Cosina is Making a Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1 for Sony E-Mount
Cosina announced a new ultra-large aperture apsherical lens, the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1 for Sony E-mount.
The design of the lens is different from the full-frame 50mm f/1 that Cosina makes for Nikon Z-mount and M-mount, but similar to the version announced last February for Canon RF mount. While there are some minor differences, like front filter size and the overall look of the lens, each Voigtlander 50mm f/1 prime seems to build on a similar foundation.
The lens takes advantage of Cosina’s in-house ground aspherical (GA) glass, which it says allows it to simplify the lens configuration of the optic while still ensuring high performance despite the very fast aperture.
“By adopting an in-house produced GA lens, this ultra-large aperture standard lens achieves the brightest f/1 among Voigtlander’s full-frame interchangeable lenses, while also achieving a toned-down style,” the company says, translated from Japanese. “When the aperture is wide open at f/1, the amount of bokeh is extremely large, making it possible to express the motif in focus in an impressive manner.”
While it is a manual focus only lens, the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1 is equipped with electronic contacts so that it can communicate with an attached Sony camera and transfer EXIF data. It also has a built-in distance encoder which supports Sony’s five-axis in-body image stabilization and will activate the digital zoom in the viewfinder when manually focusing, which will help photographers nail focus.
The lens is constructed of nine elements arranged into seven groups, including the aforementioned GA element located at the front along with a separate aspherical element located at the rear of the optic. It features an aperture range of f/1 through f/16 via a 12-bladed diaphragm. As it is a manual lens, the aperture is controlled via a declicked ring located near the front of the optic (this ring doesn’t feature the “automatic” option which would allow control from the body). Cosina notes the silent aperture ring means the lens is also ideal for video work.
The front filter size is 67mm and it has a minimum focusing distance of 0.45 meters (17.72 inches) with a maximum magnification ratio of 1:6.9.
“In addition to ensuring a full-size image circle, it uses an optical design optimized for Sony E-mount sensors. High resolution is maintained right up to the edges of the screen, and phenomena such as color cast are suppressed,” Cosina says.
Below are a few sample photos captured with the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1:
The Cosina Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1 for Sony E-mount cameras is expected to be available in March 2024 and will retail for 240,000 yen (tax included), which is about $1,600.
Image credits: Cosina
