Sony’s third-party lens support continues to grow, with new additions to the list being added all the time, most recently via Voigtlander and their new 40mm F1.2 FE lens. The announcement comes from Voigtlander’s parent company, Cosina – which only made the announcement in reference to the Japanese market.
The Japanese price, converted to USD (which isn’t necessarily a good indicator of what it will cost here if it is brought over) is about $1200. Not a bad price at all considering the build quality and light gathering potential of the lens, which is one of the fastest now available for the Sony FE mount.
In terms of specs, beyond the obvious 40mm focal length and F/1.2 aperture, the Voigtlander 40mm F1.2 FE features 8 glass elements broken into 6 groups and has a whopping 10 aperture blades, ensuring a nice and smooth aperture opening. Additionally, the lens will weigh in at about 420g and have a 58mm front filter thread.
In another great move, the lens will reportedly have electronic contacts, allowing it to communicate with the camera to give shooters full EXIF information, including aperture – a very welcome feature addition for anyone who has ever used an all manual lens on a mirrorless body.
Again, the lens was only officially announced in Japan, so we don’t know when or if (though we find it hard to believe it won’t be coming to the US eventually) it will make its way officially to the US. In the meantime you can be fairly sure some people will be buying these up to resell here in the US.
More details about the lens, as well as a gallery of sample images, can be found over on the Cosina website, here. Shout out to Sony Alpha Rumors for noticing this.