Review – Voigtlander Nokton 35mm F0.9 for Fuji X mount

Introduction

In the tech world, being the first generally provides the first-mover advantage, but as our review goes on today, I am reminded of what Tim Cook of Apple famously said: “We don’t want to be the first; we want to be the best.”, which I believe is also what Cosina (the maker of Voigtlander lenses) believes in with their release of the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm ƒ0.9 for Fujifilm X-mount.

Announced in July 2023, Voigtlander’s 35mm ƒ0.9 is easily a much later release than competitor brands (for example, see my review of TTArtisan’s 35mm ƒ0.95 here). Let us look if Voigtlander manages to stand out in the 35mm ƒ0.95 field in which Fujifilm failed to get to production and getting increasingly crowded with 3rd party makers.

Shout-out to Riceball Photography, Singapore’s official distributor of Cosina Voigtlander lenses for providing the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm ƒ0.9 for the review.

Technicalities

Key to what interested me is Cosina (maker of Voigtlander lenses) is well regarded by photographers as one of the best manual focusing lens designers in the market, typically seen as second best to Leica for M-mount, and I was really hoping the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm ƒ0.9 is no exception.

*on the APSC-sized Fujifilm X-mount sensor, a 35mm lens gives an equivalent view of 50mm at a 1.5x crop.

It is not just another F0.95 lens when Voigtlander joins the list with their expertise in designing optically excellent well-built lenses, and the price rightly implies so.

Maximum Aperture of ƒ0.9 to ƒ22, manual focusing for Fujifilm X-mount

Lens Format Coverage for APS-C only

Minimum Focus Distance 35 cm with an angle of View of 43.8°

Maximum Magnification at 0.14x with a macro reproduction ratio of 1:7.1

Optical Design of 10 Elements in 8 Groups with 12 aperture blades

Filter Size of 62 mm

Dimensions (ø x L) at 72.7 x 64.9 mm at 492 g

Similar to Voigtlander’s much lauded 50mm F1.0 lens for Leica M-mount, the Voigtlander 35mm ƒ0.9 adopts an in-house produced GA (ground aspherical) lens on the front surface of the lens, which allows an ultra-fast lens design in a compact package without compromising image quality, putting them a big step ahead of other third party makers.

Cosina has also incorporated a Floating Lens Element (FLE) into the optical design, which adds to its optical performance across all focal lengths. For knowledge, Leica charges a princely sum for the floating lens element in its lenses.

Performance and Handling

*I only had around 48 hours with the lens, hence do forgive the lack of samples if you find them insufficient.

After testing Fujifilm’s XF50mm ƒ1 (my review here), I have learned to understand that the most challenging part of lens design in these super-fast lenses is whether the manufacturer can design them for optimum optical performance wide open with minimal chromatic aberration, and very few lens makers can do so, especially in a world where even the USD12,995 Leica 50mm Noctilux suffers from a good amount of chromatic aberration.

The Voigtlander 35mm ƒ0.9 handles very well, and seldom mentioned, the delibrate ‘depressed’ area between the aperture ring and focusing ring is a huge help against accidental value adjustments.

Handling-wise, the lens is surprisingly not too large for one with a ƒ0.9 aperture. For comparison’s sake, the size is quite similar to an XF33mm f1.4 R LM WR (my review here). As expected of Voigtlander, the focusing ring is so perfected damped that it is a joy managing focus with it, with zero of Fujifilm’s native lenses coming close in this respect.

The 12 aperture blades have flat edges which is traditional to Voigtlander lenses, rightly allowing sunstars to be produced too. Details on the lens are all engraved and filled in, not painted over in the lesser-built lenses.

A quick reminder that manual focusing assist modes on Fujifilm X-mount cameras are pretty useful even with the X-Pro3. I use the standard ‘magnification’ option.

For the nerds, photographing wide open at ƒ0.9 aperture on the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm ƒ0.9 is akin to providing an approximate depth of field observable on a full-frame camera with a 50mm ƒ1.4 lens wide open.

For those accustomed to manual focusing lenses, using the Voigtlander 35mm ƒ0.9 on even the non-back LCD Fujifilm X-Pro3 will be easy, though it takes practice and patience. The more updated and larger EVFs on the X-H2, X-H2S, and X-T5 make this process even easier.

*I prefer a magnified view generally for manual focusing lenses on Fujifilm cameras as the focus peak isn’t always the most reliable.

The depth of field at ƒ0.9 is thin, and one does require a bit of practice if new to manual focusing despite the built in focusing aids on Fujifilm cameras.

Not just the depth of field, the drawing of out-of-focused areas (bokeh) is also very pleasant, hardly messy, and lends a good amount of character to the images, vignetting wide open is also minimal and not much noticeable.

One of the worries I guess some may have would be the size of the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm ƒ0.9, to me it was very much manageable and to be honest, with a bit of practice, one can easily use the lens even as a street snapping lens. If the Leica M users can do candid street shots without an electronic rangefinder, there is no reason a Fujifilm camera with an EVF or LCD and magnified view/focus peaking can’t do it.

Important note about communication of lens data to the camera.

It was brought up to me that the electrical contacts on the Voigtlander 35mm ƒ0.9 only work for the newer Fujifilm models, which is correct.

The list of models that support lens data recording (like aperture values and focusing distance etc) goes as : X-H2S, X-H2/1, X-T5/4/3/2, X-Pro3, X-E4, and X-T30, X-T30 II, and X-S10.

Conclusions

Before the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm ƒ0.9, TTArtisan, Mitakon, and 7Artisan had already released a 35mm ƒ0.95 for Fujifilm X-mount.

Still, from the samples I have seen online, Mitakon and 7Artisan are pretty close optically to each other as entry-level options, and all have their own strengths and weaknesses (what some will label as lens character), with the Mitakon being pretty wild in flaring and sporting a clickless aperture ring and this Voigtlander release at the front of the race image quality wise (it is also the most expensive).

The details will show whether the manufacturer displays pride in their products and for Voigtlander, it is evident that they even lined the hood’s internal sides with felt to minimise reflections. Including a metal hood says a lot versus the native lens manufacturer who has mostly only provided plastic ones since the first 3 lenses were released (except for the XF200mm).

That said, to each his/her own, and I am again sure some will like the signatures of one of these over the others in their own ways, and frankly, if I am keen to have a manual focus or extremely fast lens at the 35mm focal length which Fujifilm decided not to bring to market, this Voigtlander Nokton 35mm ƒ0.9 will be my choice.

Thank you for reading.

*Currently Riceball Photography is offering a 10% discount for all readers of this review or a member of Fujifanboys Facebook group. For transparency’s sake, I do not take any commissions for any sales to keep myself neutral.

Disclaimers:

1. This is not a paid review, and the Fujifilm X-Pro3 is my personal set running ver 2.00 (not as if Fujifilm ever cared enough about X-Pro 3 users to provide real performance updates)
2. The review copy of the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm ƒ0.9 was returned to Riceball Photography at the end of the review.
3. All product photos and samples shared were photographed by me. I believe any reviewer with pride should produce their own product photos.
4. I do not do affiliate purchase links to keep me neutral. I write as a passion and a hobby, and I appreciate that photography brands are kind enough to respect and work with me.
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