Review on Optimized Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.2 Aspherical Lens for Sony E-Mount by John Warren

Only used a few hours but for the reasons I bought this lens (field of view, close focus, bokeh, aperture) it already ticks the box. I can't go into detail about the image quality as I haven't had a chance to really assess it yet. Focus Distance First, the minimum focus distance is perfect for my needs, you should be able to shoot subjects from less than an arm's length. . The bokeh is also very nice, even at f2.8, although I suspect I'll be shooting at f1.4 most of the time. 4 from Sony (I have both). It seems really well built and has some weight, but thankfully its front end isn't heavy and seems well balanced on the A7R's body. Focusing It's worth noting that the closer you focus, the longer the lens extends (although the front doesn't rotate). It expands about an inch when the focus is as close as possible. The focus ring rotates about 180 degrees, which seems like a lot to me, but it's actually perfect for controlling the depth of field on this lens, especially when it's wide open. The lens hood screws on and off from the front of the lens. It uses a 58mm filter thread for mounting, which is odd. It appears to expose its own threads to allow the filter to be attached to the hood (I think). Unfortunately, the 58mm filter size seems to be the only filter size I don't need, so I can't confirm how everything attaches, but it looks like you can fold the filter first, then the lens hood or lens hood and then the filter. You cannot fold down the lens hood. The communication appears to be sending aperture and distance information to the camera as expected. Zoom and manual focus boost are activated automatically if they are enabled on your camera. I believe it should also use camera stabilization, but haven't been able to test that yet. First impression So far I am very satisfied with this lens. I really wanted a portable 35mm wide aperture lens and was disappointed with other offerings I've had. The Sony 35mm f2.8 just doesn't give me the bokeh or close-up focus I wanted, the 35mm f1.4 is too big for street photography. I really liked the size of the Voigtlander 35mm F1.4 Classic (M bayonet with close focus adapter), but the fact that it couldn't focus close and the rings were just awkward to use meant it was rarely used. I was hoping Sigma or someone would come out with a 35mm f1.8 in a compact size but no joy so far. ), and so far this has been everything I hoped for. My A7RII is on loan so I can only test it on the A7R at the moment, but it looks a lot sharper than the 35mm M-mount Voigtländer lens and the bokeh is a lot less jittery. Everything looks a little softer on F1. 2 even in the middle but I kinda expected it. At F1.4 the sharpness is in the middle and that's probably where I'll use it the most. I snapped a quick shot of a brick wall with F8 and its edge-to-edge sharpness, meaning I'd happily use this for landscapes as well if it matters.