I love 23mm focal lens "as a fuji user" and I bought this lens almost a year a go and I am having a blast with it and now I am thinking of using it in my events/paid work as I am confident now with it, its my go to lens for travel and street, and yes if you are looking for sharpness edge to edge or you are going to zoom to 400 don't buy it but if you are willing to slow down and create something different and unique its a keeper "I have the new 1.4 WR LM 23mm but I always go for the Voigtlander"
That’s awesome. I’m starting to get really comfortable using this as well and can see it staying on my camera more and more. I want to try some of their other lenses now. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience!
I have 15 or so manual lenses and this is one of my favourites. The biggest issue I have is the cost. Voigtlander lenses are lovely, I have 4 of them, but expensive. If willing to adapt M lenses and you don’t need a “fast lens”, check out the Voigtlander 50mm F3.5 Heliar m mount. The cost is more reasonable and it is truly vintage looking but with modern sharpness and rendering.
Nice video. I just got the 27mm f/2 Voightlander and am enjoying going back to manual focus with accurate DOF scales and on my lens, perfect true infinity when the hard stop hits. I've been considering this 23mm since a 35mm lens was my "normal" for decades in the film era. Thanks for your well produced video which is very useful for its honesty.
That’s awesome about your 27mm! I can’t wait to try that one. Let me know if you end up picking up the 23 or 35. I appreciate you watching and your kind words about the video!
Great video!!! I am just getting into photography and this was super helpful in reviewing camera's. I'll definitely check out more of your videos! thanks
I have numerous vintage lenses that give me a vintage look at a fraction of the cost (Flektogon, Pancolar, voigtlander M glass). However, I bought this lens as it keeps my kit compact without the need of a hideous adapter. The way it renders in focus and out focus areas is what impresses me the most. The lens has character. Because of this, subjects seem to pop more and my images seem less flat compared to my fuji glass. It's difficult to explain. Still images of people seem more alive, so to speak. Too clinical can suck the life out of an image as if you were looking at a xerox photo copy of sorts.
Infinity focus is a feature and not a bug, most lenses have it (if not all). It is to provide extra room for compensating thermal expansion/shrinkage otherwise you wound not be able to dial focus in extreme temperature.
Yeah , on my Leica and Zeiss there is no such feature existing and there is nothing to compensate on this Voigtlander beside huge Focus curvature which throws corners and edge out of the focus while center is sharp.
I always thought that for infrared photography, the focus ring needs to be turned a little bit beyond infinity to get sharp images? The white angle is for focussing infrared on infinty, this should be at the end of the line below the infinty symbol.
You can easily adjust the hard stop for infinity focus. And for people saying it’s for compensation of the thermal expansion : I travel from freezing cold areas to the hottest ones, never had an issue. And if so, it would take 10min to set it back. Also, some high grade manual lenses don’t have this buffer and are very well calibrated from factory… Really try it, it then becomes a dream to shoot at infinity focus :)
@@RevynStrider remove the 4 screws on the lens mount. Carefully remove the mount without damaging the electronic band behind, Then put some shims before putting back the lens mount. You can buy a shim set for airsoft for example, with shims from 0.1mm to 0.3mm. Then, take pictures on a tripod and make some tests :)
Cool review enjoyed the images.I am tempted with the 35 1.2,50 1.2 and the new 18 2.8 which I would like to hear your views on if ever possible.Thanks.
There’s a big price difference but I would choose the Voigtlander if price wasn’t an issue. All TtArtisan lenses are fantastic and great values though.
@@CraigBergonzoni Hi, just got a used copy works perfectly, but I notice on my XT2 that the F value is replaced by T and the aperture range from 1.3 to 17. Do you see the same thing?
This lens is known for having some pretty bad field curvature, basically making the initial claim that it is 'sharp by f5.6' pretty false. If you scrutinize the work at this f stop you will see in focus and sharp in the corners but then soft as you move towards the middle of the frame and where you might have initially had focus (which is sharpish). You won't ever get uniformed sharpness across the frame at any f stop with this lens, a donut ring of field curvature limits this, which is unfortunate on a lens of this name and price. I'd still love one for the wide open shots but you'll have to accept the short comings from a stopped down performance.
When 7artisans and ttartisan release great lenses people say it's bad quality, too soft etc and not vintage rendernig/charachter. My 7artisans 35mm1.2 mark2 is still sharper at 1.2, better bokeh and 4-5 times cheaper than the Voigtländer. I love Voigtländer for other cameras but for Fujifilm I think they lost the vibe.
I want nice things. 7Artisans and TTArtisan stuff is ok image quality wise, but it is not well made. Voigtländer has premium build quality and I can feel that.
I love my 25mm 7artisan for the way it renders bokeh. The only thing I don’t like about it is the flare performance can fill in the entire photo. I’m hoping the voigjtlander lenses have better flare control
@@CraigBergonzoni By the way, can you check if your camera is registering your EXIF data on the Nokton correctly since the last software update? Mine are registering f22 when I shoot at f1.2…
0:45 yeah, basically saying its a soft lens with flaws (character) that could be added in post but nobody can be arsed or don't know how to do it. avoid. start with the highest quality image from the start, not something with 'effects' already built into it that you'll find hard to remove.
