Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

Yes, just like Sony the Germans couldn’t keep up with slr developments ;) In this modern age the Leica SL mount is competitive, but the M rangefinder cameras are serious money for what they are. I know that the rangefinder mechanism is complicated and hand assembled, but even the new film Leicas are about £5300 in the UK. Now when you consider that a state of the art hand assembled Nikon F2 Photomic was about £390 (433*)in 1978, so that’s equivalent to £2434 now (using current VAT rates for both dates*), it puts into perspective just how much the Leicas are.
And, I would add that the Nikon F2 was a much better camera than the Leicaflex SL & SL2. I owned all 3. The important Leicaflex advantage was the selective exposure measuring. And much better built R lenses.
Speaking of the M: The latest versions have not much -quality wise- in common with the M3. The are very fragile, not only when dropped. Many "weight-optimised" parts inside, thin aluminium or plastics instead of brass and so on. And the repair service is not only excessively expensive, but also slow and disappointing.
The worst yet, is the lack of a sensor cleaning function. After a longer vacation, zero EOS R dust spots, but hours spent on removing them from the M pictures.
Should I also mention that I had to send in for (expensive) repair or repair myself half a dozen newer M lenses with mechanical damages or factory misaligned mounts? Lose mounts have seemingly become recurrent (Apo M 2/28, Apo M 2,8/28, M 4/90 +++).
Edit: I meant of course "Asph" M 2/28 and "Asph" M 2,8/28, and NOT "Apo"
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

This lens is tempting. I have the Voigtlander Nokton 75mm f/1.5 and love it. The build quality makes it a pleasure to use, image quality is good, and I like how the photos look that I take with it. I have the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8, so I have a hard time justifying a just-for-fun manual 35mm lens at $700. Maybe if I find a copy of this Voigtlander 35mm used or on sale someday.
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

I still own a Voigtländer Avus (named after a German racetrack).
Never used it (film plates!), but I truly like the way it was built.
Decades later came Topcon, Yashica, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, Canon etc...
After so many years of market domination, the German companies simply forgot to innovate and paid a hefty price.
Leica are left, but cater to a very limited number of users and collectors.
Yes, just like Sony the Germans couldn’t keep up with slr developments ;) In this modern age the Leica SL mount is competitive, but the M rangefinder cameras are serious money for what they are. I know that the rangefinder mechanism is complicated and hand assembled, but even the new film Leicas are about £5300 in the UK. Now when you consider that a state of the art hand assembled Nikon F2 Photomic was about £390 (433*)in 1978, so that’s equivalent to £2434 now (using current VAT rates for both dates*), it puts into perspective just how much the Leicas are.
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

I had a secondhand Voigtlander Bessa folding 120 camera when I was a schoolboy. The German cameras cost a fortune then. The bellows on the folding cameras were dodgy, but 6x9 contact prints were fun, and I could afford to develop and fix using home made chemicals.
I still own a Voigtländer Avus (named after a German racetrack).
Never used it (film plates!), but I truly like the way it was built.
Decades later came Topcon, Yashica, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, Canon etc...
After so many years of market domination, the German companies simply forgot to innovate and paid a hefty price.
Leica are left, but cater to a very limited number of users and collectors.
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Canon to Announce Another “World’s First” at Some Point This Year

What about the 200mm f/1.8L? :p
He did say 70-200 f/1.4 (or f/2) The front element would have to be the same size as a 400 f/2.8. I want a longer sibling to the 20-50 f/4 L IS Z, with the same design philosophy and at the same price, perhaps 35-85 f/2.8 L IS Z or 60-150 f/2.8 L IS Z.
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

Indeed, that’s why it’s retailing at £499 instead of £4999 !
I had a secondhand Voigtlander Bessa folding 120 camera when I was a schoolboy. The German cameras cost a fortune then. The bellows on the folding cameras were dodgy, but 6x9 contact prints were fun, and I could afford to develop and fix using home made chemicals.
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

As presumably many know, it's designed and made in Japan by Cosina who have just licensed the Voigtlander name and they simply use it and associated names like Nokton for branding. It no longer has any German connection.
Indeed, that’s why it’s retailing at £499 instead of £4999 !
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

