Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 Nokton Micro Four Thirds Lens Review

Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 Nokton Micro Four Thirds Lens Handling & features

Compared to other prime lenses designed for the Micro Four Thirds camera system, this lens is reasonably large and heavy, weighing around 410g and being 70mm long. Due to the size and weight of this optic, it may feel a little cumbersome to use on some of the more compact MFT bodies available, but it feels good to use on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 used for testing.

Very high quality materials have been used in the construction of this lens. Plenty of metal has been used, which adds to the overall quality feel. The manual focus action is silky smooth and can be adjusted a very light touch, yet it is well enough damped to stay put when required. As depth of field is very shallow at maximum aperture, extreme care needs to be taken to get images properly focused. Most Micro Four Thirds cameras have a facility for magnifying the image during focusing and it is best to take advantage of this feature. A useful hyperfocal scale is provided on the lens for aperture values between f/4 and f/16. A minimum focus distance of 17cm is great for shooting in claustrophobic environments, or for taking frame filling close images.

The aperture range is divided into half stop intervals, with a smooth clicking action between each setting. The click stops cannot be disengaged like on Voigtlander's 17.5mm optic, which may be a shame for those wishing to use this lens for video.

A 52mm filter thread is supplied, which does not rotate during focusing. This makes the lens ideal for use with graduated or polarising filters. A compact metal lens hood that screws into the filter thread is also supplied.

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