Optical character is not the same as post processing effects, not even close. The reason people buy "character" lenses is for exactly that, something unique that optics will give you and not a fake simulation you need to spend time on the computer to TRY to get close. Why do you think the old XF35mm f1.4R is still such a beloved lens or why so many are adapting vintage lenses to their Fujis?! Is it not for each of their own unique image renderings (character) ?! The point is Knowing what you are buying and knowing it is what you want.
The Angry Photographer reviewed this lens and he sayed this lens is muddy unsharp. I don't know if he had bad copy or what. From the example images i can't tell.
Talk less and show more photo, it getting annoying that I have to fast forward so often to see the picture. Like people will be more interested to see the work of the camera than see your face and hear your rambling.
How many more photo samples would you want? There are quite a few in here. And I put chapter markers so all you have to do is click the mouse on each section of photo samples. There are plenty to choose from. Thanks though!
Do you not want to hear the man's description and experience with the lens? Did you not see all the photos he posted? Just go to Flickr then and search the lens and stop being an arse.
I love 23mm focal lens "as a fuji user" and I bought this lens almost a year a go and I am having a blast with it and now I am thinking of using it in my events/paid work as I am confident now with it, its my go to lens for travel and street, and yes if you are looking for sharpness edge to edge or you are going to zoom to 400 don't buy it but if you are willing to slow down and create something different and unique its a keeper "I have the new 1.4 WR LM 23mm but I always go for the Voigtlander"
That’s awesome. I’m starting to get really comfortable using this as well and can see it staying on my camera more and more. I want to try some of their other lenses now. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience!
Love this lens. It has the most actual “filmic” out of focus areas I’ve ever seen on a modern lens.
Agreed! Fantastic lens. Thanks for watching!
Great review Craig. I've watched it twice.
I have 15 or so manual lenses and this is one of my favourites. The biggest issue I have is the cost. Voigtlander lenses are lovely, I have 4 of them, but expensive. If willing to adapt M lenses and you don’t need a “fast lens”, check out the Voigtlander 50mm F3.5 Heliar m mount. The cost is more reasonable and it is truly vintage looking but with modern sharpness and rendering.
Oh I’ll have to check out that lens you recommended. Thank you! And thanks for watching
Nice video. I just got the 27mm f/2 Voightlander and am enjoying going back to manual focus with accurate DOF scales and on my lens, perfect true infinity when the hard stop hits.
I've been considering this 23mm since a 35mm lens was my "normal" for decades in the film era. Thanks for your well produced video which is very useful for its honesty.
That’s awesome about your 27mm! I can’t wait to try that one. Let me know if you end up picking up the 23 or 35. I appreciate you watching and your kind words about the video!
Great video!!! I am just getting into photography and this was super helpful in reviewing camera's. I'll definitely check out more of your videos! thanks
I’m happy you liked it! Thanks for watching!!
really nice review
I have numerous vintage lenses that give me a vintage look at a fraction of the cost (Flektogon, Pancolar, voigtlander M glass). However, I bought this lens as it keeps my kit compact without the need of a hideous adapter. The way it renders in focus and out focus areas is what impresses me the most. The lens has character. Because of this, subjects seem to pop more and my images seem less flat compared to my fuji glass. It's difficult to explain. Still images of people seem more alive, so to speak. Too clinical can suck the life out of an image as if you were looking at a xerox photo copy of sorts.
That’s awesome. That describes this lens well. I appreciate you watching and your feedback!
Infinity focus is a feature and not a bug, most lenses have it (if not all). It is to provide extra room for compensating thermal expansion/shrinkage otherwise you wound not be able to dial focus in extreme temperature.
Good point. It’s still something to keep in mind when using it. Thanks for the info! And thanks for watching.
Yeah , on my Leica and Zeiss there is no such feature existing and there is nothing to compensate on this Voigtlander beside huge Focus curvature which throws corners and edge out of the focus while center is sharp.
Hi Craig, Do you think it could be a good purchase for portraits environment?
Great info review. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
I always thought that for infrared photography, the focus ring needs to be turned a little bit beyond infinity to get sharp images? The white angle is for focussing infrared on infinty, this should be at the end of the line below the infinty symbol.
You have a good point. I’d probably revise that portion of the video if I did it again. Thanks for watching and for your feedback!
You can easily adjust the hard stop for infinity focus. And for people saying it’s for compensation of the thermal expansion : I travel from freezing cold areas to the hottest ones, never had an issue. And if so, it would take 10min to set it back. Also, some high grade manual lenses don’t have this buffer and are very well calibrated from factory…
Really try it, it then becomes a dream to shoot at infinity focus :)
I'm interested in this. How would you adjust the hard stop for infinity? Couldn't find anything online.
@@RevynStrider remove the 4 screws on the lens mount. Carefully remove the mount without damaging the electronic band behind, Then put some shims before putting back the lens mount. You can buy a shim set for airsoft for example, with shims from 0.1mm to 0.3mm. Then, take pictures on a tripod and make some tests :)
Thanks for the info!!
