The Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 Nokton and D 35mm f2 Macro Apo-Ultron revive a classic name for the digital age
(Image credit: Voigtlander/Wex)
Voigtländer is a name steeped in camera history but still operating and still producing great ‘alternative’ primes for today’s cameras. The Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 Nokton is an ultra-fast standard prime lens for full frame Nikon Z cameras, while the Voigtlander D 35mm f2 Macro Apo-Ultron is an APS-C macro lens for the Nikon Z fc, Nikon Z50 and Nikon Z30.
The Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.2 is already available in Leica M mount and Sony E mount, but now Nikon Z owners can also enjoy this classic lens’s ultra-fast f/1.2 maximum aperture, compact design, precise manual focus adjustment and depth of field markings for easy zone and hyperfocal focusing.
The 40mm focal length makes this an ideal ‘semi-wide’ standard lens for full frame cameras like the Nikon Z5, Z6 II and Z7 II, but it will of course also fit Nikon’s APS-C models, offering an equivalent focal length of 60mm – perfect as a ‘long’ standard lens and for beautiful shallow depth of field effects.
We’ve also seen the Voigtlander Macro APO-Ultron 35mm f/2 before in a Fujifilm X mount version, but now it’s coming to the Nikon Z mount too, bringing the same useful 53mm equivalent focal length, fast f/2 maximum aperture and macro capability.
With its 1:2 maximum magnification, this lens doesn’t quite hit the 1:1 ratio of a true macro lens, but it still focuses way closer than a regular lens and would make a great all-round standard lens for Nikon’s APS-C mirrorless cameras.
These lenses are yet to go on sale at the time of writing, but they are available for pre-order at Wex (UK)
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We don’t have US pricing yet, but going by the prices in other mounts, we would expect the Voigtlander 40mm f1.2 Nokton to cost $849 (about AU$1,313) and the Voigtlander 35mm f2 Macro Apo-Ultron to cost $699 (about AU$1,081).
Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com
