A shout-out to Riceball Photography, the authorized dealer for Voigtlander in Singapore, who provided the copy for this review. The Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH is currently available in limited quantities.
Introduction
Announced in December 2023, the Voigtlander Nokton Vintage 28mm ƒ1.5 Aspherical is an exciting piece of optics. While Leica M-mount 28mm choices are plenty, there are not a lot of choices if one is searching for wallet-reasonable super-fast lenses with excellent imaging quality output.
The most apparent choice is the excellent benchmark Leica Summilux-M 28mm ƒ1.4 Aspherical at a princely USD7795. In terms of pricing versus performance, I was looking forward to testing the Voigtlander Nokton Vintage 28mm ƒ1.5 Aspherical.
Let us look deeper at the Voigtlander Nokton Vintage 28mmƒ1.5 Aspherical and how it performs.
*for brevity’s sake, I will refer to the lens as the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH from now onwards.
Technicalities
Voigtlander makes 4 versions of the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH, all with the same optical design. There is a matte black and silver finish, Type I with an aluminum body, and a Type II brass body in black paint and chrome. The version in this review is the Type II in chrome finish.
While the finishes may look similar in photos, the differences are pretty noticeable in real life, with the Type II (brass body) version giving a higher-quality finish.
The Voigtlander Vintage Line currently consists of seven lenses, three with the ƒ1.5 specification: 35mm, 50mm, and 75mm, and now the new Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH makes four.
My review of the Voigtlander 35mm ƒ1.5 Aspherical is here.
Voigtlander describes the Nokton Vintage 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH as a wide angle lens with three features: a large aperture, compact dimensions, and outstanding optical performance.
The Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH has an 10 elements in an 8-group optical design featuring two double-sided aspherical lens elements for outstanding optical performance even while photographing wide open. Following recent optical designs, the minimum focusing distance goes closer than the Leica M rangefinder’s minimum of 0.7m, going to 0.5m with Live View or the Visoflex.
- Aperture range of ƒ1.5 to ƒ16
- 12-aperture blade design
- 10 elements in 8 groups optical design with two aspherical elements
- Minimum focusing distance of 0.5 meters
- 43mm filter size, at φ54.0 × 45.5mm and 250 grams (Type I), 330 grams (Type II)
- Works with the Voigtlander LH-6 hood accessory
Build, handling, and performance.
I will just get to the point and share that the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH is an extremely well-built lens. With its brass construction, the Type II has a nice heft without feeling bulky, unlike the Leica Summilux-M 28mm ƒ1.4.
The knurls around the focusing ring are incredibly comfortable, with the aperture ring’s design giving a very good grip. As with all higher-end Voigtlander lenses, the labelings on the lens body are all painted into engraved areas, ensuring their durability over time.
This is a ‘Summilux’ level fast lens, and thus samples wise I decided to go further and include both portraits wide open and of course, late night low light shots.
As one can see, flaring is present when photographing in strong light, (and taking into note that I went hood-less for this review). The character of the lens is lovely here, and I prefer this over what some would call a clinical ‘correct’ feel. In fact, there were little loss in details when I shot directly into light sources.
Colors reproduction is punchy with a good amount of pop. Coupled with the sharpness possible with the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH wide open, this lens’s potential image quality is excellent, giving a very good performance-to-price ratio.
If there is anything I want to pick at, I find the chrome ring at the front distracting, and sometimes I wish that Voigtlander had simply blacked it out, giving a much less attention-grabbing look. For those concerned about this, using the official LH-6 hood resolves the issue.
Handling wise, there is also no ‘hard stop’ on the focusing ring when one moves from 0.7 meters and closer, something the user should note.
That said, the focusing ring has an excellent balance between resistance and smoothness, and coupled with the assuring clicks on the aperture ring, this piece of optics has been built with care for the optical design and its handling. Due to the compact size of the lens, the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH feels very well balanced on the Leica M body.
A typical concern would be the size of a fast and wide lens, and this is hardly an issue in the case of the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH.
Using the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH on the Leica M body was enjoyable with the compact setup. While I am sure some will prefer using the optional LH-6 hood for protection and minimizing flare, I would gladly go without it for this lens’s portability.
Conclusions
End of the day, I am primarily a 35mm focal length user, but I can appreciate the extra story-telling room a 28mm focal length can give.
The Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH is the fourth lens in the Voigtlander Vintage ƒ1.5 line. Like the Voigtlander 35mm ƒ1.5 ASPH, the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH is a piece of optics that does well in all the three categories that matter to the photographer: image quality, potential speed and of course, build and handling all in at a price of USD799, around one-tenth of the Leica Summilux-M 28mm ƒ1.4 which is a benchmark lens in my opinion.
While I am sure that there will be fervent supporters of buying the Leica Summilux-M 28mm ƒ1.4, the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH is an excellent alternative for Leica M-mount and is definitely worth considering.
Voigtlander could have maybe scored even higher marks by including the hood like what they did with the Voigtlander 50mm ƒ1, but this is me being fussy for a piece of a well-built, high-quality piece of optics that has an excellent performance-to-price ratio.
