Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 SL II Lens Review

Voigtlander Nokton 58mm f/1.4 SL II Handling and Features

The build and design of this lens harks back to a bygone age, where lenses were typically made of brass and designed to last a lifetime. This lens feels very solidly built, thanks to the all-metal construction and the scalloped metal focusing ring, finished in black. Even though the lens feels as though it has a fair bit of weight to it, it only weighs 320g and makes a perfect companion for the Nikon D600 body used for testing.

The focusing ring is silky smooth and has just the right amount of resistance, which makes it a pleasure to apply fine adjustments. Closest focus for this lens is 45cm, which is fairly typical for a lens of this focal length. The lens doesn't focus internally, extending by around a centimetre at its closest focus. Distances are embossed into the focus ring, and there is a hyperfocal scale, although only values for f/8 and f/16 are marked on the lens barrel. Electronic contacts to support metering and aperture control functions of the camera are provided. Nikon users will have to ensure that the lens is set to f/22, which is marked orange on the aperture ring for the lens to work properly on modern cameras. Unfortunately, there is no system provided for locking the aperture at this setting.



The lens accepts 58mm filters, and the filter ring does not rotate during focusing, which is great for use with graduated and polarising filters. No lens hood is supplied as standard with this lens.

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