VOIGTLANDER 29MM F0.8 SUPER-NOKTON MICRO FOUR-THIRDS LENS

Okay, so, first things first. There are some changes that I want to point out. The first and most noticeable change is that the aperture ring has knurling all the way around the ring creating a kind of sharper more modern appearance rather than the classic look of its siblings. It also features the number 29 on the barrel which is a nice touch. The filter ring is also a first at 62mm. And then of course, there’s this. The 0.8 fstop.

So, what does F0.8 actually do for you then? Is it a legitimate tool or  just a party trick? Bragging rights perhaps? Well, the first thought I had was “Can the f0.8 aperture actually justify its $1800 price tag?” but after saying it out loud, it felt a bit silly. Because the real question should be: Why is the world's fastest production lens so cheap? Well, to test it out, I took it to a small studio in North Austin where I set up a photoshoot.

One of the often overlooked facets of the Voigtlander lens series is how versatile they actually are. When you want a clean, crisp, modern look, You can easily step down to F2.8 and it will be tack sharp. But if you wanted a soft, silky, classic look, F0.95 is like having a built in black net diffusion filter built into the lens.

With that in mind, I wanted to do a shoot that would give me a reason to really put this lens thru its paces. So ive settled on trying one of my favorite eras of photography: 1950s Golden Era Hollywood Portraits. 

SAMPLES

Weight

So first we're going to talk about the weight. The lens is truly a masterclass on engineering and is just as well built as ever with that metal and glass only construction, but unlike the rest of the voigtlander lenses, the focus ring on my lens felt a bit stiff. Still easy to turn, but less fluid than I was expecting, and this is the first time I can remember actually recall there being a change.. The aperture ring however, feels normal and the click / declick is a test in self control as the sensory feedback you get from the clicks is like that of a mechanical keyboard.Just lovely.  The weight seems to be evenly spread when not on the camera,but. When it's on the camera, it does feel a bit front heavy. However, like the 60mm, you don't really notice it in the moment and it never proved to be a hindrance.

Bokeh

Alright, not gonna win many brownie points with this one. So, this is going to be difficult because the style that I chose to photograph doesn't actually feature bokeh at all as I used mostly solid backgrounds. And because I shot iin a studio, therre is almost no flaring., whether this was subconscious or just an oversight, I really couldn't say. So instead I'll talk about the roll off. And boy, does this lens feature some of the best rendering roll off I've ever encountered on any lens, let alone a micro43 lens. There is just something so incredibly pleasing how when shooting wide open, there is no harsh or quick fall off. Its natural, elegant, but precise. Which leads me to...

Sharpness

I really wish that I could go in depth as to how this lens was constructed or how the grounded aspheric elements have increased sharpness this many percentages and amplified its value, but the honest truth is that, I’m not lens engineer.  I have no idea how they managed to make this lens as sharp as it is wide open. The dual achromatic elements are truly doing the heavy lifting here showing almost zero chromatic aberration, even at F0.8, even at 200%. I showed these photos to a few cinematographer and photographer colleagues and was meant with open jaws. It is truly remarkable how crsip this lens is and by far and away blows the F0.95 lenses out of the water for sharpness and control. I was really not expecting this, as everything i’ve ever watched shot on ultra fast lenses has been a giant blurry mess and that is most certainly not the case here. 

Color

However, when shooting wide open, there is a rather large color shift from greener tones to magenta tones requiring a full white balance reset. It also does have some vignetting, but still, for F0.8 it is rather controlled. Beyond that, the F0.95 lenses have the same color shift when stopping down, but as a set, these seem to use the same coatings so that there isn’t a noticeable color shift when switching lenses.

25mm comparison

And speaking of switching lenses, I wanted to briefly touch on the comparison to the 25mm lens and I have to wonder which came first, the idea of a 29mm lens, or an F0.8 lens? My instinct says it's the latter, because comparing it to the 25mm f0.95, you begin to realize that this is a completely different beast. Its sharper, brighter, more refined, more controlled in its image quality. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t understand why Voigtlander was releasing a 29mm when they already had a 25mm, but I’ll also be the first to admit that there despite the relatively close focal distance, this lens really slices its way thru the rest of the group to prove itself worthy and to tackle this kind of shoot where emulating the depth of field of the old 8x10 film slides commonly used in hollywood portraits, I honestly don’t think there is another lens capable of producing anything remotely accurate.  

I really like this lens and honestly, I didn’t think I was going too. Even knowing the quality that voigtlander produces, it still managed to surprise me. That alone makes me want to continue to support Voigtlanders constant innovation and exploration of what’s possible with the micro43 mount. To me, this lens is a very personal reminder that inside all of us, there is a vast creative universe and we have many ways in which to explore it.

The Voigtlander 29mm may not unlock the cosmos, but its a small move towards a brighter future.

Special Thanks to:

Madison Williams - Model

Paulina Fricke-Fox - Model

Keith Burton

Pete Cooper

Maile Rellin

Emily Rankin

Trago

Austin

Coop

Selim

Stephen Gandy - CameraQuest

Keith Mullins

i.V. Thomas Büttner - Voigtländer

Vladimir Romanyuk

Studio - www.austinmoviegear.com