The Voigtlanderist | Nokton Classic 35 1.4 for Sony E - a thoughtful review

Hello fellow photographers!
As a 35mm lens lover I finally did it - I got myself a Voigtlander lens. This video is my 1 month first impression story of becoming, or at least what seems to be the start of my journey towards being, a Voigtlanderist.
Did you have the chance to shoot Voigtlander lenses? What are your thoughts?
Sincerely - Rav
#keeponshooting #keepyourpassionalive
My IG: / portrame
Models:
/ soniagranos
/ kasiazontek

[@Timo-id4bd]

Beautiful video, buddy. Just today picked up a nokton 35 1.5 using an adapter for my A7III. Cannot wait to test it properly, but what I see so far is really encouraging :)

[@photobeard4505]

Love your videos bro! I like that you show a lot of pictures from the lens you talk about. Keep it up!

[@DigitalRetro]

Thank you so much! Hope you will enjoy more of them in the future!

[@DigitalRetro]

Did you have the chance to shoot with any Voigtlander? What are your thoughts on shooting with manual lenses?📷

[@stephanspiegelberg262]

Miałem przez kilka lat Zeiss Ikon ZM z obiektywami Zeissa, Leica i oczywiście Voigtländera. Ręczne ustawianie ostrości z dalmierzem to przyjemność - z peakingiem zobaczę ;-)

[@hanselong]

If your love it you should try the Voigtlander 40mm 1.2.

[@creative_cozmic]

Big fan of Voigtlander lenses and manual lenses in general. I own the 40mm f1.2 E and it has wonderful character.

[@DigitalRetro]

@@creative_cozmic id love to try one - 40mm is just so good focal lenght - a perfect balance between 50 and 35 and the 1.2 makes the lens very versatile

[@creative_cozmic]

@@DigitalRetro 40mm is such a nice focal length and one to use in place of both 35mm and 50mm. It feels more like a wide 50mm than a 35mm imo but with a bit more depth of field to play with. The rendering is wonderful and I prefer it to the sharper Voigtlander APO lenses. I can stop down to f8-f16 for street photography (with zone focusing) but still shoot at higher f-stops for the characterful out of focus rendering. It's definitely a gem of a lens imo.

[@manukkee]

Great video, loving the images, the models look stunning in these special shots with tons of character.

[@DigitalRetro]

Thank you! Much appreciated!

[@jamesmlodynia8757]

I don't own a Sony camera but I have a camera body from many other camera manufacturers, the last camera that I purchased was a Nikon ZF. I own three Fujifilm cameras, the XH2, XT5 and the XT3, the XH2 is my choice for wildlife and landscapes with long or large glass, the XT5 and XT3 are used primarily with prime lenses. When Nikon announced the ZF, l started setting it up with prime lenses but I was not thrilled with the Z mount primes, the 40 and 28 mm f2 lens were mostly plastic with plastic lens mount and while Nikon sold a ton of them with the ZF I wanted glass that matched the beauty and style of the ZF body, Voightlander and Viltrox were the answer for me, I bought the Viltrox 28mm and 35mm, Voightlander provided the 40mm f1.2 and the 15mm f4.5, these two on the ZF are like a work of art and like the 35mm on your Sony are full of character and soul, I also have a Nikon 5omm f1.8 and the 28 to 75mm f 2.8 for times when I want a more normal rendering, after using the 40mm f1.2 lens I feel that this will be my favorite lens for the Nikon ZF it has something no other camera and lens has.

[@jingandy5092]

wow, the photos you shot with this lens just took my breath away

[@DigitalRetro]

Thank you! I'm glad you like them!

[@armada1e]

I just rented the 40mm f1.2 for Sony E, and 35mm F1.4 that I adapted to Sony e with a close focus adapter. Im still deciding which to buy, but Ill say the 40mm is incredible. so amazingly sharp, and dreamy wide open. It has a huge focus throw, and while it's not very big, it does weigh almost a pound. The 35mm f1.4 m mount was super duper sharp after f/2, perfect at f/5.6. wide open and under f/2, the bokeh is "nervous" as everyone says, but I don't hate it. it's distinct! looks a lot like my film shots with bokeh. I think im leaning to the 1.4 mostly for compactness

[@sjazzp]

A lens with its own identity, very nice review. Hate Sony colours? Funny that in several blind tests, people had selected Sony as the best colour, more accurate to reality, anyway in these days you can tweak with any filter to your like 😉

[@AllCarsUnited]

To be fair he is using a A7 ii it seems

[@DigitalRetro]

Update: Ok, I got the A7C now and I can say the Sony color science has improved a lot since my good old A7II(which I used for this video, and ones before).

[@xtra9996]

I use the 40 mm f1.2 and I love it.

