Voigtlander 35/1.2 Nokton version I

the Nokton attached.

I bought the Voigtlander 35 Nokton a little over two years ago. It was my first ever Voigtlander lens. I first had my doubts about using any other lens on a Leica M but my friend Keith who is an accomplished street photographer swears by it. I ordered one and when it arrived, the packaging was less than impressive. But we buy photographic products not for the packaging but for the image quality it can produce. I hurriedly unwrapped it and inside the simple box was a folded information sheet and some material to protect the lens from shock.

the lens at 1.2.

the aperture set at 22. notice how close 16 and 22 are?

the hood is made of wrinkled-finish plastic.

I vividly remember it was dusk when I attached it to my digital camera. I adjusted the aperture to 1.2 and went into the front yard. This is the widest 35mm production lens available in the market today so I was expecting fabulous results. Needless to say, I was a Voigtlander convert from that day on. I salute Cosina, the Japanese company that makes these beautiful lenses on the fine job that they did. Cosina does such a great job that they are also the ones that manufactures lenses for Zeiss. Well, most of the Zeiss lenses anyway.

the Nokton has a 52mm diametre.

the Nokton with front lens cap, hood and rear lens cap. 

The 35 Nokton has aperture settings from 1.2 to 22 and comes with a lens hood. It is a bit long so you can expect it to partially cover your viewfinder as well as for it to be on the heavy side. The lens cap is metal and fits snugly on the lens hood. The filter thread is 52mm and I found an old Canon filter to cover the front element. The version II of this fantastic lens is out now and I have been told that it is even better and that the bokeh it produces has a much more creamy effect compared to my version I.

In Australia, you can get it from Mainline Photo in Sydney and in Singapore/Malaysia, you can get it from Chiif. If you're in America, you can get it from Camera Quest. For it's price of $999, it is a bargain considering that it is a stellar performer. Of course, you can't compare it to Leica M lenses but then again, the cheapest Leica lens available now is more than double the price of this lens.

Now here are some samples.



taken at 1.2 in a dark restaurant. the film was pushed.



slightly stopped down.



taken at 1.2. they're sitting right besides each other but the guy is totally out of focus while the girl is sharp.

I hope you enjoyed this. Ciao!