[12] While this lens is manual focus, it's not a problem because using it as a closeup lens (sometimes with extension tubes) and sometimes as an alternative landscape lens to my ultra wide, I have plenty of time to get the focus right. And the feel of the focus ring is very smooth with just the right amount of resistance, and not at all the disconnected feeling of an AF lens in MF mode.


Some of the reasons I chose and enjoy this lens:
1. It gives an old or vintage look to images that's hard to describe, but like my father's Canon FD lenses, only better in the details.
2. Wide open at f/1.2 aperture there's a dreamy, slightly soft look that some complain about, but it's great if you're going for that look. Stop down to f/2 or smaller and it gets very sharp while still retaining a classic look (compared to modern, clinical, razor sharp lenses). For me this actually makes the lens multi-purpose, giving me more possibilities.
3. The construction reminds me of a Swiss watch, with a super high quality feel and smooth, precise operation.
4. I really appreciate that communication of aperture settings to the camera, so I can see the setting in viewfinder and in metadata when editing images in the computer. My other manual focus lens doesn't do this (but also cost 30% of the Voigtlander).
5. My other lenses are bigger than my camera, so this compact size is a refreshing change (at the cost of auto-focus) and makes the camera handle more like a vintage SLR. Very cool.


Also, I've been shopping with B&H for over 30 years when I get cameras and lenses because (unlike some other retailers) they have been honest and fair with me. Even if they have higher prices sometimes, I value their ethics enough that it earns my repeat business. When you treat customers right, they come back... sometimes for decades.

[1:1.2] Quite many of lenses which I bought in recent years had to be returned due to optical quality issues, sometimes very serious. Based on these bad experiences, I have started testing my lenses just after purchase.
I have tested my Voigtlander 50mm F1.2 for resolution at various apertures and focal distances. I have also made tests for decentering and coma and found no problems at all. This is not a perfect lens, many reviews I read before agree with that. But comparing it to my old Minolta AF 50mm F1.4 it wins in all fields, except for size and weight of course. Resolution across the frame seems to be only very slightly better than Minolta's resolution, perhaps better sensor than 42Mpix will be able to show Voigtlander advantage more clearly. Clarity of the picture, contrast, coma, geometrical distortion and of course bokeh is better in case of Voigtlander. Since corners sharpen up very nicely at F8, the lens is quite suitable for landscape photography, however this was not the reason why I bought it, I am more interested in exploring it's wide open possibilities.
The only thing that I don't like is the lens cap, the way in which it is attached to the front of the lens doesn't build much confidence, but this is a very minor issue.

[Full-Frame] Everything that I read in the PhillipReeve review is true.

[0.83x] Rock solid build quality. Fast and has a cinematic look wide open (glowy, slightless less sharp). Sharpens up after f/1.8 or f/2.0. A really fun lens to use.

[Full-Frame] Super well built, DENSE (it's smaller, but heavier than my Zeiss Batis lenses) and a joy to use. I actually like having the aperture towards the front. A little known fact, but you can easily de-click the aperture by pressing in and turning a ring next to the aperture! The manual said nothing about that.
Super sharp at every aperture except 1.2. At 1.2 it's usably sharp, but slightly hazy, especially when close-focusing. Been enjoying it for general food photography and some portraits.

[50mm] For such a fast lens, I'm amazed at its size. Having it be such a small and light lens makes it an amazing street photography tool. Light transmission seems to be higher than other 1.2 lenses I've used making it very good at handling low-light situations. At f1.2 it does make it hard to get perfect focus, though focus peaking/magnification does help a bit. Sharpness at f1.2 is very good at infinity to about 5 feet, closer than that some glow starts to kick in, which can be a good thing depending on the application. Center sharpness at f2 is much better and f2.8 is probably peak sharpness, though you'll need to be at f8-11 to get good results at the very edges. One thing that took me by surprise was the color this renders. Its way more saturated than my other Voigtlander lenses and It's basically that Zeiss pop but more saturated, and it looks amazing. The usual Voigtlander qualities I've come to love is the build quality and the functionality. Its built like a tank (feels dense) and has a very smooth focus ring with a nice clicky aperture ring, which can be de-clicked using the ring in front of it. Although my 65mm and 110mm Voigtlanders are much sharper, they can't replicate the rendering and color saturation this lens has as well as the smooth bokeh. Overall a real artistic gem.

[Manual Focus] This lens has changed the game for me. It's beautiful color rendition and sharpness has made it possible to take photos I never thought I could capture. As a novice this is a lens that will help me grow as a photographer.

[1:1.2] Manual, not the sharpest wide open and imperfect bokeh balls.

And that's ok.

There's the Sony 50/1.2 GM for pixel peepers.

Voigtlnder lenses are about 1) experiencing photography and 2) unique, recognizable optical characteristics.

If the Sony 50 1.2 GM is a Bugatti Veyron unleashed in the Autobahn, the Voigtlnder is a convertible, manual Jaguar E Type cruising through the Alpenstrasse.

[58 mm (Front)] This is quite a well-made MF lens. An extremely smooth focus ring will provide you an amazing experience. As many reviews pointed out, wide open does not provide you the great sharpness that you may expect from the modern lens. However, it renders dreamy so you will be impressive when it comes to the portraits. If you use the value of the aperture more than F/5.6, the lens will give you very sharp images and fully utilizes the potential of A7R 1, 2, and 3. I highly recommend this lens to someone about to forget how fun photographing was. :)
Plus, I have never regretted making purchases of items related to photos from B&H photos. The quality of the CS is very satisfactory.

[47.5°] This lens performs very well, even below f/1.7. Chromatic aberration is not negligible full open, but that is of course easily correctable (if you care more about CA than speed, check out the 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar of course). It renders a rather dreamy image at f/1.2 but stopped down to something actually sane gets great results thanks to the aspherical design. This is prime portrait glass material, the rendering is reminiscent of my favorite Nikkors but with vastly smoother and more modern ergonomics (though I do miss heptagonal/hexagonal bokeh!). My only complaint about the 40mm & 50mm Noktons is that they are a little chunky for me in the hand, compared to the 35mm f/2 APO-Lanthar, but that I assume is simply the price of speed. They're all quite a bit smaller than the 65mm APO-Lanthar and a lot of modern fast lenses, so it's barely a complaint.


My primary use case is for interior fixed-angle video for multi-cam recording. Having this kind of speed when you need it can absolutely save a dark or poorly lit shot in terms of cutting back ISO when you have no other options!

Some example shots straight out the camera (no correction) below, f/1.2 to f/1.6.