Showcase Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95

[PeterB666]

Pre-dawn shot at Tamarama Beach, Sculptures by the Sea, 2010 this moring.

Olympus E-P1 and Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 set to f/2, 4 second and ISO200 and a little bit of wind and rain.

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Hen's night out by peterb666, on Flickr

I was quite pleased to get such a distinct star pattern from the lights at just f/2. Easy to focus and nice to be able to see something in the LCD in that type of lighting.

 

[soundimageplus]

It looks nice and crisp. I had an email this afternoon to say mines arrived, and I will be getting it early next week. Looking forward to it.

 

[deirdre]

Love the chicken. It appears to be hollow, I'd love to see more details of that.

 

[Boyzo]

Is this a good lens guys ... judged by the highest standards
I know its MF and at times compared to the expensive Leica 25mm f0.95
How much ??

 

[PeterB666]

Love the chicken. It appears to be hollow, I'd love to see more details of that.

Yes, it is hollow and has eggs inside. If I remember, I will do some close up shots tomorrow.

 

[PeterB666]

I had a play with my new Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 this morning. It is great being able to see something in the LCD before sunrise and to be able to focus accurately.

This first lot are my 'traditional' landscapes and include a 7-frame panorama. Seascapes are not ideal for panoramas thanks to the moving water but it came out reasonable enough...

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Pre-dawn at Tamarama by peterb666, on Flickr

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Tamarama Beach by peterb666, on Flickr

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Tamarama Sunrise 2.tif by peterb666, on Flickr

 

[PeterB666]

Some people shots. The second one was shot as ISO1600 and is a little on the soft side...

Now for some people shots (all before sunrise) ...

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_B075159 by peterb666, on Flickr

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_B075155

by peterb666, on Flickr

 

[PeterB666]

Now for some sculptures from Sculptures by the Sea 2010 at Bondi (Sydney)...

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Splat by peterb666, on Flickr

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Anguish by peterb666, on Flickr

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The Sky is Falling by peterb666, on Flickr

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Natural Selection (with self-portrait) by peterb666, on Flickr

 

[Kosta]

thanks guys! brilliant shots!

how are you finding handling the lens? I was going to jump on this one from the beginning but funding it will have to wait!

 

[PeterB666]

The lens is a joy to use in low light. I can actually see something in the LCD pre-sunrise and had no problem focussing.

For more conventional low light work, it has its quirks. It isn't the quickest lens to set up and use as you have to focus and then stop down the aperture as with any non-automatic diaphram manual lens. It is a great lens if you have the time and also subjects that don't move around.

It also takes some getting use to the very narrow depth of field when working in the f/1.4 to f/2 range. I don't consider the image quality good enough wide open for taking a shot but then I also apply that caveat to my Olympus OM 50mm f/1.4 and just about every other fast lens I have ever used.

I hope to put together a proper review of the lens over the coming week.

Cheers

Peter

 

[Amin]

Peter, thanks for sharing these samples! Looks like the Nokton can serve as a general use lens when stopped down, which is a real plus.

Here are a few samples I found by Dolmang on Flickr, posted here with permission by way of Creative Commons license.

Click on an image to view at original resolution:

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View attachment 152497

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[PeterB666]

I haven't done a lot of people shooting lately and I certainly hadn't planned this. I was strolling through Hyde Park (Sydney) and had just been evicted from the War Memorial as it was closing at 5pm and then I spot some people under a Port Jackson Fig doing something rather unusual for Hyde Park - hairdressing.

All shots taken with an Olympus E-P1 and Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 lens with apertures set between f/0.95 and f/4.0. ISO400 for all shots apart from the B&W which is ISO100 (by accident).

#1

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Hair Dressing in Hyde Park-2 by peterb666, on Flickr

#2

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Hair Dressing in Hyde Park-4 by peterb666, on Flickr

#3

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Hair Dressing in Hyde Park-5 by peterb666, on Flickr

#4

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Hair Dressing in Hyde Park-7 by peterb666, on Flickr

#5

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Hair Dressing in Hyde Park-8 by peterb666, on Flickr

#6

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Hair Dressing in Hyde Park by peterb666, on Flickr

 

[Jerry_R]

Peter, thanks again for shots!
Can you share your thoughts about Nokton vs 20mm f/1.7?

 

[PeterB666]

Peter, thanks again for shots!
Can you share your thoughts about Nokton vs 20mm f/1.7?

I don't think they are particularly comparable.

The first pre-dawn/dawn shots I took with the Voigtlander blew me away. Not only was the lens incredible easy to focus, the image detail had a level of crispness I had not seen in either the Olympus 9-18mm (which is what I normally use) nor the Panasonic 20mm, which I used before the Olympus in such situations.

The Panasonic and Olympus lenses are hit and miss when if comes to manually focussing in really low light levels. You cannot see an image on the LCD. You need exceedingly low light levels to have any viewing difficulty with the Voigtlander.

On the other hand, the Panasonic 20mm lens has auto-focus and is a lot quicker to use most of the time.

The Voigtlander is best for stuations where you don't have moving subjects and can take a considered approach to your shooting. Both lenses will be remaining in my kit bag for a long time.

 

[Jerry_R]

Good to hear!
What about sharpness between Nokton and 20mm on apertures like f/4 - f/8?

 

[PeterB666]

I haven't done a side-by-side comparision but the image sharpness at around f/8 for the Voigtlander is simply stunning.

Check out the 1st and 3rd shots in post #6 of this thread. They are essentially as they came out of the camera while I would have to apply some sharpening with the Panasonic.

 

[soundimageplus]

the image sharpness at around f/8 for the Voigtlander is simply stunning.

Having just got mine I must agree with you. Stunning is the word I would use also. I wasn't quite prepared for that. Quite simply the sharpest results I've ever got off m4/3.

 

[soundimageplus]

Bokeh

Amazing bokeh from this lens.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45203414@N06/5161263371/" title="Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 Panasonic Lumix GH1 by soundimageplus, on Flickr">

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"1024" height="749" alt="Voigtlander Nokton 25mm f/0.95 Panasonic Lumix GH1" /></a>

 

[Kosta]

oh man, this lens is a quality one indeed.

*don't break the bank, don't break the bank, don't break the bank*

 

[Amin]

I just had a few minutes to try out the Nokton 25/0.95 today. Of course I kept it at f/0.95:

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The bushes/trees behind my house will make any lens bokeh look harsh, so don't judge based on this in isolation.

Looking at the fabric of my wife's shirt and scarf, I was impressed with the amount of detail this lens is resolving wide open.

Full-res to see sharpness: All sizes | P1020432 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!