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Voigtländer Nokton 21mm f/1.4 Review

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The Voigtländer Nokton 21mm f/1.4 is a fun and enjoyable lens to use, with great build quality and manual focus. It produces sharp, contrasty images with beautiful colors and soft, striking sun stars. However, it has some limitations such as corner and coma levels at bright apertures, and chromatic aberration. It is a bit pricey for a manual lens, but if you're willing to accept its limitations, it can be a great addition to your gear.

The Voigtländer Nokton 21mm f/1.4 is a fun and enjoyable lens to use, with great build quality and manual focus. It produces sharp, contrasty images with beautiful colors and soft, striking sun stars. However, it has some limitations such as corner and coma levels at bright apertures, and chromatic aberration. It is a bit pricey for a manual lens, but if you're willing to accept its limitations, it can be a great addition to your gear.

Pros
  • Great build quality
  • Smooth and precise manual focus
  • Sharp, contrasty images with beautiful colors
  • Produces soft, striking sun stars
Cons
  • Corner softness and coma levels at bright apertures
  • Chromatic aberration at f/1.4
  • Lacks weather sealing
  • Pricey for a manual lens

The lens electronically communicates with your camera and has a few useful features, including in-body image stabilization recognition, manual focus assistance, and an aperture ring with perfectly weighted clicks.

The Voigtländer Nokton 21mm f/1.4 is a beautifully designed lens with excellent build quality and a manual focus mechanism that handles incredibly smoothly and precisely. It is not too large and has a nice weight to it, making it a joy to handle. The lens electronically communicates with your camera and has a few useful features, including in-body image stabilization recognition, manual focus assistance, and an aperture ring with perfectly weighted clicks. It does not have image stabilization, but it comes with a high-quality metal lens hood and has a filter thread size of 62mm. However, it lacks weather sealing and protective gaskets, which could be a drawback for some users. In terms of image quality, the lens produces sharp, contrasty images with beautiful colors and soft, striking sun stars. It performs well in bright light, with limited flaring and controlled distortion, making it an excellent lens for creative photography. However, it has some limitations such as corner softness and coma levels at bright apertures, as well as chromatic aberration at f/1.4. These factors may need to be considered, especially for astrophotography or other situations that require high corner performance.Overall, the Voigtländer Nokton 21mm f/1.4 is a fun and enjoyable lens to use, capable of producing stunning images with unique characteristics. While it may have some limitations and is a bit pricey for a manual lens, it can be a valuable addition to a photographer's gear, particularly for those who appreciate its creative potential and are willing to work with its specific characteristics and quirks.

The Voigtländer Nokton 21mm f/1.4 is a fun and enjoyable lens to use, capable of producing stunning images with unique characteristics. While it may have some limitations and is a bit pricey for a manual lens, it can be a valuable addition to a photographer's gear, particularly for those who appreciate its creative potential and are willing to work with its specific characteristics and quirks.

Source

This article is based on the review by

Christopher Frost

Christopher Frost

Christopher Frost is a YouTube channel dedicated to providing in-depth reviews and analyses of photography equipment, particularly lenses. Christopher Frost, the creator and host of the channel, is known for his thorough and detailed evaluations of various lenses from different manufacturers, including Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, and others.  To learn more, please visit the channel here.

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