Thank you for reading.
The Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH is available in limited quantities at Riceball Photography Singapore.
Disclaimers:
- All product photos and samples here were photographed by me unless otherwise stated. I believe any reviewer with pride should produce their own product photos.
2. All images were shot with the Leica M10-R, and the raw files were edited in LR CC Classic to my preferences.
3. This review is not sponsored, and the Voigtlander 28mm ƒ1.5 ASPH was returned to Riceball Photography.
4. I do not do affiliate purchase links to keep myself neutral. I write as a passion and a hobby, and I appreciate that photography brands are kind enough to respect and work with me.
5. The best way to support me is to share the review, or you can always help support me by contributing to my fees to WordPress for the domain using the Paypal button at the bottom of the page.
KeithWee | Photography 
Lovely review! The pictures are beautiful and this is a lens I am considering to purchase.
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Hi, thank you for the kind words 🙂
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Thank you Keith, I was searching for reviews of this lens and your good review popped up!
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Hi! Thank you for popping by!
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How does it compare to the f2 version?
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Hi! Dimensions wise similar but the F2 ver is slightly lighter in respect of that matters. F2 ver seems to have more vignette when shot wide compared to this F1.5 and both shoot closest at 0.5m. Given how quite similar the prices and sizes are I’ll go for the F1.5 instead.
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Maybe I’m the only one but this lens doesn’t impress me much. Looks a but too ‘harsh’, almost Sigma like. The blur is really bad for my taste (lots of aberration and weird shape). I was debating between this and the 28 Summicron asph (version I). I’m glad I made the right choice (for me, at least). It surely wins price wise, hands down
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Hi, thank you for sharing. I always think choices are of course personal and just simply glad that you are clear on what you prefer 🙂
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Hello… thanks for this extremely useful review! I especially appreciated the example photos that show a person — I am primarily a “people” photographer, so this type of example gives me valuable information about how a lens will portray details such as eyelashes and hair. I already own the 35/1.5 and 50/1.5 Voigtlander lenses, so this one seems like an obvious addition. BUT… everyone seems to be curious now about the new Thypoc Simera 28mm f/1.4 lens and how it might compare to the 28/1.5 Nokton. Is there any chance you might have tried it? Thanks again…
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Hi good day, 🙂
Yes, I’ve been getting a few queries on the comparison between the Thypoch Simera 28 and this Voigt 28 F1.5. Personally I’m keen to do a side by side comparison and simply let the reader decide but let me see how may I work this out, especially that Thypoch is pretty new and not the most ‘upfront’ with loans for reviews.
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Thank you Keith. Not sure if you remember I bought a Fujifilm S5 Pro from you at Dover MRT. Time flies and good to see your honest and straight-to-the-point review of this lens. I got the Typ II brass one as yours and found it to be an excellent performer. Only downside is the lack of hard stop beyond 0.7m focusing but that is just a small quibble out of all the goodness of this lens!
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Hi! I do remember! (I only ever had one set of the S5Pro too!)
Totally agree, I don’t understand why Voigtlander couldn’t build just this 0.7m mark into the lens but otherwise this lens is really worth one’s consideration.
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It is odd that this article keeps popping up in my feeds . I’ve read it three times . This is a lens I am wanting.
28mm is a storytelling lens that I love . I shoot so much between 20 to 40 mm . I purchased the Voigtlander 21mm f/1.4 recently and have used it so much.
I am a lens swapping fool that doesn’t use Zooms much. Love my primes .
I was searching for 28mm f/1.4 Leica M mounts and this lens popped up as possibly coming out soon . Then I started reading about the Voigtlander 28mm f/2.0 . Wow what a phenomenal piece of glass n brass . I started to get it and do love its rendering. I like fast fast glass as I shoot low light live music and document that world . The f/1.2 and 1.4 are my bread n butter lenses. Voigtlander 40mm f/1.2 and 75mm f/1.5 are favorites. Now shooting a ton with the 65mm f/.0 macro .
In the progression of my lens collection I want a great fast 28. I believe this will be the one I purchase soon. Then for my manual focus glass I’ll have 15-75 Voigtlanders and then the 90mm f/2.0 Leica Summicron pre asph . Then after that my manual focus go to lenses for live music are the Nikon 135mm f/2.0 ais and Nikon 180mm f/2.8 ais . Sometimes I’ll carry the Nikkor S 55mm f/1.2 for some super low light stuff .
This lens you’re reviewing so far with the sample photos doesn’t seem to have the something special rendering to it , ya know . I want to get more reviews in on it first . It does have that speed I need though. Then it’s up to the photographer to make that something special happen.
Thanks for the great review
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Hi, super glad to read your sharing. I guess the algorithms went into overdrive in your case lol.
I am a prime user too, zooms to me simply are what I settle for when practicality comes. I understand your point regarding ‘special rendering’ or simply drawing which is pretty personal and hope more samples help you soon.
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