The Voigtlander Nokton 50 mm F1.2 Aspherical VM has been teased by quite some time but it will finally start shipping in early 2019. The full frame lens has been designed for both digital and analog photography and is fully compatible for use with rangefinder cameras. Voigtlander lenses are also right at home when used for video, due to their all manual operation. and compact size.
We first saw a prototype of this lens at CP+ in Japan earlier this year. The Nokton 50mm f/1.2 Aspherical VM for Leica M-mount will eventually join the three other 50mm Voigtlander VM lenses, the Nokton 50mm f/1.1, Nokton 50mm f/1.5 Aspherical, and the Heliar 50mm f/3.5. Like its siblings, the Nokton 50mm f/1.2 Aspherical V is beautifully made, small in size, and easy to use. It can be easily adapted to work on a wide variety of cameras such as any Sony E-mount camera.
The optical design consists of t8 elements in 6 groups, two of those lens elements have aspherical surfaces. Close focus is 70cm, but if you use the lens on a Sony E-mount camera with the VM-E adapter, that distance is reduced down to 41.7cm. The front filter diameter is 52mm.
When developing the Nokton 50 mm F1.2 aspherical VM, Voigtlander put a lot of emphasis on making the lens as small and compact as possible. It looks like they have managed to do just that, as the lens only weighs in at 344 g (12.13 oz). This small size and weight make it ideal for travel, as it won’t take up much space in your bag.
The lens is nice and fast with its f/1.2 aperture which makes it suitable for creating very shallow DOF, as well as for use in low light shooting conditions.
Optionally, two lens hoods are available: the LH-8, which is also suitable for other Voigtländer lenses, as well as a new model LH-10, which Voigtlander claims offers even better stray light shielding.
The lens will retail for ￥135,000 ($1189 USD) and be available for purchase in January 2019.
