Voigtländer Nokton 50mm f/1.0 - The Wizard King - Marc Hoch
The Wizard King
The new Nokton 1.0/50 is the most exciting development in recent years. Hard to believe, but true: It's better than the Noctilux.
Leica photographers are pretty limited in their worldview. For them, the first commandment is: Leica is the best. And because their second commandment is: You may not have any gods other than Leica - of course they only use lenses from Wetzlar on their great cameras. But sometimes they aren't that good, some are even really bad. But for a Leica photographer, that shouldn't be the case. Fake news they say! And then they declare the Summicron-35 (Version IV) to be the "King of Bokeh" or talk about optical defects with terms like "Leica Glow" or "Rock'n Roll" (Thorsten Overgaard on the Noctilux 0.95). So they live on with the feeling that they too and their photos (if they take photos at all) are the best. Because, they believe only the brand guarantees quality.
Leica photographers particularly look down on Voigtlaender lenses. Voigtlaender is to them what a vegetarian is to a steak lover. They don't judge the optical quality of these Made in Japan lenses at all, they only consider how the things actually look. Because for a Leica photographer, lenses have to be as chic as a woman's handbag. After all, Leica is more than photography: Leica is lifestyle!
However, many Voigtlaender lenses do not look chic. And so their technical qualities go unnoticed by Leica photographers. That's the Toyota-problem - cool tech, hideous appearance. The Apo-Lanthar 50, for example, is as good as the Apo-Summicron 50. But it looks so stupid that one would like to advise the engineers at Voigtlaender: Hey, folks - have a look at your colleagues at TTartisan or 7artisans are doing it!
Enough of the preamble, let's take a look at the new Nokton 1.0/50 - but wait again! Did we actually write here: a Nokton 1.0/50? That is unbelievable! Finally: For those who, like me, dreamed of cameras in the early 1980s as a teenager, the 1.8/50 on the Canon AE-1 was already the Madonna of the lenses. Of course you knew that there were even better lenses, of course you had heard of the Noctilux back then, but that was as unattainable as the girl with the long blond hair in the class.
Today, on the other hand, high-speed lenses are almost mass-produced. Nothing special for those who have no historical awareness. For me, however, such lenses are still highlights - and that's why I have to say right away: How stupid and unimaginative it was for Voigtlaender to call their new lens "Nokton". Nokton is boring, Nokton is arbitrary, Nokton is unimaginative, because Voigtlaender uses this name to describe almost everything. But because this 1.0/50 is the most exciting development in recent years, and because Leica photographers love slogans, I'll call this lens from now on: the „Wizard King“.
The Wizard King doesn't look bad at all. With E62, it is two millimeters wider than the Noctilux, instead looks more compact and is also lighter. The lens- shade is solid and above all: This time it is "standard". The graphics on the Wizard King are by no means as beautiful as on the Noctilux and are quite reduced, but hey! This doesn't matter at all for the quality of the lens.
And it starts with focusing. This works surprisingly well with the Wizard King, but above all: the Wizard King comes closer to the subject than the Noctilux. The limit for close-up is 90 centimeters, that's 10 centimeters less - centimeters that can be decisive when taking photos at lunch at the table! A clear plus!
Let's get to the optical quality - but what criteria do we actually have for this? When the arms race for the fastest lenses began among photo manufacturers in the 1960s, it was a competition without any quality: 1.4, 1.2, 1.1, 0.95 - the main thing was fast speed was the motto, no matter what the result was optically. Who has photographed with a Zunow 1.1 /50 or the Canon 0.95/50 knows that with an open aperture, these lenses achieve images that look as if you photographed through a milk bottle (nevertheless, the Canon is called a “dream lens”: fake news!). Sharpness and contrast were not an issue back then. Today, however, since the images are mostly viewed on the Apple Computer, no manufacturer could afford to do without contrast and sharpness - the high-resolution screens mercilessly show every weakness, mercilessly it echoes in the echo chamber on social media: But these lenses are indeed not sharp!
The Wizard King instead is sharp. It is the sharpest, most powerful 1.0/50 with the highest contrast, that I know. In portraits, it makes the eye three- dimensional in a way that I previously only thought possible with the Apo- Summicron 50. At 1.0, every picture in the right focus has the same effect as a well-seasoned Indian curry - it will blow your mind without being too sharp! I'll get back to that in a moment.
Compared to the Noctilux 1.0/50 (Version IV), this 3D pop is immediately noticeable. You don't have to look far for the differences.
The Noctilux is significantly weaker than the Wizard King, especially in backlight situations. Here clearly with a detail enlargement.
Noctilux (Version IV)
Nokton
Noctilux (Version IV)
Nokton
Noctilux (Version IV)
Nokton
As far as bokeh is concerned, there is a clear tendency towards swirling effects with the Noctilux. Overall, the bokeh on the Wizard King isn't unpleasant at all - no comparison to the lousy bokeh on the Nokton 1.1/50, which is reminiscent of the lousy Summarit 1.5/50.
Noctilux, swirley Bokeh and lens flare
Nokton, no lens flare
And the light balls are much rounder. And they are more clearly contoured. Another plus here.
Noctilux (Version IV)
Nokton
In the first reviews of the new 1.0/50, it was criticized that the Wizard Kind was pretty expensive at just under 1750 euros. Expensive? That can not be true! I would rather say that this lens is too cheap in relation to the quality of the Noctilux! And that everyone who wants a fast lens and not a lifestyle product should grab this lens. After all, the brand does not guarantee quality!
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