Hi Jimmy, thanks for the review. I own this lens along with several other 50mm Leica lenses. My aluminum black version is incredibly lightweight, has great APO performance and most importantly, a close focus distance of 35cm!!! (Perfect for a Leica M with Live View). It is super sharp from corner to corner, its bokeh at 3.5 is nice and the colors are great. In my view, this is not a multipurpose lens, but a great companion to your existing travel kit with incredible close focus capabilities. It is so light and tiny and relatively inexpensive compared to, say, the M Apo. It is best for travel or product photography. Focus and aperture mechanism are similar to the Voigtländer Heliar 50mm 3.5, another nice lens. I would love to see a 35mm APO Lanthar 3.5 from Voigtländer in the same size, weight, with close focus of 30 or 25cm and the same price. That would be great.
Close focus to 35cm, with very good image quality, is the unique selling point of this lens. Would be an interesting quick video to show how it stacks up at minimum focus distances to the two other lenses you compared it to.
Agree with your assessment. Besides sharpness, it needs size and weight to justify its existence. Why not pick the vintage Summilux version 2 in silver that has much more character?
Thanks Jimmy for sharing. It is a curious release for sure, especially coming out the same time as the 50mm color skopar. It might be Voigtlander refreshing those previous version of those lenses, but like you say is there a purpose. I actually really wish Voigtlander refreshes the 35mm and 40mm f1.4 noktons in a silver metal barrel. That would be my suggestion.
same here. I really enjoyed using that 1.4 nokton v2 (much less focus shift). They actually do have a limited run for map camera in Japan which is silver. I think I've shown that lens in a previous video comparing to the reissued steel rim from Leica. But sadly that lens seems to be the V1.
@@JimmyCheng Ahh yes that is true. There is the Map Camera version. Concerning the 50mm color skopar, I saw one reviewer say the focus tab is not metal but is the resin like on the noktons. Not sure if that is true or not, but I'd hope is the metal finish like the barrel.
@@shanecaut1063 oh really? I thought was metal but it could be that it was simply painted the same silver color. Most Leica lenses ain’t anyways and I don’t find them to have duribility issues after decades even. But yes metal would be better.
There was something charming about the Voigtlander Heliar 50/3.5 from a few years ago, and portraits (particularly B&W) I’ve seen from it always look excellent. This APO… the handling seems very strange (particularly the faux-collapsing version). Maybe this too is secretly a portrait lens.
Am I seeing things or the Voigtlander is sharper than both Leica lenses even at f/4? The text is slightly more defined in the bookshelf test. However at infinity it looks much more noticeably better, maybe the Leicas aren't stopping perfectly at infinity?. But leaving that asided and if the other version doesn't do the weird focus-aperture thing, it's not a bad option honestly. During the day I rarely shoot below f/4 anyway because of the depth of field and I appreciate light lenses for long walking days. I see this lens (the other version at least) as a fantastic secondary 50 if you already own a fast 50. The only problem is the price, it's a little too close to the VM 50 apo f/2. I guess most people would choose the f/2 alone instead of a fast 50 and this 3.5 together
@@javixo1997 not really. The Leica apo at f2.0 is already as sharp. It does appear however the Voigtlander is a bit more contrasty, making it seems a little sharper. Also there’s a bit of play when I took the shots as I forgot to use a timer this time(even on tripod with low shutter speed).
The strength of this lens is closest focusing distance 0.35m which most of other m lens could not give you. I wonder why you did not mentioned …. And the price , is not fall into similar category of summicron
@@adrianleung3760 that was an oversight by me because I shoot mostly with my rangefinder patch and for general street photos. I am actually curious how many ppl would buy a lens for its close focus capability on a rangefinder system. They are inherently not designed for this kind of photography.
@@JimmyCheng i don’t think so, closer focus doesn’t mean you use m camera for micro photography but it make you have much freedom in composing you photo in daily life
I don't see the point of this lens, yet the sample photos are not ideal to show what can be done with the lens, would have been great to have a photo of a person at f/3.5 who stood 2 meters away from you and have a cityscape background to actually see the true potential of this lens specially with the M11
@@JimmyCheng Would it? I would think there would be a difference in the out of focus rendering between a lens set f/4 and another one set at f/3.5, same as the Summicron lenses, the APO and the regular Leica Sunmicron between their respective f/4 and f/3.4 opening, but what do I know?
