would imagine it would perform very well indeed, but if you are interested in that, I suggest that you search out a seperate review. I would provide a link myself but I don't know of one. If anyone has a link that they know of, then if you put it in the comments section below I'll add it to the post.

Panasonic G3 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton on Panasonic G3

Panasonic G3 Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton

Some samples at f/1.2.

The following are samples at f/8. These are jpgs. straight out of the camera. To view full-size high resolution file, click on the image through to flickr > Actions > View all sizes > Original

Below is a test at ISO 100, showing the different apertures. As usual this is tripod mounted and all of the images are processed in Adobe Camera Raw using the default settings. Large high-resolution version available by clicking on image > flickr > Actions > View all sizes > Original.

Once again the images are very sharp, though they don't look as sharp to me as those from the Sony NEX-5n. There is also a slight magenta cast on the images. 

I'm unsure as to how useful this lens is on m4/3. There are some good fast alternatives available, and I don't see this lens as being any improvement on the Panasonic 25mm f/1.4. On the NEX it fills in a gap, and works as a "standard lens". On m4/3 it becomes a 70mm f/1.2 35mm / FF equivalent, and that isn't particularly something I would use a lot.

I haven't tried it on my Olympus E-P3 because of the problems of using manual focus lenses on that camera. It is very fiddly, opening the lens up, enlarging a section of the image, focusing and then returning it to the whole frame, and re-selecting the aperture. The G3 is  easier in this regard, but again the NEX-5n is so good for this that any other camera suffers by comparison.

So I can't really see myself using the 35mm f/1.2 on m4/3 much, aside from video use, when it could be very useful indeed, and easier to use.

Review of the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 on Sony NEX-5n - Part 4 "Real world" use

All images - Sony NEX-5n Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton II

Using the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton II yesterday confirmed to me what the tests showed. This is a very sharp lens. It also showed just how good the bokeh is, and how well it renders out of focus areas at any aperture.

Its not often that you get lenses these days that have a real "character" but this is one of those. Its a small thing, and many wouldn't notice or care, but I find the way this lens renders images, very attractive. Like all good lenses the precise point of focus is obvious, and again like a good lens the transition from this to the out of focus areas is very smooth.

Voigtlander have come up with a little gem here. When you take into account the fact that its a very fast lens, and that it works very well at wide apertures, add in that its very sharp indeed when stopped down and the fact that it has great build quality and it does seem to me that this is probably the "best" lens I have ever bought. 

True, a £1000 lens should be good, and it would be surprising if it wasn't. However in terms of very fast 35mm lenses, its actually quite reasonable. Leica make a 35mm f/1.4 and its £3,400. There's a Zeiss for £1400. Nikon and Canon & Sony all make one around the £1200 mark. So factor in the extra 1/2 stop and you have a bargain!!

A fast lens wouldn't really be that useful to me if it didn't perform well at the apertures I use normally. As I indicated from the test results yesterday, from f/5.6 to f/11 its at its best. This was great to see, as far as I'm concerned, because these are the apertures I use the most. 

Yesterday I found myself trying wider apertures than I normally use, just to see what it was like, and admittedly because I was having fun using them. But when I got down to some serious stuff and started using the lens in a way that I would "normally" I was very impressed indeed.

Pixel peeping these files is a real pleasure, and I could go on about the 3-D effect, depth of colour, film like rendition etc. but that sounds pretentious so I won't!

However what I will say, is that using this lens on the NEX-5n, has convinced me that I made the right decision to sell my Leica M9. No, the files are not quite as sharp, but they are VERY close. However, the files are cleaner then the M9 in that they have less moire and less luminance noise. I do continually bang on about how good the 5n is, and this post isn't going to be any different. Steve Huff and Michael Reichmann have both talked about how well the NEX-5n works with m-mount lenses and I would certainly add my voice of support to that. 

