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Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1 Aspherical
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Voigtlander · 50 mm · f/1 · Leica M, Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z mount

Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1 Aspherical

From $1,699 — 1 offer
KEY FACTS
BrandVoigtlander
Announcement dateFeb 2024
Released2024
Production started2024
Production statusIn Production
What We Like
+Exceptional sharpness at f/1.0 wide-open for an ultra-fast lens, with significant improvements over the Leica Noctilux f/0.95 especially at close distances
+Grinding aspherical (GA) front element with high-refractive glass enables compact size (55mm) and outstanding optical performance
+Smooth, well-built all-metal construction with tactile aperture and focus rings; excellent mechanical quality with no flex
+Beautiful bokeh rendered through 12 aperture blades and floating elements; organic, ethereal image rendering
+Low-light capability with f/1.0 maximum aperture; outstanding performance for shallow depth of field and night photography
Worth Knowing
−Heavy at 482-484g; substantial lens requiring sturdy support when hand-held
−Pronounced outward field curvature and high optical vignetting causing uneven background rendering depending on subject distance
−Slight focus shift noticeable when stopping down from f/1.4 to f/2.0, requiring caution when relying on rangefinder focusing
−No autofocus or image stabilization; manual focus only limits usability for some photographers and shooting scenarios

General

Brand
Voigtlander
Announcement date
ⓘ
Refers to the date the manufacturer publicly announced the upcoming release and general specs of this camera.
Feb 2024
Released
ⓘ
Refers to the year this camera was officially made available for sale.
2024
Production started
2024
Production status
ⓘ
Current status of lens manufacturing (e.g., in production, discontinued).
In Production
Read our notes on general
The Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.0 Aspherical is a well-made, compact manual-focus lens offering exceptional wide-open performance at f/1.0, with beautiful renderings that sharpen significantly when stopped down. The lens delivers a close-to-perfect blend of sharpness, 3D pop, micro-contrast and optical performance, standing as one of the sharpest 50mm f/1 lenses ever produced. It delivers and over-delivers given its price-point against its direct competitor, the Leica Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95.

Optical

Minimum Aperture
f/16
Optical Formula
9 lens elements in 7 groups
Aspherical Elements
Two aspherical elements with four aspherical surfaces; Ground Aspherical (GA) front element
Floating Elements
Yes

Mechanical

Minimum Focus Distance
0.9 meter

Design

Lens Barrel
All-metal construction
Features
Electronic contacts for EXIF data transmission; Floating lens elements for optimal optical performance
Lens Hood
Metal bayonet lens hood included
Length (Leica M)
55mm

Optics

Min focal length
50 mm
Max focal length
50 mm
Focal range
ⓘ
Shortest to longest focal length of the lens (zoom range start - end )
50 mm
Zoom lens
ⓘ
Zoom allows you to vary the focal length, change between long shots and close-ups
No
Max aperture wide
1
Max aperture zoom
1
Autofocus mode
No
Blades
ⓘ
Number of diaphragm blades in aperture
12020

Physical

Lens mount
ⓘ
The lens mount will tell you what type of lens range you can fit onto the camera body. Often the same camera company will have different lens ranges for different cameras.
Leica M, Sony E, Canon RF, Nikon Z
Front filter size
ⓘ
Diameter of attachable filters.
62 mm
Lens weight
484 g