Review: Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton

Posted on by Jordan Steele

Conclusion

Pros

  • Solid all metal construction with excellent haptics
  • Quite compact given the quality of the optics and the fast maximum aperture
  • Sharp over most of the frame from f/1.2 and very sharp stopped down
  • Beautiful bokeh
  • Excellent color and contrast
  • Good flare resistance
  • Aperture ring can be declicked

Cons

  • High vignetting
  • A bit of chromatic aberration
  • Some barrel distortion
  • Spherical aberration causes softness at wide apertures when focused close
The 40mm f/1.2 Nokton is an impressive lens

I simply have to say: I love this lens.  From the moment I looked at the first batch of photos from this lens, I was hooked.  There’s something about the rendering that just speaks to me, and I found it to be nearly the perfect focal length for everyday use.  The lens is sharp right from f/1.2, and is extremely sharp stopped down. Bokeh is generally very good, and color and contrast are excellent. Portraits taken with the 40mm f/1.2 just pop, and it makes for a great landscape lens as well.

The $1,099 price might seem a bit steep for an all-manual lens, but the versatility and optical quality make it very much worth that price of entry.  This is an outstanding effort from Voigtländer.  Where’s my wallet?

Image Samples

Click on an image to enlarge.

Columbus Reflected – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/11
Duck on the Pond – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/1.2
Blooming City – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/4
Bench at Night – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/1.2

 

Coneflowers in the City – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/2.8
Sunset below the Sycamore – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/16
Summer afternoon – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/22
Frustrated – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/1.2
Telescope – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/1.2
Columbus Reflected – Sony A7 III with Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/13 (3 image stitch)
Ducks – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/1.2
Through the Leaves – Sony A7 III with Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/11
Summer Puddle – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/22
Portrait – Sony A7 III With Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/1.2

 

City Sunrise – Sony A7 III with Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton @ f/11
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7 thoughts on “Review: Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 Nokton”

  1. Pingback: Voigtländer 40mm f/1.2 FE review at Admiringlight: "I love this lens" - sonyalpharumors sonyalpharumors
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  5. Thanks for this review. Your description match my own findings. I love this lens. Since I bought it last april it is my preferred lens on the A7R3.

    Reply

  6. Hello,

    Very nice review as always. The lens seems indeed very convincing !
    Do you still own it ?
    Hopefully you can get your hands on a Batis 40mm to review 🙂

    I’d be interested to see your take on it “AF vs larger aperture” and the different rendering approaches.

    Thanks for your nice articles.

    Reply

  7. Interest review! I currently own the 12mm and love it on the A7III. Could advise on the 40mm for use on Astrophotography. The f1.4 aperture and size is a great fit but would the quality be a bit soft when using wide open?

    Reply

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