Darin Marcus
Well-known member
I finally got it - my first, and probably last f/1.0 lens 
I would not normally buy such a large aperture lens - they are usually very big and heavy - but this one I can manage (manual focus included).
The manufacturer page for the lens: https://www.cosina.co.jp/voigtlander/en/z-mount/nokton-50mm-f1-aspherical/
In researching this lens I went through a long Fred Miranda thread about the M mount version, which was released one year before the Z mount version: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1741370 That thread reviews and discusses the M mount lens on Leica and Sony (w adaptor) cameras. I understand that Cosina is also releasing a Canon R mount version.
The Z version appears to have the same optical diagram as the M version, but a different body size and style, and a smaller minimum focus distance.
Cosina states that "This product is developed and manufactured under a license agreement with Nikon Corporation". As a result, it supports Nikon Z IBIS (3 axes) and all 3 types of manual focus support. The aperture diaphragm has 12 blades, and the clicked aperture ring (front of the lens) enables precise selection in 1/3 of a stop intervals.
So far I only had one session with the lens, on my Z6. I found it to be reasonably large, but quite heavy. Manual focus is smooth and easy, even at f/1.0. Vignetting is clearly present, and a little axial color aberration is visible in high contrast areas wide open. The corners are a bit soft wide open, but improve with stopping down.
I definitely need more time with the lens to learn its strong and weak points. So far I can tell that it is quite sharp, with nice colors and contrast, even at f/1.0
I would not normally buy such a large aperture lens - they are usually very big and heavy - but this one I can manage (manual focus included).
The manufacturer page for the lens: https://www.cosina.co.jp/voigtlander/en/z-mount/nokton-50mm-f1-aspherical/
In researching this lens I went through a long Fred Miranda thread about the M mount version, which was released one year before the Z mount version: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1741370 That thread reviews and discusses the M mount lens on Leica and Sony (w adaptor) cameras. I understand that Cosina is also releasing a Canon R mount version.
The Z version appears to have the same optical diagram as the M version, but a different body size and style, and a smaller minimum focus distance.
Cosina states that "This product is developed and manufactured under a license agreement with Nikon Corporation". As a result, it supports Nikon Z IBIS (3 axes) and all 3 types of manual focus support. The aperture diaphragm has 12 blades, and the clicked aperture ring (front of the lens) enables precise selection in 1/3 of a stop intervals.
So far I only had one session with the lens, on my Z6. I found it to be reasonably large, but quite heavy. Manual focus is smooth and easy, even at f/1.0. Vignetting is clearly present, and a little axial color aberration is visible in high contrast areas wide open. The corners are a bit soft wide open, but improve with stopping down.
I definitely need more time with the lens to learn its strong and weak points. So far I can tell that it is quite sharp, with nice colors and contrast, even at f/1.0
Last edited:
