Voigtlander NOKTON VM 50mm F1.1

Review and photo examples of the Nokton 50mm F1.1.

Gallery

Example of film shooting taken with HEXAR-RF and KODAK E100G

Review

Nokton 50mm F1.1 is a large-diameter standard lens from Cosina Voigtlander. Until the release of the F1.0 aperture in 2022, it was the fastest lens in the Cosina VM mount. The lens barrel is large and well-built, and the moist helicoid shape typical of a manual lens is suitable for rangefinder cameras, but the shadow of the lens barrel covering the bottom right of the viewing window was a bit annoying. LH-7 is sold as an optional hood.

I used this lens on a variety of film cameras, including the HEXAR-RF, EPSON R-D1, LEICA M8.2, and LEICA M9, and the lens produced satisfactory results on all of them.

This may be due to the fact that it is old (2009), but it is not that popular in the market considering the price is about 1/10th of Noctilux, and the used price is even cheaper at about half of the list price.

The reason for this unpopularity is that a 50mm focal length lens for rangefinder cameras can be found in a smaller size without dissatisfied with the image quality. This is probably because the focal length can be covered by a zoom lens for general users, and such a bright and large lens is not suitable for everyday use.
Still, as a lens gourmet, it’s one that I’m glad I used. It is currently undecided whether to try the F1 version.

Specification

Items	NOKTON 50mm F1.5	NOKTON 50mm F1.1	NOKTON 50mm F1
Focal length(mm)	50	1.1	1.0
Max aperture	1.5	1.1	1.0
Min aperture	22	16	16
Leaf blade	10	←	12
Lens Construction	5群6枚	6群7枚	7群9枚
Min distance(m)	0.9	1.0	0.9
Lens length(mm)	54.5	57.2	55
Max diameter(mm)	60	69.6	73.6
Filter Size(mm)	52	58	62
Lens mount	L39	VM	VM
Weight(g)	243	428	484
Release date	1999.10	2009.6.29	2022.1.26
Price(Yen/No-tax)	65,000-	131,250-	225,000-