Large Aperture lens NOKTON VM 40mm F1.4
A review and Photo example of the Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm f/1.4 with the Film camera and Digital range finder camera.
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Table of contents
Gallery
Review
1．Overview
The Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.4 is a semi-standard VM-mount lens released by Cosina Voigtlander in 2004.
The main specifications are as follows, with detailed specifications listed in the table.
- It features a lens construction of 7 elements in 6 groups.
- The lens mount is compatible with the Leica M VM mount.
- The minimum focusing distance is 0.7m.
- It is compatible with rangefinders on rangefinder cameras up to 0.7m.
- The filter diameter is 43mm and screws onto the front of the lens.
- Two types are available: single-coated SC and multi-coated MC.
The lens construction is a modified double Gauss type, with a large front element for maximum brightness and two cemented elements in the rear group. No aspherical lenses are used.
2．Usability
The Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.4‘s image quality can be a bit wild at full aperture, but becomes clearer when stopped down. This duality allows for good results by using different aperture values depending on the elements in front of and behind the subject.
With a mirrorless camera, you can check the bokeh in the electronic viewfinder, but this is not possible with a rangefinder camera, so you need to take multiple shots to understand the lens’s characteristics. Furthermore, with a rangefinder camera, the focus position is set by overlapping images, and even a slight deviation can cause the focus to shift from the desired position, so you also need to take multiple shots to understand its characteristics.
I used both single-coated and multi-coated lenses, but I didn’t notice any significant difference between them, especially with digital cameras.
This lens was released during the era when film and digital cameras were becoming increasingly common, and I used it with both film and digital cameras, as shown in the example photos.
Looking back at my personal photo archive, I see that I used both reversal and negative film cameras, and also used them with digital cameras, so it’s clear that I enjoyed using it back then.
3．Summary
In conclusion, to sum up the Voigtlander NOKTON 40mm F1.4, it is a lens designed for older rangefinder cameras.
When using it with a rangefinder camera, it works better with a film camera, but when it comes to digital cameras, it is more stable when used with a mirrorless camera due to the focusing accuracy.
Specifications, considerations, etc.
The 40mm focal length is a bit wider than a standard lens but narrower than 35mm, making it a tricky focal length. It’s often used in compact cameras and other cameras without interchangeable lenses, but it’s not often seen on interchangeable-lens cameras.
With fixed-lens prime cameras, determining which focal length to target is a difficult question, and 40mm, somewhere between 35mm and 50mm, was presumably chosen as a somewhat versatile focal length compromise.
This is one of Cosina Voigtländer’s earliest VM lenses. Two versions were simultaneously released: the multi-coated “MC” and the single-coated “SC.” The “SC” was a limited edition, but was re-produced in 2005 and is still quite common on the used market. The NOKTON 40mm f/1.2, released in November 2017, offers the same focal length. However, there’s been no announcement of the end of production for the f/1.4 version, making it a long-lasting lens that remains available new as of 2024.
The Nokton 40mm F1.2, with its maximum aperture of f/1.2, employs aspherical lenses for a modern lens design, and there appears to be no connection in lens design to the older NOKTON 40mm F1.4.
The name Nokton comes from the 50mm F1.5 for the original Voigtländer Prominent. This is a well-known fact, and Cosina uses the name “NOKTON” generically for all large-aperture lenses with maximum apertures of f/1.4 or less under the Voigtländer brand, for which it holds the rights.
| Items | NOKTON F1.4 | NOKTON F1.2 |
| Focal length(mm) | 40 | 40 |
| Max aperture | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| Min aperture | 16 | 22 |
| Leaf blade | 10 | ← |
| Lens Construction | 7elements in 6groups | 8elements in 6groups |
| Aspherical lens | Not adopted | Adopted |
| Min distance(m) | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Lens length(mm) | 29.7 | 43.3 |
| Max diameter(mm) | 55 | 60.8 |
| Filter Size(mm) | 43 | 52 |
| Weight(g) | 175 | 315 |
| Lens mount | VM | ← |
| Release date | 2004.4.10 | 2017.11.22 |
| Price(Yen/No-tax) | SC/MC 50,000- | 120,000 |
Affiliate link
- Please see the disclaimer regarding advertising here.
- Italicized links in the text are advertisement links that take you to other sites.
- NOKTON 40mm・Ads by ebay
- Voigtlander VM・Ads by ebay
Reference links
- NOKTON 40mm F1.4(VM) Official Web-site
- NOKTON 40mm F1.2(VM) Official Web-site
- Leica Lenses of the World Part4 There is an introductory article on p. 74 in the Japanese book.
Update history
- 2025.8.5
- 2024.04.22
- 2023.10.11
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