Thank You for sharing. Greetings from Belgium. After this vid, I'll use more my 23mm Voightlander (on XT-5).
Great review! Does focus peaking work on the x-t1 with this lens?
Yes the focus peaking works not the X-T1. Great combo. Thanks for watching!!
Cool review enjoyed the images.I am tempted with the 35 1.2,50 1.2 and the new 18 2.8 which I would like to hear your views on if ever possible.Thanks.
Thank you for watching! I’ll try to get those lenses to review soon. I appreciate the feedback!
Voigtländer lenses are just stunning lenses.
Most other lenses are just exchangeable.
Agreed! Love them
voightlander 23mm 1.2 or ttartisan 23mm 1.4 ?
I gave away my TTartisan and I keep the Voigtlander on my XPRO3
There’s a big price difference but I would choose the Voigtlander if price wasn’t an issue. All TtArtisan lenses are fantastic and great values though.
That’s a great combo. I hope to get an Xpro3 soon or maybe 4 if it’s released.
Hello, as of today, are you still loving it?
I am! Great lens!
@@CraigBergonzoni Hi, just got a used copy works perfectly, but I notice on my XT2 that the F value is replaced by T and the aperture range from 1.3 to 17. Do you see the same thing?
@LCM94120 there’s a menu setting to change it from F-Stop to T-Stops (which are usually used for cinema lens) you can change it back.
@@CraigBergonzoni yeah thanks I found it in the screen setting! Thanks
I really wish if this lens could be used faster than f2.8....
This lens is known for having some pretty bad field curvature, basically making the initial claim that it is 'sharp by f5.6' pretty false. If you scrutinize the work at this f stop you will see in focus and sharp in the corners but then soft as you move towards the middle of the frame and where you might have initially had focus (which is sharpish). You won't ever get uniformed sharpness across the frame at any f stop with this lens, a donut ring of field curvature limits this, which is unfortunate on a lens of this name and price. I'd still love one for the wide open shots but you'll have to accept the short comings from a stopped down performance.
Kinda hard to stomach the price
I get that for sure. I appreciate you watching!
The Z-Mount is on sale at B&H Photo.
When 7artisans and ttartisan release great lenses people say it's bad quality, too soft etc and not vintage rendernig/charachter. My 7artisans 35mm1.2 mark2 is still sharper at 1.2, better bokeh and 4-5 times cheaper than the Voigtländer. I love Voigtländer for other cameras but for Fujifilm I think they lost the vibe.
I want nice things. 7Artisans and TTArtisan stuff is ok image quality wise, but it is not well made. Voigtländer has premium build quality and I can feel that.
@@NDakota79 have you ever held a 7artisans 35mm1.2 mark2?? Better build quality than all my Fujifilm lenses
I love my 25mm 7artisan for the way it renders bokeh. The only thing I don’t like about it is the flare performance can fill in the entire photo. I’m hoping the voigjtlander lenses have better flare control
Great review but there is nothing more annoying than the "crackling" sound in there...
Understood. I’ve heard that from other people too. Fixing that moving forward
@@CraigBergonzoni By the way, can you check if your camera is registering your EXIF data on the Nokton correctly since the last software update? Mine are registering f22 when I shoot at f1.2…
God dammit that audio clipping!
lol sorry 🤷🏻♂️ Thanks for the feedback though
Image stabilization!
What about it?
A very expensive lens, think I’ll stick with my fujicron 23/f2.
I don’t blame you. This is expensive. Thanks for watching!
promo sm
0:45 yeah, basically saying its a soft lens with flaws (character) that could be added in post but nobody can be arsed or don't know how to do it. avoid. start with the highest quality image from the start, not something with 'effects' already built into it that you'll find hard to remove.
You’re definitely right. But there are some people who buy lenses for these things. It’s not for everyone. Thanks for watching and for your feedback!
Optical character is not the same as post processing effects, not even close. The reason people buy "character" lenses is for exactly that, something unique that optics will give you and not a fake simulation you need to spend time on the computer to TRY to get close. Why do you think the old XF35mm f1.4R is still such a beloved lens or why so many are adapting vintage lenses to their Fujis?! Is it not for each of their own unique image renderings (character) ?!
The point is Knowing what you are buying and knowing it is what you want.
The Angry Photographer reviewed this lens and he sayed this lens is muddy unsharp. I don't know if he had bad copy or what. From the example images i can't tell.
that was for the 35mm f1.2, not the 23 ...
The angry photographer isn't a photographer, he is a RUclipsr
Do you think adding audio noise to your videos make them more artful or what?!
I just do and create what I like. Thanks for the comment and for watching though 😉
I like it.
@Malick333 Nice! Thank you!
Talk less and show more photo, it getting annoying that I have to fast forward so often to see the picture. Like people will be more interested to see the work of the camera than see your face and hear your rambling.
How many more photo samples would you want? There are quite a few in here. And I put chapter markers so all you have to do is click the mouse on each section of photo samples. There are plenty to choose from. Thanks though!
Do you not want to hear the man's description and experience with the lens? Did you not see all the photos he posted? Just go to Flickr then and search the lens and stop being an arse.