Last Updated on 11/07/2017 by Chris Gampat
The Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 lens in M mount is identical to it’s Sony FE variant, but rangefinder coupled
A little while ago, Voigtlander released a brand new Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 manual focus lens for the Sony E mount; but just recently they announced it for the Leica M mount. This lens is nearly identical optically to the Sony E mount version but the Voigtlander version is cosmetically different to accommodate more of the rangefinder crowd. Additionally, the M mount version is rangefinder coupled. Of course, this also means that you should ensure that your rangefinder can work well with lenses that focus down to that shallow of a depth of field. Of course, you could always zone focus too; but the point of having a lens like this is to shoot at f1.2.
The new lens has 6 groups and 8 elements in addition to 10 aperture blades. With manual focus lenses, you can often get more aperture blades due to the design. Of course, that also means that this is a manual focus lens. In the US, the new Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 will run at around $1,100 and the 40mm viewfinder will be around $220. Certain cameras surely do have a 40mm field of view. But this also brings up the question of whether or not Voigtlander may update their very good 35mm f1.2 II lens. With a 40mm lens here, there may be no good reason to do so.
For folks that scoff at lenses like this, I was of that camp until I bought the Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95 lens years ago for Micro Four Thirds. Then it was like crack and I became addicted. Manual focus lenses are often a superior experience to autofocus lenses and help me create better photos due to my wanting to put more work into the focus, composition, etc. It requires more from you that you simply just don’t get from autofocus lenses. Below are the specs and sample images.
Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 M Mount Main specifications
Focal length |
40 mm |
Aperture ratio |
1: 1.2 |
Minimum aperture |
F22 |
Lens configuration |
6 groups 8 pieces |
Angle of view |
55 ° |
Number of diaphragm blades |
10 sheets |
Shortest shooting distance |
0.5 m |
Range meter range |
∞ ~ 0.7 m (depending on camera) |
Maximum diameter × total length |
φ 60.8 × 43.3 mm |
Filter size |
φ 52 mm |
weight |
315 g |
Lens hood |
LH-8 (sold separately) |
Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 Sample Images