[@HowSo1055]

I really want to sell both my AF lenses tamron 28 75 g2 and sony 85 1.8 for this one lens. Do you think its worth it for portraits streets and couple shoots?

[@stephanspiegelberg262]

Dziękuję za opowiedziany już "test" obiektywu. Zastanawiam się też nad kupnem tego obiektywu do wycieczek po mieście - do opowiadania historii. Po to przecież jest, prawda ;-)

[@DigitalRetro]

Zgadzam się - to jest świetne szkło do storytellingu 📷

[@ArnoldWatson]

Well done!

[@jeansebastientessier7]

Good job 👍⚡️

[@1Olorin1]

Never tried manuals but I see VL has the 23mm f/1.2 for fuji. It might be fun to try it someday

[@DigitalRetro]

It`s great fun to shoot manual lenses - try it!

[@stanleystevens6278]

Thanks to all your images here, I have decided to end my search and get this lens. I wanted a compact lens that renders an uncommon soap bubble bokeh and this checks the boxes. So far I've only found the Light Lens Lab 50mm Speed Panchro II to have a similar bokeh but it is heavy, quite a long lens and rather expensive.

[@DigitalRetro]

Hey, glad I could help! This lens is definitely a piece worth having in the bag, despite of what is said about it in the so called “expert” community 🙃

[@analogFEEL]

Great video man, how abt its focus breathing? Would like to get one for some casual videos.

[@DigitalRetro]

Thank you! The focus breathing is very manageable, suprisingly low. VIgnetting is the issue for me personally, nothing I can't fix in post, but still worth mentioning.

[@creative_cozmic]

I recently had my Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 calibrated which I had to have sent to Japan. Whilst I waited I was offered to borrow either a 50mm f2 APO or a 35mm f1.4. I chose the 50mm APO but on reflection wish I'd borrowed the 35mm because I would be very interested to see if I like this lens' rendering and the 35mm focal length. I'm very much a fan of lenses with character. The 50mm APO is a good lens and has character but the sharpness felt too clinical for my tastes compared to my 40mm.

[@sungilhwang]

the grainy noise fits so well with characteristics of the lens. did you add those noise in recorded video as well in post or is it just sooc noise from deliberate use of high iso?

[@DigitalRetro]

Thank you. The grain was added in post, the raw material was shot on lower ISOs. Cheers!

[@epicsceneshereandthere]

This lens is by far the best 35mm lens I own. Worth the investment. ❤

[@dfigphoto]

Impressive vid.

[@nex3movie]

Interesting shots, but I have the Nokton 40/1.2 and am not sure whether to buy it.

[@DigitalRetro]

Thank you. Well, if you have the 40, the POV wont be a big change, but the rendering is the thing that will distinguish this lens from 40 1.2. Some like it, some don't. I think the 40 1.2 is more "universal", where the 35 1.4 classic is very peculiar. I'm not sure I would've gone for 35 1.4 if I already had the 40 1.2 which is great lens BTW!

[@AlfredoJornet]

Hi there, thanks for very nice review/video. Do you have any reflections on how this Voigtlander 35 1.4 and the 7artisans 35 1.4 ff you mention at the beginning of the video compare? Is there a visible quality difference between the 7artisans and the Voigtlander? The price difference is quite noticeable... Thanks!

[@DigitalRetro]

Thanks man. My main reason I sold the 7artisans 35 1.4 was the very visible purple haze, vignetting and very poor corners. The 7artisans image was also too "busy" for me. It`s rendering was kinda "too much art in art". The voiglander has more distinct rendering and has better corner sharpness. It`s also really sharp at 1.7 witch very cool, dreamy image at 1.4. Although it`s mostly portrait and street lens. 7Artisans has now the new 35 1.4 mkII for full frame, but I haven`t tried it yet. The price difference is huge, but I really like my Nokton Classic and will definitely leave it in my bag. I`m actually making a new video about this lens after over 8 months of use and my experience with it over the time, so stay tuned if you want to hear more about it!

[@side_quest]

great review, thanks

[@alfredtolentino8614]

Great Video. Hope you can do a review of the 40mm f1.2 version for Sony.

[@DigitalRetro]

Thank you! I`m planning to do more Voigtlander videos in the future - hopefully I`ll find a good rental deal for 40 1.2 soon.

[@arsulaksono881]

40/1.2 e mount is just great, razorsharp sharpness with great rendering. But what I dislike is the bokeh balls, when semi closed it looks 'boxy' according to shape of aperture. Closed down it become star which is fine. The boxy is ugly according to my taste

[@creative_cozmic]

@@arsulaksono881 Voigtlander use straight aperture blades hence the lack of rounded bokeh when stopped down. I'm not bothered by it myself. It's part of the lenses character but I don't take many shots where you can see it anyway. I'm not really a fan of modern clinical lenses.