@@PatrickColpron you're right, there will be a tiny bit of diff in terms of bokeh when you compare 3.5 to 4, but again, most prime lenses can do f2 or f2.8. I don't see a need to do that simply because I don't think anybody will be interested in this type of lens if they concern about out of focus rendering. Most people buy APO lenses for sharpness and free of CA. Hence my tests are focused on those two departments. But you are right I could have shot a few portraits to demonstrate my point that this lens is nothing special at f3.5.
@@JimmyCheng I still disagree with your assessment, not all lenses of a given focal length renders the same closed down to f/4, f/5.6 and even f/8. I'll give you the perfect exemple, the Leica 35 Summilux FLE V1 and the new V2 with close focusing renders the out of focus area differently. They may have the same optical formula yet the V1's bokeh is not as busy and more pleasing than the V2 at both f/4 and f/5.6, even when the V2 has more aperture blade. It would be great to compare the rendering of different lenses fully as opposed to generic photos which show very little difference in the rendering, hence a portrait at let's say one meter with a distant background can and will show those differences. This said I agree that the design of this lens is terrible, an abomination and doesn't serve it well at all
@@PatrickColpron really? That’s interesting. When I tested the v1 and v2 FLE side by side I don’t see any rendering differences. The pre-FLE however does exhibit smoother bokeh (very slightly), but sacrifices a bit of edge performance.
Yeah this lens is so weird and one of their ugliest ever tbh. I’d like them to focus on creating a better experience for how to use the lenses that focus less than 0.7m or release a v3 of the nokton f1.4 or 50 1.5. I also think voigtlander has way too many lenses in their lineup making it quite confusing to understand the differences.
Hi Jimmy, thanks for the review. I own this lens along with several other 50mm Leica lenses. My aluminum black version is incredibly lightweight, has great APO performance and most importantly, a close focus distance of 35cm!!! (Perfect for a Leica M with Live View). It is super sharp from corner to corner, its bokeh at 3.5 is nice and the colors are great. In my view, this is not a multipurpose lens, but a great companion to your existing travel kit with incredible close focus capabilities. It is so light and tiny and relatively inexpensive compared to, say, the M Apo. It is best for travel or product photography. Focus and aperture mechanism are similar to the Voigtländer Heliar 50mm 3.5, another nice lens. I would love to see a 35mm APO Lanthar 3.5 from Voigtländer in the same size, weight, with close focus of 30 or 25cm and the same price. That would be great.
Close focus to 35cm, with very good image quality, is the unique selling point of this lens. Would be an interesting quick video to show how it stacks up at minimum focus distances to the two other lenses you compared it to.
This is why I bought it. For it’s close focus
Seems like Voigtlander’s answer to a question nobody was asking.
Agree with your assessment. Besides sharpness, it needs size and weight to justify its existence. Why not pick the vintage Summilux version 2 in silver that has much more character?
Thanks Jimmy for sharing. It is a curious release for sure, especially coming out the same time as the 50mm color skopar. It might be Voigtlander refreshing those previous version of those lenses, but like you say is there a purpose. I actually really wish Voigtlander refreshes the 35mm and 40mm f1.4 noktons in a silver metal barrel. That would be my suggestion.
same here. I really enjoyed using that 1.4 nokton v2 (much less focus shift). They actually do have a limited run for map camera in Japan which is silver. I think I've shown that lens in a previous video comparing to the reissued steel rim from Leica. But sadly that lens seems to be the V1.
@@JimmyCheng Ahh yes that is true. There is the Map Camera version. Concerning the 50mm color skopar, I saw one reviewer say the focus tab is not metal but is the resin like on the noktons. Not sure if that is true or not, but I'd hope is the metal finish like the barrel.
@@shanecaut1063 oh really? I thought was metal but it could be that it was simply painted the same silver color. Most Leica lenses ain’t anyways and I don’t find them to have duribility issues after decades even. But yes metal would be better.
There was something charming about the Voigtlander Heliar 50/3.5 from a few years ago, and portraits (particularly B&W) I’ve seen from it always look excellent. This APO… the handling seems very strange (particularly the faux-collapsing version). Maybe this too is secretly a portrait lens.
Thanks for the review. IMO, they should have issued it in LTM mount. Some people, including myself, would have found it useful.
yeah that would be interesting. It's simply not that competitive on M mount given its max aperture.
Hi jimmy, big fan of you. May i ask if you can share preset you used for those photo in video? Its what i looking for in years 😢
From your photos it has better contrast than the Leicas?
