Speed is at the forefront with the Super Nokton 29mm f/0.8 Aspherical Lens, from Voigtlander, which sports an awesomely bright f/0.8 maximum aperture to suit ultra low-light shooting as well as impressive control over depth of field. This normal-length prime is designed for Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras, and offers a 58mm equivalent focal length, making it well-suited to a variety of shooting applications. The optical design includes a pair of ground aspherical elements that help to achieve a high degree of sharpness and accurate rendering. For fine-tuned control and classic appeal, the lens sports a refined manual focus design, which permits working with subjects as close as 1.2' away and the lens also features the Selective Aperture Control System that enables switching between a stepless, de-clicked aperture selection method and a traditional aperture control method with click stops.
- Micro Four Thirds System
- 58mm (35mm Equivalent)
- Aperture Range: f/0.8 to f/16
- Two Aspherical Elements
Voigtlander 29mm f/0.8 Super Nokton ASPHERICA... Overview
Voigtlander 29mm f/0.8 Super Nokton ASPHERICA... Specs
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Voigtlander 29mm f/0.8 Super Nokton ASPHERICA... Reviews
The Lens Stanley Kubrick Would Have Loved
As soon as I knew about this lens I had determined to get one. Since this is not a cheap lens, decision-making took quite a while. At f/0.8 this Voigtlander Super Nokton is in the Zeiss Planar f/0.7 territory. However, unlike the Zeiss lens used by Stanley Kubrick to shoot the candlelight scenes in Barry Lyndon, this Super Nokton is a production lens. Of course, one could argue: Modern-day digital cameras allow higher ISOs with negligible noise, so why pay so much for an f/0.8 lens when a much cheaper f/0.95 lens would do? But f/0.8 is significantly half a stop brighter than f/0.95. This gives filmmakers much flexible technical and artistic considerations.
Update after using for two months
Just wanted to return for a quick update on my last review. I'm going to try to include a photo this time of a Macaw in a shop that I took. I have probably done what few have at this point: I've had the Voigtlander 29mm F/0.8 Super Nokton exclusively on my camera shooting ONLY at F/0.8 now for two months straight. After all, if this thing's no good wide open, what's the point in paying such a premium and dealing with a bigger, heavier lens vs. the much cheaper, slightly slower, much more compact Voigtlander 25mm F/0.95 Nokton or other comparable (and competent) MFT lenses around this focal length? But indeed, you can get some great shots with the 29mm Super Nokton. It can be impressively sharp with lovely bokeh wide open, but you'll have to nail that focus, which can be very tricky since it's quite a thin focal plane at F/0.8. Shoot it and shoot it for a while and you may find yourself getting more and more adept with it. The information out there on this lens isn't consistent and often isn't fully accurate. It should be pointed out that the lens has two aspherical elements, one precision-ground from high-temp glass, and a floating lens element to improve sharpness when focusing close. You'll find it's sharp from closest focus out to infinity. Per Voigtlander's site, which calls the Super Nokton The Conqueror of the Night: Due to the uncompromising concentration on high-quality components and the highest processing quality, an extremely high image quality can be achieved even with an open aperture. They're not lying. Yes, it's a bit bulky and it's expensive, but this lens coupled with a powerful Micro Four-Thirds camera can be quite a precision photographic instrument in the right hands. It's a good, useful angle of view and perspective to work with. I'm not sure when I'll take it off my camera and swap through lenses as I'd normally do, but I've really been enjoying the results this lens is capable of and you can shoot a lot at this focal length. Try it and see for yourself!