I've written before about the value of buying these expensive manual lenses, specifically to use on cameras like m/3 and the NEX system. When that choice involved a m4/3 sensor with a 12MP sensor, I came to the conclusion that they would be useful to fill in gaps and provide wide aperture fast lenses where none existed, but the benefits in terms of overall image quality weren't that great. This opinion changed somewhat with the arrival of the Panasonic 16MP sensor, when a difference could be clearly seen. However to a certain extent that has changed with the arrival of the 12mm and 45mm lenses from Olympus and the 25mm f/1.4 from Panasonic. However, though I think that the Sony NEX e-mount lenses are underated, I still haven't seen a great lens from Sony as yet. There are good reports about the Zeiss 24mm and the Sony 50mm, but both are as yet unavailable.

So there are still gaps needing to be filled for NEX cameras, and I certainly think that lenses like the Voigtlander can fill those gaps. However its important to stress that to see a significant difference, I believe that you have to make sure that when using an m-mount lens it is a very good one. Much as I like my Voigtlander 28mm f/2, I do realise that its not the sharpest m-mount lens ever made, and consequently when I tested it against the Sony kit zoom, it wasn't that much better. However the 35mm f/1.2 is somewhat different. There is a real observable advantage using this lens as compared to any Sony lens, either e-mount or a-mount, on the NEX-5n. In Part 1 of this review I wrote "(the lens is) really going to show just what the 5n sensor is capable of" From just limited use I'm finding that its capable of a lot. Yesterdays images were certainly the sharpest I've got from the camera, and they were a pleasure to look at. And its not just a confirmed pixel-peepers difference.

So there is a case, I think, for considering top of the range m-mount lenses to get the best out of cameras like the NEX-5n. But again I must stress, only if its going to be important to you. If you use the 5n as a "serious" camera and are planning to do some "serious" work with it, in a situation where you are looking to get the best image quality you can, then lenses like the 35mm Nokton will help with that. However, I know that I'm not going to use it all the time, and there are occasions when the zooms and other lenses I have are a much better option. But certainly in any low-light situation or when I need the ultimate quality I can get from the NEX-5n then this Voigtlander is going to be my go-to lens.

Review of the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 on Sony NEX-5n - Part 3 Test Shots

Sony NEX-5n Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton II

Test shots from the 35mm f/1.2 Nokton lens at ISO 100. Apertures from f/1.2 to f/22. Tripod mounted. Shots processed in Adobe Camera Raw in Photoshop, using Camera Raw Defaults.

As usual clicking on the image through to flickr > Actions > View all sizes > Original gives you a large high-resolution version.

WARNING - GUSH ALERT!!

I've done tests like this before. However these are the sharpest results I've ever got from ANY camera / lens combination I've ever tested in this way. (I would add that I've just returned from a trip out with this lens on the NEX-5n and "real world" results are just as good.)

f/5.6, f/8 and f/11 are just stunning.

Taking it slow!! Wide open, there is some CA and fringing, which seems to be typical for many Voigtlander lenses. However I still think for f/1.2 the results are pretty impressive. The lens just gets better from here, peaking at f/8 with an incredibly sharp rendition. At f/16 and f/22 the results are softer, but still very good indeed. As Corwin mentioned in the comments of a previous post, considering this sensor is not optimised for m-mount lenses (Unlike the Ricoh m-mount module for instance) the combination produces quite extraordinary files.

If you look at the green plant on the right of the test image. I looked at it and thought there were some sharpening "jaggies", but no I went and looked closely at the plant and it does have this slight serrated edge.

There's no way I expected the results to be this good.

As I indicated before, anticipating the next part of this review, the lens and NEX-5 performed just as well out in the field. I took the opportunity to test it from f/2 to f/11, which is what I would reasonably expect to use outdoors, and my eyes weren't deceiving me, it is an incredibly sharp lens. After just one day, I'm thinking this is the best I've ever used. Certainly I can't wait to get out and use it again.

Review of the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 on Sony NEX-5n - Part 2 Design & Build Quality

Sony NEX-5n Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton

I've decided to do quite a thorough review of this lens because I haven't seen very much on it at all. However it should be borne in mind that I don't own a Leica anymore, so exactly how useful this will be for Leica users, for whom its primarily intended, I cannot say.