@@webersteve1547 it appears to be a bit more contrasty yes. Especially the out door shots.
I wish they would make the 2.0 version in silver brass. That would be an instant buy for me. I just dislike the look of black lens on a silver body
Am I seeing things or the Voigtlander is sharper than both Leica lenses even at f/4? The text is slightly more defined in the bookshelf test. However at infinity it looks much more noticeably better, maybe the Leicas aren't stopping perfectly at infinity?. But leaving that asided and if the other version doesn't do the weird focus-aperture thing, it's not a bad option honestly. During the day I rarely shoot below f/4 anyway because of the depth of field and I appreciate light lenses for long walking days. I see this lens (the other version at least) as a fantastic secondary 50 if you already own a fast 50. The only problem is the price, it's a little too close to the VM 50 apo f/2. I guess most people would choose the f/2 alone instead of a fast 50 and this 3.5 together
@@javixo1997 not really. The Leica apo at f2.0 is already as sharp. It does appear however the Voigtlander is a bit more contrasty, making it seems a little sharper. Also there’s a bit of play when I took the shots as I forgot to use a timer this time(even on tripod with low shutter speed).
The strength of this lens is closest focusing distance 0.35m which most of other m lens could not give you. I wonder why you did not mentioned …. And the price , is not fall into similar category of summicron
@@adrianleung3760 that was an oversight by me because I shoot mostly with my rangefinder patch and for general street photos. I am actually curious how many ppl would buy a lens for its close focus capability on a rangefinder system. They are inherently not designed for this kind of photography.
@@JimmyCheng i don’t think so, closer focus doesn’t mean you use m camera for micro photography but it make you have much freedom in composing you photo in daily life
Voigtlander 35mm /f1.4 & 40mm f1.4 nokton in silver will be much welcome….
Yeah I would like to see them releasing some new 1.4 small & light variants too.
I don't see the point of this lens, yet the sample photos are not ideal to show what can be done with the lens, would have been great to have a photo of a person at f/3.5 who stood 2 meters away from you and have a cityscape background to actually see the true potential of this lens specially with the M11
it would be the same as any 50mm lens shot at the same distance and set to f4. It's a character-less lens because of the small max aperture.
@@JimmyCheng Would it? I would think there would be a difference in the out of focus rendering between a lens set f/4 and another one set at f/3.5, same as the Summicron lenses, the APO and the regular Leica Sunmicron between their respective f/4 and f/3.4 opening, but what do I know?
@@PatrickColpron you're right, there will be a tiny bit of diff in terms of bokeh when you compare 3.5 to 4, but again, most prime lenses can do f2 or f2.8. I don't see a need to do that simply because I don't think anybody will be interested in this type of lens if they concern about out of focus rendering. Most people buy APO lenses for sharpness and free of CA. Hence my tests are focused on those two departments. But you are right I could have shot a few portraits to demonstrate my point that this lens is nothing special at f3.5.
@@JimmyCheng I still disagree with your assessment, not all lenses of a given focal length renders the same closed down to f/4, f/5.6 and even f/8. I'll give you the perfect exemple, the Leica 35 Summilux FLE V1 and the new V2 with close focusing renders the out of focus area differently. They may have the same optical formula yet the V1's bokeh is not as busy and more pleasing than the V2 at both f/4 and f/5.6, even when the V2 has more aperture blade. It would be great to compare the rendering of different lenses fully as opposed to generic photos which show very little difference in the rendering, hence a portrait at let's say one meter with a distant background can and will show those differences. This said I agree that the design of this lens is terrible, an abomination and doesn't serve it well at all
@@PatrickColpron really? That’s interesting. When I tested the v1 and v2 FLE side by side I don’t see any rendering differences. The pre-FLE however does exhibit smoother bokeh (very slightly), but sacrifices a bit of edge performance.
~$730 50mm 3.5? I think any classic brand $30 50mm 1.8 sets to 3.5 would do it.
@@iScoopyPal exactly
Jimmy 视频更太快 钱包吃不消啊
haha 这期给你们解毒的。
Yeah this lens is so weird and one of their ugliest ever tbh. I’d like them to focus on creating a better experience for how to use the lenses that focus less than 0.7m or release a v3 of the nokton f1.4 or 50 1.5. I also think voigtlander has way too many lenses in their lineup making it quite confusing to understand the differences.
@@kurocamera agreed
太尷尬了，不如弄個全球限量100枚