Any experience with Voigtlander 40mm 1.4?

[cboy]

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On 7/24/2020 at 2:00 AM, pippy said:

The 40mm f1.4 Nokton was the first lens I ever bought specifically for my first digi-M (an M8.2) and to this day, with full-frame bodies, is still an absolute favourite for general use. Often its the only lens I will take with me on an outing.

Whilst it can hardly be said to be as crisp as the newer Leica offerings wide-open it does, nonetheless, render o-o-f stuff beautifully (IMO) and has a nice 3D pop in its favour. Vignetting is present at f1.4 but pretty much disappears by f2.8 at which aperture(and beyond) it has sharpened-up nicely and behaves pretty much like any other 'standard' lens (with the M8.2 crop-factor it was the equivalent of a 53mm).

An example and a 100% crop to give an idea. Shot at f1.4 this was one of the very first, throwaway, images I took purely in the interests of seeing how the lens perfomed wide-open so please ignore any and all aesthetic considerations!;

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It is only fair to add that several people have reported experiencing unacceptable focus-shift issues with this lens. Having never noticed it in practice myself I decided to undertake some closely-controlled studio tests at various distances and apertures. I found that there were certain conditions under which images could be slightly back-focussed but, as I say, I had to go look for any issues as in 'real life' shooting there had never had a noticeable affect on any image I had shot - either before or, for that matter, since. YMMV.

As far as how it behaves in comparison to its sister 35mm f1.4 is concerned; there is a new-formula 35mm f1.4 Voiglander available. The V1 lens was reworked for a number of reasons; mostly a very marked tendency towards barrel-distortion and (apparently) worse back-focus issues than has the 40mm. I had, in fact, considered the 35 in place of the 40 but having seen how both behaved (the 40 exhibits some very minor barrel-distortion) chose the 40. My reasoning (bourne-out by experimentation) was that by the time I had reworked / corrected any images shot with the 35 I was effectively at the same point as had I used the 40 in the first place.

The 35mm f1.4 V2 is an altogether more-corrected lens than the V1 and would be well worth considering. I just happen to like the field-of-view of a 40!

One bit of advice I will offer; if (like me) you use any filter and a lenshood and are going to be using the lens on a full-frame body then it's worth buying the dedicated Voigtlander hood. I used a generic 3rd party vented hood with the M8.2 but, once I bought a FF body, this combination caused some image blockage / cut-off in the extreme corners at smaller apertures. This is rectified with the 'proper' hood because the Voigt offering clips-on (3-point-bayonet fashion) to the outside of the lens-flange and the filter, therefore, effectively sits inside the hood itself and the front-most part of the hood isn't as far forward as the front-edge of the generic 35mm hood was when it was screwed onto the front of a filter.

Philip.

Thankyou for your review. Excellent capture btw! Having used the 35 f1.4 v1 id agree that the oof rendering is quite pleasant for cv lenes, albeit the subject  appears a little flat with less sharper 3d falloff.

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[edstock]

I own a Besa R3A and I keep my 40 1.4 on it because it has frame lines for a 40mm lens. It is my go to for just shooting fun. I have my Leica's and lenses for any thing else. 

[rivi1969]

On 8/4/2020 at 10:32 AM, jaeger said:

have you watched this? 

 

Thanks for sharing it, love his channel, with great pictures and without the flamboyant style -so in fashion- with many YouTube sensations.

Considering I already have the Zeiss ZM 35mm f2, I think I will go for the 40mm f1.4. Time to call Stephen Gandy.

[luchoperez]

a mi me gusta lo que obtengo con mi 40mm

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[henning]

I had the 40/1.4 and also the 35/1.4 shortly after they first came out. In general I liked the 40 better, and it had significantly less focus shift. After a while I sold them both but recently got a good deal on a 40 MC and am shooting that when I want a more retro look on my M10M. The performance is fairly close to my gen4 35 Summicron; it's hardly any larger and can get softer/funkier yet. A great counterpoint to the 35 Distagon and Summilux Asph.

[crony]

Hi, I have an early NOKTON 1,4/40 Classic (before SC and MC came out).I bought it used. On the M9 it is a good all-round lens, as 40mm was an all-round FL in the 70s/80s.

But when focussing, the focussing ring makes a screeching sound, I do not like. The only VOIGTLÄNDER lens of 9 I have trouble with. So, I use it very rarely. 

A few recent pics (Leica M9):

f 2:

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f 1,4 :

 

 

Another cool or frosty, rather, pic at f 1,4 :

 

 

 

[Cobram]

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1 hour ago, crony said:

Hi, I have an early NOKTON 1,4/40 Classic (before SC and MC came out).I bought it used. On the M9 it is a good all-round lens, as 40mm was an all-round FL in the 70s/80s.

But when focussing, the focussing ring makes a screeching sound, I do not like. The only VOIGTLÄNDER lens of 9 I have trouble with. So, I use it very rarely. 

A few recent pics (Leica M9):

f 2:

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

f 1,4 :

 

 

Another cool or frosty, rather, pic at f 1,4 :

 

 

 

Comparing to your APO Lanthar 50 posted photos (same camera, same photographer, ?same post processing?), Nokton 40 rendering is IMHO more pleasuring.

[crony]

Just now, Cobram said:

Comparing to your APO Lanthar 50 posted photos (same camera, same photographer, ?same post processing?), Nokton 40 rendering is IMHO more pleasuring.

Hi, as I said, it is a good lens. Maybe, a little more traditional rendering ...