[21mm] I love these Voightlander lenses. They are perhaps the best lenses I've used over the years.

[f/1.4] I wanted a manual focus lens to get away from the look of digital focus lenses and get back to what feels like more traditional classic photography (without switching to film). This lens is perfect for me. I shoot mostly wide open so I can't speak to it's sharpness the focus ring is smooth and the quality of imagery I'm making with it is wonderful.

[Manual Focus] You need to be careful when trying Voigtlander prime lenses; they are like potato chips - addictive and you can not only own one! This review is of the CV Nokton 21mm f/1.4 (E-mount) but it applies to the others I already own - superb / dense construction, clear optics, wonderful color rendition, an incredible experience to touch and use them in the field.

A point about Voigtlanders and some reviewers who complain about not having auto focus - have you not read the specs before laying your money down? C'mon...it's frustrating to read a review from someone who hasn't come to terms with MF and blames the lens! Once you adjust/adapt you will learn to slow down, study the landscape, and use your tripod more.

The Nokton 21/1.4 is my 7th Voigtlander. I carried it to northern Arizona for a shoot this fall and it was on my camera for the entire trip. If you own Voigltanders your daily struggle will be which lens to use. To be fair, MF lenses aren't for everyone, but if you're willing to adjust / adapt you won't find better.

[Full-Frame] After receiving the Voigtlander lens and testing it's performance, this historic lens is exceptional. I have been testing it in studio situations and the photos are clear and sharp without vignetting. the lens was a bit large and heavier than I expected, but I can live with that. I love the design and build quality; all metal which I like. I plan to add more Voigtlanders to my collection.

[Sony E] This one lens replaced three of my 21mm lenses: the Leica 21mm f/3.4 Super Elmar-M ($3000), Leica 21mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ($7800), and Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 ($1500).

I have used my Leica 21mm lenses with Leica cameras (M9, M240), Sony (A7R III) and Panasonic S1R. The new Voigtlander 21mm clobbers the performance of all these combinations, as well as the Loxia 21mm on my Sony A7RIII.

The sharpness and micro contrast is exceptional throughout the frame, and there is no discernible distortion or color bokeh. OOF rendering is pleasing, with no rough edges. Excellent color. Peak performance is already reached by f/2.

Handling and haptics are superb, far better than the Loxia. The lens has good heft to it and feels good to handle. Focusing ring is silky smooth and the aperture ring is crisp and easy to access. High quality construction.

This lens would be cheap at double the price, likely even at 3x. Don't put a cheap filter on it - this lens deserves the best. Get the Breakthrough Photography 4x UV filter or at least a B+W Pro.

Great for landscapes, cityscapes, people and objects with wide angle bokeh, creative effects (dramatic perspectives), and astro / night time photography.

[Sony E] Probably my favorite lens. I am using on a SONY FX9 for Cinema. This lens has such a nice look, like you would find in a classic cine' lens but with electronic metadata. You can shoot down to 1.4 with just a little vignette, but no loss of sharpness. Great for astrophotography too!

[Sony E] This lens has exceptional build quality, feels great in hand, and takes an excellent picture. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a wide angle.

[Manual Focus] I've been shooting primarily with Nikon primes from the 70's & 90's for about a decade but have migrated over to A7SII's for video purposes; this lens takes everything I love about vintage Nikkor primes and modernizes, refines, and improves it, all in a convenient E-mount package. I don't have to tell you how much a lens 50 years younger curbstomps my ancient 20mm f/3.5...

Among the very best feeling aperture and focus rings I've ever used; not too light, not too heavy or clunky: perfection. Construction is superb; unmistakably feels like a serious tool. Edge-to-edge sharpness is very good, even below f/2, with just a touch of CA if you pixel-peep. f/4-f/8 is fantastic, more or less flawless as far as the wimpy 12 MP A7SII sensor can resolve. But, above all that, what really shocked me was the bokeh when close-up: it's actually pretty decent, especially full open... on a 21mm!


At a distance, as it is ACTUALLY intended to be used, you can photograph a 2-story house 15 feet from you on the sidewalk without missing the roof, and 90 degrees is a superb FOV for many other contexts; interior shots somehow feel like they compose themselves, even if some would reach for something even wider. Oh, not to mention the electronic connection passes over whatever you're doing on the lens to the body (and metadata), and you don't have to manually punch in for focusing either; the camera automatically punches in for you (based on your settings I believe). Simple, brilliant, ergonomic, and practical.

If you like manual primes and you like something that balances modern and old-school both in design and results, this is a real treat and a beautiful tool. Can't recommend enough, and can't wait to try more lenses from Voigtlander!

A few amateurish shots just walking around, straight out of camera, no post-processing.

[21mm] I’ve been trying to put together a Leica-esque lens system for my a7rii. High physical/image quality and wide aperture scale lenses to hyper/zone focus for use in landscape photography. This is exactly that. I’ve mostly used 24 and 25mm as my wide angle lens option throughout the years and was hesitant to go any wider. I’m so glad I did. The extra field of view feels perfect. I did a comparison of the 21mm voigtlander with a Zeiss 25mm loxia at infinity. The resolution at the center, middle and corners of the 21mm looked indistinguishable from the 25mm. This is quite the feat of optical engineering by voigtlander since the 25mm loxia is known for being one of the technically best wide angle lenses for the e-mount. I was planning on mostly shooting this lens at landscape apertures but being able to stop down to f1.4 and f2 is a lot of fun and gives the opportunity to get a lot of creative shots. I can’t recommend this lens enough. A real home run.

[90.8°] This is the best 21mm lens I’ve used.