I just checked, and the lens aperture has ten blades, so I’m sure it is manual. Auto aperture lenses have a smaller number of blades due to them having to snap open and closed in an instant, and the more blades there are the greater the friction and wear.
The Voigtländer website clearly says that focus AND aperture are indeed manual.
So, I was wrong! :)
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

Are you sure this lens has a manual diaphragm? I believe it rather behaves like Zeiss' Classic series, manual focus but electronically controlled aperture.
I’ve not used any of the Voigtlander RF lenses yet, but my understanding is that despite the contacts and communication with the camera body the aperture is fully manual, as the design is from a rangefinder lens ( where apertures are always manual) as opposed to slr lenses. Personally this doesn’t worry me at all, in fact I like it, because it does away with any focus shift issues, gives correct dof, as well as giving the correct live histogram all the time. Ultimately my migration to mirrorless will be because of the smaller size, ability to have much smaller lenses ( m mount adapted if necessary) but importantly the live histogram makes optimising exposure in challenging conditions whilst on the hoof a real benefit.
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Canon to Merge Two Lenses Into an RF 24-70mm f/2L IS?

A 70-200 f2.0 compatible with teleconverter would be a threat to the 100-300 F2.8 so I assume the it will not be compatible with teleconverter.
A 70-200/2 would likely be around $10K, not really a threat at all.

Imagine stacking a 1.4x for outdoor sport + a 2x birds a single lens 3/4 differents use case
Exactly like one can do with the 100-300/2.8.
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

Having been on CR for some fifteen years I can say with all confidence that the majority of members will hate this lens !

Still, I’m going to give it a whirl. One good thing about using these manual aperture lenses stopped down is that if you are using the live histogram to judge optimum exposure (and your lens has some degree of shading wide open) you don’t have to keep pressing the dof preview button to see the true (albeit jpeg rendered) histogram.
Are you sure this lens has a manual diaphragm? I believe it rather behaves like Zeiss' Classic series, manual focus but electronically controlled aperture.
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Voigtlander Brings the NOKTON Classic 35mm F 1.4 to the RF-Mount

Having been on CR for some fifteen years I can say with all confidence that the majority of members will hate this lens !

Still, I’m going to give it a whirl. One good thing about using these manual aperture lenses stopped down is that if you are using the live histogram to judge optimum exposure (and your lens has some degree of shading wide open) you don’t have to keep pressing the dof preview button to see the true (albeit jpeg rendered) histogram.
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Canon to Merge Two Lenses Into an RF 24-70mm f/2L IS?

A 24-70/2 would replace my 28-70/2, for sure.

I’d have to think carefully about a 50/70-150/180mm f/2 lens. After getting the 100-300/2.8, and with the 85/1.2 DS for portraits, I rarely use the 70-200/2.8. When I do, it’s for indoor events where the 100-300/2.8 is inconvenient and I bring the 70-200 as a compact alternative. I suspect I’d pass on an f/2 telezoom.
For me, the 70-xxx with Tc compatibility would be a sure buy. If it doesn't take TC´s I might consider the 70-200mm F2.8 Z. Atm, I don't need the 24-70mm f2 because I have the RF 50mm F1.4 VCM which I absolutely love and a standard f4 zoom. I eventually would/ will get the 24-70mm and I´ll probably sell of the 50mm :cry: and the standard (I wouldn´t mind). But that purchase can really wait for several years because the 50mm is really up to all tasks right now.

At the same time, when exchanging my f4 zooms for f2 zooms, I would want to get something very light for hikes. I've got the 16mm F2.8 already and the RF 28mm will one day end up in my bag for sure. At one point, I might get the 100.400mm again. I gave/ sold mine to my father in law, I can burrow it whenever I need it. But I'd still like my own copy somehow... The RF 24-105mm F4-7.1. is also on my mind because it is very versatile, but I don't know about IQ.

This plan really will cost a lot and it'll take quite a while to come to fruition for me. But it is a plan worth saving for and selling some other gear, if canon comes up with two great offerings.
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