Having said that, since more people own Sony NEX and m4/3 cameras, and since there isn't a native lens of this type, nor ever likely to be one, hopefully it will be useful to users of those cameras.

First off, its important to mention the price. This is not a cheap lens. Mine cost me just over £1000. So its never going to be a mass market lens. It is for those who need a very fast lens, and need to squeeze out every bit of available light. 

Those who know Voigtlander lenses will also realise that there is a cheaper (less than half the price) 35mm f/1.4 available. This lens is also much smaller. However I should get one thing out of the way at the start. The 35mm f/1.2 is a significantly better lens wide open. Its only half a stop faster, but its some way sharper that the f/1.4. The smaller lens turns in a great perfomance when stopped down. I had one and liked it very much, however at f1.4 its not the sharpest. The f/1.2 also has a nicer bokeh as far as I'm concerned.

So to start, I'm including a few examples of what you can expect from this lens wide open.

All of the images below taken on a Sony NEX-5n at f/1.2

Above taken from the Robert White website -  

http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=3319&PT_ID=706
Since I've used this from their site, I will put in a quick plug for them. This is where I

bought my lens, and indeed its where I buy a lot of my m-mount lenses. There aren't

many places in the UK that sell Voigtlander and Zeiss, and Robert White are always

extremely helpful and knowledgeable.

The lens is an update of the 35mm f/1.2 Nokton, and its very similar. The new lens is slightly lighter, but its still heavy for an m-mount lens. Voigtlander seem to be following the Leica pattern here, with heavier larger lenses being the order of the day. The recent 25mm f/0.95 m4/3 and 75mm f/1.8 m-mount and 50mm f/1.1 lenses are all of this type.

Mounted on my NEX-5n the 35mm f/1.2 was very manageable, but I must admit I mounted it onto my Olympus E-P3 and it was a heavy combination.

Again in common with the lenses I mentioned above, its beautifully made, as indeed it should be for a lens costing over £1000. The focusing barrel is very Zeiss like in that it has a slight "resistance". I've noticed this on Zeiss lenses. Since Voigtlander and Zeiss share the same manufacturing plant its not surprising that they should feel similar. I'm presuming its something to do with projected long term use. Its a little unusual however and you do have to get used it.

The lens hood is one I've had around for a while, and the filter thread is 52mm. The lens focuses relatively closely for an m-mount lens. Just under 0.5 metre. M-mount lenses don't focus particularly closely, because of the problems this creates with the Leica rangefinder system for which they are designed, so its typical in this respect.

The lens feels very solid on the NEX-5 and with its focus peaking indicator its very easy and quick to focus. I really do think that this system on the newer NEX cameras is the best system ever devised for manually focusing lenses. Its nice that such a modern camera is able to provide this facility for these very "old school" lenses.

So, to sum up, its well made and works beautifully but its heavy, chunky and expensive. As I think you can see from the samples, its pretty special wide open. It is a specialist lens however, and though it also produces wonderful results stopped down, its not going to be for everyone. 

I've always loved these super fast primes and I did love the results from my 25mm f/0.95 on my m4/3 cameras. However it was quite difficult to use and I felt it was making my eye problems worse. However with the NEX-5n I have no such difficulties. Its supposed to be sunny this weekend so I'm looking forward to going out with it to see what it can do.

More later.

Review of the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 on Sony NEX-5n - Part 1 Introduction

Sony NEX-5n Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton

Due to an unexpected large sale and some money in a couple of normally under performing picture library accounts that I rarely check, I was able to buy a lens I've had my eye on for some time. The m-mount Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton. This is the updated version of the lens with a VM mount. Though it may seem a bit over the top for Sony NEX and m4/3, I don't regard it as such. 

A few test shots revealed that the reviews (very few I must say) that I read are correct. It is very sharp wide open and superb when stopped down. I see it is a very nice addition to my NEX collection, and its really going to show just what the 5n sensor is capable of. I'll put together a more detailed look at it soon, but in the meantime, here's the usual camera porn shots.