[@cameraprepper7938]

I use two 35mm Lenses, the very best 35mm you can get are the Voigtländer 35mm 2.0 Aspherical which I got and can highly recommend, I also have the very compact and Light weight Sony Carls Zeiss Sonnar 35mm 2.8 T* ZA which is so small that it always fits in a bag or a pocket. I NEVER use a Lens shorter than 55mm for portraits, it should not be allowed, it does NOT look good !

[@arsulaksono881]

i tried this lens second hand in a shop yesterday. Can u elaborate what Classic means ? Is it for its muted colors and unsharp at wide open ? I am a fan of voigt for its out of focus/bokeh rendering and sharpness. But my genre is now street photography. My other 2 voigts are 15/4.5 and 40/1.2. both e-mount. But 40/1.2 i rather slow for street, more suitable for portraits

[@DigitalRetro]

By classic I mean what I suppose the Voigtlander themselves meant(hopefully) when they introduced the lens - the classic, improper lens with washed out contrast, that produces dreamy image while fully open, with that characteristic nervous bokeh the old lenses had, too. Of course it can be pretty contrasty and sharp from f/2.8-f/4(if you don`t mind the corners). I`m eager to try 40 1.2. As for street - the 35 1.4 - it`s pretty tricky to do it at 1.4, but in time when you get used to manual focusing it`s possible and quite fun and much easier when stopping to like f/2.8 when you can still get the satistyfing bokeh.

[@karolkowalczyk3491]

Ot mówił, mówił i namówił😅, też chyba powoli staje się voigtlanderystą? Uwielbiam mojego 75mm f1.5, oraz 65mm f2 APO, długo zastanawiałem się co do 35mm i chyba dam szanse temu classicowi. Pozdrawiam. Ps. Świetny materiał.

[@DigitalRetro]

Dzieki 🔥 to jest chyba jedna z najbardziej niedoskonalych 35tek jakie mialem okazje ofocic i zarazem jedna z najbardziej satyskacjonujacych do fotografii 🙃

[@karolkowalczyk3491]

@@DigitalRetro no i tego szukam! Trzeba też przyznać że świetnie wyglądada podpięty do aparatu! Lubię moje szkiełka z M42, ale tu adapter psuje wszystko. Pozdrawiam!

[@stefanusadrian8398]

Would IBIS and in camera correction for jpeg work for this lens?

[@DigitalRetro]

Yes of course, the lens has electronic contacts so it sends all the data to the body.

[@KNURKonesur]

Chyba jedyne współcześnie produkowane szkło z "nowym designem" które ma taki charakter. Od dawna korci mnie, żeby sobie go kupić. Są niby szkła od Meyer Optik, ale to są wszystko odgrzewane kotlety sprzed 50-70 lat, które na nowej linii produkcyjnej straciły trochę pazura, a zyskały ogromne marże.

[@eucsvoboda]

what the hell, why s much noise

[@jcbarker1]

Don’t think you grasp what’s going on here.

[@jaywilldoit]

The lens is good at many things, but bokeh is not one of them LOL! I was shocked at how bad the bokeh looked in the first pictures i took using wide open ap.

[@DigitalRetro]

This is the usual debate on this lens - you either hate it`s bokeh or love it ;)

[@someonewithsomename]

You should not hate Sony for the colour science. You should hate Lr. And preferably not use it.

[@DigitalRetro]

I don`t think it`s LR that is my problem with Sony - i actually like processing my images in LR, I just don`t like the Sony RAW files - Ricoh, or Fuji raw files look already good sooc when put into LR(in terms of colors/contrasts. Sony just needs more editing to match the results i want(especially when working with presets) - which is fine for me in terms of process, but the time consuming it`s the thing I hate. I had my try with C1, too but i can`t seem to pair with this software. Anything else you can recommend for editing?

[@dennycouncil2282]

This lens is my GREATEST ever worst purchase by far! Heavy as a brick, big with COMPLETELY useless focal scale, and the image... my GOD the image is so blurry at any apertures, with hateful nervous bokeh, plenty of purple fringing, tons of vignetting, ABSOLUTE lack of sharpness no matter what, TOTALY impossible to use with zone focusing technique and with price tag of 600+ Euro! I hate this lens more than the words can describe it! I am surely and NEVER be voightlanderist!

[@andrew_nayes]

Is the focus scale useless because the measurements do not correspond to the actual distances? 1meter is not 1meter?

[@dennycouncil2282]

@@andrew_nayes It is very very possible what you are saying! I never thought about that possibility, but I think you are right